dbt tracks week 13 - Loaded Gun in the Closet

[Clams]

Cooley's take on the doldrums of marriage.

No one ever really talks about this song, but it's a stone cold Cooley classic and everyone knows it. And as usual, some great playing by Neff.

Here's how I see it.... In a lot of ways I feel badly for these two, but yet in the end, they're content (if not happy) together. They both know the gun's there and that the other one can use it at any time, and they both know that'll never happen.



I got a loaded gun in the closet
and another one in the dresser drawer
just in case the one in the closet didn’t make a big enough hole.

She had his breakfast ready every morning
and his lunch in a box sitting there by the kitchen door.
She’d make sure he had everything he needed
and hug his neck and tell him how much she loved him
and it was beautiful.
You should have seen it.

Then she’d make herself a pot of coffee,
just the way she liked it
and sit down and enjoy the quiet of the house all alone,
but, by two-o-clock or so every afternoon
the quiet would start getting to her and she’d watch
the clock until he came back home.

And she understood just what he needed
when he came home every evening
was a couple of beers and a couple of minutes
to cuss about his day.
So she’d fix him a nice hot supper
while he ranted and raved about one thing or the other.
And she never once told him what he was going on about
didn’t add up to a thing.
And she never touched that gun in the closet.
It was his and it was there just because he wanted it to be.
She didn’t get out much, so she never knew just what it was
that made him so afraid.

Most women today would say she was a disgrace.
Most men would say she wasn’t much to look at.
And they all would say she’d be a lot better off
if she cared a little more about what they all think.
She could have a life of her own if she had a little pride,
some silicone implants, and another man on the side.
But she’s got a loaded gun in the closet.
And it’s there anytime she wants it.
And her one and only man knows it and
that’s why he put it there in the first place.

[beantownbubba]

Not my favorite Cooley song but perhaps his greatest (I said PERHAPS, ok?). Subtle, dead on observations about all the characters, including the neighbors/townsfolk, great lines and the fabulous ambiguity of the last couple of lines. I'm not sure that nobody ever talks about this song, Clams - i think i remember a multipage thread about it on 9B.

[Zip City]

Fantastic song. Love love love it

[colodogdoc]

I felt like seeing him play it two nights in a row in Athens this year more than paid for the plane fare to get there.

[blackwll]

Great acoustic versions on the Dirt Underneath tour as well.

[Smitty]

Not my favorite Cooley song but perhaps his greatest (I said PERHAPS, ok?). Subtle, dead on observations about all the characters, including the neighbors/townsfolk, great lines and the fabulous ambiguity of the last couple of lines. I'm not sure that nobody ever talks about this song, Clams - i think i remember a multipage thread about it on 9B.

Agree 100% - it's up there on my list of fav Cooley songs - the version from the first night of the TDU in Athens is classic.

['Scratch]

A sleeper, but one of the best songs on the album.

[OtisTheBulldog]

No one ever really talks about this song, but it's a stone cold Cooley classic and everyone knows it. [/i]

It can't be put any better than this.

[Clams]

the opening sound of the creaking, squeaky door...

[Zip City]

makes me wish Cooley would pull out the acoustic now and again in live shows. I think the only time I've ever seen it (outside the TDU show) was to play Eyes Like Glue

['Scratch]

makes me wish Cooley would pull out the acoustic now and again in live shows. I think the only time I've ever seen it (outside the TDU show) was to play Eyes Like Glue

I concur. The recordings of his acoustic shows - 40Watt and his house - are major favorites of mine. Most of his songs translate really well to the acoustic.

[beantownbubba]

C'mon folks, it's time to get down to it: Who's the gun there for and why?

[OtisTheBulldog]

C'mon folks, it's time to get down to it: Who's the gun there for and why?

Well, it's not for self defense, is it? It's for her to use how she chooses. Either on him, or herself.

[dime in the gutter]

they have everything they need...guns included.

a loaded gun is needed for whatever a loaded gun is needed for....murder, suicide, protection, ease of nerves, critters, meth heads stealin' shit out of the shed.......whatever. sometimes you just need a gun.

even got 2 guns....just in case.


just my opinion

[lajakesdad]

I love that you picked this song this week Clams. I have been obsessing on this song lately. I played it over and over on the weekend just really listening to it. One of my favorite Cooley performances on tape. I love how the gun is there for protection in the beginning. Then as time goes on, depression sets in and turns it into an easy way out of the misery. Perfect songwriting.

Also playing the shit outta Sounds Better in a Song. Lots of Cooley.

[beantownbubba]

Interesting approach, Otis & Dime. If you include all the possibilities you certainly can't be wrong.

[The Black Canary]

I got a loaded gun in the closet
and another one in the dresser drawer
just in case the one in the closet didn’t make a big enough hole.

This says to me that what they had was incredible and they were both very happy with their marriage. He loved and needed her as much as she loved and needed him. She took joy in taking care of him. That is something some people know nothing about, the warmth you feel when you take care of the person you love.
She had his breakfast ready every morning
and his lunch in a box sitting there by the kitchen door.
She’d make sure he had everything he needed
and hug his neck and tell him how much she loved him
and it was beautiful.
You should have seen it.


she liked her time to herself, but she missed her man, the scent of him in the house, the sound of his laughter that filled her life.
Then she’d make herself a pot of coffee,
just the way she liked it
and sit down and enjoy the quiet of the house all alone,
but, by two-o-clock or so every afternoon
the quiet would start getting to her and she’d watch
the clock until he came back home.

she loved him for the man he is, the babble of his day was just part of him and she loved all of him
And she understood just what he needed
when he came home every evening
was a couple of beers and a couple of minutes
to cuss about his day.
So she’d fix him a nice hot supper
while he ranted and raved about one thing or the other.
And she never once told him what he was going on about
didn’t add up to a thing.

Her world was him, what was beyond what they shared just wasn't important to her, he was
And she never touched that gun in the closet.
It was his and it was there just because he wanted it to be.
She didn’t get out much, so she never knew just what it was
that made him so afraid.

This tells me that this is a couple of another era, that beauty (which it should be) is in the eye of the beholder. You are is who you are, you don't marry someone, or what not just because they are beautiful. Beauty isn't just cosmetic!!!
Most women today would say she was a disgrace.
Most men would say she wasn’t much to look at.
And they all would say she’d be a lot better off
if she cared a little more about what they all think.
She could have a life of her own if she had a little pride,
some silicone implants, and another man on the side.

It is just a gun in the closet. Without him could she go on???
But she’s got a loaded gun in the closet.
And it’s there anytime she wants it.
And her one and only man knows it and
that’s why he put it there in the first place.

[dime in the gutter]

Interesting approach, Otis & Dime. If you include all the possibilities you certainly can't be wrong.

seems pretty specific in my mind. i've got it all worked down to the non-specific derivation of subtext pulling amps from the flux capacitor.

cooley is sly.

[Duke Silver]

they have everything they need...guns included.

a loaded gun is needed for whatever a loaded gun is needed for....murder, suicide, protection, ease of nerves, critters, meth heads stealin' shit out of the shed.......whatever. sometimes you just need a gun.

even got 2 guns....just in case.


just my opinion

I agree with this. In the literal sense, her husband put the gun there for their protection. Beyond that, I think it's a big ol' honkin' metaphor for escape and, ultimately, love. If she ever decides to care what everyone else thinks of the way she chooses to live her life, the gun's right there. In the meantime, she's happy, husband's happy, leave 'em alone.

[Clams]

I think the guns are there for either of them to use against the other. But in the end, they love each other despite themselves and the guns become a sort of security blanket -they both take comfort knowing that they'll remain in the closet and dresser drawer.

[beantownbubba]

It's amazing to me how we can have the same discussion in so many different ways in so many different, ummmm, errrrrr, contexts (this 's for you, dime) but oh well, here goes, one more time:

It seems to me that this song is so much better, so much more interesting, so much greater if he puts the loaded gun in the closet either:

(a) as a warning to his wife that this is as good as it gets and she better not be getting any big ideas; OR

(b) as an out for his wife if she ever gets tired of him and this life. This interpretation also has subparts (i) it's there for her to use on herself or (ii) it's there for her to use on him.

I don't know whether either one of these or any of the other interpretations offered is "right", but i'm pretty sure that if it's anything either than one of these two, the song simply isn't as good or as interesting.

[The Black Canary]

It's amazing to me how we can have the same discussion in so many different ways in so many different, ummmm, errrrrr, contexts (this 's for you, dime) but oh well, here goes, one more time:

It seems to me that this song is so much better, so much more interesting, so much greater if he puts the loaded gun in the closet either:

(a) as a warning to his wife that this is as good as it gets and she better not be getting any big ideas; OR

(b) as an out for his wife if she ever gets tired of him and this life. This interpretation also has subparts (i) it's there for her to use on herself or (ii) it's there for her to use on him.

I don't know whether either one of these or any of the other interpretations offered is "right", but i'm pretty sure that if it's anything either than one of these two, the song simply isn't as good or as interesting.

MEN!!!!! why are none of you looking at it from the wife's perspective?? why can't they just be one of those old time couples who love each other, they are each other's word and when the day comes and one is alone, they will shortly follow.

[Duke Silver]

It's amazing to me how we can have the same discussion in so many different ways in so many different, ummmm, errrrrr, contexts (this 's for you, dime) but oh well, here goes, one more time:

It seems to me that this song is so much better, so much more interesting, so much greater if he puts the loaded gun in the closet either:

(a) as a warning to his wife that this is as good as it gets and she better not be getting any big ideas; OR

(b) as an out for his wife if she ever gets tired of him and this life. This interpretation also has subparts (i) it's there for her to use on herself or (ii) it's there for her to use on him.

I don't know whether either one of these or any of the other interpretations offered is "right", but i'm pretty sure that if it's anything either than one of these two, the song simply isn't as good or as interesting.

MEN!!!!! why are none of you looking at it from the wife's perspective?? why can't they just be one of those old time couples who love each other, they are each other's word and when the day comes and one is alone, they will shortly follow.

Pretty sure that's what I said a couple posts up.

[beantownbubba]

It's amazing to me how we can have the same discussion in so many different ways in so many different, ummmm, errrrrr, contexts (this 's for you, dime) but oh well, here goes, one more time:

It seems to me that this song is so much better, so much more interesting, so much greater if he puts the loaded gun in the closet either:

(a) as a warning to his wife that this is as good as it gets and she better not be getting any big ideas; OR

(b) as an out for his wife if she ever gets tired of him and this life. This interpretation also has subparts (i) it's there for her to use on herself or (ii) it's there for her to use on him.

I don't know whether either one of these or any of the other interpretations offered is "right", but i'm pretty sure that if it's anything either than one of these two, the song simply isn't as good or as interesting.

MEN!!!!! why are none of you looking at it from the wife's perspective?? why can't they just be one of those old time couples who love each other, they are each other's word and when the day comes and one is alone, they will shortly follow.

That's like asking me (instead of you) why you did your disappearing thing last week. HE put the gun there, so the question is, what's HIS motivation for doing so? One could also ask how she feels about him having put it there, but that's a different question. Saying that it's there as a ticket for the 2d to join the first to die makes it sound like a joint decision (which I don't get from the lyrics) and takes all the questions, all the menace and all the ambiguity out of the song. To me, your interpretation turns a fascinating and pretty unique song into a fairly pedestrian one. But that's just me.

[The Black Canary]

It's amazing to me how we can have the same discussion in so many different ways in so many different, ummmm, errrrrr, contexts (this 's for you, dime) but oh well, here goes, one more time:

It seems to me that this song is so much better, so much more interesting, so much greater if he puts the loaded gun in the closet either:

(a) as a warning to his wife that this is as good as it gets and she better not be getting any big ideas; OR

(b) as an out for his wife if she ever gets tired of him and this life. This interpretation also has subparts (i) it's there for her to use on herself or (ii) it's there for her to use on him.

I don't know whether either one of these or any of the other interpretations offered is "right", but i'm pretty sure that if it's anything either than one of these two, the song simply isn't as good or as interesting.

MEN!!!!! why are none of you looking at it from the wife's perspective?? why can't they just be one of those old time couples who love each other, they are each other's word and when the day comes and one is alone, they will shortly follow.

That's like asking me (instead of you) why you did your disappearing thing last week. HE put the gun there, so the question is, what's HIS motivation for doing so? One could also ask how she feels about him having put it there, but that's a different question. Saying that it's there as a ticket for the 2d to join the first to die makes it sound like a joint decision (which I don't get from the lyrics) and takes all the questions, all the menace and all the ambiguity out of the song. To me, your interpretation turns a fascinating and pretty unique song into a fairly pedestrian one. But that's just me.

fine you can spank me later BigDaddy and we can have a nice long talk about your question.

[dime in the gutter]

btb's world....a song can go from being fascinating to fairly pedestrian.....depending on what others think.

do i have this right?

[beantownbubba]

btb's world....a song can go from being fascinating to fairly pedestrian.....depending on what others think.

do i have this right?

No, you don't.

[dime in the gutter]

To me, your interpretation turns a fascinating and pretty unique song into a fairly pedestrian one. But that's just me.

btb's world....a song can go from being fascinating to fairly pedestrian.....depending on what others think.

do i have this right?

No, you don't.

ok, how is it then?

[OtisTheBulldog]

(b) as an out for his wife if she ever gets tired of him and this life. This interpretation also has subparts (i) it's there for her to use on herself or (ii) it's there for her to use on him.

That's what I'm screaming, dawg!

[Mrs Swamp]

Here is a video from the Homecoming 2010...
I was there but didnt get it on film so here
is one that I found for ya......enjoy!!!!!