My Father's Gun

Album: Tumbleweed Connection (1970)
Play Video
  • From this day on I own my father's gun
    We dug his shallow grave beneath the sun
    I laid his broken body down below the Southern land
    It wouldn't do to bury him where any Yankee stands

    I'll take my horse and I'll ride the northern plain
    To wear the color of the greys and join the fight again
    I'll not rest until I know the cause is fought and won
    From this day on until I die I'll wear my father's gun

    I'd like to know where the riverboat sails tonight
    To New Orleans, well, that's just fine, alright
    'Cause there's fighting there and the company needs men
    So slip us a rope and sail on round the bend

    As soon as this is over we'll go home
    To plant the seeds of justice in our bones
    To watch the children growing and see the women sewing
    There'll be laughter when the bells of freedom ring

    I'd like to know where the riverboat sails tonight
    To New Orleans, well, that's just fine, alright
    'Cause there's fighting there and the company needs men
    Oh, I said, oh, I said, slip us a rope and sail on 'round the bend

    I'd like to know where the riverboat sails tonight
    To New Orleans, well, that's just fine, alright
    'Cause there's fighting there and the company needs men
    Oh, I said, oh, I said, slip us a rope and sail on 'round the bend, oh

    I'd like to know where the riverboat, the riverboat sails tonight
    To New Orleans, well, that's just fine, alright
    'Cause there's fighting there and the company needs men
    Oh, I said, oh, I said, slip us a rope and sail on 'round the bend

    I'd like to know where the riverboat, the riverboat, the riverboat sails tonight
    To New Orleans, well, that's just fine, that's just fine, alright
    'Cause there's fighting there and the company needs men
    Oh, I said, slip us a rope and sail on 'round the bend

    I'd like to know where the riverboat sails tonight
    To New Orleans, well, that's just fine, that's just fine, alright
    'Cause there's fighting there and the company needs men
    Oh, I said, oh, I said, slip us a rope and sail on 'round the bend

    (Riverboat sails tonight
    That's just fine, alright
    Ah-ah, ah-ah)
    Oh-oh, slip us a rope, sail, sail on 'round
    Sail on 'round, sail on 'round, sail on 'round the bend
    (Riverboat sails tonight)
    Oh, I said
    (That's just fine, alright) Writer/s: Bernie Taupin, Elton John
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 5

  • Scott from TallahasseeI don’t know it for a fact, and I’m not going to look it up before I answer, but there’s a high likelihood that the guitarist was Caleb Quaye who played quite a bit on Elton‘s early albums before he was able to use his own band full-time. Quaye joined as an official member of the Elton John band after he sadly let Nigel Olson and Dee Murray go, although thankfully, Davy, Johnstone was still a member of the band.
  • Sonztwin from Longwood, FlNope - Caleb Quaye on lead guitar. David Cosby (R.I.P.)? Since when was he known for his guitar sound?
  • Paul S From Marblehead, Ma from MassachusettsThat HAS to be David Crosby playing the guitar...
  • Mike Fom Weston from Weston, TxThe lead guitar sounds like David Crosby to me. I was looking for that fact and I see Daniel has the same question
  • Daniel from Hendersonville NcWho played guitar solo on Elton John’s version of My Fathers Gun?
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Songs Discussed in Movies

Songs Discussed in MoviesSong Writing

Bridesmaids, Reservoir Dogs, Willy Wonka - just a few of the flicks where characters discuss specific songs, sometimes as a prelude to murder.

Concert Disasters

Concert DisastersFact or Fiction

Ozzy biting a dove? Alice Cooper causing mayhem with a chicken? Creed so bad they were sued? See if you can spot the real concert mishaps.

How "A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss" Became Rock's Top Proverb

How "A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss" Became Rock's Top ProverbSong Writing

How a country weeper and a blues number made "rolling stone" the most popular phrase in rock.

Lita Ford

Lita FordSongwriter Interviews

Lita talks about how they wrote songs in The Runaways, and how she feels about her biggest hit being written by somebody else.

Kip Winger

Kip WingerSongwriter Interviews

The Winger frontman reveals the Led Zeppelin song he cribbed for "Seventeen," and explains how his passion for orchestra music informs his songwriting.

Gilby Clarke

Gilby ClarkeSongwriter Interviews

The Guns N' Roses rhythm guitarist in the early '90s, Gilby talks about the band's implosion and the side projects it spawned.