Gloomy Tunes: Elton John, “Ballad of A Well-Known Gun”

It’s Gun Week here a Gloomy Tunes; all week long we’ll be featuring songs about…guns. To kick it off, here’s Elton John’s “Ballad of A Well-Known Gun,” from 1970’s Tumbleweed Connection. This might be our favorite of his albums; after the softer (some might say “sappier”) love songs of his first two albums, Elton and his lyricist Bernie Taupin decided to move into tougher territory, and the result finds Elton hip deep in Americana. Like the Band (a huge influence here), the songs trade in a rustic romanticism, filled with the joys and violence of country living, farming communities and gunfighters. The album kicks off with this tale of one such gunfighter who is tracked down, almost to his relief. He’s tired of his reputation following him around. If only some of our modern-day gunmen and women would be so willing to lay down their arms….

Steven Mirkin

Steven Mirkin’s diverse career has taken him from politics to pop culture to high art, offering him a front row seat to some of the most fascinating events and personalities of our time: writing speeches, fundraising appeals and campaign materials for Ed Koch, John Heinz and independent presidential candidate John B. Anderson; chronicling the punk/new wave scenes in New York and London; interviewing musicians such as Elton John, John Lydon and Buck Owens; profiling modern masters Julian Schnabel, Paul Schrader and Jonathan Safran Foer; and writing for TV shows including 21, The Chamber, Let's Make A Deal, and Rock Star: INXS.