[Verse 1]
Bm D G
Roland was a warrior from the Land of the Midnight Sun
G D A
With a Thompson gun for hire, fighting to be done
Bm D G
The deal was made in Denmark on a dark and stormy day
G D A Bm
So he set out for Biafra to join the bloody fray
Bm D G
Through sixty-six and seven they fought the Congo war
G D A
With their fingers on their triggers, knee-deep in gore
Bm D G
For days and nights they battled the Bantu to their knees
G D A Bm
They killed to earn their living and to help out the Congolese
[Chorus]
G D Em Bm
Roland the Thompson gunner...
G D Em Bm
Roland the Thompson gunner...
[Verse 2]
Bm D G
His comrades fought beside him - Van Owen and the rest
G D A
But of all the Thompson gunners Roland was the best
Bm D G
So the CIA decided they wanted Roland dead
G D A Bm
That son-of-a-bitch Van Owen blew off Roland's head
[Chorus]
D A G
Roland the headless Thompson gunner
D A
Norway's bravest son
(Harmony)
(Time, time, time
For another peaceful war
But time stands still for Roland
‘Til he evens up the score)
Bm A D A G Bm
They can still see his headless body stalking through the night
D A Bm
In the muzzle flash of Roland's Thompson gun
D A G G A Bm
In the muzzle flash of Roland's Thompson gun
[Verse 3]
Bm D G
Roland searched the continent for the man who'd done him in
G D A
He found him in Mombassa in a barroom drinking gin
Bm D G
Roland aimed his Thompson gun - he didn't say a word
G D A Bm
But he blew Van Owen's body from there to Johannesburg
[Chorus]
G D Em Bm
Roland the headless Thompson gunner...
G D Em Bm
Roland the headless Thompson gunner...
G D Em Bm
Roland the headless Thompson gunner...(talkin’ about the man)
G D Em Bm
Roland the headless Thompson gunner...
[Verse 4]
Bm D G
The eternal Thompson gunner, still wandering through the night
G D A
Now it's ten years later but he still keeps up the fight
Bm D G
In Ireland, in Lebanon, in Palestine and Berkeley
G G G A
Patty Hearst heard the burst of Roland's Thompson gun
Bm
And bought it
