Send Money, Guns, and Lawyers
Posted by WHEENC@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 143 comments
So, had to explain who Warren Zevon was to a very Southern Gen X contemporary who sweetly asked if I needed anything. (Yaknow, Werewolves of London…really?) Do you find that your references are obscure for even peers your age?
Automatic-Diamond-52@reddit
I have a "Send lawyers,guns,and money" Tshirt
No-Go677@reddit
The shit has hit the fan!
pengalo827@reddit
All right, give me Hamm on five, hold the Mayo.
jacivb@reddit
All of the time as they tend to be obscure.
Glad-Geologist-5144@reddit
He was just an excitable boy.
ZeroWaits@reddit
Bill Lee from bad luck streak at Dancing school is my favorite, it's all true for Bill, Zevon and me
ButtersStochChaos@reddit
You can not mention Lawyers, guns, and money, without bringing up Roland.
ScreenTricky4257@reddit
The fan has hit the shit.
heffel77@reddit
I picked a horrible glue to stop sniffing day
SaintStephen77@reddit
See a broad to get dat booty ac’ion... lay her down, or smack ‘em, yak ‘em!
ButtersStochChaos@reddit
Golly.
heffel77@reddit
Shiii, blood don wan da help, blood don get no help. Chill mama, I dig yo rap!
I like my coffee like my men, black
SaintStephen77@reddit
Do you like movies about gladiators?
heffel77@reddit
You tell your dad to drag Chamberlain’s ass up and down the floor all night!!
Have you ever seen movies about Turkish prisons?
SaintStephen77@reddit
Surely you can’t be serious.
thisisntmyotherone@reddit
I am serious.
And don’t call me Shirley.
Tacos_Polackos@reddit
You ever been in a Turkish bathhouse billy?
SaintStephen77@reddit
The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in the red zone.
Suspicious_Kale5009@reddit
This made me laugh so hard. I've had a difficult day, so thanks.
Difficult_Ad_502@reddit
As a teacher I often wonder which one of my pupils is an excitable boy
allbsallthetime@reddit
His last interview with David Letterman was pretty sad.
https://youtu.be/giTi8KWSZl4?si=AWT8oZ1pBZacFKv4
His famous quote came front that interview.
And his son singing Lawyers Guns And Money on Letterman after his passing.
Bob Dylan's kid with Jordan Zevon.
https://youtu.be/9KdHuZXWxGo?si=tq0-ei_I-cWm-LXa
To answer the question I'm always making obscure references to pop culture from my youth.
Here's one for you...
https://youtu.be/P6VsN-QLJlI?si=mEstHpKoXH3ZHG8Y
rraattbbooyy@reddit
He’s written a hundred great songs, so many deep and meaningful, but the only one anyone knows is the silly one he wrote as a goof. If he was still alive, he would probably think this is funny as hell.
JessicaGriffin@reddit
Ironically, it’s “Roland, the Headless Thompson Gunner” that gets stuck in my head, and I think I’ve only heard it once, circa 1989.
k0azv@reddit
One of my faves. Have loved that song since I was introduced to it in college back in the 80's. One of the reasons I have Excitable Boy on CD.
mistertireworld@reddit
Mohammed's Radio, Hasten Down the Wind, and Mutineer for me.
SoMuchForSubtlety@reddit
"You know the sheriff has got his problems too.
He will surely take them out on you..."
Wyndeward@reddit
To be fair, the silly one was a banger and Warren didn't realize it -- the record company had to fight to make it a single.
Corporation_tshirt@reddit
I would say that was probably true up until he wrote “Keep Me In Your Heart for a While.” Now it gets played at funerals all the time
GracieThunders@reddit
Desperados Under The Eaves absolutely floored me
PMMEBITCOINPLZ@reddit
That one’s my favorite. Played it for someone else once and they didn’t get it. Made me a little sad.
madpolecat@reddit
Play it for all one’s pals in AA.
Gets them every time.
GracieThunders@reddit
You can't free a mind that isn't ready
newwriter365@reddit
"Accidently Like a Martyr" is one that comes to mind every so often.
MidtownKC@reddit
The reference would first have to be correct.
brickbaterang@reddit
I've been listening to his last album quite a bit lately
quegrawks@reddit
I don't understand how Warren because of a question asking if you needed anything?
justdan76@reddit
OP responded with “send lawyers guns and money “ I’m guessing, when asked if he needed anything
quegrawks@reddit
Maybe? That would have helped me understand the post.
Conscious_String_195@reddit
Yeah, I m born in 75 and know Werewolf In London from the radio, but not song in title or the guy.
Yes, my references are very dated from the time that I grew up and movies I watched too w/famous movie quotes or song lyrics. It’s not so bad with older millennials and up, but before that I just get looks of confusion and feel compelled to explain vs sound just crazy.
TakkataMSF@reddit
Them: "Time to go!"
Me: "Get to the choppa!"
blank stares
I bonk my knee
Them: "You alright?"
Me: "Pain don't hurt."
blank stares
If they aren't going to put in some effort watching the classics, I'm not going to explain the lines! Worst was when I loaned a kid my Star Wars (original trilogy) DVDs.
He gives them back to me.
Me: "Did you like them?"
Him: "Uhm...I couldn't watch them."
Me: "You can borrow longer if you need more time."
Him: "No, I mean the FX are so bad I can't watch them."
Me: "Get the hell out of here you bastard! Your nerd card is revoked, permanently."
Kids. I remember watching, obvious crash test dummies fall from the roof and think it was pretty and thing it was a sick stunt.
ConsistentHoliday797@reddit
75 born, don't get the reference.
PacRat48@reddit
First is Monty Python Second is Clerks
heffel77@reddit
“It’s merely a flesh wound! Come back here and get what’s coming to you!! I’ve had your bloody arm off you idiot” tis’ but a scratch”
“I’m not going even supposed to be here today”
I made sure my millennial brother got a good Gen X education but I guess I should have tried harder with my peers..
kategoad@reddit
I usually answer the Beatles White Album.
inky-doo@reddit
I just learned of that song's existence in the last couple of months or so. Despite being a fan of werewolves (of course) and "excitable boy".
Monkeynutz_Johnson@reddit
When things start to get crazy and stressful at work, I'll start to sing to take control of the situation. One of my favorites is...
Big Gorilla at the LA zoo Snatched the glasses right off my face Took the keys to my BMW Left me here to take his place.
One of the kids asked me if I just made it up. SMFH.
thenletskeepdancing@reddit
No but I find myself disproportionately upset that you got this in the wrong order.
day_of_duke@reddit
I did too. But I started to type something then said “whatever”
rumpusroom@reddit
But then you typed this. Meta.
day_of_duke@reddit
Go take an egg test
sxhnunkpunktuation@reddit
Better to be a lemming in the middle than the first one.
Automatic_Fun_8958@reddit
Yes all the time. I actually prefer if that happens, so my comments go over their heads. It makes it seem more funny to me. “Gee, Mr. Wizard, you figured it out”. “Nice going, Spicoli” “what a maroon”
Critical_Ad8931@reddit
I have one of my bank accounts named Lawyers, Guns and Money, it's an age test of the tellers when I go to the bank. Lately though it seems that the younger folks now know what it is. Had twenty something teller ask me the other day if I was a Warren Devon fan! Made me happy!
Much_Substance_6017@reddit
I say, “Damn the man! Save the Empire!” on a regular basis ever since the movie came out in 1995. I think two people have known what I movie I was referencing. It’s Empire Records btw.
mistertireworld@reddit
"What is the money doing in Atlantic City, Lucas?"
"Recirculating, Joe."
I still celebrate Rex Manning Day. Every year.
Much_Substance_6017@reddit
“Who glued all these quarters on the floor.”
“I did”
“What the Hell for, man?”
“I don’t feel I need to explain my art to you, Warren.”
RabunWaterfall@reddit
My best friend never gets my references, obscure or not. Which is tough, because half of everything I say is a TV/movie reference, song lyric, or punchline. My wit falls on deaf ears.
madpolecat@reddit
My brother and I have concluded that the quotes/referencing the movies, TV, and songs is actually just the analog version of meme culture.
punkdrummer22@reddit
I know the one song. That's it
ScreenTricky4257@reddit
You're a lucky person, to still have that ahead of you.
madpolecat@reddit
Just wait until they get to KEEP ME IN YOUR HEART
punkdrummer22@reddit
I will never listen to Warren Zevon. Not my style of music
ScreenTricky4257@reddit
OK. Don't know how you know that if you only know the one song. But I hope you find good music.
Gomertaxi@reddit
“Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner” is one of my favorite songs ever. My oldest friend and I used to sing it on every road trip when we were in high school, and still do when we see each other every few years.
madpolecat@reddit
When I worked on the trucking dock overnight for FedEx in 90’s Cleveland, WNCX would play Zevon in the middle of the night.
We had guys who would howl along to WEREWOLVES. One became a police officer.
Strange times.
madpolecat@reddit
I’m a trove use useless trivia to all generations.
“Desperados Under the Eaves” was my rock-bottom anthem, and “The French Inhaler” is my favorite diss track ever.
imadork1970@reddit
My Shit's Fucked Up
Schyznik@reddit
Happens to me all the time. I’ll be sitting there harmonizing with the AC, belting out “Look Awaaaay-ayyy, Gower Avenue” and draw all kinds of stares and blank looks.
breddy@reddit
Warren did a cover of Steve Winwood's Back in the High Life Again and his weepy singing completely changes the tune. Worth a listen.
mmmmmarty@reddit
Little Red Corvette is so different in his voice!
vestigialfree@reddit
So is Rasberry Beret by Hindu love gods (his voice so is distinctive im fairly positive it’s him singing)
mistertireworld@reddit
It is. Warren Zevon, alongside Pete Buck, Mike Mills, and Bill Berry from REM. IIRC, it was a drunken couple of hours in the studio after an event they were all at.
lendmeflight@reddit
This summer I had a health scare that involved pretty bad internal bleeding. I shared the lyrics to “my shits fucked up” with my doctor and he said “yeah that about sums it up” My shits fucked up? Well I don’t see how He said the shit that used to work Well it won’t work now.
PMMEBITCOINPLZ@reddit
Enjoy every sandwich!
PMMEBITCOINPLZ@reddit
I had to explain the origin of “it’s a floor wax and a dessert topping” to someone only slightly older than me. Guess he wasn’t an SNL fan.
If I had people to talk about them with my references would be from weird old comic books, games and animes but in real life I keep those to myself.
SteveinTenn@reddit
Yep.
I’m southern. I’m a HUGE Warren Zevon fan.
Also love Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen. And Doctor Who (been watching since it was on my PBS station in the early 80s).
Needless to say most of my references go right over most heads around here.
heffel77@reddit
I’m in Memphis which is supposed to have a musical history but I can’t remember the last time I could have a decent conversation about music.
I always end up going off when I find someone. But it’s getting rarer and rare as time goes by… Even bands from a year or two much less Zevon, Cave, Prine, Cohen, Waits etc.. Since Jeff Buckley died here, it’s more likely of people to think he wrote Hallelujah than LC.
Horror_Cupcake8762@reddit
I’m also in Memphis. Have had some decent conversations in my limited time here, but they’ve also all been at shows/open mics/blues nights…which is kinda like finding books in a library.
NRG_Efficiency@reddit
Don’t forget John Prine
Serling45@reddit
I saw John Prine in concert in 2001.
NRG_Efficiency@reddit
Got to see him in the late 90’s once
InternationalAnt4513@reddit
John Prine was awesome. One of the greatest ever.
SteveinTenn@reddit
John Prine was the gateway.
Helenesdottir@reddit
I'm so so sorry.
r4d4r_3n5@reddit
Nobody where I work had ever heard of 2600 magazine.
Nobody has seen The Gods Must Be Crazy
I referenced a Ray Stevens song, and everyone just stared and blinked.
The two brothers on my bowling team had never heard "Clocks" by Coldplay. :|
I feel old
thisisntmyotherone@reddit
‘Clocks’ was just on an E.R. rerun today!
Oh wait…that was from about 2003. Goddammit.
WHEENC@reddit (OP)
Omni magazine? Anyone?
r4d4r_3n5@reddit
Used to love it!
ZugZugYesMiLord@reddit
I know that Warren Zevon is famous for his song "Werewolves of London". I've heard the song many times. (I do not know the lyrics by heart, something about seeing a werewolf doing this and doing that, OWWWOOOO, werewolves of London!)
I still don't get this reference.
CCHTweaked@reddit
My Shit's Fucked Up is my anthem!
tywebb6@reddit
Widespread Panic does a killer cover of this song
EdwardBliss@reddit
It depends what their interests are, for example, I'm a big sports fan, but most of the people I work with don't follow sports, so I try to just find some common ground. At the same time there was this guy I worked with, late 30s, who had no clue who Paul McCartney was. No joke.
TallyAlex@reddit
LAWYERS, GUNS AND MONEY - details matter
aggressive_seal@reddit
I'm 47, and Warren Zevon only came into my radar within the last 5 years or so. Man, I was missing out!
Smilneyes420@reddit
I will often quote different Zappa songs and the looks from my coworkers are priceless. I was shocked one day when a kid that started an apprenticeship with us kept rolling with the lyrics when I stopped.
Many_Exit_5358@reddit
I tell them not to eat the yellow snow and they just give me blank looks 😂
WHEENC@reddit (OP)
Watch where the huskies go…
WHEENC@reddit (OP)
Capt Beefheart for me. It’s the Blimp, Frank! Fast and bulbous.
Optimal-Ad-7074@reddit
:) i keep wanting to quote this awesome song by michael marra about a childless couple in a contentious divorce, where they're fighting over who gets what from the record collection. opening lines:
he gets the beefheart, she gets the stones
they're willing to fight through every court in the land for the hearts and bones
Smilneyes420@reddit
Tits, tits, the blimp, the blimp
MrTMIMITW@reddit
I may not get the reference right away. But I remember the movie case for Werewolves of London. I just haven’t seen it in 30 years.
Serling45@reddit
There’s a early 90s Kevin Kline movie called Grand Canyon. His car breaks down and he starts singing that WZ song. That was my first exposure to Zevon outside of Werewolves of London.
I saw Jackson Browne give a benefit concert for Zevon’s daughter’s shop in Vermont.
bigSTUdazz@reddit
He just needs a big dish of Beef Chow Mein.
Summerisle99@reddit
GG Allin's cover of Carmelita is better than the original.
SaintStephen77@reddit
You are the grand prize winner today. Fucking GG Allin. Just wow!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WE8ephzXmXI
Prime_Choice_Depths@reddit
Dont be ashamed of being well rounded and witty. Warren Zevon is worth quoting
Thalia-Is-Not-Amused@reddit
His hair was perfect.
sawyer_whoopass@reddit
Bip!
Majestic-Prune-3971@reddit
I'd like to meet his tailor.
TraditionalYard5146@reddit
The shit has hit the fan.
Techelife@reddit
No.
philly-buck@reddit
You are an Excitable Boy. Embrace it.
afriendincanada@reddit
That’s the best song to never sing along to
Rude-Consideration64@reddit
I'm shocked that you would have to explain that to them. Weren't we all swimming in Boomer pop culture? My Gen Z kids have grown up in Alabama and Florida and they know who Warren Zevon is. They're more Robbie Robertson fans because of a family connection, but they're pretty well versed on Boomer and Gen X music. They really prefer our music to the stuff that came out in the 21st c.
Nighthawk378@reddit
His parting song, https://music.apple.com/us/album/keep-me-in-your-heart/2521494?i=2521492. Hits you in the feels.
boulevardpaleale@reddit
"Think of me", imo, is still one of his greatest songs.
vapegenx@reddit
I enjoy my Excitable Boy record, it was a nice find. Of course, I know those songs but to be honest I was like 5 when they came out so to me he’s sort of from the previous generations playlist that kind of bled over if only because “Werewolves” was used in some 80’s movie trailers as a teen.
slade797@reddit
It’s “Lawyers, Guns, and Money.”
I reference “Mr. Bad Example” pretty frequently.
lazygerm@reddit
Mr. Bad Example is incredible.
Laying tackless stripping and housewives by the score!
Skatchbro@reddit
I’m definitely an Excitable Boy.
Optimal-Ad-7074@reddit
mine are obscure. that's where family can really help.
my brother, several years ago: she's saying she knows of a different will.
me: *eyeroll* that leaves it all to her, i suppose.
him: so what do you think? does it exist?
me: you silly twisted boy, of course it doesn't.
him: i am the son of houdini!
ProfessionalMovie425@reddit
I need a truck to haul around my Percodan and gin
wannabe-meemaw@reddit
I’m a Southern woman, born in ‘76. I definitely expect people around my age to at least know Zevon’s hits.
nixtarx@reddit
Life'll Kill Ya 🤷
Gloomy_Narwhal_4833@reddit
I'm on the young side of Gen X, so maybe that's why, but I have no idea who that is. I know the song and since you mentioned I'm assuming there's some connection.
No_Zebra2692@reddit
I don't know any of what's in the original post either
WHEENC@reddit (OP)
And after taking trip down the youtube hole, it’s Lawyers, Guns and Money. I get that.
stuck_behind_a_truck@reddit
You would’ve had to explain that one to me. :)
I’m sad that I can’t use “grok” more often.
moneyman74@reddit
Zevon is pretty under the radar unfortunately
Adventurous_Class_90@reddit
Who knew the waitress was with the Russians too?
breddy@reddit
HEY!
BigDaddy420-69-69@reddit
I got it, but I'm a huge rock music nerd.
WHEENC@reddit (OP)
I musically identify as one of those. And there’s a new Cure album dropping. Hopefully morose enough for our current timeline.
RunRunRabbitRunovich@reddit
My Cure Album shipped today ❤️❤️🙌🙌🙌🙌 can’t wait!
PhotographsWithFilm@reddit
I was about maybe 7 when that came out. But my Older GenX brothers who were teenagers would know all about it
velocity__wagon@reddit
I'd like to meet his tailor
Invasive-farmer@reddit
I quote it all the time. While he sings that he is "hiding in Honduras" I'm actually hiding in Belize. (Next door) And shit has hit the fan. So, yeah, send lawyers, guns, and money, Dad.
fridayimatwork@reddit
I absolutely love tenderness on the block. Go listen to it. Go now.
viewering@reddit
plenty
AbruptMango@reddit
I actually never thought he was obscure.
Helenesdottir@reddit
There is a live version of Werewolves from a show in Philly: Werewolves of Bryn Mawr
Mustystench@reddit
He didnt originally write it, but that tune Carmelita he did...wow. I lived that lifestyle for many years so I really connected to it.
Moonsmom181@reddit
Yes, I was unique in my friend groups. I think that’s why I love this group!!!