Bury That Gun

Song Meaning

The lyrics present a tense conversation, recalling someone's escalating distress: "disturbed," "perturbed," then "concerned." The speaker offers a strange mix of casual dismissal ("big deal!") and urgent warning, centered on a recurring image of a gun. This creates an immediate sense of unease and high stakes. A profound internal conflict seems to be at play, initially described as "a banging in your heart a broken broken heart." This internal turmoil quickly shifts to external readiness, with mentions of "a bullet loaded in your gun" and "a gun full of bullets," implying a transformation from pain to potential aggression. The chilling image of "a bullet between your brothers eyes" suggests a deeply personal, perhaps fratricidal, dimension to this impending or past violence. The lyrics create a jarring emotional landscape by repeatedly juxtaposing flippant remarks like "Don't hurry love big deal!" with the insistent, almost frantic command: "But don't bury that gun gun gun gun." This stark contrast highlights the speaker's complex message, seemingly downplaying emotional distress while vehemently urging against disarming or losing resolve. The repeated "gun gun gun gun" emphasizes a desperate urgency, making the listener feel the weight of the command. The effectiveness lies in this unsettling tension and the ambiguity of the "gun." It appears to represent not just a literal weapon, but perhaps a readiness for conflict, a held grievance, or a protective stance. The repeated exhortation "O wave that banner higher" reinforces a call to defiance or continued struggle. This suggests that burying the "gun" or "hatchet" would be a critical failure, as implied by the final lines reflecting on "What was not done" in times of "blood flowed."