# Why did Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner kill Patty Hearst?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-roland-the-headless-thompson-gunner-kill-patty-hearst/115626>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [June 24, 2002, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-roland-the-headless-thompson-gunner-kill-patty-hearst/115626 "2002-06-24T01:27:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2002, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-roland-the-headless-thompson-gunner-kill-patty-hearst/115626/1 "2002-06-24T01:27:05Z")

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Pardon my posting…but after going through my Warren Zevon collection today, and was left wondering…In the song “Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner,” why did Roland kill Patty Hearst in the end? Is there a particular reason why an undead Norwegian mercenary would want to kill a member (At the time) of the SLA? Or did it just make lyrical sense?

Well, thanks for your time,  
Ranchoth

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**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2002, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-roland-the-headless-thompson-gunner-kill-patty-hearst/115626/2 "2002-06-24T01:47:54Z")

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Because you misinterpreted the lyrics? I think he is using the phrase “bought it” in the literal rather than  
the metaphorical sense.

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**Author:** ![widdershins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@widdershins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdershins)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2002, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-roland-the-headless-thompson-gunner-kill-patty-hearst/115626/3 "2002-06-24T01:48:20Z")

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I think you may be taking the wrong tack on the lyrics:

“The eternal Thompson gunner, still wandering through the night  
Now it’s ten years later, but he still keeps up the fight  
In Ireland, in Lebannon, in Palestine and Berkeley  
Patty Hearst heard the burst of Roland’s Thompson gun  
And bought it…”

Roland (though undead and headless) is still fighting in civil and tribal wars, and in occupied territories. Berkeley was (and still is, I guess) considered a hot bed of political and social dissent inside the US.

Patty didn’t get killed by Roland, she bought into the call to arms of his continuing fight. Zevon was saying she joined the fight, or thought she did, when she joined her kidnappers in the SLA and became “Tanya”.

That’s IMO anyway, it could also be another one of Zevon’s “I was such a messed up alcoholic then, I don’t know what I was writing” songs.

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**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2002, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-roland-the-headless-thompson-gunner-kill-patty-hearst/115626/4 "2002-06-24T02:06:54Z")

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Well, **widdershins** answered more or less what I would have said. However, this thread inspired me to finally ask the general question that I’ve been wondering about for a while, [War in Congo, late 1960’s. What was going on?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=122060)