Targets

3 weeks ago by @motorcitymusicman

Liner Notes

Warning -- this song is about gun violence, so anyone not wanting to read about that shouldn't proceed further.

This song arose out of the #movietitlechallenge. My draw for this year was "Targets." I had never heard of this movie, so some research was required. It turned out this 1968 Roger Corman-produced film was the very early directorial debut of Peter Bogdanovich, who would later go on to direct movies like The Last Picture Show, What's Up, Doc?, and Paper Moon.

The plot of the movie is based on Charles Whitman, who was the perpetrator in the 1966 Tower shootings at the University of Texas. In the movie, the character commits a mass shooting at a drive-in theatre and, at the end, when captured, states with satisfaction that he "hardly ever missed." My research into the plot of the movie and the University of Texas shooting (along with the assigned title) is what motivated the song.

Thanks very much to @wacha for setting up and administering the movie title challenge. This is the second time I've participated, and I've enjoyed it both times. Kind of a dark way to start off FAWM, but kind of important as well.

This song is #lyricsonly.

Lyrics

Verse One:

It’s all laid out in front of him, components on the bed
The written manifesto, they’ll remember what he said
He packs up his AR-15, he takes his H & K
The duffel bag is crimson and the case gun-metal gray
The bag contains a pistol, and a jacket patterned camo
And several dozen magazines already filled with ammo
He tosses in a bump stock and a telescopic sight
Throws the bag over his shoulder as he steals into the night

Chorus:

To him we’re all just targets
That’s all we’ll ever be
To him we’re all just targets
That’s all he’ll ever see
The evil is eternal
And it’s hard to comprehend
To him we’re all just targets
When will this ever end?

Verse Two:

The traffic isn’t heavy in the early morning hour
The sun has barely risen as he pulls up to the tower
He nods his head politely at the folks he passes by
He walks into the staircase and climbs toward the sky
The rooftop is deserted, and his lines of sight are clear
He sets up his equipment, double-checking all his gear
He locks and loads a magazine and focuses the wire
He switches off the safety and he starts to open fire

[repeat chorus]

Bridge:

In the end he didn’t die
The cops had stormed the rooftop, and he chose not to resist
He never said the reason why
He only smiled and boasted that he hardly ever missed

[repeat chorus]

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