Guerilla Soldier - Gowan, 1985

 
 

Guerilla Soldier born in Santo Domingo
U.S. Marine down from his home up in Maine
Big Red Machine rolls in patrolling the jungle
All of them baking under tropical rain
Six long months in a foreign wasteland
Scenes of terror so fresh and ripe
Found a place to come face to face
Like the gutter-snipes
Whether you like it or not
There ain't no end in sight

(chorus)
For another thousand days
Will it all be over
And another thousand nights
Will the job get done
For another thousand days
Will it all make history
And another thousand nights
Will the war be won

Guerilla Soldier gives a smile for the camera
U.S. Marine says hi to mom on the news
Big Red Machine shows how to move in a straight line
Would be a shame to see
Should one of them lose

It's been eighteen months in a foreign wasteland
Scenes of terror still fresh and ripe
Found a place to come face to face
Like the gutter-snipes
Whether you like it or not
There ain't no end in sight

(repeat chorus)

Whether you like it or not
There ain't no end in sight

(repeat chorus)

Guerilla Soldier, will the war be won

 
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He was Gowan, then Larry Gowan and now, Laurence Gowan. But whatever you call him, he has been a talented part of the Toronto and Canadian music scene since his solo career began in 1982. At that time, he released a self-titled album with the help of well-established Kim Mitchell, ex-front man of Max Webster. However, his international fame had to wait for the 1985 release of Strange Animal. Some popular singles came off this album, all based on Gowan's critical social viewpoints: A Criminal Mind, (You're A) Strange Animal, Cosmetics and Guerilla Soldier.

By the '90s, Larry Gowan received only moderate success from albums such as The Good Catches Up. (I quite liked the single Guns and God. In 1996, Gowan toured with the '70s heavyweight band, Styx, and he made a good impression with the band's co-leader Tommy Shaw. By 1999, Styx was without lead singer Dennis DeYoung, so they asked Larry Gowan to fill in for a concert. He not only toured with them, but he stayed on since, to record keyboard and vocals on every album release.

Connections: Gowan's current band Styx, as they were back in the 1970s. Also, the solo Tommy Shaw with an '80s hit, Girls With Guns.