Girls With Guns - Tommy Shaw, 1984

 
 

I'll tell you now
And I won't tell you twice
Where when and how
I got some bad advice

I never thought I could handle
A girl with guns
And let me tell you
You can bet that I'm not the only one

Stand tall, don't think small
Don't get your back against the wall
Shoot straight, I can't wait
Aim for the heart and fire away

I've come around
I understand today
And she's the target now
I'm gonna have my way

Everybody says
Don't go messing with a girl with guns
They don't need you
They couldn't love you
They couldn't be any fun

Stand tall, don't think small
Don't get your back against the wall
Shoot straight, don't wait
To fire away

An innocent bystander
Who forgets to look both ways
Who never tries to understand her
Won't feel the heat 'til it's too late

Stand tall, don't think small
Don't get your back against the wall
Shoot straight, don't wait
To fire away

Stand tall, don't think small
Don't get your back against the wall
Shoot straight, I can't wait
Aim for the heart and fire away

Stand tall, don't think small
Don't get your back against the wall
Shoot straight, don't wait
To fire away

 
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Tommy Shaw got his start 1976, when the seventies super-group Styx needed a new vocalist/guitarist. He was chosen to play with the band just as they recorded the album Crystal Ball in 1976, and signed up with A&M Records. Besides writing the single, Crystal Ball, Tommy also penned Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man), Renegade and Blue Collar Man.
 
When Styx lost popularity in the 1980's, he recorded three solo albums, the first being Girls With Guns in 1984. For music released in the mid-eighties, one of the surest signs of success was to be featured on the sound track of Miami Vice. Girls With Guns made it in the first season, appearing on the episode, Everglades.
 

Tommy Shaw wasn't done with his career - after the solo albums, he formed Damn Yankees with guitarist Ted Nugent. This new band lasted from 1989-1996, at which point, he put together a shadow version of the original Styx. Well, it worked once...

Connections: after re-forming Styx in the late '90s, Shaw eventually invited Laurence Gowan to replace Dennis DeYoung.