The Beatles Happiness Is A Warm Gun lyrics
This site covers the original British Beatles Albums plus analyses of the lyrics of non-album tracks.
Information on how the Beatles wrote the lyrics to their songs on The Beatles (white album) can be navigated from below the album cover.
Find out how the lyrics to Happiness Is A Warm Gun came to be written.
Beatles Album: The Beatles AKA The White Album : Track 8
Year: 1968
Lyrics: Lennon, McCartney
Length: 2.47
The happiness is a warm gun lyrics were written by John Lennon. He was inspired for the song after reading one of producer George Martin's gun magazines. The cover had the immortal line 'Happiness is a warm gun in your hand'. This refers to the fact that you can only be truly happy of you have just shot a gun.
The song was written for his new girlfriend Yoko Ono, and the way in which she made her feel sexually. John linked the gun to sexual parody, and talked of the feelings of feeling his fingers upon a trigger, and of shooting off loads.
In addition to the sexual references the song also has many references to shooting drugs, and much of the lyrics were inspired from John questioning his road crew while they were doing acid. This came up with the lyrics 'She's not a girl who misses much' and 'like a lizard on a window pane'. The reference to multi-coloured mirrors on hob nail boots' is a reference to a football fan who had been arrested for wearing mirrors on his shoes so that he could look up girls skirts.
Individual Beatles role on happiness is a warm gun
John Lennon: Lead Vocals, backing vocals, Lead guitar, Tambourine
Paul McCartney: Backing Vocals, Bass guitar.
George Harrison: Backing Vocals, Lead guitar
Ringo Starr: Drums