Don’t take your guns to town
By Johnny Cash
This song is about a boy who believes he can be a tough guy, a man. With this new role, he has new priorities and wants to experience new things. He leaves his home, and decides to take his gun. But his mother knows that even though he thinks he’s a man, he isn’t really and tells him not to take his gun. “Don’t take your guns to town son; leave your guns at home Bill”. But he takes it anyways to the bar and starts drinking, trying to convince himself that he really was a man now. “He drank his first strong liquor then to calm his shaking hand; and tried to tell himself he had become a man”. But still very self conscious when another makes a stab at him he couldn’t handle it. “He drank his first strong liquor then to calm his shaking hand and tried to tell himself he had become a man. A dusty cowpoke at his side began to laugh him down” He makes a rash decision and winds up dead all because his views on what a “man”. “Filled with rage then, Billy Joe reached for his gun to draw, but the stranger drew his gun and fired, before he even saw” In his last seconds he realized he wasn’t ready for this role and should have listened to his mother. The songs moral is that you don’t need to be a tough guy to be a “man”.
This song is a story, and because of this there are a lot of scenes I can imagine being played. For example, scenes with Billy Joe at home with his mom on the farm, Billy Joe ridding his horse into town and scenes at the bar where he spent his last moments. They are all scenes that would be fun to play for tableau.
Don’t take your guns to town
A young cowboy named Billy Joe grew restless on the farm
A boy filled with wonderlust who really meant no harm
He changed his clothes and shined his boots
And combed his dark hair down
And his mother cried as he walked out
[Chorus]
Don't take your guns to town son
Leave your guns at home Bill
Don't take your guns to town
He laughed and...