BRUCE COCKBURN - If I Had A Rocket Launcher

[@blader45bc]

I like most of Bruce's songs but I really love this one. It's good to see an angry Canadian.

[@NoorAlHaqiqa]

When I was young I was sitting in a coffee shop in Yorkville. Just an old hippie me. Anyhow Bernie his manager came over to me and said, "Will you keep this kid company for awhile. He's new in town and real shy. I gotta talk shop with the owner. His name is Bruce." We drank hot chocolate and just talked about whatever. I never knew I would hear him for the rest of my life in the most amazing venues.This song is like my song. I am not violent, but I understand righteous anger and defence...

[@Woodguy99]

I was in Guatemala and Nicaragua last month, and they're still trying to recover from their wars. After 24 years this song still packs a punch!

[@dabluz1125]

Before Bono, Before Live Aid and all the other artists who have taken on Social Causes...there was Bruce Cockburn...."Kick at the Darkness till it Bleeds Daylight".

[@kate54ish]

one of the most honest and gutsy songwriters from Canada..A longtime favorite.

[@soulstice99]

What a powerful song.

[@themooddisorders]

I wish this man the best. A shame he never had the success, but he is truly respected by his musical peers. It will take me a few years to even claim to be in this man's ballpark...oops, hockey rink for those good hearted Canadians

[@judgegixxer]

Bruce is the man. This was one great album amongst many.

[@UCSPanther20]

This song was inspired by the aftermath of Efrain Rios Montt's brutal counterinsurgency campaign, which was more of the Guatamalan military going into civilian villages, shooting everything that moved, and then finishing by raping and pillaging. General Montt only ruled one year, but historians regard his reign as one that was the most marred by violence and cruelty in the history of Guatamala. The Mayans were the main victims of that regime's savagery.

[@seanog75]

Just heard this for the first time today...wow...what a tune!

[@spectergohan]

holy shit this guy is legit. His music rocks.

[@ldolphin34]

This is the best, most open-hearted song from one of the best, open-hearted albums I own. Bruce is a man among giants for his place in songwriting. How he gets that international flavor to his albums and still keeps them interesting is strictly genius. BTW, they played this song in the hard rock circles and MTV when it was out. Who would have thought Cockburn to be a posing rocker? But so it is.

[@chiefashley56]

HE IS A CLASS ACT. BIG TIME RESPECT.

[@SamHoward1767]

I agree, Bruce Cockburn sure knows how to get a point across!

[@gypsy43]

Bruce Cockburn- ahead of our times

[@MuzzikLvr]

I used to work in radio...and his first LPs came with a sticker that read "Pronounced Co-burn" Still cracks me up to think about it.

[@737FSPilot]

@ldolphin34 He might of been on MTV a long time ago. Unfortunately, you don't hear such beauty on MTV anymore. This is coming from a 16 year old. And being 16, I hear the crap my friends listen to, and when I compare it to this, it makes me angry that people are missing out on such good music. Cheers!

[@nUboon2Age]

(i'm American) I've followed and loved BC since 1981 when i first heard him. Part of what makes this song especially powerful is when you understand that BC is otherwise a very peace-oriented person, so this song is an expression of the outrage he felt as a witness to the hell that the Ampire has imposed on the planet. We Americans must bring the Ampire down (peacefully). No one else can do it.

[@MsTubbytube]

@DakotaY12 He's still singing this song (among others old and new) and doing incredible stuff with his guitar. The Moment of Truth version on KZbin in the orange shirt is probably the best version guitarwise. He visited Baghdad about 8 years ago and Afghanistan last year.

[@citizenbfk]

Thanks. This song has a nice simple sincerity and straighforwardness I appreciate.

[@unstabledavid]

music with integrity

[@SenorPescadorJohnson]

was there stil tears me up. Viva los Sandinistas FSLN

[@MichaelDewey]

Boy was this man way ahead of our time.

[@kilbara]

i am a american and the song rocks

[@obscureluzername]

This song is a great example of the early years of our society's growing impotence.

[@cutenewfy]

Awesome song.

[@soulstice99]

this guy is awesome. look how simple he appears in this vid. one wonders what would become of him in the modern music scene. *shudder*

[@brucefetter]

reminds me of "Lives in the Balance" by Jackson Brown

[@tyme4mike]

@TheCannonofMohammed He's speaking of the waste of mental thought used on subjects like revenge and payback, while at the same time speaking of how one can understand why people think that way in the first place. He's a protest song writer par excellence and he hates all war and the uselessness of vengeance.

[@MsTubbytube]

@snobear41, I guess you haven't noticed yet that Bruce Cockburn doesn't care much what people think of his looks or about having a perfect body. Some people have more important things to pay attention to.

[@EasyEs]

@whwoowee Yes it is the 'Americans' who gave us a century of war. Not those enlightened Europeans.

[@squishyblanket]

"If I had a rocket launcher, some son of a bitch would die." - DAMN STRAIGHT!

[@seanbfinnegan]

fricking awesome

[@SnakemanisJeff]

If I had a rocket launcher...I'd CENSORED....the CENSORED.....out of CENSORED

[@Paddy8111]

@71dhb I know where the UN was during Rawandan genocides. France, a member of the UN, was supplying the Hutu Army with rifles, smg's, rpg's and a whole buttload of machetes. Then the UN said "Oh the horror, our hands are tied, why don't we give the order to help these people.....oh wait...it's over." The Tutsi's were the ruling class in Rawanda and they were removed by another ruling class. The same ruling class that founded and controls the UN.

[@smilingpug]

Bruce should be canonized.

[@v2vroth]

great visual type tune!

[@Maxmulham]

totally. canada had a very unique set of artists during the 80`s and 90`s. But, of course, even Canada`s music started to crumble into the mainstream rap pop garbage played on the radio we hear today.

[@sharqi666]

@garandguy000 i beleive you are confusing anger with hate. i doubt bruce would fire off a missle at somebody, but he sure feels like it at times

[@themooddisorders]

If I am not mistaken, this song caused a bit of controversy

[@MrJoeCage]

this is a great song. if i had a rocket launcher, some son of a bitch would pay.

[@hallmobility]

This song calls for a 'specially designed guitar.

[@victorhuincho]

this is actually a nice tune!

[@Xcurior]

Lol he was referenced in my linguistics text so I decided to look him up. It was an example about determiners, one such determiner was "many of Bruce Cockburn's," just to give an idea how many types of them are out there.

[@ursa41]

Powerful vid, great song! I remember this song back in '84; Reagan the fascist asshole was already committing atrocities with the Contras and other regimes in all Central America...Bruce Cogburn nailed it home!!

[@StevieG1066]

This sounds A LOT like he's talking about 'Nam from the Vietcong's perspective, but from reading the comments I think I may be in error. Can someone give me a little insight into the song so I can know the truth?

[@SweetSweetWaldo]

You know what, it's fun to juxtapose this video with Duran Duran's "Save a Prayer."

[@potatohead5309]

How can there be 62 dislikes?

[@Deragise]

Every soldier ever

[@upadaria]

The song could just have easily been about Cuba or Nicaragua as any other place: evil, regardless of its color or ideology is still evil.

[@alphafactor]

You know, this music vid gives at least a faint idea of what life must be like for a boy in Gaza.

[@billhuston]

This is the true message of the song, as I see it, although on the surface, the song seems to be saying retaliatory violence is OK, which is inconsistent with what seems to be the premise "violence is bad".

[@smilingpug]

Bruce Adam Clayton Cockburn.

[@misslauren66]

Wonderful song and album, but I must admit it's difficult to imagine Cockburn making anyone pay after seeing him in this video.

[@frederickus]

ldolphin i am so sorry i posted a thumbs down....i intended a thumbs up...my apologies

[@offmymedsgeezer]

Bruce Cockburn from the nation of PEACEKEEPERS: Canada. Before Stephen Harper began dismantling what our country stood for.

[@kmikl]

@737FSPilot MTV is most definitely out of touch with music, and sadly Much Music is going the same way. Neither is a cultural touch-stone it was in the 80's and early 90's. But if you need a little optimism: There was shitty music back then too, the wheat can get separated from the chaff pretty easily over time.

[@superhappylucky]

It is far from a parody, you must be very young.

[@melloweeze]

OLK.. You do not understand.

[@peterinbrat]

Rick Moranis and Warren Zevon had a kid... Who knew?

[@RamsesReturns]

Great tune... strange message. I heard the is song on a liberal radio station today and thought hmmm... if conservative stations were playing this song, the media would have blamed them for causing terrorism worldwide. :O.

[@stebunn]

Not exactly Gandhi.

[@Bag0fRats]

@ursa41 if it had not been Reagan, it would have been someone else. And he was not a fascist, learn what a word means before you use it. He just didn't take any shit off anyone, and that's how you stay on top.

[@AnimeAnimeAnimeDude]

ROFLMFAO! Cockburn?!?! And I here I was thinking Hancock was bad enough! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

[@chubbington]

Go to 4:50 and pause it. Bruce looks like an annoyed androgynous librarian.

[@slippo99]

Deliver us from arrogant protest songs from progressive "intellectuals" who know better than the rest of us little people.

[@snobear41]

Too bad he didn't use the money he made to fix his teeth- so much for Government health care eh?