Released 1978 Genre Hard rock Label Asylum | Recorded 1977 Length 3:29 | |
"Lawyers, Guns and Money" is a song by Warren Zevon, the closing track on his 1978 album Excitable Boy.
The lyrics describe going home with a waitress who is "with the Russians, too". The narrative goes on to speak of "gambling in Havana", with the request that "Dad" send "lawyers, guns and money " to "get me out of this". The lyrics then claim that the speaker is an "innocent bystander" who is down on his luck. Finally the narrative relates that the speaker is "hiding in Honduras" and that he is a "desperate man". The lyrics repeat the refrain to "send lawyers, guns and money", with the final comment that "the shit has hit the fan".
The song was first covered by Rick Derringer on the 1978 album "If I Weren't So Romantic, I'd Shoot You" and was released as a single. It was later covered by The Wallflowers on the album Enjoy Every Sandwich: The Songs of Warren Zevon in 2004. It was also a hit for Hank Williams, Jr. in 1983 and regularly played live by Widespread Panic. The song also lent its title to a light-hearted radio program on the Melbourne community radio station 3RRR which looked at the legal fraternity in the city. The program started in 1985 and ran for several years hosted by the pseudonymous duo "Donoghue & Stevenson" - Dennis Connell and Ross Stevenson. The song was used as both intro and exit music for the program. The chorus was changed to "send robots, bears and Lincolns" in a parody song set to past sketches on the Late Night With Conan O'Brien show.