If I Had a Rocket Launcher is a song by Bruce Cockburn, from his 1984 album Stealing Fire. The song was inspired by Cockburn's visit, sponsored by OXFAM, to Guatemalan refugee camps in Mexico following the military torture campaign of dictator Efraín Ríos Montt. Although Cockburn had occasionally touched on political themes in his earlier songs, "If I Had a Rocket Launcher" was his first explicitly political song to be released as a single, and earned him a new reputation as an outspoken musical activist. In the song, Cockburn despairs of waiting for a political solut… read more
Bruce Cockburn (pronounced "CO-burn") (born May 27, 1945 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) has had a long and distinguished career, with much success in his native Canada. He has written songs in styles ranging from folk to jazz-influenced rock to rock and roll. Cockburn was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2001. In 2012 he received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (in Canada the award was to honour "significant contributions and achievements by Canadians"). Cockburn's early albums were fairly straight ahead folk music spotlighting his … read more
Bruce Cockburn (pronounced "CO-burn") (born May 27, 1945 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) has had a long and distinguished career, with much success in his native Canada. He has writte… read more
Bruce Cockburn (pronounced "CO-burn") (born May 27, 1945 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) has had a long and distinguished career, with much success in his native Canada. He has written songs in styles ranging from folk to jazz-in… read more