..., will travel

Posted by ESC on November 11, 2009 at 21:15

In Reply to: ..., will travel posted by ESC on November 11, 2009 at 20:52:

: : : I am interested in the phrase of "have _____, will travel". what is the origin and what does it mean? Thanks

: :
: : This sounds very American. I can't remember a good example, but advertising that you "Have ......, will travel," was part of an effort to find employment, especially during the Great Depression in the U.S. I think the blank was filled in with some sort of tools of a trade, although "car" is a possibility. Like many stock phrases (see below) it stuck in the public mind and was sometimes repeated for humorous effect.
: : SS

: It was the name of a radio and a television show, "Have Gun, Will Travel."

: Everybody sing:

: Have Gun, Will Travel reads the card of a man.
: A knight without armor in a savage land.
: His fast gun for hire head's the calling wind.
: A soldier of fotune is the man called Paladin.

: Paladin, Paladin
: Where do you roam?
: Paladin, Paladin,
: Far, far from home.

: Title: "Have Gun Will Travel"
: Written By: Johnny Western, Richard Boone & Sam Rolfe
: Performed By: Johnny Western

The TV series was 1957-64. "A far cry from the stereotypical hired gun, Paladin is a cultured Renaissance man.His business card reads, "Have Gun, Will Travel - Wire Paladin, San Francisco,' charging a flat fee of $1,000 for his services, a small fortune in the late 1800s. He wears black but is the good guy, typically helping the oppressed and the wronged. Series co-writer Gene Roddenberry went on to achieve fame with Star Trek." The article goes on to list examples of use of the phrase including a name given by Handgun Control Inc. (later renamed the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence) to a proposed 1998 measure that would permit licensed gun owners to carry concealed weapons across state-lines. "Oxford Dictionary of Catchphrases" compiled by Anna Farkas (Oxford University Press, Oxford, New York, 2002), Page 117-118.

• ..., will travel Smokey Stover 12/November/09
  • ..., will travel ESC 12/November/09