Album: The Firstborn Is Dead (1985)
Play Video
  • Looka yonder
    Looka yonder
    Looka yonder
    A big black cloud come
    A big black cloud come
    Oh, comes to Tupelo
    Comes to Tupelo

    Yonder on the horizon
    Yonder on the horizon
    Stopped at the mighty river
    Stopped at the mighty river and
    Sucked the damn thing dry
    Sucked the damn thing dry
    Tupelo
    Oh, Tupelo
    In a valley hides a town called Tupelo

    Well, distant thunder rumble
    Distant thunder rumble
    Rumble hungry like the Beast
    The Beast it cometh, cometh down
    The Beast it cometh, cometh down
    The Beast it cometh, cometh down
    Whoa, whoa, whoa
    Tupelo bound
    Tupelo
    Yeah, oh, Tupelo
    The Beast it cometh, Tupelo bound

    Why the hen won't lay no egg
    Can't get that cock to crow
    The nag is spooked and crazy
    Oh God, help Tupelo
    Oh God, help Tupelo
    Oh God, help Tupelo
    Oh God, help Tupelo

    Ya can say these streets are rivers
    Ya can call these rivers streets
    Ya can tell ya self your dreaming buddy
    But no sleep runs this deep
    No, no sleep runs this deep
    No, no sleep runs this deep
    Women at their windows
    Rain crashing on the pane
    Writing in the frost
    Tupelo's shame
    Tupelo's shame
    Tupelo's shame
    Tupelo's shame
    Oh God, help Tupelo
    Oh God, help Tupelo
    Oh God, help Tupelo
    Oh God, help Tupelo

    Oh, go to sleep little children
    The sandman's on his way
    Oh, go to sleep little children
    The sandman's on his way
    But the little children know
    But the little children know
    They listen to the beating of their blood
    Listen to the beating of their blood
    Listen to the beating of their blood
    Listen to the beating of their blood
    Sandman's mud
    The sandman's mud
    The sandman's mud
    The sandman's mud
    And black rain come down
    The black rain come down
    The black rain come down
    Oh, water, water everywhere
    Water, water everywhere
    Where no bird can fly, no fish can swim
    No bird can fly, no fish can swim
    No fish can swim
    Until The King is born
    Until The King is born (Tupelo)
    In Tupelo
    'Til The King is born in Tupelo

    In a clap-board shack with a roof of tin
    Where the rain crashed down and leaked within
    A young mother frozen on a concrete floor
    And a bottle, and a box, and a cradle of straw
    Tupelo
    Oh, Tupelo
    And a bottle, and a box, and a cradle of straw

    Well Saturday gives what Sunday steals
    And a child is born on his brothers heels
    Sunday morn and the first-born dead
    In a shoebox tied with a ribbon of red
    Tupelo
    Oh, Tupelo
    In a shoebox buried with a ribbon of red

    Oh mama rock you little one slow
    Mama rock your baby
    Mama rock your little one slow
    God help Tupelo
    God help Tupelo
    Mama rock your little one slow
    Mama rock your little one slow
    The little one will walk on Tupelo
    The little one will walk on Tupelo
    Black rain come down
    Black rain come down
    Twenty years of litter and a burner phone
    Years of litter and a burner phone
    What does Nirvana do?
    Ripped up, buried, and given away
    And the King will walk on Tupelo
    The King will walk on Tupelo
    And carry the burden of Tupelo (Tupelo)
    And carry the burden of Tupelo
    And carry the burden of Tupelo
    Yeah, carry the burden of Tupelo
    Tupelo
    Oh, Tupelo
    Yeah, The King will walk on Tupelo
    Tupelo
    Tupelo, Tupelo
    Yeah, The King will walk on Tupelo
    Tupelo
    Oh, Tupelo
    Oh, Tupelo
    Yeah, The King will walk on Tupelo
    Tupelo
    Yeah, oh, Tupelo
    He carried the burden of Tupelo
    Tupelo
    Yeah, yeah Tupelo
    He carried the burden of Tupelo
    Tupelo
    Hey, hey, hey Tupelo
    He carried the burden of Tupelo
    Tupelo
    Yeah, yeah, yeah Tupelo
    You will reap just what you sow
    Oh, oh, yeah
    Oh, Tupelo Writer/s: Barry Adamson, Michael Harvey, Nicholas Cave
    Publisher: BMG Rights Management, Mute Song Limited
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Amanda Palmer

Amanda PalmerSongwriter Interviews

Call us crazy, but we like it when an artist comes around who doesn't mesh with the status quo.

Ben Kowalewicz of Billy Talent

Ben Kowalewicz of Billy TalentSongwriter Interviews

The frontman for one of Canada's most well-known punk rock bands talks about his Eddie Vedder encounter, Billy Talent's new album, and the importance of rock and roll.

Chris Frantz of Talking Heads

Chris Frantz of Talking HeadsSongwriter Interviews

Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz on where the term "new wave" originated, the story of "Naive Melody," and why they never recorded another cover song after "Take Me To The River."

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular Music

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular MusicSong Writing

Starting in Virginia City, Nevada and rippling out to the Haight-Ashbury, LSD reshaped popular music.

Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull

Ian Anderson of Jethro TullSongwriter Interviews

The flautist frontman talks about touring with Led Zeppelin, his contribution to "Hotel California", and how he may have done the first MTV Unplugged.

Kelly Keagy of Night Ranger

Kelly Keagy of Night RangerSongwriter Interviews

Kelly Keagy of Night Ranger tells the "Sister Christian" story and explains why he started sweating when he saw it in Boogie Nights.