Was only seventeen
I fell in love with a gypsy queen
She told me "hold on"
Her father was the leading man
Said "you're not welcome on our land"
And then as a foe, he told me to go

He took me to a little shack
And put a whip across my back
Then told her "leave me"
I was out for quite a time
Came back with her on my mind
Sweet little girl
She means all the world

Ah

Oh, I want my gypsy queen
Will she still be torn between
Her father and lover
One day I will go to him
Strong enough to fight and win
The kind of a man
That he'll understand

Ah
Ah
Ah


Lyrics submitted by MistaTwista

Gypsy Lyrics as written by Michael Box David Byron

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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Gypsy song meanings
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9 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment

    This song is amazing - the guitar and organ combination at the beginning is perfect. This is among their best songs.

    JoeNesson April 16, 2003   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Good fucking song, if you ain't heard it, it's like Deep Purple + Black Sabbath in one...they should've been more popular.

    wow thats awesomeon September 27, 2005   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    This is the song that got me to like Uriah Heep.

    You know, it's like one of those songs you haven't heard once in your life but the guitar at the beginning makes you feel you've listened to it all your life. Hehe.

    singdongdingdongon March 05, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Lyrics are basic indeed. The composition is NOT. This is rock as I like it the most. The best rock I knew was Status Quo and Kiss, when I heard Gypsy. I turned me into a Uriah Heep fan in 1 hour. This band is totally underestimated in my (very heavy) very humble opinion... In their best days days they stood equal to Black Sabbath for atmosphere, and equal to Deep Purple for compositions. And Gypsy? One of their best songs ever. :-) :-)

    MrWillowon December 20, 2007   Link
  • +1
    My Opinion

    This song is really wonderful. It was and a model for many other rock and metal songs, also because of the peculiar sexual habits of the gypsies. In fact incest was one of the suggestions of the magician Aleister Crowley.

    maxlookdjon February 12, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    It's all basic stuff - father won't let man marry daughter.

    davmannon August 19, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This song is amazing because it was ahead of it's time. It was heavy and it was complex and it was dark. Apart from Black Sabbath there wasn't much dark music going around at the time. Just by hearing the guitar riff at the start you cannot tell it was recorded in 1970.

    I played it for this guy I know and I asked "Does this sound like it was recorded in 1970?" He wouldn't have been able to pick it.
    It's a very advanced song for it's day.

    Hybrid1492on April 10, 2007   Link
  • 0
    Memory

    To this day I still remember seeing Uriah Heep's first album in the window of my local record shop when it first came out. Over the years that followed there was a handful of albums that I bought purely because of the cover but 'Very eavy, Very umble' was the first. I became a fan just on the strength of the opening track, Gipsy. Salisbury came next and I still adore every moment of the title track. And Lady in Black remains one of Ken Hensley's finest compositions.

    I saw Heep live six times in their first few years. In the summer of 1973 I turned 20 years of age and saw them for the last time at the week long London Music Festival at the Alexandra Palace when they headlined the final night. The Heavy Metal Kids opened the show and I remember their singer, Gary Holton introducing one of their numbers thus; "This next song is for all those people who don't like us, It's called We Won't Talk To You" - which still ranks as one of the best song announcements I've ever heard! The Alex Harvey Band were next. It's the only time I ever saw them but I remember Alex getting a bit annoyed at the (unfair) heckling from people who were only there to see Uriah Heep and I think they cut their set short because of the heckling. And then Heep were there, probably one of the biggest gigs they'd done in Europe up till that time. Though I can't remember much about it, I know it was a great show with David Byron resplendent in a matching shiny short jacket and loon pants - can't remember the colour!

    I kind of lost track of the band around the mid 70's. I was into so many bands and artists by then I simply couldn't afford to follow everyone so some had to give way and Heep was one of them. I was very saddened upon reading of David Byron's passing. Though he's no longer with the band, Ken Hensley, as well as being a fine musician, is, I think, one of the great and most underrated songwriters of all time, in any genre.

    In recent years I've wished I'd kept up with Heep but their still going strong due entirely to Mick Box, bless him. So despite damaged hearing, caused almost entirely by loud music, I may still one day get to see the Heep live!

    Love and best wishes to all.

    DudleyHarton August 21, 2018   Link
  • -1
    General Comment

    This song is OK,

    "Stealin'" is a great song, this one isn't. It does sound like a low quality Deep Purple song.

    zaqwert777on August 29, 2008   Link

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