In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Cold was the night and hard was the ground
They found her in a small grove of trees
And lonesome was the place where Georgia was found
She's too young to be out on the street
Why wasn't God watching?
Why wasn't God listening?
Why wasn't God there
For Georgia Lee?
Ida said she couldn't keep Georgia from dropping out of school
I was doing the best that I could
Oh, but she just kept running away from this world
These children are so hard to raise good
Why wasn't God watching?
Why wasn't God listening?
Why wasn't God there
For Georgia Lee?
Close your eyes and count to ten
I will go and hide but then
Be sure to find me, I want you to find me
And we'll play all over
We'll play all over
We'll play all over
Again
There's a toad in the witch grass, there's a crow in the corn
Wild flowers on a cross by the road
And somewhere a baby is crying for her mom
As the hills turn from green back to gold
And why wasn't God watching?
Why wasn't God listening?
Why wasn't God there
For Georgia Lee?
Why wasn't God watching?
Why wasn't God listening?
And why wasn't God there
For Georgia Lee?
They found her in a small grove of trees
And lonesome was the place where Georgia was found
She's too young to be out on the street
Why wasn't God watching?
Why wasn't God listening?
Why wasn't God there
For Georgia Lee?
Ida said she couldn't keep Georgia from dropping out of school
I was doing the best that I could
Oh, but she just kept running away from this world
These children are so hard to raise good
Why wasn't God watching?
Why wasn't God listening?
Why wasn't God there
For Georgia Lee?
Close your eyes and count to ten
I will go and hide but then
Be sure to find me, I want you to find me
And we'll play all over
We'll play all over
We'll play all over
Again
There's a toad in the witch grass, there's a crow in the corn
Wild flowers on a cross by the road
And somewhere a baby is crying for her mom
As the hills turn from green back to gold
And why wasn't God watching?
Why wasn't God listening?
Why wasn't God there
For Georgia Lee?
Why wasn't God watching?
Why wasn't God listening?
And why wasn't God there
For Georgia Lee?
Lyrics submitted by Dr_Colossus
Georgia Lee Lyrics as written by Thomas Alan Waits Kathleen Brennan
Lyrics © JALMA MUSIC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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He's referring to an actual event and an actual place. In northern California (wherehe lives) a young girl was kidnapped and killed, and no suspect was ever caught. There's a creche on the southbound side of Hwy 101 just south of Petaluma (where the hills turn from green into gold) where she's memorialized. Georgia Moses.
The opening line is referencing a hymn (Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground), famously recorded by Blind Willie Johnson. A copy of that performance is on the record that was attached to the Voyager spacecraft that's currently on its way out of the solar system.
Yeah, juan gregory is right. Georgia Moses was a 12 year old girl who went missing and was murdered; Tom Waits made comparisons between her case and that of the similar tragedy that befell Polly Klaas. The Polly Klaas case garnered a lot of attention from her community and the media, while there was little attention paid to Georgia Moses' murder. When he asks, "Why wasn't God watching?" I think he is including her community, family, and humanity itself in that question.
justinmcroberts.com/blog/2010/03/georgia-lee-part-1/
why hasn't anyone commented on this song?... so beautiful and as far as the meaning goes i think it is pretty self explanatary... a girl left to the world and left to herself... if there is a god why hasn't he looked after her... why would god let a girl fall by the wayside when she has done nothing wrong... the age old question i believe is being asked here... why do bad things happen to the innocent? the world is a wonderful place but still the innocent suffer... thank you tom... and please go on tour
One of Tom's songs that makes me cry.