Bombs are dropping, smoke fills the air
I wanna duck and cover but I've gotta stay out here
Cause I know myself and if I hole up in my room
I'll be consumed by the doom and the gloom

So I call John cause I know he knows sorrow
He says "I'll be in the city tomorrow"
So I go down and I watch him sing
And the way he sings sends a chill right through me

Yeah, and now there's a mountain goat
Precariously balanced on the frog stuck in my throat
It says "Sometimes whispering's ok
But maybe you'd feel better if you screamed today"

The lady took the baby I know she loves the baby
But the baby has a daddy and and his daddy loves him, too
How could she take the baby, maybe she's gone crazy
She won't share, it's not fair, there's nothing I can do

The lady took the baby I know she loves the baby
But the baby has a daddy and and his daddy loves him, too
How could she take the baby, maybe she's gone crazy
She won't share, it's not fair, there's nothing I can do

Tuesday night grandma curled up in my bed
By wednesday morning, my grandma was dead
I was in Charlotte, I took the bus home
Her shoes, watch and teeth were still in my room

And as I lay me down to sleep, I felt her spirit rise up through me
She said "I got to live a long 86 years, dry your tears
I know it's hard but please let go so I can meet your grandpa in the undertow
Chin up, girl, you've gotta be strong and know when you're singing I'm singing along"

The lady took the baby I know she loves the baby
But the baby has a daddy and and his daddy loves him, too
How could she take the baby, maybe she's gone crazy
She won't share, it's not fair, there's nothing I can do

The lady took the baby I know she loves the baby
But the baby has a daddy and and his daddy loves him, too
How could she take the baby, maybe she's gone crazy
She won't share, it's not fair, there's nothing I can do

Little bitty baby, so far away, we hope that you can come home soon
When we're not together, now or ever, always remember I love you
Little bitty baby, so far away, we hope that you can come home soon
When we're not together, now or ever, always remember I love you


Lyrics submitted by skyphilis

Lullaby for the Taken song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

8 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +1
    General Comment

    The John she's referring to is John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats.

    paigecolberton March 08, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I think by the 'lady took the baby' she is referring to her sister-in-law and her nephew Skyler. I could be wrong.

    sparklenighton March 29, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i love this song because john darnielle is so beautiful.

    shewouldnton January 02, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    "Sometimes whispering's ok But maybe you'd feel better if you screamed today"

    the best lines EVER!

    prestonmon May 23, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I'm pretty sure this song is about one of those parental kidnappings you hear about sometimes, when a parent (the lady) who is divorced or for some other reason doesn't have custody of their child takes the child (the baby) to go live with them (she won't share) without the consent of the court (or the custodial parent), kidnapping them from the other parent (his daddy).

    fiammettiaon August 28, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I'm pretty sure this song is about one of those parental kidnappings you hear about sometimes, when a parent (the lady) who is divorced or for some other reason doesn't have custody of their child takes the child (the baby) to go live with them (she won't share) without the consent of the court (or the custodial parent), kidnapping them from the other parent (his daddy).

    fiammettiaon August 28, 2008   Link
  • -1
    General Comment

    this is a tough but sensitive song. I think it could strike a chord with alot of people and kids in the world.

    tigersroamfreeon January 09, 2006   Link
  • -1
    General Comment

    beautiful lyrics and melody

    if only I understood what the message of the song was...

    Mickeyjr3000on January 09, 2008   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines: "Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet" So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other: "I had all and then most of you" Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart "Some and now none of you" Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship. This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
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,
Album art
When We Were Young
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Album art
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.