Get down, get down, little Henry Lee
And stay all night with me
You won't find a girl in this damn world
That will compare with me
And the wind did howl, and the wind did blow
La la la la la
La la la la lee
A little bird lit down on Henry Lee

I can't get down and I won't get down
And stay all night with thee
For the girl I have in that merry green land
I love far better than thee
And the wind did howl, and the wind did blow
La la la la la
La la la la lee
A little bird lit down on Henry Lee

She leaned herself against a fence
Just for a kiss or two
And with a little pen-knife held in her hand
Well she plugged him through and through
And the wind did roar, and the wind did moan
La la la la la
La la la la lee
A little bird lit down on Henry Lee

Come take him by his lily-white hands
Come take him by his feet
And throw him in this deep, deep well
That's more than one hundred feet
And the wind did howl, and the wind did blow
La la la la la
La la la la lee
A little bird lit down on Henry Lee

Lie there, lie there, little Henry Lee
'Til the flesh drops from your bones
For the girl you have in that merry green land
Can wait forever for you to come home
And the wind did howl, and the wind did moan
La la la la la
La la la la lee
A little bird lit down on Henry Lee
La la la la la
La la la la lee
A little bird lit down on Henry Lee
La la la la la
La la la la lee
A little bird lit down on Henry Lee
La la la la la
La la la la lee
A little bird lit down on Henry Lee


Lyrics submitted by pyrofungus

Henry Lee Lyrics as written by Traditional Nicholas Cave

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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Henry Lee song meanings
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  • +1
    Song Meaning

    This is pretty obvious by PJ Harvey or Nick Cave's standards. Song is about a woman who attempts to seduce a man- Henry Lee- but he is already in love with another woman. She is jealous and stabs him, he dies and she dumps the body in a well. She kind of boasts about it in the last verse as the woman he loves will never see him again. Amazing and sinister song, had this on repeat a couple of weeks ago.

    hanginginthewireon May 02, 2011   Link

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