There is a spring not far from here
The water runs both sweet and clear
Both sweet and clear, and cold
Could crack your bones
With veins of gold

I stood, a-wagging, at the tap
Just a-waiting on the lagging, rising sap
I held the cold tin ladle to my lip
At the Shrine of the Thousand Arms I lowered my eyes to sip

What a beautiful day to catch my drift
Or be caught up in it
You want your love, Love?
Come and get your love
I only took it back
Because I thought you didn't

How my ears did ring
At the municipal pound
From that old hangdog
To which I was bound
Curled 'round the bottom rung
Doesn't anybody want you?
Well, come on, darlin'
I could use someone like you around
I am not like you
I ain't from this place
And I do reserve the right to repeat all my same mistakes
And, in the night, like you
I certainly bite and chew
What I can find
And never seem to lose the taste

What a horrible face
I feel me make
For Pete's sake
What you have told me, I cannot erase
Though I keep on saying and I do believe
It is not too late

All day, you're hassling me with trifles
Black nose of the dog
as cold as a rifle
Indicating, with a nudge
God, no God, God, no God
Sweet, appraising eye of the dog
Blink once if God, twice if no God

My mama may be ashamed of me
With all of my finery
Carrying on
Whooping it up till the early morn'
Lost and lorn among the madding revelry
Sure, I can pass
Honey, I can pass
Particularly when I start to tip my glass
I'll be a sport
And have a go at that old song singing unabashed
'Bout them city girls with their ribbon bows
And their fancy sash'

But, though I get so sad
Could swear the night makes a motion to claim me
Around that second verse
I reckon and I've felt worse
And still held fast
But, later on, when I am alone
Alone at last
Well I take my God to task
I take my doggone God to task


Lyrics submitted by mutinyinheaven_x

Ribbon Bows Lyrics as written by Joanna Newsom

Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Ribbon Bows song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

13 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment

    just been reading toni morrison's "song of solomon" and about halfway through chapter ten i came across the line "sane, appraising eyes of the dogs"--and i found myself singing it in my head. this song is why. i remember reading somewhere that joanna likes toni morrison. can't quite see any other connections to the book in this song, though.

    annieoveron August 24, 2010   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
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve. The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future. Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere" The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Album art
Magical
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.