Mmmm-ahhh
Somewhere far away
Where I roam
There live my buffalo twin
In our twin buffalo home sweet home
He take good care of my native son
And he call me by my native name
And he, he even lets us drink spring water on Sundays
Hey, 2.99, 2.99 a gallon
2.99, 2.99 a gallon

And somewhere further down the road
Where I also roam
There live my caterpillar cousin
Beneath a fancy engraved tomb headstone
In the middle of a southern town
Beneath a cemetery burial plot
And he, he don't pay rent no more, no more, but he
Sure likes the, sure likes the spot
Oh, he sure likes, sure likes the spot
Oh, he sure likes the spot, sure likes the spo-aht
Dun-ah, ah, dun-ah, ah, dun-ah-dun-nah

But in the furthest place I've ever known
Where even I so rarely roam
There lives a boy who just come back from war
His flesh was wounded but he made it back home
His mother calls him by his given name
And the neighbors whisper how he prefers to be alone
And he, he gets gets nightmares about boys dripping blood sold for 2.99, 2.99 a gallon
Come on, just
2.99, 2.99 a gallon
Pay up, yeah!
2.99, 2.99, a gah-guh-guh-guh-guh-guh-guh-guh-guh-guh-guh-guh-guh-guh-guh-guhhh-guh-guh-guuuh-guh-guh-guuuh-gah-gah-gah-gah-gah
Gah-gah-gah-gah-gahhhw

But when I get me all real tired
And I got no more strength to roam
I catch me a horse-driven carriage ride
From a local man named Ethan Frome
He don't say much as he tips his hat
And he carries his body as heavy as lead
And he could have been still flying through the snow on his sled
But the wife was in bed and the horses had to be fed
Besides, it's
2.99, 2.99 a story
Come on, it's
2.99, 2.99 a story
Pay up, yo, it's
2.99, 2.99 a story
Come on, baby
2.99, 2.99 a story
Come on, y'alls
2.99, 2.99, 2.99, 2.99, 2.99, 2.99, 2.99, nuh-99, ah, ah!
2.99, 2.99, 2.99, 2.99, 2.99, nuh-99-na-na-na-na-na-nigh
Oh, 2.99, 2.99 a story
Pay up, y'alls
2.99, 2.99 a story
Pay up, it's just
2.99, 2.99 a story
Oh, but it's just
2.99
2.99-na-naa-na-naa-na-naa
Na-na-na-na-naa
A gallon


Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings, edited by AxeBurningFire

2.99 Cent Blues song meanings
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21 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment

    this song is so upbeat, and i love to ing it it makes me so happy, ut i recently read Ethan Frome and it is so depressing.... such a contrast... regina is wonderfull

    envirohodgeson April 01, 2007   Link

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