Written by Dennis DeYoung
Lead vocals by Dennis DeYoung

oh oh oh oh oh

penny pitching on the walk
waiting for the bus to arrive
me and Davy playing sport
watching for the cops to go by

spider man and the human torch
they cover Barney's newsstand
morning crowds start to gather round
fast finger steals what he can

morning leaves for the afternoon
the boys show up on time
in the streets near the people's store
below the electrical sign

catch a glimpse of a passing car
raced and ready to drag
then the skirts start to tantalize
the boys how they boast and they brag

oh the earl of Roseland
oh the earl of Roseland

where has he gone?
a memory at dawn
you're just a bit of the past

[guitar solo]

oh oh oh oh
oh the earl of Roseland
oh the earl of Roseland

me and Davy gazing back
see ourselves as we were
how we laugh when we think of things
that we did yesteryear

I can see Charlie on the porch
Johnny clicking his sticks
and two boys I don't even know
rehearsing electric string tricks
ya ya ya ya ya ya

oh the earl of Roseland
oh the earl of Roseland
oh the earl of Roseland
oh the earl of Roseland
oh the earl of Roseland
oh the earl of Roseland
oh the earl of Roseland
oh the earl of Roseland


Lyrics submitted by kevin, edited by wow1111575

Earl of Roseland Lyrics as written by Dennis De Young

Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Earl Of Roseland song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

1 Comment

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment

    This is a song about the birthplace of Styx. Dennis grew up in the Roseland neighborhood of Chicago (and he is the self-proclaimed Earl). Charlie and Johnny are the Panozzo brothers, and the other two boys in the last verse may be JY and John Curulewski, whom Dennis would not meet until college.

    gillusionon May 22, 2007   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
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
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Album art
No Surprises
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Album art
Blue
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
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.