Forty-five minutes
Forty-five cents
Sixty-five agents sitting on a fence
Singing, hey brother

Look what we got for you
We're gonna rope off an area
And put on a show
From the Canadian border

Down to Mexico
It might be the most
Potentially gross
Thing that we could possibly do

Yeah, little buddy gonna get your chance
Make them pubescents all wet their pants
We'll record it live
And that's no jive.

Hold it! Stop it! No! No! No! No!
Bang! went the pistol.
Crash! went the window.
Ouch! went the son of a gun.

Onomatopoeia
I don't want to see ya
Speaking in a foreign tongue.
Knock! Knock! Hello!

Can I come in?
Gee, that was a wonderful show!
Oh, you haven't gone on yet?
Well, how was I supposed to know?

Hey! We got a great date
It's really downtown
We're gonna get the Grand Canyon
To do the sound

It's a boxing ring
But it might be the thing
To really put you in the dough
Listen little brother, don't ya get us wrong

Why we even know the words to your song
Just say I do
And we'll lay it on you
You! You! And me! Me! Me!

Bang! went the pistol
Crash! Went the window
Ouch! Went the son of a gun
Onomatopoeia

I don't want to see ya
Speaking in a foreign tongue.


Lyrics submitted by Bobo192

Onomatopoeia Lyrics as written by John Prine

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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Onomatopoeia song meanings
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    General Comment

    I love this tune but never checked out the words and they're great, too! Another song ala Pink Floyd's "Have A Cigar" (but with more of a sense of humor) about clueless agents and show promoters! I gotta say I get lost on the chorus though. Bang! went the pistol Crash! Went the window Ouch! Went the son of a gun Onomatopoeia I don't want to see ya Speaking in a foreign tongue. Is it the artists shooting at the agents saying that they're speaking nonsense (Onomatopoeia/Speaking in a foreign tongue) or is the artist trying to escape or what? Great tune and interpretive lyrics!

    Swan.fred@hmail.comon November 26, 2010   Link

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