King of New Orleans Lyrics
(as if you'd even care)
When the lights go up,
and the sun has nearly gone down.
Did you pass him at your feet?
Did you think aloud,"how dare they
even look me in the eye'?
And he loves the boys.
Going to make twenty dollars
before the weekends over.
Let him fall.
Turn him over in your hands.
God save the King of New Orleans.
Going to see him take a blow.
When the drunk one said,
"Cat Sssstevens was the greatest singer!"
Did you see the blood run down? Did you laugh at all when the
people walked right by and said aloud,
"You gutter punks are all the same.
" Probably make twenty dollars 'fore the weekends over."?
Then let him fall.
Turn him over in your hands.
God save the King of New Orleans.
Radio in that car.
Going down again,
he's going down again....
It's easier to let it slip out of your mind.
But it rips your heart out.
Just give him one more chance,
try to see the beauty in his world.
All the way in on my hands, in on my feet,
and shoulders. Going to make twenty dollars
before the weekends over.
Then let him fall.
Turn him over in your hands.
God save the King of New Orleans.
This song is New Orleans through and through. Anyone who lives in the Big Easy (such as myself) will be able to tell you that "gutter punks" are the homeless or runaway or otherwise rebellious teenagers who live on the streets of the French Quarter. Seen as a blight on the city by its more well-to-do residents, they are a true subculture in themselves. They roam the streets at night, panhandling ("gonna make $20 before the weekend'd over) and hte disdain of other inhabitants of the city can be seen throughout the song ("Did you kick him in the face? Did you see the blood run down?", "Did you think aloud, 'How dare they even look me in the eye?'", one of the punks is even punched when he opines that Cat Stevens was the greatest singer). Of course, this is brought symbolically to a head in the song with the quip of a passerby, "You gutter punks are all the same." Kevin Griffin, however, sees them in a softer light and implores, "Just give him one more chance, try to see the beauty in his world," this entailing that the gutter punks see the good in their own existence. The "King" is a personification of all the gutter punks, for they truly do see themselves collectively as the "Kings of New Orleans," and Kevin declares "God save the King!"
This is actually a really good song... When it first came out in the 90s way long ago, I didn't like it, it didn't sink in. Then just recently it came up on my playlist, and I can't get enough of it, and I play it over and over. Weird.
Hey! I feel you about your whole comment. I don't live in New Orleans, but I do live in Louisiana. I understand completely what you are saying. This is one of my personal favorites, b/c it shows true heart and opinion. KEEP ROCKIN-rockstar
To me, this song makes me think about post-hurricane New Orleans. God save New Orleans!
I live in Oxford, MS and I have a lot of friends from New Orleans. And I cried with them when the levees broke during the hurricane. This song lets me know that NO will come back better than ever, even without the Saints.
Ya. Wow. It's been a while since I made that comment...like 3 years lol. Luckly my apartment was fine, no flooding and no wind damage, and the looters didn't get to it. But I am still living in New York City until New Years, when I'm moving back and getting on with my life. Thanks for the concern and warm messages and Ill see you on the other side, form back in the Big Sleazy lol... LONG LIVE BETTER THAN EZRA and LONG LIVE NEW ORLEANS!!!
Ya. Wow. It's been a while since I made that comment...like 3 years lol. Luckly my apartment was fine, no flooding and no wind damage, and the looters didn't get to it. But I am still living in New York City until New Years, when I'm moving back and getting on with my life. Thanks for the concern and warm messages and Ill see you on the other side, form back in the Big Sleazy lol... LONG LIVE BETTER THAN EZRA and LONG LIVE NEW ORLEANS!!!
Ya. Wow. It's been a while since I made that comment...like 3 years lol. Luckly my apartment was fine, no flooding and no wind damage, and the looters didn't get to it. But I am still living in New York City until New Years, when I'm moving back and getting on with my life. Thanks for the concern and warm messages and Ill see you on the other side, form back in the Big Sleazy lol... LONG LIVE BETTER THAN EZRA and LONG LIVE NEW ORLEANS!!!
love new orleans...was born there....i saw them at mardi gras at the endymioum extravaganza it was great!!
I picture a vampire....I don't know. He larks in the shadows rolling quarters acrossed his knuckles stalking his victims. Everyone knows vampires don't have souls. God save the king of New Orleans. Just a thought. LOL.