7 Meanings
Add Yours
Follow
Share
Q&A
Levi Stubbs' Tears Lyrics
With the money from her accident
She bought herself a mobile home
So at least she could get some enjoyment
Out of being alone
No one could say that she was left up on the shelf
It's you and me against the World kid she mumbled to herself
When the world falls apart some things stay in place
Levi Stubbs' tears run down his face
She ran away from home on her mother's best coat
She was married before she was even entitled to vote
And her husband was one of those blokes
The sort that only laughs at his own jokes
The sort a war takes away
And when there wasn't a war he left anyway
Norman Whitfield and Barratt Strong
Are here to make everything right that's wrong
Holland and Holland and Lamont Dozier too
Are here to make it all okay with you
One dark night he came home from the sea
And put a hole in her body where no hole should be
It hurt her more to see him walking out the door
And though they stitched her back together they left her heart in pieces on the floor
When the world falls apart some things stay in place
She takes off the Four Tops tape and puts it back in its case
When the world falls apart some things stay in place
Levi Stubbs' tears...
She bought herself a mobile home
So at least she could get some enjoyment
Out of being alone
No one could say that she was left up on the shelf
It's you and me against the World kid she mumbled to herself
Levi Stubbs' tears run down his face
She was married before she was even entitled to vote
And her husband was one of those blokes
The sort that only laughs at his own jokes
The sort a war takes away
And when there wasn't a war he left anyway
Are here to make everything right that's wrong
Holland and Holland and Lamont Dozier too
Are here to make it all okay with you
And put a hole in her body where no hole should be
It hurt her more to see him walking out the door
And though they stitched her back together they left her heart in pieces on the floor
She takes off the Four Tops tape and puts it back in its case
When the world falls apart some things stay in place
Levi Stubbs' tears...
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
Levi Stubbs was the lead singer of the Four Tops. Bill Bragg is a big fan of Motown and I think this song is about the solace that people find in music, even when their lives are very difficult.
The "tears" aspect of it may also be a reference to Smokey and the Miracles' "Tracks of My Tears."
The "tears" aspect of it may also be a reference to Smokey and the Miracles' "Tracks of My Tears."
Something I just discovered about this song: The reference to "Holland and Holland and Lamont Dozier too". Of course, Holland & Holland are a gun manufacturer in Britain, which makes total sense with the next verse, but if you add Dozier, you get Holland, Dozier, and Holland...the trio that wrote and produced a huge number of early Motown hits, including some from The Four Tops, sung by Levi Stubbs himself. This song has a lot more going on than people realize.
Genuis song.
i remember reading an interview with him when this song first came out 20 years ago. He said that he's found a bit of paper on a bus with the words 'Levi Stubb's Tears' on it, which inspired him to write this song of the same name.
nimbus666 is right it's about listening to the hurt and pain in someone else's voice in order ease your own troubles.
"And her husband was one of those blokes The sort that only laughs at his own jokes The sort a war takes away And when there wasn't a war he left anyway"
Genius lyric.
I have only ever heard a live version of this song and it contains
"Levi Stubbs' tears run down his face"
It's about a girl who makes some wrong choices in life (running away from home and marrying a complete w*nker) and lives a sad lonely existance. Very bleak song.
@Comrade_Liar -- you might have it figured out by now, but the girl is not crying. In the course of the song she is listening to songs sung by Levi Stubbs, who was the lead singer of the Four Tops, and the presumption is that he is crying as he sings his song(s). It is probably not accurate but that's the basis of the title and chorus of the song. The reference to tears could be literal but more likely it is to the highly emotional, despairing character of the lyrics to some of the Four Tops' songs.
@Comrade_Liar -- you might have it figured out by now, but the girl is not crying. In the course of the song she is listening to songs sung by Levi Stubbs, who was the lead singer of the Four Tops, and the presumption is that he is crying as he sings his song(s). It is probably not accurate but that's the basis of the title and chorus of the song. The reference to tears could be literal but more likely it is to the highly emotional, despairing character of the lyrics to some of the Four Tops' songs.
A beautiful song, especially live with everyone singing along.
As the title suggests, the song is really about the heartfelt soul of the great Levi Stubbs.
Feed me, Seymour!