In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Long distance information, give me Memphis, Tennessee
Help me find the party trying to get in touch with me
She could not leave her number, but I know who placed the call
'Cause my uncle took the message and he wrote it on the wall
Help me, information, get in touch with my Marie
She's the only one who'd phone me here from Memphis Tennessee
Her home is on the south side, high up on a ridge
Just a half a mile from the Mississippi Bridge
Help me, information, more than that I cannot add
Only that I miss her and all the fun we had
But we were pulled apart because her mom did not agree
And tore apart our happy home in Memphis, Tennessee
Last time I saw Marie she's waving me goodbye
With hurry home drops on her cheek that trickled from her eye
Marie is only six years old, information please
Try to put me through to her in Memphis, Tennessee
Help me find the party trying to get in touch with me
She could not leave her number, but I know who placed the call
'Cause my uncle took the message and he wrote it on the wall
Help me, information, get in touch with my Marie
She's the only one who'd phone me here from Memphis Tennessee
Her home is on the south side, high up on a ridge
Just a half a mile from the Mississippi Bridge
Help me, information, more than that I cannot add
Only that I miss her and all the fun we had
But we were pulled apart because her mom did not agree
And tore apart our happy home in Memphis, Tennessee
Last time I saw Marie she's waving me goodbye
With hurry home drops on her cheek that trickled from her eye
Marie is only six years old, information please
Try to put me through to her in Memphis, Tennessee
Lyrics submitted by peacewarrior21
Memphis Tennessee Lyrics as written by Chuck Berry
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, ENTERTAINMENT ONE U.S. LP
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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It's clearly a break up and the mother doesn't want him to see his daughter. No girlfriend could be six years old! I thought this song's name was 'Memphis Tennessee', not just 'Memphis'.
@Tiger King It was originally titled "Memphis, Tennessee" by CB but has been recorded by numerous artists (most successfully by Johnny Rivers in 1964) as "Memphis," and re-recorded by CB himself under that title. As for the song meaning, it is just as it sounds: through almost four verses you think it's a teenager or young man who can't see his girlfriend any more because of her stern, hating mother. Then you learn at the end that the man is in fact trying to get in touch with his daughter, whom he has lost in divorce (resulting in his now living with his uncle), and the girl's mother is in fact his ex-wife.