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On and On Lyrics
Down in Jamaica
They go lots of pretty women
Steal your money
Then they break your heart
Lonesome sue, she's in love with ol'Sam
Take him from the fire into the frying pan
On and on
She just keeps on trying
And she smiles when she feels like crying
On and on, On and on, On and on
Poor ol'Jimmy
Sits alone in the moonlight
Saw his woman kiss another man
So he takes a ladder
Steals the stars from the sky
Puts on Sinatra and starts to cry
On and on
He just keeps on trying
And he smiles when he feels like crying
On and on, On and on, On and on
When the first time is the last time
It can make you feel so bad
But if you know it, show it
Hold on tight
Don't let her say: Goodnight
Got the sun on my shoulders
And my toes in the sand
My woman's left me for some other man
Aw, but I don't care
I'll just dream and stay tan
Toss up my heart to see where it lands
On and on
I just keep on trying
And I smile when I feel like dying
On and on (9x)
They go lots of pretty women
Steal your money
Then they break your heart
Lonesome sue, she's in love with ol'Sam
Take him from the fire into the frying pan
She just keeps on trying
And she smiles when she feels like crying
On and on, On and on, On and on
Sits alone in the moonlight
Saw his woman kiss another man
So he takes a ladder
Steals the stars from the sky
Puts on Sinatra and starts to cry
He just keeps on trying
And he smiles when he feels like crying
On and on, On and on, On and on
It can make you feel so bad
But if you know it, show it
Hold on tight
Don't let her say: Goodnight
And my toes in the sand
My woman's left me for some other man
Aw, but I don't care
I'll just dream and stay tan
Toss up my heart to see where it lands
I just keep on trying
And I smile when I feel like dying
On and on (9x)
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Stephen Bishop can take a sorry sucker's life sound sweet with his voice... sort of the way Maroon 5 can sing about heartbreak and misery nd you are happy to sing along.
@Windywords , I also believe in the key words of the refrain, “On and on he just keeps on trying and he smiles when he feels like crying.” Whether one is hurt from love gone wrong, or life circumstances, never give up hope. When I heard that song in middle school many years ago that was what I took from it. Until this day I hear stay strong, persist and keep a positive attitude. Those are the sentiments I receive from this song.
@Windywords , I also believe in the key words of the refrain, “On and on he just keeps on trying and he smiles when he feels like crying.” Whether one is hurt from love gone wrong, or life circumstances, never give up hope. When I heard that song in middle school many years ago that was what I took from it. Until this day I hear stay strong, persist and keep a positive attitude. Those are the sentiments I receive from this song.
Could someone PLEASE answer a question I've had for almost 43 years?????Not that it really ever bothered me,but the song just came to my mind the other day,so I played it with the same 43 year-old question.....what does "so he takes a ladder,steals the stars from the sky,puts on Sinatra and starts to cry"mean??????????
@comesailaway Of course you can't literally steal the stars from the sky atop a ladder. I don't know whether he's doing it so everybody else will be as sad as him or whether he'd like to put them on his ceiling like those glow-in-the-dark stars you can get to put on your ceiling... but if you aren't too familiar with Sinatra, he sang some seriously melancholy songs that you could listen to and cry. I'm no Sinatra expert, but "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)" leaps to mind. From a little research, In the Wee, Small...
@comesailaway Of course you can't literally steal the stars from the sky atop a ladder. I don't know whether he's doing it so everybody else will be as sad as him or whether he'd like to put them on his ceiling like those glow-in-the-dark stars you can get to put on your ceiling... but if you aren't too familiar with Sinatra, he sang some seriously melancholy songs that you could listen to and cry. I'm no Sinatra expert, but "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)" leaps to mind. From a little research, In the Wee, Small Hours is a full album of the songs Jimmy might be listening to.
@comesailaway Jimmy was sitting alone in the moonlight when he saw his woman kissing another man. My guess is that that and the part about him taking a ladder and stealing the stars is a reference to Frank Sinatra’s Fly Me to the Moon, except a bitter version because he stole the stars out of spite.
@comesailaway Jimmy was sitting alone in the moonlight when he saw his woman kissing another man. My guess is that that and the part about him taking a ladder and stealing the stars is a reference to Frank Sinatra’s Fly Me to the Moon, except a bitter version because he stole the stars out of spite.
I love this song, I cant beleive it wasn't even on this site until I added it. This is one of the most amazing songs I have ever heard i love it.
One of the great melancholy classics of all-time. A real cry into your pina coloda tune. Great listin for those lonely summer nights.
One of the great melancholy classics of all-time. A real cry into your pina coloda tune. Great listen for those lonely summer nights.
i think the worst part of the song was when the man saw his woman kissing another man. he just suck it up and accepted the fact that she is not for him
The incredible genius of Stephen Bishop is on display here, Jimmy is a great singer songwriter James Lee Stanley. James favorite artist is Crooner extraordinaire Frank Sinatra and as you can see our artist knows this, more importantly James and Stephen are roommates at one time and James had a girlfriend (her name escapes me, maybe Claudia). The perpatrator and kisser here IS our artist Bishop! So Bishop runs third person here and observes Stanley broken hearted only to say a bit anonymously "Poor ole Jimmy sits alone in the moonlight, saw his woman kiss another man so he takes...
The incredible genius of Stephen Bishop is on display here, Jimmy is a great singer songwriter James Lee Stanley. James favorite artist is Crooner extraordinaire Frank Sinatra and as you can see our artist knows this, more importantly James and Stephen are roommates at one time and James had a girlfriend (her name escapes me, maybe Claudia). The perpatrator and kisser here IS our artist Bishop! So Bishop runs third person here and observes Stanley broken hearted only to say a bit anonymously "Poor ole Jimmy sits alone in the moonlight, saw his woman kiss another man so he takes a ladder steals the stars from the sky puts on Sinatra and starts to cry"! As Bishop and Stanley are roommates Bishop is doing quite a bit of writing for Stanley who was the bigger star at the time and writes a song called "Star." "Star" appears on Stanley album "Threes The Charm"(my favorite) (RCA's Wooden Nickel Records) and is brillantly done by Stanley. Who knows of the Star connection but I do know of the fact that Bishop was the kisser and Stanley was the crier. Another tidbit (relatively unknown) is that if you look to Stanleys subsequent albums he still gives Bishop credits as "marital aids" by Stephen Bishop and refers to Bishop as Stephen the Bastard....to which I am sure Stanley was expressing his dismay through his art!! There are a lot of other tidbits and if I am not mistaken my cousin once stated as he lived with Bishop and Stanley and he had said, usually Bishop was on the piano , Stanley was on guitar and I cooked.... I wish I could have sat at that table. Jeffrey Chaucer
For some reason when I listen to this song I am reminded of the Tom Cruise movie "Born on the Fourth of July". I imagine he's singing of the vets who went to the south to recover from war and hired prostitues not only for sex but to feel some sort of connection to another human being.
Wow. I heard this song in the grocery store yesterday. It's one of my all-time favorites. It describes the bitter-sweet experiences of being in love. Opening your heart to someone is risky business but when you're a hopeless romantic you'll keep going....on and on.