Warren Zevon

I'll Sleep When I'm Dead

6 Meanings

Add Yours

Q&A

I'll Sleep When I'm Dead Lyrics

So much to do, there's plenty on the farm
I'll sleep when I'm dead
Saturday night I like to raise a little harm
I'll sleep when I'm dead

I'm drinking heartbreak motor oil and Bombay gin
I'll sleep when I'm dead
Straight from the bottle, twisted again
I'll sleep when I'm dead

Well, I take this medicine as prescribed
I'll sleep when I'm dead
It don't matter if I get a little tired
I'll sleep when I'm dead

I've got a .38 special up on the shelf
I'll sleep when I'm dead
If I start acting stupid
I'll shoot myself
I'll sleep when I'm dead

So much to do, there's plenty on the farm
I'll sleep when I'm dead
Saturday night I like to raise a little harm
I'll sleep when I'm dead

Submitted by

screwjack On Aug 29, 2005

Werewolves of London

Excitable Boy

Desperados Under The Eaves

Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner

Hit Somebody

Lyrics saved successfully! Thanks!

These lyrics are currently locked and can only be edited by moderators and administrators.

You must be logged in to edit lyrics.

Unable to save lyrics. Please try again.

Lyrics cannot contain links.

Lyric edit submitted successfully and is pending approval. Approvals usually take 24 hours.

Keep it true to the song

Fix what’s wrong, but don’t rewrite what the artist wrote. Stick to the official released version — album booklet, label site, verified lyric video, etc. If you’re guessing, pause and double-check.

Respect the structure

Songs have rhythm. Pages do too. Leave line breaks where they belong. Don’t smash things together or add extra empty space just for looks.

Punctuation counts (but vibe-editing doesn’t)

Correct typos? Yes. Re-punctuating a whole verse because it ‘looks better’? Probably not. Keep capitalization and punctuation close to the official source.

Don’t mix versions

If you’re editing the explicit version, keep it explicit. If it’s the clean version, keep it clean. No mashups.

Let the lyrics be lyrics

This isn’t the place for interpretations, memories, stories, or trivia — that’s what comments are for. Keep metadata, translations, and bracketed stage directions out unless they’re officially part of the song.

Edit lightly

If two lines are wrong… fix the two lines. No need to bulldoze the whole page. Think ‘surgical,’ not ‘remix.’

When in doubt, ask the crowd

Not sure what they’re singing in that fuzzy bridge? Drop a question in the comments and let the music nerds swarm. Someone always knows.

Screwjack

Submitter

2005-08-29 07:53:11

6 Meanings

Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.

Sort by

by Acidmother

19y ago

Such a great Warren Zevon track. One of my favorites.

Obviously about a love of having a good time.

Favorite part has to be:

If I start acting stupid I'll shoot myself

I just like how he says it.

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by scumbagstyle

19y ago

agreed, it definitely expresses a love of the fast life, but what makes this song great are the subtle references to being stretched a little thin. much like his real life, WZ's speaker here is sick, and the medicine is keeping him alive long enough to party some more, and he will continue to party no matter how tired he gets. while he knows his lifestyle is killing him, he regrets nothing and that makes him my hero.

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by chrisb1

18y ago

Didn't Bon Jovi rip-off this song?

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by OpinionHead

18y ago

The meaning is rather simple to decipher. And still Zevon manages to show his cutting prose through it. He is an awesome artist and always wil be.

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by TheThornBirds

17y ago

The title of one of his biographies, as well.

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by SD20912

12y ago

He delivers some lines with a sarcastic sneer. The guy was funny as hell, in addition to being a great artist.

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

Questions and Answers

Ask specific questions and get answers to unlock more indepth meanings & facts.