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Lay Me Low Lyrics
They're gonna lay me low (Lay me low)
They're gonna sink me in the snow
They're gonna throw back their heads and crow
When I go
They're gonna jump and shout (Lay me low)
They're gonna wave their arms about
All the stories will come out
When I go
All the stars will glow bright (Lay me low)
And my friends will give up the fight
They'll see my work in a different light
When I go
They'll try telephoning my mother (Lay me low)
But they'll end up getting my brother
Who'll spill the story on some long-gone lover
That I hardly know
Hats off to the man
On top of the world
Come crawl up here, baby
And I'll show you how it works
If you wanna be my friend
And you wanna repent
And you want it all to end
And you wanna know when
Well do it now don't care how
Take your final bow
Make a stand Take my hand
And blow it all to hell
They gonna inform the police chief (Lay me low)
Who'll breathe a sigh of relief
He'll say I was a malanderer, a badlander, and a thief
When I go
They will interview my teachers (Lay me low)
Who'll say I was one of God's sorrier creatures
There'll print informative six-page features
When I go
They'll bang a big old gong (Lay me low)
The motorcade will be ten miles long
The world will join together for a farewell song
When they put me down below
They'll sound a fluegelhorn (Lay me low)
And the sea will rage, and the sky will storm
All man and beast will mourn
When I go
Hats off to the man
On top of the world
Come crawl up here, baby
And we can watch this damn thing turn
If you wanna be my friend
And you wanna repent
And you want it all to end
And you wanna know when
Well do it now Do it now
Take a long last bow
Take my hand Make a stand
And blow it all to hell
Lay me low...
When I go...
They're gonna sink me in the snow
They're gonna throw back their heads and crow
When I go
They're gonna wave their arms about
All the stories will come out
When I go
And my friends will give up the fight
They'll see my work in a different light
When I go
But they'll end up getting my brother
Who'll spill the story on some long-gone lover
That I hardly know
On top of the world
Come crawl up here, baby
And I'll show you how it works
If you wanna be my friend
And you wanna repent
And you want it all to end
And you wanna know when
Well do it now don't care how
Take your final bow
Make a stand Take my hand
And blow it all to hell
Who'll breathe a sigh of relief
He'll say I was a malanderer, a badlander, and a thief
When I go
Who'll say I was one of God's sorrier creatures
There'll print informative six-page features
When I go
The motorcade will be ten miles long
The world will join together for a farewell song
When they put me down below
And the sea will rage, and the sky will storm
All man and beast will mourn
When I go
On top of the world
Come crawl up here, baby
And we can watch this damn thing turn
If you wanna be my friend
And you wanna repent
And you want it all to end
And you wanna know when
Well do it now Do it now
Take a long last bow
Take my hand Make a stand
And blow it all to hell
When I go...
Song Info
Submitted by
songmeaningsuser On Jan 02, 2006
More Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
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Where the Wild Roses Grow (feat. Kylie Minogue)
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The Mercy Seat
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It's basically Nick having a go at what will happen when he dies. Filled with irony of course, but a lot of it seems like qualified guesses if you think of what happens after someone famous dies - for instance everyone who ever knew the person suddenly has an opinion. Quite sad to be in that position and think about how everyone will act when you die... But surely a beautiful song.
"If you wanna be my friend And you wanna repent And you want it all to end And you wanna know when Well do it now Do it now Take a long last bow Take my hand Make a stand And blow it all to hell"
This is an invitation, beckoning to the next world: Kill yourself.
Well that's not very uplifting; warm; and fuzzy. Geesh...
Well that's not very uplifting; warm; and fuzzy. Geesh...
This song is the final testament of a contentious figure, perhaps a John Dillinger-esque man, about whom everyone has an opinion, summing up how everyone will speculate and celebrate when he dies. The immense amount of conflicting views towards him included in the song creates the idea that no-one truly knew the narrator at all, perhaps explaining his bitter and cynical outlook towards the world and his acceptance of his imminent death.
Absolutely superb.
absolutely !! beuatiful song !
1 of 5 (and number 1 on that list) of songs i want played at my funeral. Amazing song.
Did anybody ever catch that sopranos promo right before the last season where they showed everyone's death scene with this song playing in the background. I think you can youtube it - do so - its fantastic - even if you don't care for the show - i couldn't believe it when i heard "their gonna lay me low" start up at the beginning of it - i damn near lost my mind.
about whats going to happen when he dies, predicting how everyone will react "come crawl up here baby and we'll watch this damn thing turn" asking people to follow almost? to see the world from heven and the "man on top of the world" god? i dunno i just dig this song so bad yep at my funeral too
damnit. when i first heard this song i thought yeah they gonna play this at my funneral too. lol
Sounds like a bad case of paranoia...
My roomate and good friend played this song last evening. We had a good evening together and laughed quite a bit. This morning I found him, he had hung himself in his bedroom. This song means a lot, and will forever.