I tell tales tall as cliffs,
You've got a lisp,
Kid those things are hard to miss,
Like my cripple cough,
Or your weekends lost by the lake,
Well you say I needn't be afraid,
Of all those devils on the wall,
That make a fella small,
When he's feeling brave,
You take his wine away,
There are posters on the wall,
I swear I never saw,
And I've been up all night,
Up all night,

And you came well equipped,
With a gun on your hip,
And some poison on your lips,
But when we wake up,
In our make up,
We'll be clean,
And we won't have nowhere to be,
Oh but I can't talk to you,
The way I've wanted to,
I've been telling lies,
But I'll tell you the truth,
Oh I can't talk to you,
The way I've wanted to,
I've been telling lies,
But I'll tell you the truth,

Darlin' I'm tired
And I should be leavin'
Be leavin',
You know I'm tired
And I should be leavin'
Leavin', tonight

Darlin' I'm tired
And I should be leavin'
Be leavin',
You know I'm tired
And I should be leavin'
And you'll hang like the rest,
We'll leave the noose on,
The attorney's desk,
Take to the streets,
Chant like an old,
Mean doctor of this disease.


Lyrics submitted by miki

As Tall As Cliffs Lyrics as written by Richard Charles Edwards

Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

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As Tall As Cliffs song meanings
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13 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment

    were can i get this?

    Noonespuppeton September 21, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Richard tends to mention that he's tired a lot.

    I like it.

    raconteuron May 10, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    this song is amazing.

    hanahiscoolon October 06, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    One of my favorites off the new album.

    Chetyreon October 12, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I was listening to this today, and now I am wondering whether he is singing "I should believe in leaving tonight".

    deathwriter08on October 27, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    al song about feeling lost in the world but finding someone that can shares these feelings as well. He talks about wanting to break free and shes the only person who can relate

    nysdon May 06, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    The music video for this is really funny. I mean, I guess it depends on your political views. But depending, it can be really funny.

    thegymnastfallingonthegroundon July 29, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    In light of the music video I think it might just be about Dubya and his tenure as President. I think its as if he's speaking to America herself. He's faced a lot in office and had to tell lies or doctor the truth or whatever else for better or worse in war, recession, disaster, politics etc. He loves her, but he feels his time is up and hes praying to be let go. Authority and responsibility is a heavy load I think I take away.

    agent_hunton November 19, 2011   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation

    So I think this song is about everyone tiptoeing around everyone else's feelings and the singer is getting tired of it bc he doesn't want to be with his wife/gf anymore.

    First stanza sounds like he's been telling her little lies to make her feel good about herself, i.e. her lisp isn't that bad when it's pretty obvious that it is. His cripple cough could be that cough that ppl do when they're trying to cover something up. He also thinks back to when he was a teenager and his mother was pretending that she didn't see posters of women of his walls. He's tired of everyone lying and it's keeping him up.

    His girl is lying to him, too (poison on your lips). There are happy times between these things that keep him up (her weekends by the lake, them staying in and not having anywhere to go). But in the end, it's not the same and he can't talk to her like he used to.

    SO he's finally speaking his mind. He's saying he's tired and he's done; so he's leaving. But she'll be fine. (You'll hang like the rest). And that line has three meanings to me: she'll "hang in there" like the rest/ she'll hang like the posters on his wall, representing women from his past/ or she'll hang herself, not literally but bc they're killing their marriage. The 2nd thought is because of the mention of the posters in the beginning and the third one is because of the mention of the noose in the next line.

    The noose line is also what made me think they were married. They're giving their attorney a noose, because they're ending their relationship, so it's like permission to kill them. And in the last few lines he's pleading for an end to this disease that is driving people apart. So, in a nutshell, I guess he's saying lying leads to serious relationship problems. He's just stating it beautifully.

    howdidwegethereon October 20, 2012   Link
  • -1
    General Comment
    Fuzzman07on April 17, 2007   Link

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