Richard & Linda Thompson

When I Get To The Border

1 Meaning

Add Yours

Q&A

When I Get To The Border Lyrics

Dirty people take what’s mine
I can leave them all behind
They can never cross that line
When I get to the border
Sawbones standing at the door
Waiting ‘till I hit the floor
He won’t find me anymore
When I get to the border
Monday morning, Monday morning, closing in on me
I’m packing up and I’m running away
To where nobody picks on me
If you see a box of pine
With a name that looks like mine
Just say I drowned in a barrel of wine
When I got to the border
When I got to the border

A one way ticket’s in my hand
Heading for the chosen land
My troubles will all turn to sand
When I get to the border
Salty girl with the yellow hair
Waiting in that rocking chair
And if I’m weary I won’t care
When I get to the border
Monday morning, Monday morning, closing in on me
I’m packing up and I’m running away
To where nobody picks on me

The dusty road will smell so sweet
Paved with gold beneath my feet
And I’ll be dancing down the street
When I get to the border
When I get to the border

Submitted by

azkm On Jun 13, 2007

The End Of The Rainbow

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.

azkm

Submitter

2007-06-13 02:38:34

1 Meaning

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

Sort by

by ElenSila

14y ago

The first several times I heard this song, I thought it said "When I get to the bar" and I loved the idea of a non-rowdy bar song, but it changed when I learned the title! It really makes sense with the switch here:

If you see a box of pine With a name that looks like mine Just say I drowned in a barrel of wine When I got to the bar[sic.]

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

Questions and Answers

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