"Kingdom of the Animals" as written by and Samuel Ervin Beam....
Jenny was gone
And the moon blooms
All shining
As we dragged our panic
Up and down the riverbed
Sweating wild and weird
In our Sunday clothes
Jenny was gone
Though I thought that I knew her
And the rain came howling
Out of Virginia
Blue tick blowing the water
Out her nose
Jenny and me in the front row
And singing about how heaven calls
The kingdom of the animals all
And all revealed to us one day
Jenny and me on the hilltop
And peeking at all their upturned bottles
Jumping like leopards
Jaw hearp teasing the brushfire in its rage
Jenny came back
And the wet road still shining in our eyes
An angel clear and coronal
Clothed in all that's prodigal and strange
Jenny came back
And I thought that I heard her
Murmur something about
No men in Virginia
Spat on the ground
Like a letter tossed away
Jenny and me in my dead truck
And turning over
Just where heaven calls
The kingdom of the animals
Scratching our heads
Where the wolf would go to lay
Jenny and me as the moon blooms
Were closing and both her wide-eyed brothers
Running like shepherds
Dreaming the heat of the fields
All in flames
And the moon blooms
All shining
As we dragged our panic
Up and down the riverbed
Sweating wild and weird
In our Sunday clothes
Jenny was gone
Though I thought that I knew her
And the rain came howling
Out of Virginia
Blue tick blowing the water
Out her nose
Jenny and me in the front row
And singing about how heaven calls
The kingdom of the animals all
And all revealed to us one day
Jenny and me on the hilltop
And peeking at all their upturned bottles
Jumping like leopards
Jaw hearp teasing the brushfire in its rage
Jenny came back
And the wet road still shining in our eyes
An angel clear and coronal
Clothed in all that's prodigal and strange
Jenny came back
And I thought that I heard her
Murmur something about
No men in Virginia
Spat on the ground
Like a letter tossed away
Jenny and me in my dead truck
And turning over
Just where heaven calls
The kingdom of the animals
Scratching our heads
Where the wolf would go to lay
Jenny and me as the moon blooms
Were closing and both her wide-eyed brothers
Running like shepherds
Dreaming the heat of the fields
All in flames
Lyrics submitted by smallwonderrobot
"Kingdom of the Animals" as written by Samuel Ervin Beam
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
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This song show Sam's creativity at its best..a story about a childhood friend who got physically and possibly spiritually lost and found. The imagery is BIblical, with a memory centering on a hymn sung with her by the narrator describing the Flood, and tying it into the story when referencing the physical storm during the search, the emotional storm it caused the town, the alienation of predatory animals on Noahs ark representing her defiant spirit, and throwing in passing beast characters, like the blue tick hound, the leopard, the wolf..The brushfire reminding us of the story of Moses..
LIke so many of his songs, again, Sam Beam just showing how brilliant of a writer he is, being able to tell a story poetically, and paint the picture of it lyrically with metaphorical imagery and double meanings..Amazing stuff.
"Jenny was gone, And the moon blooms all shining. As we dragged our panic up and down the riverbed, Sweating wild and weird in our Sunday clothes."
I assume “moon blooms” refers to some kind of moonflower. It is open at the beginning of the song and closes at the end. This stanza seems to indicate that Jenny suddenly disappeared. It sounds like they were dragging the lake for her body. I assume Jenny and the singer are young, so this was a “wild and weird” experience.
"Jenny was gone, though I thought that I knew her. And the rain came howling out of Virginia
Blue tick blowing the water out her nose."
Blue tick refers to a Blue Tick Coonhound who was helping to find her. I guess he’s confused that she would disappear.
"Jenny and me in the front row And singing about how heaven calls The kingdom of the animals. All and all revealed to us one day."
These next two stanzas seem to take place in the past, before Jenny disappeared, when they were younger.
I think this addresses the confusion that can be found in religion (or simply of childhood). At some point someone wonders what happens to animals when they die. Is there a “Kingdom of the Animals” in the same way as a “Kingdom of Heaven”. They ask a lot of questions, but finally get the response that everything will be revealed to them, probably in the afterlife.
"Jenny and me on the hilltop And peeking at all their upturned bottles, Jumping like leopards
Jaw harp teasing the brushfire in its rage."
Seems like Jenny and him were peeking in on a party where people were dancing after drinking a lot. Jaw harp (or “Jew’s Harp”) is twangy southern sounding instrument. This is the first of two references a brush fire. Perhaps when fields are burnt at the end of the year.
"Jenny came back, And the wet road still shining. In our eyes, an angel clear and coronal
Clothed in all that's prodigal and strange."
Jenny wasn’t lost after all – she ran away. Since they thought she was dead, she appears like an angel. She’s different now and compared to The Prodigal’s Son.
"Jenny came back, And I thought that I heard her Murmur something about no men in Virginia. Spat on the ground like a letter tossed away."
I guess an indication that Jenny ran off with a guy who let her down. Again, she’s different now. The singer though that he knew her, but now he doesn’t.
"Jenny and me in my dead truck And turning over just where heaven calls The kingdom of the animals Scratching our heads where the wolf would go to lay."
I suppose this takes place after her return. They are older, but still wondering how “The Kingdom of the Animals” would work. Where would the wolf lay down? Next to the sheep?
"Jenny and me as the moon blooms were closing, And both her wide-eyed brothers
Running like shepherds Dreaming the heat of the fields all in flames."
Jenny, the narrator, and her brothers running and dreaming about the brushfire. Time has past (the moon blooms close), and they remember the events of their childhood. It feels like the singer wants to go back to the times before Jenny left and everything changed.