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Line 'Em Up Lyrics
I remember Richard Nixon back in '74
And the final scene at the White House door
And the staff lined up to say good-bye
Tiny tear in his shifty little eye
He said nobody knows me
Nobody understands
These little people were good to me
Oh I'm gonna shake some hands
CHORUS:
Somebody line 'em up
Line 'em all up
Line 'em up
Line 'em all up
Line 'em up
Line 'em all up
Line 'em up
Line 'em all up
At that time my heart was all broke
I looked like ashes and smelled like smoke
And I turned away from my loving kind
Try to leave my body and live in my mind
But it's much too much emotion
To hold it in your hand
They've got waves out on the ocean
They're gonna wear away the land
- Chorus -
Oh I've seen corn in Kansas
And I've seen picket fences
And certain cowboy dances
I've gone lining up for shows
I've been safely placed in rows
Sure I know how it goes
Another day goes by
Little time machine
I'm breaking my brain
Over what it might mean
Just to claim the time
And to turn away
To make today today
Who waits for you
Lonely tired old toad
It's your life laid out before you
Like the broken white line down the center of the doggone road
- Chorus -
Yeah, big moon landing
People all standing up
Smiles for the loved ones
They go walking on down the aisles
Each re-engages stepping into the sun
I watch them turn like pages
One by one by one
- Chorus -
And the final scene at the White House door
And the staff lined up to say good-bye
Tiny tear in his shifty little eye
He said nobody knows me
Nobody understands
These little people were good to me
Oh I'm gonna shake some hands
Somebody line 'em up
Line 'em all up
Line 'em up
Line 'em all up
Line 'em up
Line 'em all up
Line 'em up
Line 'em all up
I looked like ashes and smelled like smoke
And I turned away from my loving kind
Try to leave my body and live in my mind
But it's much too much emotion
To hold it in your hand
They've got waves out on the ocean
They're gonna wear away the land
And I've seen picket fences
And certain cowboy dances
I've gone lining up for shows
I've been safely placed in rows
Sure I know how it goes
Little time machine
I'm breaking my brain
Over what it might mean
Just to claim the time
And to turn away
To make today today
Lonely tired old toad
It's your life laid out before you
Like the broken white line down the center of the doggone road
People all standing up
Smiles for the loved ones
They go walking on down the aisles
Each re-engages stepping into the sun
I watch them turn like pages
One by one by one
Song Info
Submitted by
e-mack On Sep 30, 2008
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My mom used to play JT on our road trips to Vermont, which I guess is why I like him so much now as an adult.
I never understood the last verse and when I asked her about it, she said she was there in concert seeing him when he mentioned what it's about. She said that the Unification Church used to hold mass wedding ceremonies, where you would marry a whole bunch of people at once. This takes the intimate feel away from a wedding, but there's something really beautiful about that. Taking out all the materialistic qualities and you're just left with people who love each other. "I watch them turn like pages, one by one by one" follows along with the whole repeat of the song, lining things in your life up
This is what i found on a JT concert review.
“Line ’Em Up,” his sly, witty crow of approval at the 1974 resignation of Richard Nixon. The lyrics picture the newly resigned president with a “tiny tear in his shifty little eye,” bidding goodbye to the members of his staff, who have lined up to say farewell.
On Thursday Mr. Taylor went to considerable (and amusing) lengths to describe the origins of that song, from his 1997 album “Hourglass.” He recalled that Nixon had the hunched posture of a creature two steps removed from modern man in the familiar poster of human evolution. He also offered clues to the meaning of the final verse, which describes “a big moon landing.” It refers, he said, to a different lineup: a mass wedding at Madison Square Garden conducted by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon.
I hope it helps
Ruggero