I found a little plot of land
In the Garden of Eden
It was dirt and dirt is all the same
I tilled it with my two hands
And I called it my very own
There was no-one to dispute my claim
Well, you'd be shocked
At the state of things
The whole place
Had just cleared right out
It was hotter'n hell
So I laid me by a spring, for a spell
As naked as a trout
The wandering eye that I have caught
Is as hot as a wandering sun
But I will want for nothing more
In my garden
Start again
In my hardening to every heart but one
Meet me in the garden of Eden
Bring a friend
We are going to have ourselves a time
We are gonna have a garden party
It's on me
No, sirree, it's my dime
We broke our hearts
In the war between
St. George and the dragon
But both, in equal parts
Are welcome to come along
I'm inviting everyone
Farewell to loves that I have known
Even muddiest waters run
Tell me, what is meant by sin, or none
In a garden
Seceded from the union
In the year of A.D. 1?
The unending amends you've made
Are enough for one life
Be done
I believe in innocence, little darling
Start again
I believe in everyone
I believe, regardless
I believe in everyone
In the Garden of Eden
It was dirt and dirt is all the same
I tilled it with my two hands
And I called it my very own
There was no-one to dispute my claim
Well, you'd be shocked
At the state of things
The whole place
Had just cleared right out
It was hotter'n hell
So I laid me by a spring, for a spell
As naked as a trout
The wandering eye that I have caught
Is as hot as a wandering sun
But I will want for nothing more
In my garden
Start again
In my hardening to every heart but one
Meet me in the garden of Eden
Bring a friend
We are going to have ourselves a time
We are gonna have a garden party
It's on me
No, sirree, it's my dime
We broke our hearts
In the war between
St. George and the dragon
But both, in equal parts
Are welcome to come along
I'm inviting everyone
Farewell to loves that I have known
Even muddiest waters run
Tell me, what is meant by sin, or none
In a garden
Seceded from the union
In the year of A.D. 1?
The unending amends you've made
Are enough for one life
Be done
I believe in innocence, little darling
Start again
I believe in everyone
I believe, regardless
I believe in everyone
Lyrics submitted by kitteh, edited by sethbrown, random_monkey, Spiderland
'81 Lyrics as written by Joanna Newsom
Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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There are official lyrics to this. So, for instance when you said you've seen A.D. 1, those are the official lyrics. They're just not here for some reason. (Also, just a note, A.D. 1 wasn't marked by the death of Jesus! Rather it is somewhere around his birth -- which helps when you realize Joanna was conceived in '81 as well; it makes a bit more sense that way, though I'm not certain on what it means.)
While the religious allusions are obvious, I truly doubt the lyrics are meant to be a narrative about The Fall. Rather, I think, Joanna has taken the imagery surrounding the myth and weaved it into something personal.