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Easy Come, Easy Go Lyrics

Limber Jack, he landed on his back
He was betting on the netting when the rigging went slack
It was a moonless night, the stars a limning light
She was leering in the mirror when the road it broke right

'Cause you never really know
When the whistle's gonna blow
You never really know
Easy come and easy go

He was a stand-up gent, but no one knew his bent
And all the little bones that he hid in his vent
She was the come-on queen, a jewel on the scene
They found her in the shower, she'd been gone for seven weeks

'Cause you never really know
When the whistle's gonna blow
You never really know
Easy come and easy go

'Cause you never really know
When the whistle's gonna blow
You never really know
Easy come and easy go

Oh Limber Jack, his name is on the plaque
His mother is another that will never get him back
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Cover art for Easy Come, Easy Go lyrics by Decemberists, The

"was betting on the netting" "the come-on queen, jewel on the scene"

Cover art for Easy Come, Easy Go lyrics by Decemberists, The

This is basically about how death comes to everyone, sometimes unpredictably. This first verse shows two vignettes of sudden death. In the first scene, Jack is sleeping in a ship's rigging (?) when it comes loose and he falls onto his back. In the second, an unnamed woman is looking at herself in the mirror and misses a turn in the road, crashing her car. In the second verse a serial killer is going to murder a prostitute, but in an ironic twist he only finds her dead body after she'd gone missing several weeks before. All of this serves to emphasize that "you never really know when the whistle's gonna blow", i.e. when you're going to die.

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