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To Cry You A Song Lyrics
Flying so high, trying to remember
how many cigarettes did I bring along?
When I get down I'll jump in a taxi cab
driving through London town
to cry you a song.
It's been a long time --
still shaking my wings.
Well, I'm a glad bird
I got changes to ring.
Closing my dream inside its paper-bag.
Thought I saw angels
but I could have been wrong.
Search in my case,
can't find what they're looking for.
Waving me through
to cry you a song.
It's been a long time --
still shaking my wings.
Well I'm a glad bird
I got changes to ring.
Lights in the street,
peeping through curtains drawn.
Rattling of safety chain taking too long.
The smile in your eyes was never so sweet before --
Came down from the skies
to cry you a song.
how many cigarettes did I bring along?
When I get down I'll jump in a taxi cab
driving through London town
to cry you a song.
It's been a long time --
still shaking my wings.
Well, I'm a glad bird
I got changes to ring.
Closing my dream inside its paper-bag.
Thought I saw angels
but I could have been wrong.
Search in my case,
can't find what they're looking for.
Waving me through
to cry you a song.
It's been a long time --
still shaking my wings.
Well I'm a glad bird
I got changes to ring.
Lights in the street,
peeping through curtains drawn.
Rattling of safety chain taking too long.
The smile in your eyes was never so sweet before --
Came down from the skies
to cry you a song.
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
Definitely a song about traveling.
"Flying so high....when I get down I jump in a taxi..." and he is on his way to cry us a song. It sounds like a song about touring, but then in the last verse we find out that he's just going home. "Rattling of safety chain" before his honey opens the door and smiles sweetly at him. Not a touring song....a going home song.
I had the fortunate of interviewing Ian Anderson for more than an hour (about two years ago). He brought up this song and said that he was naive in using the line "Flying so high". He didn't mean for it to have a drug reference. He stated (quite seriously, without any sense of irony) that he has never smoked dope or used illegal drugs.
It's not "Closing my dream inside it's paper-bag".
It's:
"Closing my dream inside this paperback"
The narrative of the song is about a person flying back home. Starts off on a plane, then going through customs, then taking a taxi home and being happy to see his S/O. People used to read paperbacks on planes before we had laptops/iPods/Kindles (:
Jack White sould cover this song it would be insane live.
"Closing my dream inside its paper-bag. "
should read
"Closing my dreams inside this paper-back. "
"Search in my case, "
should read
"Searching my case, "
Remembering an old interview, Ian was quite literal in the lyrics. At that time there was a limit on the number of cigarettes you could take on the flight, so he had to make sure he had the correct number. When he travelled, his carry-on was a paper bag and security always scrutinized his stuff because of his appearance i.e. long hair, long beard etc… But of course, Ian never indulged in the things they were profiling him for, so the joke was on them. Ah the rock-n-roll life. No clever metaphors here, just a straight up reflection of a day in the life of Tull!
A simple song about a typical 60's or early 70's rocker who is also a bit of a "contrabandista."
I agree with Dan 0311, in that he has been touring and is coming home to his "sweeiie", in London. He is glad to be hiome. He will serenade her with a song he wrote on his travels; he has missed her and wishes to tell her many things that have passed since they last saw each other.
There is another theme inside this, however. He has smuggled some marijuana from wherever it is that he was travelling ....some foreign country, perhaps.
He obviously has also partaken of the marijuana himself, either during the flight or at some time just prior to the flight, and is paranoid at Heathrow when the customs officers are searching his suitcase (or guitar case, perhaps). Luckily they do not find anything because instead of putting the weed in his luggage, he carries it on his person in the clothing he is wearing. (this was back in the days before customs employed "dope-sniffing canines" at the airports, of course - wasn't it great back then!)
Anyway, he is very glad to be home where he will soon get to smoke some dope, relax, and sing to her - but he is still experiencing some residual paranoia from having evaded police, security personnel, and customs agents, etc. along the way.
His "sweetie" is expecting him when he finally gets home. He sees her "peeping out the window". (She must know that he is bringing home a stash of weed that they will soon be able to enjoy together....but she watching the street cautiously).
As he waits at the at the front door, for her to open the door, he is impatient and wants to get inside and off the street ASAP!
And from the look on her face at the end of the song, it is evident that soon after he has safely arrived, indeed they have enjoyed a smoke or two...LOL!
-sirdon
The songs from Teacher and Stand Up were so brilliant I can't get over them. Just poetry in a memorable song. His intelligence simply SHINES.
There is a not a guy who was on acid in the 70s listening to this song who didn't realize that Ian Anderson was singing about what you were experiencing.
Im very surprised no one has commented on this song. This is by far my favorite Jethro Tull song. The guitar riff is simply incredible, and the vocals...oh man..so awesome. Definitely their most rockin' song, maybe not their most meaningful, but who cares?