This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
I don't know how I'm gonna tell you
I can't play with you no more
I don't know how I'm gonna do what mama told me
My friend the boy next door
I can't believe what people saying
You're gonna let your hair hang down
I'm satisfied to sit here working all day long
You're in the darker side of town
And when I'm out I see you walking
Why don't your eyes see me?
How could it be you've found another game to play?
What did mama say to me?
That's the way
Oh, that's the way it ought to be
Mama say that's the way it ought to stay, yeah, yeah, oh oh
And yesterday I saw you standing by the river
And weren't those tears that filled your eyes
And all the fish that lay in dirty water dying
Had they got you hypnotized?
And yesterday I saw you kissing tiny flowers
But all that lives is born to die
And so I say to you that nothing really matters
And all you do is stand and cry
I don't know what to say about it
When all you ears have turned away
But now's the time to look and look again at what you see
Is that the way it ought to stay?
That's the way
That's the way it oughta be
Oh don't you know now
Mama said, mama said, that's the way it's gonna stay, yeah, oh oh
I can't play with you no more
I don't know how I'm gonna do what mama told me
My friend the boy next door
I can't believe what people saying
You're gonna let your hair hang down
I'm satisfied to sit here working all day long
You're in the darker side of town
And when I'm out I see you walking
Why don't your eyes see me?
How could it be you've found another game to play?
What did mama say to me?
That's the way
Oh, that's the way it ought to be
Mama say that's the way it ought to stay, yeah, yeah, oh oh
And yesterday I saw you standing by the river
And weren't those tears that filled your eyes
And all the fish that lay in dirty water dying
Had they got you hypnotized?
And yesterday I saw you kissing tiny flowers
But all that lives is born to die
And so I say to you that nothing really matters
And all you do is stand and cry
I don't know what to say about it
When all you ears have turned away
But now's the time to look and look again at what you see
Is that the way it ought to stay?
That's the way
That's the way it oughta be
Oh don't you know now
Mama said, mama said, that's the way it's gonna stay, yeah, oh oh
Lyrics submitted by kevin, edited by Mellow_Harsher
That's The Way Lyrics as written by Robert Plant Jimmy Page
Lyrics © Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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The "gay boy" theme is interesting, but I really think it's way off. You guys are applying current themes to a song that's now 36 years old! Nobody sang about gays back then (even Elton John was still in the closet!). Plant once stated that this song was inspired by the environmental movement which was gaining popularity at the time (1970). Zeppelin wrote this song while vacationing in the wilds of northern Wales. For this reason, I've always interpreted the song thusly: The narrator is a spirit of nature; a sprite, wood nymph or fairy (original meaning!). His "mama" is MOTHER NATURE. The "boy next door" represents modern human society. Humans once lived in harmony with nature. All that's changed now. Air and water pollution, factories, automobiles and urban sprawl have pushed nature away. Nature cannot "play" with us anymore. Nature has been pushed out of sight for the vast majority of urban humanity (not for me: my wife and I actually saw a wild deer in the local park last weekend - no word of a lie! - the area is protected from development by a U.N. charter). Kids hang around malls instead of playing in the woods. We've lost touch with the harmony and cycles of nature. We're even afraid of death now; drug stores are doing a booming business, and check-out the souring costs of medical care! But nature WON'T change. It's eternally the same. "That's the Way" it ought to stay!
Dang, you are really trying hard there....meaning no disrespect. People did sing about gays then, as in this song. It just had to be disguised a little. If you think about this possibility, and what it must be like for someone back then to try to find love and self-love, and to bravely sing about it, this song becomes 100 times more meaningful and beautiful.<br />
David Bowie came out 1 year after That's the Way was released... even he was closeted...