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


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.

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That's the Way song meanings
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  • -1
    General Comment

    Yeah, the metaphors work better when you see it's about a gay boy. (Sorry I'm commenting on everyone's comments.) "I can't believe what people saying" doesn't mean he's surprised his friend is black, it means he found at his friend is gay and also, not being allowed to have a normal boyfriend/relationship, the friend is kind of stuck looking for sex "on the darker side of town".

    bigmike7on September 28, 2009   Link

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