I like your twisted point of view, Mike
I like your questioning eyebrows
You've made it pretty clear what you like
It's only fair to tell you now

that I leave early in the morning
and I won't be back till next year
I see that kiss-me pucker forming
but maybe you should plug it with a beer, cause

Papa was a rodeo, Mama was a rock'n'roll band
I could play guitar and rope a steer before I learned to stand
Home was anywhere with diesel gas, Love was a trucker's hand
Never stuck around long enough for a one night stand
Before you kiss me you should know
Papa was a rodeo

The light reflecting off the mirror ball
looks like a thousand swirling eyes
They make me think I shouldn't be here at all
You know, every minute someone dies

What are we doing in this dive bar
How can you live in a place like this
Why don't you just get into my car
and I'll take you away I'll take that kiss now, but

(Boy) Papa was a rodeo

And now it's 55 years later
We've had the romance of the century
After all these years wrestling gators
I still feel like crying when I think of what you said to me

Papa was a rodeo

Before you kiss me you should know, Papa was a rodeo
What a coincidence, your Papa was a rodeo too


Lyrics submitted by Anne Arbour

Papa Was a Rodeo Lyrics as written by Stephin Merritt

Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

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Papa Was A Rodeo song meanings
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  • 0
    My Interpretation

    If Mike is a woman it might be a "Boy Named Sue" type if situation since we know Mike's childhood was just as rough as the singers.

    The crying at the end is not necessarily because Mike is leaving. They've beat the odds and it's bittersweet. I think about happy parts of my life all the time and feel like crying. Same thing happens to lots of people at the end of movies.

    I think the "wrestlin' gaters" part is best taken literally.

    Sulkowski's post is great.

    j1eron July 19, 2010   Link

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