Green Grass Lyrics

Lyric discussion by Sherwinaph 

Cover art for Green Grass lyrics by Tom Waits

"Whistle 'Didn't He Ramble'": A traditional New Orleans funeral song, played as the procession returned from the burial site. "(Oh) Didn't He Ramble", by H. Bolton (Recorded by Louis Armstrong with his All Stars on April 26, 1950, and again in 1956): "Didn't he ramble.... he rambled Rambled all around.... in and out of town Didn't he ramble....didn't he ramble He rambled till the butcher cut him down His feet was in the market place..his head was in the street Lady pass him by, said..look at the market meat He grabbed her pocket book..and said I wish you well She pulled out a forty-five..said I'm head of personnel Didn't he ramble...I said he rambled Rambled all around...in and out of town Didn't he ramble...oh didn't he ramble He rambled till the butcher shot him down (instrumental break) He slipped into the cat house..made love to the stable Madam caught him cold..said I'll pay you when I be able Six months had passed ..and she stood all she could stand She said buddy when I'm through with you Ole groundhog gonna be shakin yo' hand And didn't he ramble...he rambled Rambled all around...in and out of town Oh didn't he ramble......he rambled You know he rambled...till the butcher...cut him down I said he rambled..lord...'till the butcher shot him down."

"Describe the sky to me": Notice this is sung from the grave.

"We'll catch mocking birds": The quote from Harper Lee's novel of racial injustice in a small Southern town goes: "Atticus said to Jem one day, 'I'd rather you shoot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you'll go after birds. Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.' That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it. 'Your father's right,' she said. 'Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up peoples gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.'" (Source: "To Kill A Mockingbird", chapter 10. Harper Lee, 1960)

Song Meaning