Lyrics to
Ballad Of Spider John

This version of Ballad Of Spider John was released by Jimmy Buffett in 1974.

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Spider John is my name friend
I’m in between freights and I sure would be obliged
If you’d share your company
I know this may sound strange to you
But if you wait ’til the song is sung and the stories told
You might come to understand
Why I’m old and bent and devil’s been runnin’ out of time
When I long ago held a royal flush in my hand.

Oh, I was a super market fool, I was a roll-the-bank, a
stool pigeon,
Robbing my hometown
I thought I’d lost the blues, yes, I thought I’d paid my dues
I thought I’d found the life to suit my style

But here I sit ol’ Spider John
The robber man
Long, tall and handsome
Yes, ol’ Spider John with the loaded hand
Taking ransom

Then one day I met Diamond Lil
She was the sweetest thing, I declare,
That the summer breeze ever blown my way
But, lady, she had no idea my illustrious occupation
She thought I was a saint, not a sinner gone astray
But you see that word got around and Lily left town
Never saw her again
Tossin’ and turnin’, causin’ my heart to grieve

Oh, I was a super market fool, I was roll-the-bank, stool pigeon
Robbing my hometown.
I thought I’d lost my blues, thought I’d paid my dues
I thought I’d found the life to suit my style.
But here I sit ol’ Spider John,
The robber man
Long, tall and handsome
Yes, ol’ Spider John with the loaded hand
Taking ransom

That is all my story
Been these thirty years since I took to the road
Find my precious jewel one
If you see my Lily, won’t you give her my regards
Tell her ol’ Spider got tangled
In the black web that he spun

You can tell her that ol’ Spider got tangled
In the black web that he spun

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Jimmy Buffett has released many songs over the years besides Ballad Of Spider John. Jimmy Buffett released songs from 1970 to 2004 spanning across albums like Down To Earth, High Cumberland Jubilee, A White Sport Coat And A Pink Crustacean, A1A, Living And Dying In 3/4 Time, Havana Daydreamin', Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes, Son Of A Son Of A Sailor, Volcano, Coconut Telegraph, Somewhere Over China, One Particular Harbour, Riddles In The Sand, Last Mango In Paris, Floridays, Hot Water, Off To See The Lizard, Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads, Fruitcakes, Barometer Soup, Christmas Island, Banana Wind, Beach House On The Moon, Far Side Of The World, and License To Chill. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Jimmy Buffett.

If you're a fan of lyrics from 1970s songs looking for more songs from 1974 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!

About Lyrics and Ballad Of Spider John by Jimmy Buffett

The lyrics to Ballad Of Spider John are just the words, phrases, verses and chorus that Jimmy Buffett used when the song was created in 1974. The lyrics to Ballad Of Spider John have both easy-to-spot meanings and hidden metaphors that have been discussed by the music press and fans, but only Jimmy Buffett and any collaborators know all of the inspirations for the song.

If you like etymology or breaking apart phrases and words, it is easy to understand the lyrics to Ballad Of Spider John by Jimmy Buffett. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to Ballad Of Spider John" means the words set to the music of Ballad Of Spider John, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Jimmy Buffett. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to Ballad Of Spider John and the lyrics to Ballad Of Spider John are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Jimmy Buffett who came here looking just for the lyrics to Ballad Of Spider John, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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