Lyrics to
Ellis Dee

This version of Ellis Dee was released by Jimmy Buffett in 1970.

Our Jimmy Buffett Songs profile has Ellis Dee lyrics from 1970 and most if not all of the lyrics by Jimmy Buffett that we have here at Decade Lyrics.

Here's more interesting things in songs and lyrics tied to Jimmy Buffett or about the 1970s in general.

Why is he cussin’ and calling disgustin’
The city that is now his home
He never smiles or keeps up with styles
He is black and he is all alone
And you ask why he’s this way
Well brother you’re too blind to see
It’s ’cause Ellis Dee ain’t free like you and me

Get out of the street don’t get high on my beat
Go on home the policeman warns
Just ’cause you’re poor why do you declare war
I can’t help the way you were born
Why are they holdin’ him down
He’s spending his life on his knees
‘Cause Ellis Dee ain’t free like you and me

Got to help Ellis
Got to help Ellis
You know we got to help Ellis Ellis Dee
Try and help Ellis you and me
Got to get to Ellis hear his plea
Try and help Ellis get free

Ellis got hooked he got booked and he shook
In his cold little shivery cell
While out on the street in that same funky beat
Mister pusher was doing well
And Ellis Junior cries tears his daddy can’t see
‘Cause Ellis Dee ain’t free like you and me

‘Cause Ellis Dee ain’t free like you and me
No Ellis Dee ain’t free like you and me

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Jimmy Buffett has released many songs over the years besides Ellis Dee. 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 popular 1970s songs looking for more songs from 1970 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!

About Lyrics and Ellis Dee by Jimmy Buffett

When you decide to study the lyrics to Ellis Dee, you're looking at the words, verses and background chorus from the 1970 song by Jimmy Buffett. Some of the lyrics to Ellis Dee have clear meanings and some contain metaphorical references. Like most songs, only Jimmy Buffett and their collaborators know the full story behind any of the their songs.

You can understand the lyrics to Ellis Dee if you take apart the structure of the words. 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 Ellis Dee" means the words set to the music of Ellis Dee, 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 Ellis Dee and the lyrics to Ellis Dee 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 Ellis Dee, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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