Lyrics to
For Ladies Only

Our About Steppenwolf page at Decade Lyrics includes the lyrics for For Ladies Only from 1971 as well as all of the other lyrics from Steppenwolf that we have in our lyrics database.

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

What you say to drive that girl away
When she’s the one and only?
Who’s the one that you been leanin’ on
Ev’ry time that you were down and lonely?
How many times did you say to yourself that woman is the devil’s tool?
Somehow you knew that you blew it again and didn’t wanna look like a
ravin fool
But when you need affection
You go to her with a smilin’ face
But now she’s got a strange reaction

For ladies only
Tired of talkin’ ’till somebody hears
For ladies only
Half the world has been built upon their tears

If you’ve been contemplatin’ just what you’re doin’ wrong
Then you will be a witness to the rumble goin’ on
You fight it hard to tell apart the truth from the jive
They’ve got a right to say it wrong if freedom’s to survive
Now if you don’t believe your own reflection
Just take a look at all your smooth talkin’ friends
I’m sure you’ll make the right connection

Chorus

I’ll give you my donation to help the cause along
I’ll make my contribution ’till the fight has been won
But when my bedroom closes one thing remains
Man, woman, hog or dog, I’m callin’ the plays
And if you find the need to raise objections
Don’t talk to me ’bout your wasted time
You know you made your own selections

Repeat Chorus

If I should go astray and say “I lost my way” nobody would know me
But if I don’t believe I can and still say “Hear my plan”
Somebody would follow just because it’s free

We’re all Hippos rollin’ down the river
Sometimes we can’t touch the ground
Like Hippos slidin’ in the water
Somehow we’re stompin’ around

If you should go astray and say “I lost my way” nobody will know you
But if you don’t believe you can and still say “I’m your man”
Somebody will follow just because it’s free

We’re all Hippos rollin’ down the river
Sometimes we can’t touch the ground
Like Hippos slindin’ in the water
Somehow we’re stompin’ around

Now you can see me lyin’ down in my swamp
Any time I feel disgusted
You’ll see me do the hippo stomp

You stop and watch me while you’re out on your midnite romp
And I can feel the silent question
What the heck is the Hippo Stomp?

Hey! Hey! You should try it when you’re feelin’ blue
Let me answer you and let me tell ya true
Just how I feel when I’m down
Sometimes I wonder
You’ll see me stumblin’ around
But you just point and stare
Come on let me hear ya
Somewhere there’s a voice down inside
And when you find it let it teach you how to ask the question “why”
Just because we live together
We don’t have to like each other
So please don’t fall asleep on me again
Nobody, nobody, nobody knows for sure
You just might never wake up from the dream
Hey! Speak up let me hear ya
Let me show you ’round the reservation
I know my way around these parts
I’ve lived here long enough
Now you can have a taste, an indication
Of things and times to come
Early in the morning, late at night
Somebody seems to know just how this thing work’s right
‘Cause every time I come around the corner somebody’s looking out my
door
He’s been snoopin’ like a hound
I’ll grab his neck and shake him on down

Repeat Chorus

Now you can see me lyin’ down in my swamp
Any time I feel disgusted
You’ll see me do the Hippo Stomp

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Steppenwolf has released many songs over the years besides For Ladies Only. Steppenwolf released songs from 1968 to 1990 spanning across albums like The Second, Steppenwolf, Monster, At Your Birthday Party, 7, For Ladies Only, Slow Flux, Hour Of The Wolf, Skullduggery, Wolftracks, Paradox, Rock & Roll Rebels, and Rise & Shine. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Steppenwolf.

About Lyrics and For Ladies Only by Steppenwolf

The lyrics to For Ladies Only are just the words, phrases, verses and chorus that Steppenwolf used when the song was created in 1971. The lyrics to For Ladies Only have both easy-to-spot meanings and hidden metaphors that have been discussed by the music press and fans, but only Steppenwolf 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 For Ladies Only by Steppenwolf. 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 For Ladies Only" means the words set to the music of For Ladies Only, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Steppenwolf. 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 For Ladies Only and the lyrics to For Ladies Only are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Steppenwolf who came here looking just for the lyrics to For Ladies Only, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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