Lyrics to
I Was Only Joking

This version of I Was Only Joking was released by Rod Stewart in 1977.

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Ever since I was a kid at school
I messed around with all the rules
Apologised then realised
I’m not different after all

Me and the boys thought we had it sussed
Valentinos all of us
My dad said we looked ridiculous
But boy we broke some hearts
In and out of jobs, running free
Waging war with society
Dumb blank faces stare back at me
But nothing ever changed

Promises made in the heat of the night
Creeping home before it got too light
I wasted all that precious time
and blamed it on the wine

Chorus:

I was only joking my dear
Looking for a way to hide my fear
What kind of fool was I
I could never win

Never found a compromise
Collected lovers like butterflies
Illusions of that grand first prize
are slowly wearing thin
Susy baby you were good to me
Giving love unselfishly
But you took it all too seriously
I guess it had to end

(Chorus)

Now you ask me if I’m sincere
That’s the question that I always fear
Verse seven is never clear
But I’ll tell you what you want to hear
I try to give you all you want
But giving love is not my strongest point
If that’s the case it’s pointless going on
I’d rather be alone
‘Cause what I’m doing must be wrong
Pouring my heart out in a song
Owning up for prosperity
For the whole damn world to see

Quietly now while I turn a page
Act one is over without costume change
The principal would like to leave the stage
The crowd don’t understand

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Rod Stewart has released many songs over the years besides I Was Only Joking. Rod Stewart released songs from 1969 to 2005 spanning across albums like An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down, Gasoline Alley, Every Picture Tells A Story, Never A Dull Moment, Smiler, Atlantic Crossing, A Night On The Town, Foot Loose & Fancy Free, Blondes Have More Fun, Foolish Behavior, Tonight I'm Yours, Body Wishes, Camouflage, Every Beat Of My Heart, Out Of Order, Vagabond Heart, Lead Vocalist, Unplugged... And Seated, A Spanner In The Works, If We Fall In Love Tonight, When We Were The New Boys, Human, It Had To Be You... The Great American Songbook, Stardust...The Great American Songbook: Volume III, and Thanks For The Memory... The Great American Songbook: Volume IV. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Rod Stewart.

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About Lyrics and I Was Only Joking by Rod Stewart

When you decide to study the lyrics to I Was Only Joking, you're looking at the words, verses and background chorus from the 1977 song by Rod Stewart. Some of the lyrics to I Was Only Joking have clear meanings and some contain metaphorical references. Like most songs, only Rod Stewart and their collaborators know the full story behind any of the their songs.

You can understand the lyrics to I Was Only Joking 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 I Was Only Joking" means the words set to the music of I Was Only Joking, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Rod Stewart. 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 I Was Only Joking and the lyrics to I Was Only Joking are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Rod Stewart who came here looking just for the lyrics to I Was Only Joking, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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