Lyrics to
I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead

This version of I’Ll Sleep When I’M Dead was released by Warren Zevon in 1976.

Our About Warren Zevon page at Decade Lyrics includes the lyrics for I’Ll Sleep When I’M Dead from 1976 as well as all of the other lyrics from Warren Zevon that we have in our lyrics database.

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

So much to do, there’s plenty on the farm
I’ll sleep when I’m dead
Saturday night I like to raise a little harm
I’ll sleep when I’m dead

I’m drinking heartbreak motor oil and Bombay gin
I’ll sleep when I’m dead
Straight from the bottle, twisted again
I’ll sleep when I’m dead

Well, I take this medicine as prescribed
I’ll sleep when I’m dead
It don’t matter if I get a little tired
I’ll sleep when I’m dead

I’ve got a .38 special up on the shelf
I’ll sleep when I’m dead
If I start acting stupid
I’ll shoot myself
I’ll sleep when I’m dead

So much to do, there’s plenty on the farm
I’ll sleep when I’m dead
Saturday night I like to raise a little harm
I’ll sleep when I’m dead

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Warren Zevon has released many songs over the years besides I’Ll Sleep When I’M Dead. Warren Zevon released songs from 1969 to 2003 spanning across albums like Wanted Dead Or Alive, Warren Zevon, Excitable Boy, Bad Luck Streak In Dancing School, Stand In The Fire, The Envoy, Sentimental Hygiene, Transverse City, Hindu Love Gods, Mr. Bad Example, Mutineer, Life'll Kill Ya, My Ride's Here, and The Wind. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Warren Zevon.

If you're a fan of popular 1970s songs looking for more songs from 1976 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!

About Lyrics and I’Ll Sleep When I’M Dead by Warren Zevon

The lyrics for I’Ll Sleep When I’M Dead are defined as the words making up the song released by Warren Zevon in 1976. It also includes the verses and words used by the background chorus in the song. Like many hit songs, the lyrics to I’Ll Sleep When I’M Dead have different meanings to different people. While it is clear in some of the lyrics what the artist is trying to really say, only Warren Zevon and those working with them know all of the meanings behind all of the lyrics to their songs.

Some folks are interested in word and phrase etymology. It is easy to understand the lyrics to I’Ll Sleep When I’M Dead by Warren Zevon if you think through it. 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’Ll Sleep When I’M Dead" means the words set to the music of I’Ll Sleep When I’M Dead, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Warren Zevon. 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’Ll Sleep When I’M Dead and the lyrics to I’Ll Sleep When I’M Dead are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Warren Zevon who came here looking just for the lyrics to I’Ll Sleep When I’M Dead, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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