Lyrics to
Kentuchy Avenue

This version of Kentuchy Avenue was released by Tom Waits in 1978.

Our About Tom Waits page at Decade Lyrics includes the lyrics for Kentuchy Avenue from 1978 as well as all of the other lyrics from Tom Waits that we have in our lyrics database.

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

eddie graces buick got 4 bullet holes in the side
charley delislesittin’ at the top of an avacado tree
mrs storml stab you with a steak knife if you step on her lawn
i got a half pack of lucky strikes man come along with me
lets fill our pockets with macadamia nuts
then go ever to bobby goodmansons
and jump off the roof

hilda plays strip poker
and her mamas across the street
joey narinsky says she put her tongue in his mouth
dicky faulkners got a switchblade
and some goosenecks risers
that eucalyptus is a hunchback
theres a wind up from the south
let me tie you up with kite string
and i’ll show you the scabs on my knee
watch out for the broken glass, put your shoes and socks
on and come along with me

lets follow that fire truck
i think your house is burning down
then go down to the hobo jungle and kill some rattle
snakes with a trowel
we’ll break all the windows in the ols anderson place
and steal a bunch of boysenberrys
ans swear em on our face
i’ll get a dollar from my mamas purse
and buy that scull and crossbones ring
and you can wear it round your neck on an old piece of string

then we’ll split on ronniie arnold
and flip him the bird
and slash the tires on the school bus
now don’t say a word
i’ll take a rusty nail and scratch your initials on my arm
and i’ll show you how to sneak up on the roof of the drugstore

take the spokes from your wheellchair
and a magpies wings
and tie em to your shoulders and your feet
i’ll steal a hacksaw from my dad
and cut the braces off your legs
and we’ll bury them tonight in the cornfield

put a church key in your pocket
we’ll hop that freight train in the hall
and we’ll slide down the drain all the way
to new orleans in the fall

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Tom Waits has released many songs over the years besides Kentuchy Avenue. Tom Waits released songs from 1973 to 2004 spanning across albums like Closing Time, The Heart Of Saturday Night, Nighthawks At The Diner, Small Change, Foreign Affairs, Blue Valentine, Heartattack And Vine, Swordfishtrombones, Rain Dogs, Franks Wild Years, The Early Years Vol. 1, Bone Machine, The Black Rider, The Early Years Vol. 2, Mule Variations, Blood Money, Alice, and Real Gone. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Tom Waits.

If you're a fan of 1970s music looking for more songs from 1978 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!

About Lyrics and Kentuchy Avenue by Tom Waits

The lyrics to Kentuchy Avenue are the words, verses and chorus for the song released by Tom Waits in 1978. Elements of the lyrics to Kentuchy Avenue are both direct in meaning and also metaphorical with the real meanings of the song only known by Tom Waits and any collaborating writers working on the lyrics for Kentuchy Avenue back when it was created.

Some people have an interest in the etymology behind words and phrases. You can take apart the lyrics to Kentuchy Avenue by Tom Waits in a number of ways. 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 Kentuchy Avenue" means the words set to the music of Kentuchy Avenue, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Tom Waits. 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 Kentuchy Avenue and the lyrics to Kentuchy Avenue are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Tom Waits who came here looking just for the lyrics to Kentuchy Avenue, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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