Lyrics to
Memorial Day

This version of Memorial Day was released by Carly Simon in 1979.

Our Carly Simon Songs profile has Memorial Day lyrics from 1979 and most if not all of the lyrics by Carly Simon that we have here at Decade Lyrics.

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

It should have been so soft, this morning as we left
But the valley was infected, by a different kind of beauty
And the Indians they knew, it was a devil’s sanctuary.

Out of this unholy dawn, a car came stirring up the sand
And a woman from a passion play
Held up the limousine that brought me
All this way today. And I didn’t need to turn around
So strong was the message, and the man who planned her life
Commanded all that followed: Well they bellowed, and they hollered
And they threw each other down, down in this valley
This cruel and lovely valley, Oh it should have been an alley
In some low down part of town

As the lights came up, there was no sun
And brandy splattered all over the ground
As this woman with her head held high
Yelled love and why oh why, you’re killing me oh follow me-
As I watched safe and clean, from the frosted windows of that limousine

Well they bellowed and they hollered, and they threw each other down
Down in this valley, this cruel and lovely valley
Oh it should have been an alley, in some low down part of town

Before he’d been so funny, imagining the best:
That he’d escaper recrimination, for abandoning the nest
He’d been joking and stoned, while he was entertaining me
But then turned and was stunned, by her panic and her misery

And I was in the get-away car
Giving him a chance, to get away
Get away, get away

And how the valley smoked, as he crossed Route 25
With his cymbals and his shattered crown, leaving all alone
His eyes fixed on the ground. And he didn’t even turn around
So strong was the message, and he fell into the shallow sky
And was swallowed.
Well they bellowed and they hollered, and they threw each other down
Down in this valley, this cruel and lovely valley
Well it should have been an alley, In some low down part of town

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Carly Simon has released many songs over the years besides Memorial Day. Carly Simon released songs from 1971 to 2008 spanning across albums like Carly Simon, Anticipation, No Secrets, Hotcakes, Playing Possum, Another Passenger, Boys In The Trees, Spy, Come Upstairs, Torch, Hello Big Man, Spoiled Girl, Coming Around Again, Working Girl, Have You Seen Me Lately, My Romance, This Is My Life, Letters Never Sent, Film Noir, The Bedroom Tapes, Piglet's Big Movie, Christmas Is Almost Here Again, Moonlight Serenade, Into White, and This Kind Of Love. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Carly Simon.

If you're a fan of 1970s music looking for more songs from 1979 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!

About Lyrics and Memorial Day by Carly Simon

The lyrics to Memorial Day are the words, verses and chorus for the song released by Carly Simon in 1979. Elements of the lyrics to Memorial Day are both direct in meaning and also metaphorical with the real meanings of the song only known by Carly Simon and any collaborating writers working on the lyrics for Memorial Day back when it was created.

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

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