Lyrics to
Oh, Susannah

This version of Oh, Susannah was released by James Taylor in 1970.

Our About James Taylor page at Decade Lyrics includes the lyrics for Oh, Susannah from 1970 as well as all of the other lyrics from James Taylor that we have in our lyrics database.

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Well I come from Alabama with my banjo on my knee,
and I’m bound for Louisiana, my own true love for to see.
It did rain all night the day I left, the weather was bone dry.
The sun was so hot I froze myself, Suzanne, don’t you go on and cry.
I said, oh, Susannah, now, don’t you cry for me,
as I come from Alabama with this banjo on my knee.

Well I had myself a dream the other night when everything was still,
I dreamed that I saw my girl Suzanne, she was coming around the hill.
Now, the buckwheat cake was in her mouth, a tear was in her eye.
I said, that I come from Dixie land, Suzanne, don’t you break down and cry.
I said, oh, Susannah, now, don’t you cry for me,
as I come from Alabama with this banjo on my knee.

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James Taylor has released many songs over the years besides Oh, Susannah. James Taylor released songs from 1968 to 2002 spanning across albums like James Taylor, Sweet Baby James, Mud Slide Slim And The Blue Horizon, One Man Dog, Walking Man, Gorilla, In The Pocket, JT, Flag, Dad Loves His Work, That's Why I'm Here, Never Die Young, New Moon Shine, Hourglass, and October Road. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by James Taylor.

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About Lyrics and Oh, Susannah by James Taylor

The lyrics for Oh, Susannah are defined as the words making up the song released by James Taylor in 1970. It also includes the verses and words used by the background chorus in the song. Like many hit songs, the lyrics to Oh, Susannah have different meanings to different people. While it is clear in some of the lyrics what the artist is trying to really say, only James Taylor 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 Oh, Susannah by James Taylor 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 Oh, Susannah" means the words set to the music of Oh, Susannah, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by James Taylor. 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 Oh, Susannah and the lyrics to Oh, Susannah are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of James Taylor who came here looking just for the lyrics to Oh, Susannah, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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