Lyrics to
Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone

This version of Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone was released by The Temptations in 1972.

Our The Temptations Songs profile has Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone lyrics from 1972 and most if not all of the lyrics by The Temptations that we have here at Decade Lyrics.

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It was the third of September
That day I’ll always remember, yes I will
Cause that was the day, that my daddy died
I never got a chance to see him
Never heard nothin’ but bad things about him
Momma I’m depending on you, to tell me the truth
Momma just hung her head and said, son

Papa was a rolling stone, (my son)
Where ever he laid his hat was his home
and when he died, all he left us was alone

Hey Momma!
Is it true what they say that Papa never worked a day, in his life
And Momma, some bad talk goin’ round town sayin’ that Papa had three outside children
And another wife, and that ain’t right
Heard them talking Papa doing some store front preachin’
Talked about saving souls and all the time reaching
Dealing in debt, and stealing in the name of the law
Momma just hung her head and said…

Hey Momma,
I heard Papa called himself a jack of all trades
Tell me is that what sent Papa to an early grave
Folks say Papa would beg, borrow, steal
To pay his bills
Hey Momma,
Folks say Papa never was much on thinking
Spent most of his time chasing women and drinking
Momma I’m depending on you, to tell me the truth
Momma looked up with a tear in her eye and said, son…

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The Temptations has released many songs over the years besides Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone. The Temptations released songs from 1964 to 1980 spanning across albums like Meet The Temptations, The Temptations Sing Smokey, The Temptin' Temptations, Gettin' Ready, The Temptations With A Lot O' Soul, The Temptations In A Mellow Mood, The Temptations Wish It Would Rain, Cloud Nine, Puzzle People, The Temptations Christmas Card, Psychedelic Shack, Sky's The Limit, All Directions, Solid Rock, Masterpiece, A Song For You, and Give Love At Christmas. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by The Temptations.

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About Lyrics and Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone by The Temptations

The lyrics for Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone are defined as the words making up the song released by The Temptations in 1972. It also includes the verses and words used by the background chorus in the song. Like many hit songs, the lyrics to Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone have different meanings to different people. While it is clear in some of the lyrics what the artist is trying to really say, only The Temptations 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 Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone by The Temptations 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 Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone" means the words set to the music of Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by The Temptations. 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 Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone and the lyrics to Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of The Temptations who came here looking just for the lyrics to Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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