Lyrics to
Papa Was A Rolling Stone

Released by Jackson 5 in 1973
From the Album: In Japan |

This version of Papa Was A Rolling Stone was released by Jackson 5 in 1973.

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Here's more interesting things in songs and lyrics tied to Jackson 5 or about the 1970s in general.

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

Papa was a rolling stone, Wherever he laid his hat was his home
And when he died, All he left us was alone
Papa was a rolling stone, Wherever he laid his hat was his home

All he left us was alone

Hey, Mama, is it true what they say
That Papa never worked a day in his life?
And Mama, some bad talk goin’ around goin’ around town
Sayin’ that Papa had three outside children and another wife, and that ain’t right
Hey, talk about Papa doing some storefront preaching
Talking about saving your soul, and all the time leaching
Dealing in debt and stealing in the name of the Lord
Mama, I’m depending on you to tell me the truth
And Mama hung her head and said

Papa was a rolling stone, Wherever he laid his hat was his home
And when he died, All he left us was alone
Papa was a rolling stone, Wherever he laid his hat was his home

All he left us was alone

Hey Mama 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
Folks say Papa wasn’t much on thinkin’
Spent most of his life chasin’ women and drinking
Mama, I’m depending on you to tell me the truth
And Mama looked up with a tear in her eye and said, Son
Papa was a rolling stone, Wherever he laid his hat was his home
And when he died, All he left us was alone
Papa was a rolling stone, Wherever he laid his hat was his home

All he left us was alone


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Jackson 5 has released many songs over the years besides Papa Was A Rolling Stone. Jackson 5 released songs from 1969 to 1979 spanning across albums like Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5, ABC, Third Album, Christmas Album, Maybe Tomorrow, Goin' Back To Indiana, Lookin' Through The Windows, In Japan, Skywriter, G.I.T.: Get It Together, Dancing Machine, Moving Violation, Joyful Jukebox Music, and Boogie. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Jackson 5.

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If you're a fan of the music of the 1970s looking for more songs from 1973 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!

About Lyrics and Papa Was A Rolling Stone by Jackson 5

The lyrics to Papa Was A Rolling Stone are the words, verses and chorus for the song released by Jackson 5 in 1973. Elements of the lyrics to Papa Was A Rolling Stone are both direct in meaning and also metaphorical with the real meanings of the song only known by Jackson 5 and any collaborating writers working on the lyrics for Papa Was A Rolling Stone back when it was created.

Some people have an interest in the etymology behind words and phrases. You can take apart the lyrics to Papa Was A Rolling Stone by Jackson 5 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 Papa Was A Rolling Stone" means the words set to the music of Papa Was A Rolling Stone, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Jackson 5. 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 Rolling Stone and the lyrics to Papa Was A Rolling Stone are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Jackson 5 who came here looking just for the lyrics to Papa Was A Rolling Stone, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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