Lyrics to
Soapbox Opera

This version of Soapbox Opera was released by Supertramp in 1975.

Our About Supertramp page at Decade Lyrics includes the lyrics for Soapbox Opera from 1975 as well as all of the other lyrics from Supertramp that we have in our lyrics database.

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

“I want to tell you something;
Listen to me,
I’m trying to say, I’m better than you,
I am only what I am”

“We must not stand still,
For the night is coming,
Every man, every woman and child,
Everybody help me”

I hear, only what I want to hear,
But, I have to believe in something,
Have to believe in just one thing.
I said Father Washington, you’re all mixed up,
Collecting sinners in an old tin cup.
Well, spare a listen for a restless fool,
There’s something missing when I need your rule.

Well, hey there;
You tell me you’re a holy man, But, although I am just a beginner,
I don’t see you as a winner.
I said, Sister Washington, you’re all washed up,
Collecting teardrops in a paper cup;
If I could tell you what you need to know;
If I could tell you to get on with the show.

I’d rather never leave her,
There’s a storm in my head,
Makes me hear what you say;
Just was it true?
So, what have I to do?
-Well, what has he to do?-
+Oh, what is there to-oo do+
What oh-oh-ohoh

“All creatures great and small,
all things wise and wonderful, the lord god made them all”

Mary, oh tell me what I’m living for,
‘Cause I feel like I’m tossed in the river,
Oh’ have you a son to deliver.

I said, Father Washington, you’re all mixed up,
Collecting sinners in an old tin cup,
you tell the children what you need to know,
But, will they listen when it’s time to go.

Oh, Sister Robinson, you’re all washed up,
Collecting teardrops in a paper cup,
Can someone tell me what I need to know,
Can someone help me to get on with the show.

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Supertramp has released many songs over the years besides Soapbox Opera. Supertramp released songs from 1970 to 2002 spanning across albums like Supertramp, Indelibly Stamped, Crime Of The Century, Crisis? What Crisis?, Even In The Quietest Moments..., Breakfast In America, ...Famous Last Words..., Brother Where You Bound, Free As A Bird, Some Things Never Change, and Slow Motion. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Supertramp.

If you're a fan of 1970s songs looking for more songs from 1975 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!

About Lyrics and Soapbox Opera by Supertramp

The lyrics for Soapbox Opera are defined as the words making up the song released by Supertramp in 1975. It also includes the verses and words used by the background chorus in the song. Like many hit songs, the lyrics to Soapbox Opera have different meanings to different people. While it is clear in some of the lyrics what the artist is trying to really say, only Supertramp 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 Soapbox Opera by Supertramp 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 Soapbox Opera" means the words set to the music of Soapbox Opera, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Supertramp. 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 Soapbox Opera and the lyrics to Soapbox Opera are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Supertramp who came here looking just for the lyrics to Soapbox Opera, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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