Lyrics to
The Shape I’m In

This version of The Shape I’M In was released by The Band in 1970.

Our About The Band page at Decade Lyrics includes the lyrics for The Shape I’M In from 1970 as well as all of the other lyrics from The Band that we have in our lyrics database.

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

Go out yonder, peace in the valley
Come downtown, have to rumble in the alley
Oh, you don’t know the shape I’m in

Has anybody seen my lady?
This living alone will drive me crazy
Oh, you don’t know the shape I’m in

I’m gonna go down by the water
But I ain’t gonna jump in, no, no
I’ll just be looking for my neighbor
And I hear that’s where she’s been? Oh!

Out of nine lives, I spent seven
Now, how in the world do you get to Heaven?
Oh, you don’t know the shape I’m in

I just spent 60 days in the jailhouse
For the crime of having no dough
Now here I am back out on the street
For the crime of having nowhere to go

Save your neck or save your brother
Looks like it’s one or the other
Oh, you don’t know the shape I’m in

Now two young kids might start a ruckus
You know they feel you trying to shuck us
Oh, you don’t know the shape I’m in

---

Want more lyrics and songs by The Band?

The Band has released many songs over the years besides The Shape I’M In. The Band released songs from 1968 to 2002 spanning across albums like Music From Big Pink, The Band, Stage Fright, Cahoots, Moondog Matinee, Northern Lights - Southern Cross, Islands, Jericho, High On The Hog, Jubilation, and The Last Waltz. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by The Band.

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

About Lyrics and The Shape I’M In by The Band

When you decide to study the lyrics to The Shape I’M In, you're looking at the words, verses and background chorus from the 1970 song by The Band. Some of the lyrics to The Shape I’M In have clear meanings and some contain metaphorical references. Like most songs, only The Band and their collaborators know the full story behind any of the their songs.

You can understand the lyrics to The Shape I’M In if you take apart the structure of the words. 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 The Shape I’M In" means the words set to the music of The Shape I’M In, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by The Band. 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 The Shape I’M In and the lyrics to The Shape I’M In are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of The Band who came here looking just for the lyrics to The Shape I’M In, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

More Songs & Lyrics by The Band

Visit our The Band profile for more The Band songs, lyrics & info!

)