
Date of issue: 19.09.2004
Age restrictions: 18+
Record label: Mute
Song language: English
The Lyre Of Orpheus |
Orpheus sat gloomy in his garden shed |
Wondering what to do |
With a lump of wood, a piece of wire |
And a little pot of glue |
O Mamma O Mamma |
He sawed at the wood with half a heart |
And glued it top to bottom |
He strung a wire in between |
He was feeling something rotten |
O Mamma O Mamma |
Orpheus looked at his instrument |
And he gave the wire a pluck |
He heard a sound so beautiful |
He gasped and said O my God |
O Mamma O Mamma |
He rushed inside to tell his wife |
He went racing down the halls |
Eurydice was still asleep in bed |
Like a sack of cannonballs |
O Mamma O Mamma |
Look what I’ve made, cried Orpheus |
And he plucked a gentle note |
Eurydice’s eyes popped from their sockets |
And her tongue burst through her throat |
O Mamma O Mamma |
O God, what have I done, he said |
As her blood pooled in the sheets |
But in his heart he felt a bliss |
With which nothing could compete |
O Mamma O Mamma |
Orpheus went leaping through the fields |
Strumming as hard as he did please |
Birdies detonated in the sky |
Bunnies dashed their brains out on the trees |
O Mamma O Mamma |
Orpheus strummed till his fingers bled |
He hit a G minor 7 |
He woke up God from a deep, deep sleep |
God was a major player in heaven |
O Mamma O Mamma |
God picked up a giant hammer |
And He threw it with an thunderous yell |
It smashed down hard on Orpheus' head |
And knocked him down a well |
O Mamma O Mamma |
The well went down very deep |
Very deep went down the well |
The well went down so very deep |
Well, the well went down to hell |
O Mamma O Mamma |
Poor Orpheus woke up with a start |
All amongst the rotting dead |
His lyre tacked safe under his arm |
His brains all down his head |
O Mamma O Mamma |
Eurydice appeared brindled in blood |
And she said to Orpheus |
If you play that fucking thing down here |
I’ll stick it up your orifice! |
O Mamma O Mamma |
This lyre lark is for the birds, said Orpheus |
It’s enough to send you bats |
Let’s stay down here, Eurydice, dear |
And we’ll have a bunch of screaming brats |
O Mamma O Mamma |
Orpheus picked up his lyre for the last time |
He was on a real low down bummer |
And stared deep into the abyss and said |
This one is for Mamma |
O Mamma O Mamma |
O Mamma O Mamma |
Name | Year |
---|---|
O Children | 2017 |
Where the Wild Roses Grow ft. Kylie Minogue | 2019 |
Red Right Hand | 2017 |
Carry Me | 2004 |
People Ain't No Good | 2017 |
Easy Money | 2004 |
Into My Arms | 2017 |
The Weeping Song | 2017 |
Abbatoir Blues | 2004 |
Do You Love Me? | 2017 |
Loverman | 2017 |
Bring It On | 2003 |
Brother, My Cup Is Empty | 2010 |
Avalanche | 2021 |
Breathless | 2017 |
Jubilee Street | 2013 |
Higgs Boson Blues | 2013 |
Mermaids | 2013 |
Jesus Of The Moon | 2017 |
Tupelo | 2017 |