All The Way From Memphis Lyrics
Forgot my six-string razor
Hit the sky
Half way to Memphis 'fore I realised
Well I rang the information
My axe was cold
They said she rides the train to Oriole
[Chorus]
Now it's a mighty long way down the dusty trail
And the sun burns hot on the cold steel rails
And I look like a bum and I crawl like a snail
(All the way from Memphis)
[Verse 2]
Well I got to Oriole y'know
It took a month
And there was my guitar, electric junk
Some spade said "Rock'n'rollers
You're all the same
Man, that's your instrument."
I felt so ashamed
[Chorus]
Now it's a mighty long way down rock'n'roll
Through the Bradford cities and the Orioles
And you look like a star but you're still on the dole
(All the way from Memphis)
[Chorus]
Yeah it's a mighty long way down rock 'n' roll
From the Liverpool docks to the Hollywood Bowl
And you climb up the mountains and you fall down the holes
(All the way from Memphis)
[Chorus]
Yeah it's a mighty long way down rock'n'roll
As your name gets hot so your heart grows cold
And you gotta stay young man, you can never be old
(All the way from Memphis)
[Outro]
Yeah it's a mighty long way down rock'n'roll
Through the Bradford cities and the Orioles
And you look like a star but you're really out on parole!
(All the way from Memphis)
[Saxophone / Guitar breakdown]
About
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
Ian Hunter in a 2017 interview:
Dale Kawashima: One of my favorite songs of yours is “All The Way From Memphis.” How did you write this song?
This song took awhile (to write). I wrote the piano part first. We recorded it because it just sounded good—there were a lot of riffs in it and [we liked] the chord sequences. It just sounded good, but there was no actual melody or lyric (yet). And I had that [demo] by my bed for at least a couple months, just trying to make sense out of it lyrically and melodically. And in the end…it came. Sometimes, the ideal song comes quickly. I wrote “Once Bitten, Twice Shy” and it all came together in 10 hours…that’s the way you want them to come. But they all don’t come like that. With “Memphis,” the music was done, and I was sitting there trying to get the hang of the song (he laughs).
Usually, it’s just an idea. I mean, if you can get the idea, you’re all right.
