Memphis
Joe Jackson Lyrics

Memphis, where the hell is Memphis?
The singer is questioning the location of Memphis and is eager to learn more about the geography.

I got to get away, study my geography
The singer feels the need to escape and wants to improve his knowledge of geography.

I'm just a shadow of the boy I used to be
The singer feels like a mere trace of his former self.

I used to see the light, now it's all a mystery
The artist can no longer see things clearly and is puzzled by the situation.

I used to feel the beat, now I feel a million miles from Memphis, where the hell is Memphis?
The artist used to be in tune with life but now feels disconnected and still longs to know about Memphis.

I used dirty words never too excessively
The singer has used bad language but not to the extreme.

But saying rock 'n' roll never seemed so bad to me
The singer thinks that the phrase 'rock 'n' roll' is not as offensive as it used to be.

I wanna settle in hip and happy company
The artist desires to be among cool, joyful people.

I was in and out in a second on my way to Memphis, where the hell is Memphis?
The artist was briefly in a place and is still curious about the location of Memphis.

I had a one-way ticket and a little radio
The artist possessed a ticket for a single journey and a small radio.

I turned it on, heard the sound from twenty years ago
The singer switched on the radio and heard music from two decades before.

Somebody smiled and said, that's the only way to go
A person smiled and commented that listening to the music was the best choice.

He died at twenty-one, now nobody's innocent in Memphis, where the hell is Memphis?
The person who smiled likely died young, and now the singer is skeptical about the city of Memphis.

Somebody turned around, said, I got to disagree
An individual said that he disagreed with something that was said.

He wrote that sort of turn people out to anarchy
The individual who disagreed likely wrote something that encourages rebellion.

He made them think about Marlon Brando on TV
The person who wrote the words made others reflect on Marlon Brando's acting on television.

I guess they still went down against anything they got in Memphis, where the hell is Memphis?
The artist assumes that people in Memphis still resist any force that confronts them and remains curious about the location of Memphis.

I met a wise old man, he had longer hair than me
The singer encountered an older man who had longer hair than him.

He said, ?Memphis is nothing like it used to be?
The wise old man stated that Memphis has changed a lot over time.

A hundred dead guitarists lying in the cemetery
There are many deceased guitarists buried in the cemetery.

I felt a sudden chill, now I'm not so sure about Memphis, where the hell is Memphis?
The artist became uneasy upon hearing this information and is still not entirely convinced about the location of Memphis.

I'm on a lonesome train, on a lonesome track
The artist is traveling alone on a solitary train that follows an isolated path.

I guess I'll jump right off, head for home, double back
The singer intends to disembark and return home, and then go back to square one to try again.

And though I'm better now I know that no one knows the facts
The artist has healed emotionally, but understands that there is no set truth.

I guess I'll start again, forget I ever heard about Memphis, where the hell is
The singer will make a fresh beginning and erase all memories of the mysterious location of Memphis.

Where the hell is
The singer is still questioning the elusive location of Memphis.

Where the hell is
The singer is still questioning the elusive location of Memphis.

Where the hell is
The artist is still questioning the elusive location of Memphis.

Where the hell is Memphis?
The artist is still questioning the elusive location of Memphis.