Bamboo Road
Deville Willy Lyrics

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I wake up in the morning
And I'll work 'till night
My skin has turned brown
From that sun so bright
All night I'm tossing and turning
'Cause my dreams are so strong
And my hands they callous
'Cause my working day's too long

Up on Bamboo Road
Up on Bamboo Road
Yes you're sweeter than a sugar cane
Up on Bamboo Road

We walk out to the cane fields
All thirty-five men
At 12 o'clock they give us water
And we stagger back again
4 o'clock the sun gets higher
I hear that screen door slam
See you in the big house kitchen window
From the cane fields I'm in

Up on Bamboo Road
Up on Bamboo Road
Yes you're sweeter than a sugar cane
Sweeter than that sugar cane
Sweeter than sugar cane
Up on Bamboo Road

I want to hold you close cher
I can only see you when I can
All day I cut that pure cane sugar
But I'm still a starving man

Up on Bamboo Road
Up on Bamboo Road
Yes you're sweeter than a sugar cane
Sweeter than the sugar cane

Sweeter than the sugar cane
Up on Bamboo Road

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Deville Willy's song Bamboo Road paint a picture of hard work, dedication, and longing for something more. The singer wakes up early in the morning and works all day until night, resulting in a sun-kissed brown complexion and calloused hands. Despite the exhausting work and restless nights, the singer has a strong dream that drives them forward. The phrase "Up on Bamboo Road" is a callback to a special place where the person they are singing to is, seemingly so much sweeter than the hard work and grind of day-to-day life. The singer describes walking out to the cane fields with thirty-five other men, taking breaks for water at noon, and working until the sun gets higher at 4 pm. While they work in the cane fields, they can glance back and see the person they're singing to through the big house kitchen window.

The repetition of "Up on Bamboo Road" throughout the song is like a refrain, helping to firmly place the song in a specific location, which the lyrics suggest is where the singer wants to be, which is with the person they’re singing to. The singer longs to hold them close but is only able to see them when they can. The melting pot of different cultural references in the lyrics, from the singer's brown skin to the sugar cane and the big house kitchen window, evokes a sense of the American South during the time of slavery and sharecropping. The song seems to celebrate the indomitable spirit of those who work tirelessly in the face of adversity, and the hope that comes from belonging to something bigger than yourself.

Line by Line Meaning

I wake up in the morning
I start my day early

And I'll work 'till night
I work hard all day until it's dark

My skin has turned brown
My skin has tanned from working in the sun

From that sun so bright
The sun is very strong where I work

All night I'm tossing and turning
I have trouble sleeping because I have strong dreams

'Cause my dreams are so strong
My dreams are very powerful

And my hands they callous
My hands are rough from working so much

'Cause my working day's too long
I work too much and it's hard on my hands

Up on Bamboo Road
I work on a road called Bamboo Road

Yes you're sweeter than a sugar cane
I think you are very sweet and special to me

We walk out to the cane fields
I work in sugarcane fields with 35 other men