The Wall
James King Lyrics


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Theres a lot of strange men in cell block ten
But the strangest of them all
Was a friend of mine who spent his time staring at the wall
Staring at thewall

As he stared at that wall so strong and tall
You could hear him softly curse nobody at all
Ever climbed that wall but i'm gona be the first
Yeah i'm gona be the first

The warden walked by and said son don't try
I'd hate to see you fall
For there is no doubt they'll carry you out
If you ever touch that wall
If you ever touch that wall

Well a years gone by since he made his try
But I can still recall
How hard he tried and the way he died
But he never made that wall
He never made that wall

Theres never been a man ever shook this can
But I know a man who tried
The newspapers called it a jail break plan




But I know it was suicide
I know it was suicide

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to James King's song, "The Wall" are about a man who is in prison with other strange men in cell block ten. Among the strange men, there is a man who is different; he spends his time staring at the wall. As he gazes at the tall and strong wall, he curses softly, but it seems he is determined to be the first person to climb it.


The warden warns him not to try and says that he would hate to see him fall. The man, however, ignores the warden's plea, and he continues to plot how he will climb the wall. A year goes by, and he makes his attempt, but he fails, and he dies in the process. Though he tried, he never succeeded in climbing the wall.


The song is a cautionary tale that warns us to be cautious about the choices we make. The man in the song was determined to achieve something that is impossible, and he paid the ultimate price. The lyrics suggest that his death could have been avoided if he had listened to the warden's warning. The song also emphasizes the importance of following rules and authority, as the man died because he chose to disobey the warden's instructions.


Line by Line Meaning

Theres a lot of strange men in cell block ten
There are many curious individuals in the prison block.


But the strangest of them all
However, the most peculiar one was yet to come.


Was a friend of mine who spent his time staring at the wall
This friend of mine simply gazed into one of the walls of his cell.


Staring at the wall
That was his sole pastime.


As he stared at that wall so strong and tall
While staring at that tall and sturdy wall, he thought deeply.


You could hear him softly curse nobody at all
Occasionally, he expressed his frustration but no one in particular was addressed.


Ever climbed that wall but i'm gona be the first
No one had ever climbed that wall. He firmly believed he would be the first one to do so.


Yeah i'm gona be the first
He strongly believed he would be the one to break that record.


The warden walked by and said son don't try
The warden walked by and warned him not to attempt to climb that wall.


I'd hate to see you fall
The warden did not want to witness any harm befall him.


For there is no doubt they'll carry you out
The warden knew his fate if he dared to defy his warning.


If you ever touch that wall
The warning was clear and precise, forbidding him to even touch the wall.


Well a years gone by since he made his try
A year has now passed since he tried to climb the wall.


But I can still recall
However, I can still clearly remember what occurred.


How hard he tried and the way he died
I recall vividly how hard he struggled and the brutal way he passed away.


But he never made that wall
Despite all his efforts, he never achieved his goal of climbing that wall.


Theres never been a man ever shook this can
There was never a man who ever escaped from this prison.


But I know a man who tried
However, I do know of a determined individual who tried to liberate himself.


The newspapers called it a jail break plan
The news outlets dubbed his attempt an elaborate jailbreak plan.


But I know it was suicide
But they were all wrong; in reality, it was his way of committing suicide.




Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JAMES NEWTON HOWARD

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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james


on go

you can't just run from what you hate
the change in state that day
was way to much for people to
tolerate
asphyxiate

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