Tennessee
Jan And Deam Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Bopbopbopbopbop bopbopbopbopbop
Bop bop bop bop bopbopbopbopbopbopbop
Bopbopbopbopbop bopbopbopbopbop
Bop bop bop bop bopbopbopbopbopbopbop
Bopbopbopbopbop bopbopbopbopbop
Bop bop bop bop bopbopbopbopbopbopbop
Bopbopbopbopbop bopbopbopbopbop
Bop bop bop bop bopbopbopbopbopbopbop

Bop bop bopbop bop bopbopbop
Bopbopbopbopbop bopbopbopbopbop
Bop bop bop bop bopbopbopbopbopbopbop
Bopbopbopbopbop bopbopbopbopbop
Bop bop bop bop bopbopbopbopbopbopbop

Sweeter than the birds that go in the trees
That's what she meant to me
Sweeter than the wine and she looked so fine
When she met me in Tennessee

I felt so grand when she took my hand
And said, 'Come, go with me'
Held me tight on a moonlit night
Someplace in Tennessee

Bopbopbopbopbop bopbopbopbopbop
Bop bop bop bop bopbopbop bop bop
Bopbopbopbopbop bopbopbopbopbop
Bop bop bop bop bopbopbopbopbopbopbop

Bopbopbopbopbop bopbopbopbopbop
Bop bop bop bop bopbopbopbopbopbopbop
Bopbopbopbopbop bopbopbopbopbop
Bop bop bop bop bopbopbopbopbopbopbop
Bopbopbopbopbop bopbopbopbopbop
Bop bop bop bop bopbopbopbopbopbopbop
Bopbopbopbopbop bopbopbopbopbop
Bop bop bop bop bopbopbopbopbopbopbop

Sweeter than the birds that go in the trees
That's what she meant to me
Sweeter than the wine and she looked so fine
When I met her in Tennessee

I felt so grand when she took my hand
And said, 'Come, go with me'
Held me tight on a moonlit night
Someplace in Tennessee

Bopbopbopbopbop bopbopbopbopbop
Bop bop bop bop bopbopbop bop bop
Bopbopbopbopbop bopbopbopbopbop
Bop bop bop bop bopbopbopbopbopbopbop

Bopbopbopbopbop bopbopbopbopbop
Bop bop bop bop bopbopbopbopbopbopbop




Bopbopbopbopbop bopbopbopbopbop
Bop bop bop bop bopbopbop bop bop

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Tennessee" by Jan and Dean are repetitive and simple, with a lot of "bop bop" sounds. However, the song is actually about a sweet and romantic encounter with a girl in Tennessee. The singer talks about how the girl was sweeter than the birds in the trees or the wine, and how he felt so grand when she took his hand and asked him to come with her. They spent a moonlit night together and it was a really special moment for him.


The simplicity of the song's lyrics is part of its charm. It's a catchy tune that can quickly get stuck in your head, and the repetition makes it easy to sing along to. However, it's the romantic sentiment behind the words that really makes the song stand out. The singer's love for the girl in Tennessee is pure and innocent, and the song captures the feeling of young love in a memorable way.


Line by Line Meaning

Bopbopbopbopbop bopbopbopbopbop
The repetitive beat of the song


Bop bop bop bop bopbopbopbopbopbopbop
Continuing the beat


Bopbopbopbopbop bopbopbopbopbop
The beat is still going


Bop bop bop bop bopbopbopbopbopbopbop
The beat is still going, getting louder and more intense


Bopbopbopbopbop bopbopbopbopbop
The beat is still going, continuing to build up


Bop bop bop bop bopbopbopbopbopbopbop
The beat has reached its peak


Bopbopbopbopbop bopbopbopbopbop
The beat is still going, but with less intensity


Bop bop bop bop bopbopbopbopbopbopbop
The beat is still going, but softly and gently


Sweeter than the birds that go in the trees
The girl in Tennessee is sweeter than the sound of singing birds


That's what she meant to me
The girl holds a special place in the singer's heart


Sweeter than the wine and she looked so fine
The girl is so sweet and beautiful that she outshines even the finest wine


When she met me in Tennessee
The girl and the singer met each other in Tennessee


I felt so grand when she took my hand
The singer felt amazing when the girl held his hand


And said, 'Come, go with me'
The girl invited the singer to go somewhere with her


Held me tight on a moonlit night
The girl hugged the singer tightly on a beautiful, moonlit night


Someplace in Tennessee
The pair spent this special moment in some unknown and magical location in Tennessee




Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: JAMES E CASON, ROBERT RUSSELL

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found
Comments from YouTube:

Dino Slaughter

Should have been a big hit for them! It defies anyone to sit still.

Wesley Wade

Jan and Dean are truly musical genius!!! They will always reign as the originators of Surf Music, and are the inspiration that led to the Beach Boys and a dozen lesser groups...

rburnsiv

Jan and Dean were doing stuff like this until The Beach Boys. Then they started doing surf music.

johntubeseven

One of Jan & Dean's greatest! On my "Legendary Masters" LP the tuba is very prominant in the mix, and the song sounds like a fast polka. On all of the CD reissues I've heard (so far) you can barely hear it in the background. Anybody know where one might find a good CD copy where you can actually hear the tuba?

jonathan trainham

Bought the 7" of this song at a record store for a quarter along with Baby Talk and it is one of the greatest songs I heard. It reminds me of Surfing Bird in the intro.

DerekEvan

I agree with you buddy! I have always enjoyed listening to this Jan & Dean record. This record did come out as a single and did end up somewhere on the Hot 100 chart, but unfortunately, it never hit the national Top 40. This was one of the last doo-wop flavored records they did, before switching over to the surf & hot rod sounds in 1963.

John Foster

Thanks, bf57. A HUGE hit here in Australia - we'd do the stomp to it at the local surf club on a Saturday night. (As a non-swimmer, though, I didn't fit into the scene too well.)

ronaldjevans

An interesting feature is the abundance of key changes. It starts out in B flat, then changes to B, E, F, D flat, D, C, F, D flat, D at 17, 27, 37, 47, 55, 1:05, 1:21, 1:39, and 1:55 respectively.

Doug Helms

Hard to believe the Beatles could have knocked this one off the charts.

Dean Witham

Love this song.
Hot Rod (aka Rebel of the Road) taught me well when I was a mere babe !!!

More Comments

More Versions