Quinn The Eskimo
Kris Kristofferson Lyrics


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Ev'rybody's building the big ships and the boats,
Some are building monuments,
Others, jotting down notes,
Ev'rybody's in despair,
Ev'ry girl and boy
But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here,
Ev'rybody's gonna jump for joy.
Come all without, come all within,
You'll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn.

I like to do just like the rest, I like my sugar sweet,
But guarding fumes and making haste,
It ain't my cup of meat.
Ev'rybody's 'neath the trees,
Feeding pigeons on a limb
But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here,
All the pigeons gonna run to him.
Come all without, come all within,
You'll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn.

A cat's meow and a cow's moo, I can recite 'em all,
Just tell me where it hurts yuh, honey,
And I'll tell you who to call.
Nobody can get no sleep,
There's someone on ev'ryone's toes
But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here,
Ev'rybody's gonna wanna doze.




Come all without, come all within,
You'll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn

Overall Meaning

In this song, Kris Kristofferson is describing a world in despair where everybody is building big ships and monuments, and others are taking notes. Everyone is feeling a sense of hopelessness and despair, but all that changes when Quinn the Eskimo arrives. Kristofferson suggests that Quinn has a magical ability to bring joy and happiness wherever he goes. The chorus repeats the invitation for everyone to come along and witness the arrival of Quinn the Eskimo.


The second verse of the song reveals that Kristofferson is not like everyone else. He doesn't like to rush or to guard fumes. The people around him are all feeding pigeons, but when Quinn arrives, the pigeons will run to him, leaving everyone mystified by his presence. The final verse suggests that Quinn is the solution to all problems, knowing how to treat every ailment and always being calm and collected.


The song's lyrics were an example of Bob Dylan's stream-of-consciousness style of writing, which he employed in many of his early works. Dylan started writing the song in 1966 during the recording of his album "Blonde on Blonde," and he offered the song to Manfred Mann, who recorded it in 1968. However, the song did not become a hit until the release of the version recorded by the band, The Byrds, in 1969. Since then, the song has been covered by many other artists.


Line by Line Meaning

Ev'rybody's building the big ships and the boats,
Everyone is busy building large ships and boats.


Some are building monuments,
Some are constructing monuments.


Others, jotting down notes,
Others are taking notes.


Ev'rybody's in despair,
Everyone is sad.


Ev'ry girl and boy
All girls and boys.


But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here,
When Quinn the Eskimo arrives,


Ev'rybody's gonna jump for joy.
Everyone will be happy and excited.


Come all without, come all within,
Everyone is welcome.


You'll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn.
You will see something extraordinary and amazing like Quinn.


I like to do just like the rest, I like my sugar sweet,
I enjoy doing what everyone else does, and I like my sugar to be sweet.


But guarding fumes and making haste,
However, I do not like guarding gases and rushing.


It ain't my cup of meat.
It is not something I enjoy doing.


Ev'rybody's 'neath the trees,
Everyone is under the trees.


Feeding pigeons on a limb
They feed the pigeons on a branch.


But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here,
But when Quinn the Eskimo arrives,


All the pigeons gonna run to him.
All the pigeons will run to him.


A cat's meow and a cow's moo, I can recite 'em all,
I can recite all animal sounds.


Just tell me where it hurts yuh, honey,
Just tell me where it hurts, my dear.


And I'll tell you who to call.
And I will tell you who to call for help.


Nobody can get no sleep,
Nobody can sleep.


There's someone on ev'ryone's toes
Everyone is being bothered.


But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here,
But when Quinn the Eskimo arrives,


Ev'rybody's gonna wanna doze.
Everyone will want to take a nap.


Come all without, come all within,
Everyone is welcome.


You'll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn.
You will see something extraordinary and amazing like Quinn.




Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BOB DYLAN

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

Virginia Hanna

I love Kris for doing this! He has written so many songs that others sang better than he did. But this one, written by someone else, is by far the very best version of Quinn!

Brett.S

Totally agree

biggestkkfan

Cool cover by Kris. Just awesome.

Virginia Hanna

I cannot stop listening to this. Thank you for the upload!

K Tapani

Absololutely charismatic performance ! The Man is 79 yrs old !

MerlePsyA

I love this cool, laid-back, unpretentious version of the Bob Dylan song sung by Kris Kristopherson. Kristopherson lets the song sing itself. Much more meaningful than other versions, which sound like noise next to this easy-going rendition.

Nita Lay

The chorus is double-tracked; he's singing with himself. Love the laid-backness of it. It's so Kris. If I'm not mistaken, this was recorded in his house.

GORDY PARDEE

I in college back east, and I saw Kris at a little club called Lennie's on the Turnpike in Peabody, Mass in 1971... the entire set was all the songs from his 2nd album "Silver Tongued Devil and I" a few months before the album was released. A veteran, a patriotic, and a bard for the ages. And a positive role model for this gringo kid... That's Kris Kristofferson.

Nick Heitzeberg

Excellent version.Great stuff.

Katimae

interesting. I heard the words more clearly than in anyone else's rendition I've ever heard!

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