Quartermaster's Stores
The Shadows Lyrics


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There are snakes, snakes, snakes
Big as garden rakes
At the store! At the store!
There are snakes, snakes, snakes
Big as garden rakes, at the Quartermaster's store

My eyes are dim I can-not see
I have not got my specs with me
I have HEY! Not HO! got my specs with me

There are mice, mice, mice
Running though the rice
At the store! At the store!




There are mice, mice, mice
Running through the rice, at the Quartermaster's store

Overall Meaning

The Shadows's "Quartermaster's Stores" is a fun and unique song that describes the unpleasant conditions that can be found in military stores. The song is full of whimsical yet vivid imagery, with lyrics such as "There are snakes, snakes, snakes, big as garden rakes" and "There are mice, mice, mice, running through the rice." It seems to be written from the perspective of a soldier who is making a delivery to the quartermaster's store and is taken aback by the conditions he finds there.


However, the soldier's attitude towards what he finds is generally lighthearted and good-natured. This is shown in the lines "My eyes are dim I cannot see, I have not got my specs with me" which could imply that he's trying to make excuses for not seeing the full extent of the awful things in the store. Nonetheless, it seems that the soldier is used to such conditions, and the song ends by repeating the first two lines: "There are snakes, snakes, snakes, big as garden rakes, at the Quartermaster's store."


Overall, "Quartermaster's Stores" can be interpreted as a humorous take on the realities of military life, particularly for those who work behind the scenes. It highlights the military's ability to make do with subpar conditions and materials without breaking morale.


Line by Line Meaning

There are snakes, snakes, snakes
The Quartermaster's store has a lot of snakes.


Big as garden rakes
These snakes are very large, as big as garden rakes.


At the store! At the store!
The snakes are located at the Quartermaster's store.


My eyes are dim I can-not see
The artist's eyesight is not good.


I have not got my specs with me
The artist does not have their glasses with them.


I have HEY! Not HO! got my specs with me
The singer corrects themselves and says they actually do have their glasses with them.


There are mice, mice, mice
The Quartermaster's store also has a lot of mice.


Running though the rice
These mice are running through the rice at the store.


At the store! At the store!
The mice are located at the Quartermaster's store.




Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BILL SHEPHERD

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

Fire bird 22

Shadows can rock .played this as a kid. 45 mom & dads .....later on hit the outlaw bike scene got in to
Hendrix...DC zep..ect
Found the shads influenced black sabbath..
Tony iommi....
Our British lads never get the credit....move it..
Bert weeden..Jimmy page
Sited him...and his book on how to play...
I my self pick up a guitar self taught. Played in rock bands..love strats....I'm wondering now if it was hank...as these guy were my first introduction..and subconsciously picked up on it..
Cant stop playing this now I found it...I was only 7...



Giao Nguyen

Took me a while to find my favorite The Shadows ' piece that
in November 1965 I left SaiGon , capital of South VietNam
on a PanAm plane to study in New Zealand with .

What was the title supposed to mean ?

Greetings from America 's Finest City
/S/A/N/ /D/I/E/G/O/ = /d/e/ /S/A/I/G/O/N/
.



All comments from YouTube:

IREN ILLES

Non ci sono commenti , semplicemente stupendo questo brano !😇🎸💞

Sirlei Silva

Muito show amei parabéns tudo de bom adoro essa música ❤❤

Rockin Stevie Lee Choules

great sound!!!! the best instrumental group in the world!!!

Stella Donnelly

Years since I heard this - absolutely love it.

david henry wall

Great band great guitars and drums

Martine Demoustier

je suis fan depuis plus de 50 ans 🎶quel bonheur de réécouter leur musique c était de vrais guitaristes 😁😁❤️❤️🇧🇪

Shailendra SINGH

Zambezi best ever instrumental

IREN ILLES

❤Con questo brano inizio la serata la domenica scorsa la festa della donna .
Non lo conoscevo , ma il stile degli Shadows riconibile riconoscibile , la chitarra elettrica di Hank Marvin 😊 Un saluto cordialmente Irene ❤

EugeneL1956

One of the Shadows lesser known tunes. But not forgotten.

Brad Brassman

Flip side of Apache on the green Columbia label.

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