Istanbul
Tom and Marlon Lyrics
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Living in a medicine chest
Mediteromanian hotel back
Sprawled across a roll top desk
That old monkey rode a blade on an overhead fan
They paint the donkey blue if you pay
I got a telephone call from Istanbul
My baby's coming home today
Get me out of town is what fireball said
Never trust a man in a blue trench coat
Never drive a car when you're dead
Saturday's a festival, oh now Saturday's a gem
Follow me to Beulah's on dry creek road
I got to wear the hat that my baby done sewed
Will you sell me one of those, shave my head
Get me out of town is what fireball said
Never trust a man in a blue trench coat
Never drive a car when you're dead
Saturday's a festival, Friday's a gem
Dye your hair yellow baby
Follow me to Beulah's
I just got to wear the hat that my baby done
Will you sell me one of those, shave my head
Get me out of town is what fireball said
Never trust a man in a blue trench coat
Never drive a car when you're dead
Saturday's a festival, Friday's a gem
Dye your hair yellow baby
Follow me to Beulah's
I just got to wear the hat that my baby done sewed
Will you sell me one of those, shave my head
Get me out of town is what fireball said
Never trust a man in a blue trench coat
Never drive a car when you're dead
Saturday's a festival, now Friday's just a gem sweetheart
Follow me to Beulah's on dry creek road
I just got to wear the hat that my baby done
The lyrics to Tom and Marlon's song “Istanbul” seem to be a collection of somewhat nonsensical phrases and ideas thrown together to create a dream-like narrative. The singer describes being in a state of distress, wandering on broken glass and living in a medicine chest, suggesting a desire to escape from something. The mention of the “Mediteromanian hotel” and the line “They paint the donkey blue if you pay” creates an image of a strange and mysterious place, perhaps suggesting the idea of being lost or displaced.
The second half of the song shifts to a conversation between the singer and someone named Fireball, who is urging the singer to leave town and warning against trusting a man in a blue trench coat or driving a car when you're dead. There's also a mention of Beulah's on Dry Creek Road and a hat that the singer's baby has sewn, indicating a desire to return to some sort of home or rootedness.
Overall, it's hard to determine a clear meaning from the lyrics, but the disjointed and surreal imagery creates a dreamlike and whimsical atmosphere that's engaging in its own right.
Line by Line Meaning
I was all night long on the broken glass
I spent all night walking on shards of broken glass
Living in a medicine chest
It felt like living inside a medicine chest
Mediteromanian hotel back
I was staying in the back of a Mediterranean-Romanian hotel
Sprawled across a roll top desk
I was lying across a roll top desk, probably asleep or incapacitated
That old monkey rode a blade on an overhead fan
An old monkey was riding a fan blade above me
They paint the donkey blue if you pay
You can get a donkey painted blue if you pay for it
I got a telephone call from Istanbul
I received a phone call from someone in Istanbul
My baby's coming home today
My significant other is returning home today
Will you sell me one of those if I shave my head
If I shave my head, will you sell me one of those things?
Get me out of town is what fireball said
Fireball said to get me out of town
Never trust a man in a blue trench coat
Be wary of men wearing blue trench coats
Never drive a car when you're dead
It's impossible to drive a car when you're dead
Saturday's a festival, oh now Saturday's a gem
Saturday used to be a great festival, but now it's just a precious gem
Follow me to Beulah's on dry creek road
Come with me to Beulah's on Dry Creek Road
I got to wear the hat that my baby done sewed
I was able to wear the hat that my significant other sewed for me
Dye your hair yellow baby
Bleach your hair blonde, my dear
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: THOMAS ALAN WAITS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@debbiedowner8365
I like how the guy that tripped her is playing it off like it wasn’t him lol
@sc00bzuk
That's because it wasn't entirely his fault, I mean yeah like the others he does get too close for my liking... however he gets pushed from behind by the larger guy in the blue top and that caused him to knock into Hank's wife.
@guistmagik2506
Ofcourse…. He’s black 😂
@krashd
@@guistmagik2506 Ding ding ding, we found the bigot. What prize do we have for him Stacey?
@thesaiyanelite2359
@@guistmagik2506 hey fuck u racist piece of shits like u belong in hell
@freezedatakeover
@@guistmagik2506 but look who pushed & disappeared trying to make him the escape goat........but hey call it like u see it blame the blk guy rite
@The-Rest-of-Us
They’re lucky it wasn’t Will Smith’s wife.
@ianrogerburton1670
CLASSIC COMMENT !!!! I spilt my coffee all over that !
@canoffouldrunkengeese
Then they'd be at risk of an STI
@Wafelwaffel
this comment is going places