Avg rating:
Your rating:
Total ratings: 3688
Length: 6:45
Plays (last 30 days): 0
That day I'll always remember, yes I will.
'Cause that was the day that my daddy died.
I never got a chance to see him.
Never heard nothing but bad things about him.
Mama, I'm depending on you, tell me the truth.
And Mama just hung her head and said,
"Son, Papa was a rolling stone.
Wherever he laid his hat was his home.
(And when he died) All he left us was ALONE."
"Papa was a rolling stone, my son.
Wherever he laid his hat was his home.
(And when he died) All he left us was ALONE."
Well, well.
Hey Mama, is it true what they say,
That Papa never worked a day in his life?
And Mama, bad talk going around town
Saying that Papa had three outside children and another wife.
And that ain't right.
HEARD SOME talk about Papa doing some store front preaching.
TalkIN about saving souls and all the time leeching.
Dealing in debt and stealing in the name of the Lord.
Mama just hung her head and said,
"Papa was a rolling stone, my son.
Wherever he laid his hat was his home.
(And when he died) All he left us was ALONE."
"Hey, Papa was a rolling stone.
Wherever he laid his hat was his home.
(And when he died) All he left us was ALONE."
Uh!
Hey Mama, I heard Papa call himself a jack of all trade.
Tell me is that what sent Papa to an early grave?
Folk say Papa would beg, borrow, steal to pay his bill.
Hey Mama, folk say that Papa was never much on thinking.
Spent most of his time chasing women and drinking.
Mama, I'm depending on you to tell me the truth. Mama looked up with a tear in her eye and said,
"Son, Papa was a rolling stone. (Well, well, well, well)
Wherever he laid his hat was his home.
(And when he died) All he left us was ALONE."
"Papa was a rolling stone.
Wherever he laid his hat was his home.
(And when he died) All he left us was ALONE."
"I said, Papa was a rolling stone. Wherever he laid his hat was his home.
(And when he died) All he left us was ALONE."
Only, it should be an 11.
11+ !!!
Definitely a 10, no question.
Only, it should be an 11.
Definitely a 10, no question.
I AGREE!! Thanx RP!
The whack-a-doo guitar is giving my ears whiplash. Soulful and psychedelic at the same time.
Well put, unclehud!
Hence a rare 10 in my favorites.
Definitely a 10, no question.
I can understand people not giving this a 10, but if you gave it a 1, I'm not really sure why you're listening to RP.
Beeeeeecauuuuuse.. I've heard it a thousand billion times and it bored me to death the first time! SIMPLES!
This song is absolutely brilliant, one of the all-time greats. It's rich without being baroque or ostentatious, and it's beautifully produced--not even slightly slick or overblown. Love it.
Hence a rare 10 in my favorites.
ICONIC!
Sure thing.
Funk at it’s best
If this is funk then 96% of other so called funk isn't fun(k) at all.
GODLIKE!!! ICONIC!!! Better in FLAC w/ great phones, amp & DAC! Thanx RP!
I Agree on all counts!
Absolutlely Godlike! That said 2 years ago Bill played a bluegrass version of this song by a group named Run C&W. I think the devil made him do it. It was as bad as it sounds.
Too Funny!!
see below
32 '1' VOTES?? How - Why. People have you no soul?
It is still permitted to dislike things according to one's personal taste.
32 '1' VOTES?? How - Why. People have you no soul?
There are people like that out there, sadly!
He left them in debt. I always assumed the double entendre was deliberate and super clever.
I doubt, based on his implied employment history, that he would have qualified for any legitimate loan. My guess is that any double entendre that is being read into it is too clever for its own good. Being left alone is devastating enough on its own.
This is a good 6 minutes and 42 seconds of MOTOWN!
the album version is longer and immense, have it on a Japanese CD
Watch "Summer of Soul" for some great memories - why wasn't it released before? Great sounds despite a limited budget.
There are plenty of great covers of originals in the music world, and I think the WasNotWas version of "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" deserves inclusion.
What I did not know was RP has nothing from WasNotWas in the playlist? Their "Are you Okay" album, from 1990 is chock full of offbeat, funky, soulful, funny, music. They amassed an incredible array of very talented people for that compilation. Eclectic indeed. In my opinion, a PERFECT source for new RP additions. I think Bill would have a pleasantly difficult time deciding which songs to add to the playlist. For all you Leonard Cohen fans, "Elvis's Rolls Royce" will have you smiling or laughing out loud.
NOW I can start Taking Names and Kicking Grass.
I feel good. I feel better than James Brown.
I'll share a JD&C with you, friend.
"And all he left us was alone."
Meaning, "He left us alone."
Nothing to do with debt, like "a loan."
It's more clever the way it was written.
There are plenty of great covers of originals in the music world, and I think the WasNotWas version of "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" deserves inclusion.
What I did not know was RP has nothing from WasNotWas in the playlist? Their "Are you Okay" album, from 1990 is chock full of offbeat, funky, soulful, funny, music. They amassed an incredible array of very talented people for that compilation. Eclectic indeed. In my opinion, a PERFECT source for new RP additions. I think Bill would have a pleasantly difficult time deciding which songs to add to the playlist. For all you Leonard Cohen fans, "Elvis's Rolls Royce" will have you smiling or laughing out loud.
NOW I can start Taking Names and Kicking Grass.
If he died and left them a loan, he seems like a pretty decent fella.
https://www.kissthisguy.com/and-when-he-died-all-he-left-us-was-a-l-misheard-136.htm
If that isn't a fundamental truth, I truly do not know what is.
Like The Blues Breakers, Pink Floyd, Cream, The Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin, Queen, The Revolution, Porcupine Tree...
Truly, one of the greatest bands performing one of the greatest tracks ever. Thanks, Bill.
all he left us was alone
or
all he left us was a loan
but now I know
Thanks RP
I remember it in a different key. In a less elaborate version. Maybe a Top 40 version versus a live one?
Even better than the theme from Shaft
well maybe....although that might be cuz I was Richard Roundtree in another life (or Isaac Hayes....can't remember which :-) )
Even better than the theme from Shaft
11 is correctomundo"
—-The Fonz—-
I love the super long intro. I crank up to tunes on the Harley (and some head bob'n starts) when this comes on.
Music from the days when Black Music was a rarity in the Dance Clubs.
One thought: When Papa was such a bad piece, why then has Mama popped him?
one of the few times when a cover is better than the original
but RP has no Was Not Was in their vault
so i included this nifty little link,....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-ke0Cklp6A
(Southampton, NY)
I was compelled to follow the Temps choreography whenever I was lucky enough to see them on tv, Don Cornelius' train or wherever way back then, oh was that something powerful! My suburban white ass trying to follow the steps, and seeing the integrity and charm of these fantastic musicians, super excellent.
Timeless Solid Gold from the Temps
A true classic, which I remember dancing to as a callow adolescent. I hope that folk'll still be playing this a century hence. Pure class songwriting.
R&B was hot for a awhile, eh?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Directions
Tragic song but, yes, a classic.
You're thinking too modern middle class. He'd never get a loan, but when he died he left them alone, poor and struggling.
Before there were payday lenders there were loan sharks. He could get a loan.
I believe the actual lyric is "all he left us was alone", but I always thought there was some sort of deliberate wordplay there - either word works. Anyhow, great tune.
Cisco Kid would do the trick
And if you're feeling really in the groove, some Sly
Sly would make my day right now.
I used to think the same thing when hearing this when I was a kid —- I would always add - for two thousand dollars.
You're thinking too modern middle class. He'd never get a loan, but when he died he left them alone, poor and struggling.
10.
Yes, it absolutely was amazingly fresh and cool beyond anything else. 1972...wow.
Ye...ess...hmm...
I had a similar comment about Vetiver's "You May Be Blue" and the comments following are going off into strange places.
Could we have tumbled upon a sub-genre of music, 70s porn background music? Perhaps a band could form and find success?
Many great non-porn comments here about this classic. Egrey is right: the lyrics (and music) paint a bleak, intense picture. Reminds me right now of Bobby Womack's "Across 110th Street" which Tarantino used in "Jackie Brown" as a nod to the '72 movie "Across 110th Street" with Anthony Quinn and Yaphet Kotto.
Not that difficult now with the numerous multi-effects boxes that are available now (and which are affordable by even the relatively poor amateur player), but back then they must have cost some serious cash.
It sounds primarily like a wah-wah pedal and probably some vibrato through the amp or with a pedal. They were somewhat expensive, but not prohibitively so, especially for a renowned session guitarist like Melvin Ragin.
all he left us was alone
or
all he left us was a loan
but now I know
Thanks RP
Not that difficult now with the numerous multi-effects boxes that are available now (and which are affordable by even the relatively poor amateur player), but back then they must have cost some serious cash.
11+ !!!
this song should be at least 20