Old Crow Medicine Show – Motel In Memphis lyrics

Old Crow Medicine Show – Motel In Memphis lyrics

Were you there when the man from Atlanta was
Murdered in Memphis?
Did you see him laying at the Lorraine Motel?
Did you hear them say that the cia is witness
To the murder of a man at a motel in Memphis?

[Chorus:]
Motel in Memphis
Motel in Memphis
Run and tell somebody
There's blood on the riverside
Oh muddy water
Rollin' to Memphis
If you were there you'd swear
It was more then a man who died

Did you see Coretta she was sobbing on
The corner in her black veil?
Did you see Mr. Crump in a white coat grin?
Did you walk downriver where the cottonwoods are swinging
With ghostly bodies of men?

[Chorus:]

Were you there with Mahalia wailing at the funeral?
Did you watch them lower his casket in?
Did you tremble when you thought about the future
And cry out for a martyred man?

[Chorus:]

Lyrics taken from /lyrics/o/old_crow_medicine_show/motel_in_memphis.html

Songwriters: KETCH SECOR

Motel In Memphis lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Submitted by Iopt

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Motel In Memphis meanings

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Unregistered 2014-09-26 13:51:19

This song is obviously about the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King jr. April 4, 1968 at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennesse. The government ( if you are a "conspiracy theory" buff) used James Earl Ray as their scapegoat to cover up that the CIA was actually behind the murder.
The lyrics of this song to me though somewhat short ,speak volumes. I think the song was well thought out, well written and very well delivered by Old Crow Medicine Show on their CD "Tennessee Pusher".
The line " Did you walk down river where the Cotton Woods were swinging with the ghostly bodies of men?" reminds all of all the senseless and horrific murders in the south throughout the years by the lowly KKK who would hang men out of racism and hate.
The song also mentions the first names of the people who were left behind to mourn the passing of their treasured loved one Dr. King. The lyrics also mention Mr. Crump in his white suit grinning at the fact that the good DR. would no longer be a thorn in the side of the Government in the Southern states. This tragic event in American history is also ironic due to the fact that Dr. King stood for peaceful change but was violently murdered because of his beliefs.
A very tragic , senseless and sad event.

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