Pickin Em Up and Layin Em Down
Pickin Em Up and Layin Em Down - meaning Summary
A Restless Wanderer’s Refrain
The poem follows a narrator who moves from city to city encountering attractive women but avoiding commitment. Repeated refrains mimic a traveling rhythm and emphasize restless movement and impulse. Naming San Francisco, Birmingham, and Detroit frames a cross-country itinerary that underlines transience and a preference for novelty over rooted relationships. The voice is colloquial and driven by desire, but also marked by a recurring decision to leave before settling down.
Read Complete AnalysesThere's a long-legged girl in San Francisco by the Golden Gate. She said she'd give me all I wanted but I just couldn't wait. I started to Pickin em up and layin em down, Pickin em up and layin em down, Pickin em up and layin em down, gettin to the next town Baby. There's a pretty brown in Birmingham. Boys, she little and cute but when she like to tied me down I had to grab my suit and started to Pickin em up and layin em down, Pickin em up and layin em down, Pickin em up and layin em down, gettin to the next town Baby. I met that lovely Detroit lady and thought my time had come But just before I said “I do” I said “I got to run” and started to Pickin em up and layin em down, Pickin em up and layin em down, Pickin em up and layin em down,gettin to the next town Baby. There ain't no words for what I feel about a pretty face But if I stay I just might miss a prettier one some place I started to Pickin em up and layin em down, Pickin em up and layin em down, Pickin em up and layin em down, gettin to the next town Baby.
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