Waits, Tom - Georgia Lee Lyrics






Cold was the night, hard was the ground
They found her in a small grove of trees
Lonesome was the place where Georgia was found
She's too young to be out
On the street.

Why wasn't God watching?
Why wasn't God listening?
Why wasn't God there for
Georgia Lee?

Ida said she couldn't keep Georgia
From dropping out of school
I was doing the best that I could
But she kept running away from this world
These children are so hard to raise good

Why wasn't God watching?
Why wasn't God listening?
Why wasn't God there for
Georgia Lee?

Close your eyes and count to ten
I will go and hide but then
Be sure to find me. I want you to find me
And we'll play all over
We will play all over again

There's a toad in the witch grass
There's a crow in the corn
Wild flowers on a cross by the road
And somewhere a baby is crying
For her mom
As the hills turn from green back
To gold

Why wasn't God watching?
Why wasn't God listening?
Why wasn't God there for
Georgia Lee?





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Waits, Tom Georgia Lee Comments
  1. R.... K....

    One. The best Just beutiful

  2. J.... S....

    From his 1999 album “Mule Variations”.

  3. p.... ....

    If there was a knighthood for America, this guy would be Sir Tom. Incomparable emotion.

  4. z.... P....

    It takes a genius to tell, in one short, spare, heart wrenching song, the story of millions of lost, broken girls. What a miracle is Tom Waits.

    z.... P....

    "Why wasn't God watching?" If anyone happened to listen to NPR recently, Warren Zanes (producer of a recent album of Waits covers), capped an interview with Scott Simon with a devastatingly perfect observation: "if you're a writer and that's the only line you write in your entire career, you should be studied in universities."

  5. T.... M....

    What a sensitive sad song, Waits makes us feel it deep in our hearts.  Like many of his songs, he's a true genius with words and melodies

  6. M.... M....

    I'm here after Kamille McKinney. I don't know why, but after hearing the news I had to come here. Why wasn't God watching? Why does this keep happening?

  7. B.... M....

    This is the story of Georgia Lee Moses who was kidnapped & killed in Sonoma County CA. Her disappearance & murder received minimal attention compared to that of another local kidnap victim Polly Klaas. Tom also lives here. God bless him for writing this. Also Google Georgia Lee Moses & share her story. The murder is still unsolved.

  8. M.... P....

    Now she s on a better Place.
    Little georgia. And all the other Victims.
    ....

  9. r.... ....

    Cold was the night and hard was the ground
    They found her in a small grove of trees
    And lonesome was the place where Georgia was found
    She's too young to be out on the street

    Why wasn't God watching?
    Why wasn't God listening?
    Why wasn't God there
    For Georgia Lee?

    Ida said she couldn't keep Georgia from dropping out of school
    I was doing the best that I could
    Oh, but she just kept running away from this world
    These children are so hard to raise good

    Why wasn't God watching?
    Why wasn't God listening?
    Why wasn't God there
    For Georgia Lee?

    Close your eyes and count to ten
    I will go and hide but then
    Be sure to find me, I want you to find me
    And we'll play all over
    We'll play all over
    We'll play all over
    Again

    There's a toad in the witch grass, there's a crow in the corn
    Wild flowers on a cross by the road
    And somewhere a baby is crying for her mom
    As the hills turn from green back to gold

    And why wasn't God watching?
    Why wasn't God listening?
    Why wasn't God there
    For Georgia Lee?

    Why wasn't God watching?
    Why wasn't God listening?
    And why wasn't God there
    For Georgia Lee?

  10. A.... B....

    Ich mag den song

  11. k.... ....

    So beautiful but so painfully sad....

  12. F.... M....

    Thanks Tom for all !!

  13. d.... s....

    yeah I want to die before the end of the Stones

  14. R.... N....

    BEAUTIFUL WORK.
    Looking forward to seeing Tom in the new Jim Jarsmusch movie

  15. D.... ....

    The My Favorite Murder podcast brought me here! Big Tom Waits fan but I had no clue about this song!

  16. c.... p....

    A Little Rain part 2

  17. J.... N....

    Musically, it's the cadential suspensions in the piano that tug at the heartstrings, the melody notes that take time to resolve themselves . .

  18. j.... B....

    This song shows the genius of Tom Waits. My wife and I are drawn to this song like a moth is drawn to a flame. It is so powerful, poignant and sad. Often we cry listening to it, but keep coming back again and again. The chorus of hide and seek is gut wrenching. The girl wanted to hide but wanted so much to be found. It is more than a game; it is a cry for help, security and life. Tom, you are a genius.

  19. J.... B....

    why do i go straight to this son every time i play this album,,an i i strange?? help me someone,,

  20. D.... M....

    If you let yourself get sucked into the world of Tom Waits, this kind of song will absolutely make you cry. Play it for a casual music listener, and it might go over their head, but if you can manage to let go and immerse yourself in the song, it's been said by another YouTube commenter here, if you don't cry you don't have a soul.

    This song and the song Widow's Grove. Oh man. Those are just two off the top of my head.

    One of the goddamn finest songwriters this world will ever see.

  21. m.... s....

    This and A Little Rain really shows how much Tom thinks and cares about young kids that go missing and tragically lose their lives.

  22. P.... A....

    Anybody beside me that did some thinking after listening to this?

  23. M.... A....

    Cold was the night and hard was the ground
    They found her in a small grove of trees
    And lonesome was the place where Georgia was found
    She's too young to be out on the street
    Why wasn't God watching?
    Why wasn't God listening?
    Why wasn't God there
    For Georgia Lee?
    Ida said she couldn't keep Georgia from dropping out of school
    I was doing the best that I could
    Oh, but she just kept running away from this world
    These children are so hard to raise good
    Why wasn't God watching?
    Why wasn't God listening?
    Why wasn't God there
    For Georgia Lee?
    Close your eyes and count to ten
    I will go and hide but then
    Be sure to find me, I want you to find me
    And we'll play all over
    We'll play all over
    We'll play all over
    Again
    There's a toad in the witch grass, there's a crow in the corn
    Wild flowers on a cross by the road
    And somewhere a baby is crying for her mom
    As the hills turn from green back to gold
    And why wasn't God watching?
    Why wasn't God listening?
    Why wasn't God there
    For Georgia Lee?
    Why wasn't God watching?
    Why wasn't God listening?
    And why wasn't God there
    For Georgia Lee?

  24. P.... A....

    This guy and John Prine are treasures. Both of them do songs that make me cry.

    P.... A....

    You got that right, my man!

  25. T.... S....

    My favorite Christmas song

  26. P.... L....

    Maravillosa, pero te puede joder el día. A consumir con mucha moderacion.

  27. M.... ....

    Poor Georgia Lee

  28. p.... ....

    his saddest song, and that's saying a lot.

    p.... ....

    Pony matches it, I think.

  29. V.... M....

    y dios no miraba
    y dios no escuchaba.

  30. S.... R....

    For Georgia Lee Moses.

  31. T.... ....

    Damn Tom , it’s a sad song.

  32. W.... S....

    The juxtaposition of the horror with the playful words of a child playing hide and seek just kills me. Like many others , I'm careful to listen to this song only at special times. it's just too powerful.

  33. t.... ....

    Why wasn't God watching?

  34. T.... S....

    be sure to find me
    I want you to find me
    and we'll play all over
    we'll play all over
    we will play all over again

  35. J.... C....

    cool music

  36. J.... J....

    100% ensaddening song.  Based on a true, sad, sad story.  Gotta go, dust got in my eyes.

  37. R.... R....

    FANTASTIC SONG AND A CREDIT TO THE WRITER.

  38. K.... B....

    Well? Why wasn't God there for Georgia Lee?

    K.... B....

    Kevin Booth the unresolved tension of the unanswered question. Kind of like life 🙇

    K.... B....

    Because: God's Away On Business

    K.... B....

    No he was too busy watching Tim Tebow scoring touchdowns.

  39. R.... ....

    Fucking beautiful song.

  40. z.... w....

    It sounds like a lullaby. Pure poetry

    z.... w....

    It sounds a lot like amazing grace, especially the first part

  41. p.... ....

    che dire,struggente

  42. J.... P....

    I cry every time I hear this song...

  43. N.... ....

    If you don't weep listening to this and reflecting on the lyrics then you have no soul.

  44. L.... L....

    the "close your eyes and count to 10" verse gets me everytime "be sure to find me, I want you to find me"

    L.... L....

    So much wisdom in such few words. Clarity that cuts through all.

    L.... L....

    Me too, I'm crying just from reading your comment. 😭

    L.... L....

    Every fucking time...

  45. P.... ....

    He's a one in a million artist. Best of our time.

  46. D.... C....

    "Ida said she couldn't keep Georgia from dropping out of school
    'I was doing the best that I could
    'Oh, but she just kept running away from this world
    'These children are so hard to raise good.'"

  47. C.... G....

    who cannot appreciate this? I appreciate my father that much more because even if it came to putting another kids eye out by throwing rocks, he always said, not on my watch!. And dammit, it is always his watch! But the father is not blame. Sad, thank God for parents. They can never stop watching and will always take the blame. This guy is so marvelous. I love ALL his music but most don't get it.

    C.... G....

    "Sad, thank God for parents. They can never stop watching and will always take the blame..." So true, so heartbreakingly true.

  48. M.... L....

    I can't listen to this song without crying. I have to be careful not to play it at certain times (it's not always convenient to start weeping uncontrollably).

    M.... L....

    Maggie Layne I saw tom waits the day after Lou reed died me and my little brother were crying.

    M.... L....

    Come on chaps. Stop feeling sorry for yourselves and pull yourself together...
    ...we've got a planet to destroy.

    M.... L....

    One time I put on a Tom Waits album in YouTube while I was doing editing for an english version of a porn manga

    Everything was going fine until this song came up, and I had to stop working 'cause I was too busy crying. lol

    M.... L....

    Makes me cry too everytime

    M.... L....

    Georgia.l3

  49. D.... M....

    here is a link true story http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Body-Found-Could-Be-Missing-Girl-2806971.php

  50. p.... d....

    breaks my heart this song wonderful!!!!!!!Thank you Tom

  51. p.... O....

    è un pezzo fantastico!

  52. F.... B....

    Just breaks my heart

  53. L.... M....

    Apparently he found this article in the newspaper about a 12 year old girl getting murdered and was super moved by it, then wrote the song.

    L.... M....

    Yeah, her name was Georgia Lee Moses

    L.... M....

    It was more than that. Tom lives in Petaluma, California, which is where Georgia Lee Moses's body was found. She was largely forgotten, both by family and community. That's the heartbreak. A little local girl missing, then murdered, and nobody really cared. http://tinyurl.com/y84qzayu

  54. S.... F....

    Tom and Shane Macgowan - Only two that give me goosebumps and chills.

    S.... F....

    @Steve Frank you're a man of good taste

  55. b.... p....

    Nothing moves me more then this and Tom Trauberts Blues. Genius.I'm an actor and I use this in my work. Thank you Mr. Waits.

  56. c.... ....

    " Be sure to find me, i want you to find me" that's all these kids want!

  57. A.... A....

    This is so beautiful, the lyrics break my heart

  58. A.... R....

    Forgot, Hi to all U Raindogs out there.

  59. A.... R....

    Anybody know the back story?

    A.... R....

    My childhood friend georgia moses was murdered at age 12 and the killer was never caught ...

    A.... R....

    and no one fucking cared because she was black, from a poor family, and wasn't a model student. she was 12, caring for her mother and younger sister and dodging her mother's registered sex offender boyfriend.

  60. F.... L....

    And we'll play all over, and we'll play over
    Again

    It doesn't get any sadder than that.

  61. F.... B....

    An old soul that has seen it all.

  62. o.... c....

    canzone stupenda. ricca di ricordi

  63. S.... D....

    What can you say. The guy is a genius

  64. F.... ....

    ..as the hills turn from green back to gold ..

  65. S.... J....

    He makes my mouth dry en my eyes wet...........
    Feeling alive!

  66. R.... L....

    Hahahahhaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!

  67. m.... ....

    Thers so many of Mr Waits lyrics that makes one cry. It´s because he se into everyone´s heart and know how it´s to be a human without our masks. I love the man...

  68. P.... M....

    There is no other voice like Tom's. He evokes great sadness in me. There is something extraordinary in his instrumental arrangements and in that slightly out-of-tune piano he plays.

  69. T.... I....

    I just learned this on guitar. Cried like a baby ... this man is a gem.

  70. r.... ....

    So......Who's the idiot who missed the like button?

  71. J.... ....

    Take a bow.

  72. T.... ....

    @415Prof I study theology...it makes this even more powerful, to my mind (and my heart.)

  73. T.... ....

    This song makes me cry.

  74. N.... M....

    one of his best

  75. B.... ....

    wonderful!!!!!!!