My girl, my girl, don't lie to me
Tell me where did you sleep last night
In the pines, in the pines, where the sun don't ever shine
I would shiver the whole night through

My girl, my girl, where will you go
I'm going the cold wind blows
In the pines, in the pines, where the sun don't ever shine
I would shiver the whole night through

My girl, my girl, don't you lie to me
Tell me where did you sleep last night
In the pines, in the pines, where the sun don't ever shine
I would shiver the whole night through

My husband was a hardworking man
Killed a mile and a half from here
His head was found in a driving wheel
And his body hasn't ever been found

My girl, my girl, don't you lie to me
Tell me where did you sleep last night
In the pines, in the pines, where the sun don't ever shine
I would shiver the whole night through



Lyrics submitted by Airyca

Track duration: 03:02

"Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" as written by H. Ledbetter

Lyrics © T.R.O. INC.

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Where Did You Sleep Last Night? song meanings
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10 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:BTW the Mark Lanegan is decent but when compared to nirvanas unplugged or lead belly's original can't hold a candle. Saying the nirvana version is better than lead belly's is like comparing apples to oranges though they both strike me differently depending on my mood.
    Flag CaseyWildroseon April 06, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:From the version that lead Belly copied this line is in the voice of the husband "My girl, my girl, don't lie to me Tell me where did you sleep last night" The next line was the wife answering "In the pines, in the pines, where the sun don't ever shine I would shiver the whole night through". It goes on like that for a while until the wife gets a full stanza "My husband was a hardworking man Killed a mile and a half from here His head was found in a driving wheel And his body hasn't ever been found".
    Flag CaseyWildroseon April 06, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The driving wheel is the lead wheel on the locomotive.
    Flag jim1965on September 06, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Great song! Does anyone know what the line "His head was found in a driving wheel" means?
    Flag XZYOEon April 26, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This is one of those songs where you can imagine living in it.
    Flag robocloneon September 15, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I had all my song comments deleted for some reason...

    This is leadbellys version of "In The Pines", Which he also does a direct cover of, which I posted lyrics to, though they not be exactly right as I couldnt make out the last line properly.
    Flag FackingHellon August 23, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Mark Lanegan (notice no "h") did a wonderful cover of this traditional song as featured on "The Winding Sheet".

    An interesting side note is that both Kurt Cobain & Krist Novoselic of Nirvana fame performed on Lanegan's cover.

    The song itself is so timeless that it's very amazing to hear the myriads of different interpretations.
    Flag brittoneasonon February 23, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:I would say the Nirvana version is just as amazing if not more amazing than this one.
    Flag luapmiton July 26, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song is pretty self-explanitry, i have not head the Mark Lanaghen version although in my opinion the Nirvana version is nothing more than amazing. The vocals are so strong and emotional, although this version is in its own right is outstanding.
    Flag Rinnyon July 15, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Fantastic song. A way better version then the Nirvana remake. The singers little side coments as he plays are just down right creepy.

    Mark Lanaghen did a great version of this song, not as good as this one, but better then Nirvanas on one of his solo cd's.

    Both are well worth getting a hold of.

    Also, as a side note, any Twin Peaks fan's out there? A lot of this song seems to have some meaning to what goes on in the show. Ie) A lot of pine trees, girls sleep around, people dying and even on of teh songs on teh show is called "In the trees"
    Flag dmalleton June 02, 2005   Link

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