Dead leaves and the dirty ground
when I know you're not around
shiny tops and soda pops
when I hear your lips make a sound

Thirty notes in the mailbox
will tell you that I'm coming home
and I think I'm gonna stick around
for a while so you're not alone

If you can hear a piano fall
you can hear me coming down the hall
if I could just hear your pretty voice
I don't think I need to see at all

Soft hair and a velvet tongue
I want to give you what you give to me
and every breath that is in your lungs
is a tiny little gift to me

I didn't feel so bad till the sun went down
then I come home
no one to wrap my arms around

Well any man with a microphone
can tell you what he loves the most
and you know why you love at all
if you're thinking of the holy ghost



Lyrics submitted by weezerific:cutlery

Track duration: 03:04


Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground song meanings
Add your thoughts

124 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment:Okay I thought I had commented on this song before but I just wanted to say that one of the best lyrics I've ever heard is, "and every breath that is in your lungs / is a tiny little gift to me."

    So beautiful
    Flag kaweenuhon May 04, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i agree with minisculexdisease

    he wrote dead leaves and a dirty ground, hotel yorba and now mary while he was with two star tabernacle(in 98 and 99) they even sang them live
    Flag ohidinaon December 28, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I read in an interview that a couple songs from White Blood Cells were songs that Jack had written awhile ago and the two had never recorded. Dead Leaves is supposed to be one of those songs, so it could actually be about Meg. It was a contender for their first album I believe but was never put on it
    Flag minisculexdiseaseon December 26, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:It wouldnt be right if it was all clean cut and pure in the guitar. I think they are the cutest lyrics ever, counteracting the nasty sound of the record perfectly. I don't think this song was ever about Meg, but if it was, he wrote it a long time before they ever recorded it. Who cares anyway? It might not be autobiographical. Maybe it's just Jack talking about someone else from their point of view. It's pretty obvious it's about a girl he really loves but fears he is moving away from :)
    Flag VortexOfLanguageon January 19, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This is the song that made me fall in love with the Stripes.

    I bought White Blood Cells because i wanted to know what all the fuss was about but i didn't know much about the band. As soon as i put it on i was hooked. That big ugly distorted guitar work in the beginning is one of the most beautiful sounds i have ever heard. To me it signaled the return of rock n roll.

    Lyrically the song is great but it means much more to me musically.
    Flag pmo1983on January 01, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Found this song by accident on YouTube. Never heard it before, and now I like it much. I think Jack White is one of the best lyricists in recent years and I think his best songs are the ones where the meaning is somewhat straightforward. The character in question is longing for his former lover and he seems to be drowning in it. The lyrics are simple and the guitar licks are thundering at just the right moments, like when a man is seething just long enough before he explodes. This is the sentiment of the song to me, a man on the verge because his lover has somehow been removed from the picture.

    Jack White has always been good at evoking human sentiment.
    Flag OpinionHeadon December 17, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song really breaks my heart.
    "if I could just hear your pretty voice
    I don't think I need to see at all"
    I can't explain how much I can relate to that line.
    The only boy I've ever loved has the most beautiful voice,
    and these eyes, that could make me smile any day, even if I was in the worst mood ever. I lost him due to my foolishness and would give anything in the world
    just to hear him sing, or talk to me again.
    I love him.
    Flag underthestars123321on October 13, 2009   Link
  • -1
    General Comment:O ya and Jack is hot hot hot!
    I named my puppy after him
    because he has a "White Stripe"
    on his wittle nosey...AWWWWW
    Flagged Udahoon August 07, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I dunno what their relationship is
    aaaaand I don't care. As long as they
    keep rockin out I'm a fan. Love this
    song and I love the Holy Ghost referance,
    however I don't think he meant it as a
    religious thing. I think the going
    home alone part is simply they don't
    live together and he wishes they did.
    That might be a teen love thing though..
    Flag Udahoon August 07, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Just throwin this out there but in the movie they are releasing at the toronto international film festival it simply states in the trailer "a brother and sisters journey across the great white north"... so marriage?? Probly not.
    Flag thehappyhooliganon August 01, 2009   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

Back to top
explain