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The First Thing You Know Lyrics by Lee Marvin

Paint Your Wagon (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

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[BEN]
God made the mountains
God made the sky
God made the people
God knows why
He fixed up the planet
As best as He could
Then in come the people
And gum it up good
The first thing you know
They civilized the foothills
And everywhere he put hills
The mountains and valley below
They come along and take 'em
And civilize and make 'em
A place where no civilized person would go
The first thing you know
The first thing you know
They civilize what's pretty
By puttin' up a city
Where nothin' that's pretty can grow
They muddy up the winter
And civilize it into
A place too uncivilized even for snow
The first thing you know
They civilize left
They civilize right
'Til nothing is left
'Til nothing is right
They civilize freedom
'Til no one is free
No one except by coincidence, me
The first thing you know
The boozer's in prison
And the criminal, he isn't
And only the rascals have gone
When I see a parson
I gotta put my arse in
A wagon that follows the tail of a crow
The first thing you know
I pick up and blow!
The first thing you know
Credits
Lee Marvin

Lee Marvin

About “The First Thing You Know” by Lee Marvin

Read the complete lyrics to "The First Thing You Know" by Lee Marvin from the album "Paint Your Wagon (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". On Lyrks you can follow along with the full text, explore the artist's discography, and discover related songs. The track is often categorized under Soundtrack, Musicals, Pop.

"The First Thing You Know" is performed by Lee Marvin. from the album "Paint Your Wagon (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)" This page provides the full lyric text for fans who want to sing along, study the songwriting, or compare versions across releases. Lyrks organizes lyrics by artist and song slug so you can bookmark and share a stable URL. Music lyrics help listeners connect with emotion, narrative, and rhythm in a track. Whether you are learning English, researching a favorite chorus, or preparing for karaoke, having accurate line breaks and section labels (verse, chorus, bridge) makes the experience easier. We link to the official artist profile on Lyrks where available, including biography snippets, top songs, and chart placements when we have that data. If you enjoy "The First Thing You Know", explore more songs by Lee Marvin using the links below. Chart and trending pages on Lyrks highlight what listeners are searching for this week. For copyright or correction requests, see our DMCA and contact pages.

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Frequently asked questions

"The First Thing You Know" is credited to Lee Marvin. Songwriting credits may include additional writers listed on the release; check the credits section on this page for linked collaborators.

"The First Thing You Know" appears on "Paint Your Wagon (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)".

Visit the Lee Marvin artist page at /artist/lee-marvin for biography, popular tracks, and links to more lyric pages.