Lyrks
Lyrks
Lyrks
Cover Art

Airegin Lyrics by The Manhattan Transfer

Vocalese

1985

Wait'll y'dig it on the map - Airegin
Spelled backwards
Really're closin' up the gap - Airegin
Gone fac'wards
Back long time ago they saw a ghost
Ghost made a boast
Soon that ghost was host
Those losing their hue
They goofed 'n got the wrong view
First, things reverse, last is first!
Y' dig it!
Whatta' y' think o'that'n get a load a'
What I tell y'
What this place is no one knows it
There's no traces of the kind o'place it was
Before it got "discovered" by the kind o'
Cat that knows the earth belongs t'him
Back when the world was young
An' man was a living god
An' he walked this earthly sod
This was sod that god would trod on
Till one day a stranger landed
With a line o'jive
Laid it on the natives till he had 'em thinkin'
Maybe that they should really take five
An' he quickly stole the natives' soul
So he could control it
An' he took care of that missionary biz
Till the lan' was his
Never heard a story draggy as that
Tell th' truth I ain't never heard another
That exasperated more
What an exasperating narrative t'play
Upon the sensitive and kindly soul that I am
'Way back when I was crawlin' in m'crib
I was doin' all kinds o'thinkin'
Aw'ready I had figured out the 'cut of m'jib'
The kind o'soul that never liked t'tell 'r live a fib
A body who was steadily reachin' up
A min' always thinkin' on high-minded things
Whee! I was always one t'be free
Ain't never had a keeper why don't people
Learn t'git along t'gether stead o'
Meddlin' aroun' 'n fussin' with the fella nearest to 'em
Me, I'm the old fashioned kind
I was never good at follow-the-leader
Real real real real real real real
That's me, as real as a Yankee can be
That's me
Millions o' years ago
There was a Paleolithic age on Earth
An' the whole world was young
And full o'the vim of constant rebirth
Brontosauruses 'n dinosaurs 'n pterodactyls
Ever'where abounding that was the case
'N plus the millions o' mammoths here 'n there
An' in addition there were lots o'men everywhere
Who had no hi-tech and no intellect 'nary a speck
But in that spot
Where it was so lush, where it was so hot
Where many animal was roamin'
An' nature was kind, life was thrivin'
There livin' was actual an' the feelin' was natural
I'm tellin' the truth
What-a-benign livin' some livin'
All's forgiven come on home
Blew a truly unruly storm
That wrecked a boat in a climate warm
'N full o'ashy-colored cats all lookin'
White like ghosts
'N when the natives checked 'em out
It blew 'em away t'find that they resembled spirits
Long ago there was a legend
'Bout a spirit who would someday come
A look at these cats
'N y' could see they prob'ly had some
So they welcomed 'em with peace and love
And everything there's plenty of
'N soon the tables had turned to rigormortis
That's when the castaway had his say
Like a dog had his day they told the
People that they were spirits actual
Y'see how perfectly a fable c'n be
Incorporated into what a cat'll think is factual
What was an accident turns int' something
So unbelievably heaven-sent
Everybody falls for it
Right on down t' the militants
'N marchin' 'n the martyrs 'n the murder of Lumumba
Wait'll y'dig it on the map - Airegin
Spelled backwards
Really're closin' up the gap - Airegin
Gone fac'wards
Back long time ago they saw a ghost
Ghost made a boast
Soon that ghost was host
Wait'll y'dig it on the map - Airegin
Spelled backwards
Really're closin' up the gap - Airegin
Gone fac'wards
Those losing their hue
They goofed 'n got the wrong view
First, things reverse, last is first!
Y' dig it!
Credits
The Manhattan Transfer

The Manhattan Transfer

About “Airegin” by The Manhattan Transfer

Read the complete lyrics to "Airegin" by The Manhattan Transfer from the album "Vocalese" in 1985. 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 Pop.

"Airegin" is performed by The Manhattan Transfer. from the album "Vocalese" in 1985 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 "Airegin", explore more songs by The Manhattan Transfer 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.

View all songs and biography for The Manhattan Transfer · Trending lyrics · Billboard Hot 100

Frequently asked questions

"Airegin" is credited to The Manhattan Transfer. Songwriting credits may include additional writers listed on the release; check the credits section on this page for linked collaborators.

"Airegin" appears on "Vocalese" in 1985.

Visit the The Manhattan Transfer artist page at /artist/the-manhattan-transfer for biography, popular tracks, and links to more lyric pages.