Page type: lyric reference
Artist: Joni Mitchell
Canonical path: /mitchell-joni/slouching-toward-bethlehem
Related lyric paths: 6
Lyric guide
Slouching Toward Bethlehem
Read Slouching Toward Bethlehem lyrics by Joni Mitchell on LyroVerse, with linked artist context and related song paths.
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Curated by Ethan Walker
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Lyrics
Slouching Toward Bethlehem
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Based on a poem by w.b. yeats
Turning and turning
Within the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer
Things fall apart
The center cannot hold
And a blood dimmed tide
Is loosed upon the world
Nothing is sacred
The ceremony sinks
Innocence is drowned
In anarchy
The best lack conviction
Given some time to think
And the worst are full of passion
Without mercy
Surely some revelation is at hand
Surely it's the second coming
And the wrath has finally taken form
For what is this rough beast
Its hour come at last
Slouching towards bethlehem to be born
Slouching towards bethlehem to be born
Hoping and hoping
As if by my weak faith
The spirit of this world
Would heal and rise
Vast are the shadows
That straddle and strafe
And struggle in the darkness
Troubling my eyes
Shaped like a lion
It has the head of a man
With a gaze as blank
And pitiless as the sun
And it's moving it's slow thighs
Across the desert sands
Through dark indignant
Reeling falcons
Surely some revelation is at hand
Surely it's the second coming
And the wrath has finally taken form
For what is this rough beast
Its hour come at last
Slouching towards bethlehem to be born
Slouching towards bethlehem to be born
Raging and raging
It rises from the deep
Opening it's eyes
After twenty centuries
Vexed to a nightmare
Out of a stony sleep
By a rocking cradle
By the sea of galilee
Surely some revelation is at hand
Surely it's the second coming
And the wrath has finally taken form
For what is this rough beast
Its hour come at last
Slouching towards bethlehem to be born
Slouching towards bethlehem to be born
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Who performs "Slouching Toward Bethlehem"?
Joni Mitchell performs "Slouching Toward Bethlehem", and this lyric page sits inside the Joni Mitchell catalog on LyroVerse.
Are there related songs to explore after "Slouching Toward Bethlehem"?
Yes. The related section below points to A Bird That Whistles and A Strange Boy with a short reason for opening each page next.
Where can I find more songs by Joni Mitchell?
Use the artist link near the top of the page or the related paths section below to keep moving through Joni Mitchell's lyric pages.
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