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Hurdy Gurdy Man Lyrics

Artist: Donovan

HURDY GURDY MAN
Donovan

Thrown like a star in my vast sleep
I open my eyes to take a peep
To find that I was by the sea
Gazing with tranquillity.
'Twas then when the Hurdy Gurdy Man
Came singing songs of love,
Then when the Hurdy Gurdy Man
Came singing songs of love.
Hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, gurdy he sang.
Hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, gurdy he sang.
Hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, gurdy he sang.
Histories of ages past
Unenlightened shadows cast
Down through all eternity
The crying of humanity.
'Tis then when the Hurdy Gurdy Man
Comes singing songs of love,
Then when the Hurdy Gurdy Man
Comes singing songs of love.
Hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, gurdy he sang.
Hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy.
Hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, gurdy he sang.
Hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, gurdy he sang.
Here comes the roly poly man and he's singing songs of love,
Roly poly, roly poly, roly poly, poly he sang.
Hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, gurdy he sang,
Hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, gurdy he sang

Comments/Interpretations

by dan on 5/19/2008 9:59am
love it in lie
by BeeRyan on 5/23/2008 12:33am
When the truth gets buried deep
Beneath a thousand years asleep
Time demands a turnaround
And once again, the truth is found
by Paul Avery on 5/31/2008 3:00am
I've loved this song ever since the moment I first heard it in the movie Zodiac. I don't know why I haven't heard of it before, suppose I just wasn't born early enough.
by Jeff Segarich on 6/8/2008 2:34am
I heard it in Zodiac too! Love this song now, it's one of my favourites
by izz on 6/12/2008 1:10pm
This songs amazing, same with cmnt above, loved since Zodiac :)
by Maggie on 6/18/2008 10:37pm
It's got great lyrics and the song altogether is very psychedelic.
by Rich Bondie on 6/21/2008 10:15am
A great song long forgotten. Pulled up and out of my memory bank thanks to Zodiac.
by Jellybum-inc on 6/22/2008 10:56pm
Great song, very psychedelic sound to it.
I actually came across this song and fell in love with it funnily enough from infomercials on tv..
Here in australia after midnight we get infomercials on TV selling cd's of old music by Time Life.. I tend to just have my tv going while I'm on the computer, but heard this song on there and loved it straight away.

Heard it also in Zodiac :P great movie that one
by Jellybum-inc on 6/22/2008 10:57pm
Also.. I heard the Butthole Surfers cover of it the other night.. shocking, absolutly shocking
by chris on 7/4/2008 9:20pm
song was great for L.I.E.
by Tbilisi on 7/5/2008 6:10pm
Zodiac is the great movie and this is the greatest song!
by Dianne on 7/10/2008 8:28pm
Donovan sang this song around the same time he also sang "Atlantis", another haunting song. . . It was a long time ago
by Dim on 7/14/2008 9:00am
i heard this song in the movie "Man of the year" and completely fell in love with it. it's such a grat song.
by gerrry on 7/20/2008 2:41pm
Call me officially old. Hey I was in grade school. Don't forget to go to your download source guys. There is certainly a lot more Donovan there waiting for you. Listened to it all last night: Season of the Witch, Mellow Yellow, Barabajagal! You have no idea the neurons it stimulates!!
by Zodiac on 7/20/2008 10:53pm
this song really rocks!!!
by hill10003 on 7/21/2008 2:02pm
First heard this song in movie Zodiac. Awesome.
by alice on 7/24/2008 1:16pm
i am officially old too. this was music from my grade school years. BeeRyan's lyric was written by Beatle George Harrison, not included in recording as the song rang long. I love that particular lyric. it fits well. Donovan contributed "sky of blue and sea of green" for the yellow submarine song.
by rob on 7/27/2008 2:46am
donovan
Jimmy Paige
John Paul Jones
John Bonham

all in this song
need i say more?
by This is Zodiac Speaking on 7/31/2008 2:20am
i love this song!
by Zodiac Killer on 8/1/2008 1:20am
Original...
by snape on 8/1/2008 9:57pm
No sooner than i heard the first of the song in the movie, i have fallen love with it for grim death
by the on 8/10/2008 1:41am
thats bullshit you damn posers, saw it in a movie and thought it was "cool" go really listen to some music. just beacuse mainstream hollywood dug up a song beacuse it was catchy you queers wil never really know what any of his songs are really about.
by Bounty Hunter on 8/12/2008 9:39pm
Classy reply there "the".

Why don't you enlighten us about Donavan Leitch oh masterful one?

Low-life.
by nihili on 8/15/2008 8:35am
first heard the song on wknr in detroit when i was a kid and went out and got the 45. donovan was quite popular for a while there - atlantis,jennifer juniper
by derek12753 on 8/15/2008 9:35am
man........i came from the time when psychedelia drugs were prevalent.... i wouldn't take them but donovan sure made good use of them....his lyrics were incredible
by Dave P on 8/24/2008 10:27pm
wasnt john bonham who played drums in this song. all though it is very much like bonhams' style of fills, bonham was a triplet guy, loved those triplets( for the drummers out there) the line up was donovan, john paul jones (john baldwin),alen parker, and clem cattini on drums. and yes this is a very good hippe anthem (0;
by Scott on 8/28/2008 1:54am
No....
Common misconception on this song is that Jimmy Page and John Bonham played on this song.
They did not. Only John Paul Jones was part of this song.
This is a great song. It's chilling and haunting and fits the movie 'Zodiac' perfectly....
by Scott T on 8/28/2008 2:36am
Many people believe legendary band 'Cream' was the spawn of this song.....whatever the case may be, this chilling and beautiful song inspired some of the great rock legends to follow without a doubt.
by Hans K. on 8/28/2008 2:38pm
First time I heard this song was in Zodiac. Great movie.
by GORDON on 8/30/2008 7:59pm
GREEEEEEEEEAAAAAAT MOVIE , realy ....
not like the rotten movies we see every days .....
and this is a great song ... i heard it on the movie first time
and i'm downloading the whole album of Donovan right now ...
by Dave D. on 9/2/2008 12:42am
I was 14 when this hit the air along with other psychedelic songs like "Incense and Peppermint" by Strawberry Alarm Clock.

Strangely enough, we then moved to California so I lived south of Los Angeles at age 15/16 when the Zodiac story hit the front pages of the LA Times.

This whole "revival" with the movie and this song just has been some bizarre trip down memory lane for me! :)
by arthur leigh allen on 9/2/2008 5:42am
give me a fucking break!
i was just gonna ask those kids for a light and then i heard this song playing and flew into a rage........
by The Remnant on 9/6/2008 7:41pm
Awesome song, Trippy!
by Jeff on 9/7/2008 12:07am
CHILDREN ALL! Hell, kids, I was in college having already been in the navy. ;-)
by Glen Sherman on 9/14/2008 6:39pm
John Paul Jones was already and established producer and studio musician (like Jimmy Page - no "i" in Page, btw...). He's all over Donovan Leitch's work. I remember this song when I was a kid. Psychedelic music is still my favorite stuff. Psychedelic movies, too. Like "INLAND EMPIRE" (which has nothing at all to do with this song!) Love to all you hippies and hodads!
by Patrick on 9/23/2008 3:40am
heard this stuff in high school, college and the Navy. Played last night on KLOS in L.A. (955klos.com streaming online with Jim Ladd-the Lonesome L.A. Cowboy- check him out). For those of us of riped years there's always something to soothe our roughened ears.
by Pam on 9/27/2008 8:11am
I was 21 when the original was released- big deal. Doesn't make my experience any more or less than those who discovered it later. Mozart is rediscovered by each generation.... Hindsight can be so arrogant. To "the" who posted on 08/10. Get a life.
by Robby on 10/12/2008 10:20am
This song would be great in a last part for a skate vid.
by I am not Paul Avery on 11/1/2008 4:49pm
lols, nice song
by geoffroy on 11/6/2008 12:02am
I love this music.
by Mackenzie Mae on 11/10/2008 7:55am
This song always reminds me of what I thought Jesus was.
Now I just think it's about hippies.
I still love it.
by A.L.A. on 11/10/2008 10:58pm
hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdyman....U'll Never Catch me...
by Adriano on 11/29/2008 3:48pm
For me, not an english speaker, it's easy to think it deals with dark subjects (based on how gloomy it sounds), too bad it doesn't. In Zodiac, I thought it was perfectly fitting (mainly when it was in the background as Zodiac shot the kids). Just to find out it's about fucking hippies. Great song anyway.
by Nocares on 12/2/2008 12:45am
Nice. They didn't get him by the way. Sorry
by tr on 12/3/2008 9:13am
The use of the song in Zodiac, as some sort of demented anthemn for the killer is pure genius.
by Greg on 12/10/2008 8:45pm
It's great to see some younger people have "found" this music. One of my favorite albums ever is a live album from this era where he had a guy accompanying on flute (although I can't seem to find it now.)
by neo xavier on 12/24/2008 12:31am
awesome song...loved it since zodiac..
by Mike D in Indy on 12/29/2008 4:50pm
This song was used in Zodiac because the kid that was shot in that scene and lived said that it was the song the killer was playing in his car when he pulled up behind them. Creepy!
by kelly on 1/2/2009 12:43am
cool song but the BUTTHOLE SURFERS did a way better cover of it. sounds good while you're on nitrous too!
by john on 1/3/2009 10:32am
Beautiful song and very good movie. I hope people take advantage of this and try to listen other beautiful songs of that era.
by steven on 1/8/2009 3:27pm
The all time best version of this is by the Butthole Surfers
by Vez J on 1/12/2009 1:42am
yes, zodiac may have 'popularized' this song for many of us! great song from a great artist of the 60s, with a lot of interesting rock history behind it...did u know Jimmy Page plays the guitar solo towards the end??
by Hannibal on 1/12/2009 11:04am
I ran into this song because of the Zodiac movie, i did like the movie, but looove the song, really groovy sound.
by brian on 1/16/2009 8:18pm
lets get this straight does jimmy page play guitar on this song or not?
by Rick Marshall on 1/20/2009 9:04am
I also first heard this song watching "Zodiac". Great song, great movie. Real crazy case. Kind of made me want to become a detective.
by ItsMezigz on 2/7/2009 11:49am
The Butthole surfers did an excellent cover of this song off locust abortion tech
by LeD on 2/18/2009 1:15am
ThIs iS dEfiNiTeLy a cOoL sOnG... i fIrSt hEaRd iT on "ZoDiAc" then on "BobBy".. ReMiNdS mE oF tHe 60's & 70's..m/
by caidoz on 2/23/2009 6:36am
to the zodiac, you sure got what you wanted, who will be next to step up.
by Luke Mitchell on 2/26/2009 4:43am
Hurdy Gurdy Man is an alltime psychedelic classic, so much so I am using some of the lyrics in my second book.
by Don on 2/26/2009 12:24pm
Donovan rules.
by arkham29 on 3/7/2009 2:57am
i guess we all have zodiac minds... hehehehehehe..
by arkham29 on 3/7/2009 2:59am
i keep singing songs of love hurdy, gurdy, hurdy, gurdy, hurdy i sang i feel like the zodiac
by JasonBrown on 5/2/2009 9:13pm
Downloaded this song as soon as I heard it in "Zodiac"...Now I m really mesmerized by this song..Its truly magical.
by yah a hamburger on 6/1/2009 1:27pm
This song is one of the best of its era and an amazing era it was.Here are more songs that you might like."apocalyse now", and "the end " by "the doors" this band also has that phychedelic rithum to there music,Bob dylan "blowing in the wind",janis joplin,jimi hendrix the jimster,The mamas and the papas "california dreaming",the jefferson airplane "white rabbit" is amazing.
by VeMan on 6/9/2009 7:38pm
I suggest all of you seek out and find Steve Hillage's version of this song from the album 'L', featuring Utopia as the backing band and Todd Rundgren producing.
by borker on 6/19/2009 10:37am
the hurdy gurdy man is scary...
by aardvark on 7/18/2009 6:18pm
wikipedia discusses the musician line-up; the question as to who actually played guitar;page or parker and drums; bonham or cattini.....while page has at different times claimed yes or no, donovan has repeatedly insited that it is page and as far as the drums go, that it was bonham... regardless of what has been claimed, i tend to agree with that position because while the guitar sound can't neccessarily be pegged to him alone, it does sound like page and he was an active session player at the time of the start-up of zeppelin and the drums sound a LOT more like bonham than cattini who was the drummer for the tornadoes (telstar) and on some of joe cocker's "a little help from my friends"....none of what he does sounds like what bonham does on hurdy gurdy....which my 3 1/2 year-old twins love, by the way
by zodiac XD on 7/27/2009 2:47pm
i loved this song since the first time i heard it and i heard it back on zodiac and its just amazing!
by Leila on 8/2/2009 10:32pm
I love it too, i heard it on the commercial for Zodiac, since then i adore it, and am learning it on Guitar.
by Dave on 8/12/2009 7:40am
Zodiac powa!
Would be better with less "no singing" part :P
by annonymus(who cares for spellings!) on 8/13/2009 11:17am
"by arthur leigh allen on 9/2/2008 5:42am
give me a fucking break!
i was just gonna ask those kids for a light and then i heard this song playing and flew into a rage........"

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
by JOHN BONHAM on 8/19/2009 6:38pm
JOHN BONHAM - JOHN HENRY BONHAM!
THAT'S JOHN HENRY BONHAM!JOHN BONHAM - JOHN HENRY BONHAM!
THAT'S JOHN HENRY BONHAM!
JOHN BONHAM - JOHN HENRY BONHAM!
THAT'S JOHN HENRY BONHAM!
JOHN BONHAM - JOHN HENRY BONHAM!
THAT'S JOHN HENRY BONHAM!
by martín on 10/12/2009 5:30am
this thread is quickly making me dislike the zodiac film which i now have no interest in watching
by Leeboy (philippines) on 10/17/2009 2:44am
This song got my attention when i was watching "The Zodiac" on cable. I immediately searched it on youtube and found several videos. Very nice song and the movie as well!
by BJ on 10/22/2009 7:48am
Song has a completely different take in the film "L.I.E." Who'd have thunk? ;)
by Danno on 11/12/2009 4:38am
great tune, cant get enough
by Leo on 12/2/2009 10:21am
I am The Zodiac
by Baggins on 1/11/2010 6:59am
This is a rubbish song
by Darth on 1/30/2010 1:54pm
I never really saw this song's genius till it was used in Zodiac.
by Alex Stone on 2/22/2010 8:26pm
The song is truly a piece of art. Especially when in Zodiac, when he's shooting the kids and the song in the back ground, very insane.
by LSD on 3/19/2010 8:43am
This is an LSD driven composition, plain and simple. If Donovan never dropped a hit of acid, this song never would have been written. I was about 15 years old when I first heard this master piece. I loved it then when I was tripping my ass off.
I still love it today.
by kyr on 4/5/2010 1:29pm
I was 16 when I heard it for the first time in the movie "Sleepers" (1996).
by HOTROD on 5/26/2010 10:19am
Donovan tried to get Hendrix to play on the recording, but he was on tour and unavailable, as was Jimmy Page who was out of the country touring with The Yardbirds. Instead the job went to a young British guitarist, Alan Parker. It is possible Jimmy Page did play on other tracking sessions for The Hurdy Gurdy Man LP, although this is unlikely, as the remaining guitar parts were acoustic only and played by Donovan except on "Tangier", which features Bert Jansch. John Paul Jones played bass with Clem Cattini on drums.
by byronchurch on 6/11/2010 2:36am
Havent seen Zodiak ... sounds Heavy man . I guess I'll have to watch it now .. . I'm sure it's Rad-e-cool-Trippy but Donovan and Friends really created a Shaman's mantra for the times and it wasn't just to blow minds . Thats some real hippy love shit goin' on there ! Peace
by mary on 7/23/2010 8:48pm
really freekie last comment was dated 6/11/2010, well f me it is only 24th july 2010. any answers please.
by poppins on 8/24/2010 2:59am
Hey Mary, previous is even more freaky, 5/26/2010!!! Oh wait...
by matias on 9/18/2010 12:07am
haha I HEAR THIS SONG IN ZODIAC AND I LIKE SO MUCH I WAS LIKE CRAZY FOR HEAR IT
by BoxsterZoSo on 10/20/2010 4:13pm
That's JimmY Page! no way it's anyone else...:)
by Jonathan on 11/25/2010 7:10am
All thats fine...bt can anyone tell me...who he's referring to as d 'hurdy gurdy man'?wats d inner meaning behind d song?
by Lee on 11/30/2010 5:53am
Oh my god!!!! what a masterpiece!!...
I heard this song in another masterpiece "Zodiac"...
who is this "hurdy gurdy man"??
my boyfriend...absolutely! ;-)
by myluckyday on 12/8/2010 10:07pm
The song tells of a time in the cycle of history when the basis of life is hidden. Suffering of humaity brings on the hurdy gurdy man, who brings out a technique to restore balance in life. At this time Donovan has lent his talents to describe what Maharishi Mahesh Yogi has been teaching. Take a look, this really is the truth.
by pinger on 2/7/2011 3:46pm
heard this when I was 12 (1969) on Physcodelic Shack, never forgot it, still have the 45, never tried to anaylize it, just enjoyed it...Physcodelic Shack was a syndicated sunday night radio program where I first heard Journey to the center of your mind, White Room, and Ball of Confusion; among others...ROCK ON!!!!
by GG on 4/8/2011 5:32pm
what does this song say to you?
by dickard on 4/14/2011 9:50pm
it is tripped out
by Greg gross on 6/8/2011 12:34am
I was 7 at the time this song was on am radio, it always brings me back there every time I hear it. Look at the talent that was involved in this toataly amazing.
by David Toschi on 6/8/2011 1:06pm
This is a beautiful song...
by Oook on 7/7/2011 2:47am
I love it since I heard Donovan singing with David Lynch. Great song, and album
by Dave Corsanico on 9/7/2011 5:49pm
Every time I hear it, Hurdy Gurdy transports me to a hot city summer and the tender age of seventeen . A magical sense of personal and societal transformation abounding to the sweet voice and psychedelic music of Donovan at his best.
Thanks to the gentle troubador for all you've given to our generation. The right artist at the right time.
by abhi on 9/30/2011 12:26am
this songs suits on the psyco who go 4 killing
by Tommy Patterson on 10/7/2011 3:07pm
Zodiac was a super hyped movie that was fairly mediocre. Robert Downey's supporting character pretty much steals the show. IMO: the best part of the movie and the only real reason for seeing it. Hurdy Gurdy man, however, IS the real deal AND should be recognized as the classic that it is. I tend to agree that the song deals with enlightenment (even if you achieve it on LSD), and that it is basically Zeppelin (w/out Plant.) I want to say I read that in a book called "Hammer of the Gods" about Zep. Peace and love to the haters:)
by Rick Reid on 10/21/2011 12:46pm
As freaky as Hurdy Gurdy Man, is Riki Tiki Tavi (Jungle Book) reference. Listen to it read lyrics. Donavaon under-rated composer.
by dr.p.n.guin on 10/22/2011 2:27pm
if you want to hear hurdy gurdy man in another movie, check out sleepers. it is the perfect song at the perfect moment. just like sunshine of your love in goodfellas
by HURDY GURDY MAN on 11/14/2011 1:56pm
I heard this in 6th choir.
by trueblue on 1/19/2012 8:59am
The Hurdy Gurdy Man is the bringer of truth
by thurst of blood on 3/11/2012 1:27am
Makesmewanttokillagainandagain!
by Betty on 3/31/2012 8:35am
Toute ma jeunesse, c'était la meilleure du moment et plus de 40 ans aprčs, elle me fait toujours de l'effet...
by Gary Barnes on 4/1/2012 5:36pm
Grew up in the 60's, Loved Donavan, Steve Edwards just did a special on him, guess he is going to be inducted into the hall of fame and deservingly so. Season of the
witch is also a great psychodelic song.
by anonymous on 4/14/2012 5:20pm
BEST

SONG

EVER
by Lucifer on 5/6/2012 7:11am
Am watching Zodiac n remembered what a great song it is.
I remember loving the Butthole Surfers cover too!
by SA on 8/14/2012 8:58pm
My dad used to listen to it and then i heard it in Zodiac and now i now it's one of the greatest songs ever... like baker man or mellow yellow
by BTK ELDORADO on 11/29/2012 4:50am
When the music's over turn out the light's
by cadboy69@gmail.com on 12/15/2012 5:32am
Back in the Day, this Song Kicked Ass and still does. Folks that missed the "60's really missed s weird time that changed the World--
Kenboy
by JackR on 3/17/2013 4:30pm
Zodiac is shown again on dutch tv now.
by the oblivian on 3/18/2013 11:59am
I love this song
by Ron on 6/4/2013 8:18pm
The first time I heard this song was probably the summer of 1967 or 68. What a great time for music! I just saw Zodiac and it jogged my memory.
by Arch Stanton on 7/22/2013 8:35pm
Great but you're missing one additional gurdy in each chorus.
by JonnieLovesDonavan on 7/29/2013 10:40am
Listening since way back, when words were prophetic, friendly. Miss those days. His collaboration with several great artists, Harrison et al) gave us great music when it was needed the most.
by peterdarwin on 8/26/2013 7:57pm
Who is the Hurdy Gurdy Man Is he Jesus Christ or the Maharishi?
by Donald Thomas on 8/31/2013 3:38pm
Great song! Loved it when it first came out
by zod_The_Killer on 9/19/2013 8:56pm
Makes me wanna kill !!!
by Music lover on 10/1/2013 11:31am
This song is utter crap
by gman on 3/24/2014 1:51pm
It's ok to like a song, but let's not have a wet dream, shall we? Amazing some retard regurgitated this song for a movie it had nothing to do with and people think that is genius - more like cheap marketing. The song has nothing to do with zodiac, the movie or anything else for that matter. Just the ramblings of a fucking hippy tripping on acid. Cool sound, spooky....blah blah blah. Just a fucking song.
by ZODIAC KILLER on 4/4/2014 12:18am
Love it....
by Smithc159 on 6/19/2016 1:54am
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