Oedipus

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

I'm the king's thirty-second son
born to him a thirty-second time
born to him with my hair still on
born to him with two eyebrows on
and that's all I was wearing
when I woke up staring at the world

my mom had been a rather crazy queen
but not at all like sex machine
she liked to keep her body clean clean
thought the world to be quite obscene
but she'd retire to her chambers
and we'd remain quite strangers
and to see me made her awful sad
and to touch me made her awful sad
and to see me made her awful
and to touch me made her awful

I'm the king's thirty-second son
man, all it took was thirty seconds' time
but a spoiled little prince I was not
had a chamber maid and a chamber pot
and there's thirty-one others just like me
there's thirty-one others I can be

sometimes I'd stand by the royal walls
the sky'd be so big that it broke my soul
and I'd stand on my toes to catch a glimpse
of my mother's eyes and my mother's skin
but she'd retire to her chambers
and we'd remain quite strangers
and to see me made her awful sad
and to touch me made her awful sad
and to see me made her awful
and to touch me made her awful

and then one morning I woke up
and I thought, Oedipus...Oedipus...Oedipus...Oedipus...
then one morning and I woke up
and I thought, Rex...Rex...Rex...
cause thirty-two's still a goddamn number
thirty-two still counts
gonna make it count...

long live the king

I'm the king's thirty-second son
there's thirty-one others just like me
there's thirty-one others on the way
there's thirty-one others after that

sometimes I stand by the royal gate
people screaming love and hate
and they scream and they scream and they scream and they scream
long live the king! long live the queen!