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25 Minutes to Go
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Wikipedia article
"'25 Minutes to Go'" is a song by Shel Silverstein, from his 1962 album 'Inside Folk Songs'.
Lyrics
The song is literally "gallows humor", as it is sung by a man awaiting his own execution by hanging. Each verse consists of two lines, of which the first line is anything from humorous to poignant, and the second line is a minute-by-minute countdown.
:Well they're buildin' the gallows outside my cell.
:I got 25 minutes to go.
:And in 25 minutes I'll be in hell.
:I got 24 minutes to go.
:Well, they give me some beans for my last meal
:23 minutes to go
:And you know, nobody asked me how I feel
:I got 22 minutes to go
:So, I wrote to the Governor, the whole damned bunch
:Ahhh, 21 minutes to go
:And I call up the Mayor, and he's out to lunch
:I got 20 more minutes to go
:Well, the Sheriff says, "Boy, I wanna watch you die"
:19 minutes to go
:I laugh in his face and I spit in his eye
:I got 18 minutes to go
:Well I call out to the Warden to hear my plea
:17 minutes to go
:He says, "Call me back in a week or three
:You've got 16 minutes to go."
:Well, my lawyer says he's sorry he missed my case
:Mmm, 15 minutes to go
:Yeah, well if you're so sorry, come up and take my place
:I got 14 minutes to go
:Well, now here comes the padre to save my soul
:With 13 minutes to go
:And he's talkin' about burnin', but I'm so damned cold
:I got 12 more minutes to go
:Now they're testin' the trap, it chills my spine
:I got 11 minutes to go
:'Cause the goddamned thing it works just fine
:I got 10 more minutes to go
:I'm waitin' for the pardon, gonna set me free
:With 9 more minutes to go
:But this ain't the movies, so to hell with me
:I got 8 more minutes to go
:And now I'm climbin' up the ladder with a scaffold peg
:With 7 more minutes to go
:I've better watch my step or else I'll break my leg
:I got 6 more minutes to go
:Yeah, with my feet on the trap and my head in the noose
:5 more minutes to go
:Well, c'mon somethin' and cut me loose
:I got 4 more minutes to go
:I can see the mountains. I see the sky
:3 more minutes to go
:And it's too damned pretty for a man to die
:I got 2 more minutes to go
:I can hear the buzzards, hear the crows
:One more minute to go
:And now I'm swingin' and here I go
The song is similar in concept to Silverstein's children's song "Boa Constrictor": It presents the point of view of someone who is experiencing a calamity in "real time," composing and singing as the events unfold, with a fatal conclusion. "Boa Constrictor", like "25 Minutes to Go", appeared on Silverstein's 1962 album 'Inside Folk Songs'. Johnny Cash was the second artist to do a cover of the song where it differs most notably by having omitted lines.
Later versions
* Brothers Four, on their 1963 album 'Cross Country Concert.'
* Johnny Cash on his 1965 album 'Sings the Ballads of the True West' and on his 1968 live album, 'At Folsom Prison.'Cover: Johnny Cash https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxvR7ZUjaJk
* Danish singer Povl Dissing with the band The Beefeaters as "25 Minutter endnu" (1967 single).
* Flemish singer Will Tura from Belgium as "20 minuten geduld" in 1968.
* Swedish folk singer :sv:Ewert Ljusberg on 'Goknul' (1972).
* American avant-garde singer Diamanda Gals on 'Malediction & Prayer' (1998, Asphodel Records).
* British cult band Tiger Lillies on '2 Penny Opera' (2001).
* American country/rock band Pine Valley Cosmonauts on 'The Executioner's Last Songs' (2002).
* German metal band Dezperadoz on their third album 'An Eye for an Eye'.
* German singer Gunter Gabriel on his Album 'The Tennessee-Recordings' (2003).
* American rock band Pearl Jam on their 2004 album 'Live at Benaroya Hall'.
*Canadian band Head of the Herd on their first album On the House On the House- Head of the Herd https://soundcloud.com/headoftheherd/sets/on-the-houseCover: Head of the Herd https://soundcloud.com/headoftheherd/12-25-minutes-to-go
* Berlin-based band Dangerpony (Laura Bruce, Laurent Lavol and others)
* Lou Reed and Emily Haines performed a version in 2011 at Shelebration! A tribute to the works of Shel Silverstein Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/ngV_rSnSZdw Ghostarchive] and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20190512104548/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngV_rSnSZdw Wayback Machine]:
Notes
Category:Johnny Cash songs
Category:Shel Silverstein songs
Category:1962 songs
Category:Works about capital punishment
Category:Songs about death
Category:Songs written by Shel Silverstein
Category:Black comedy music
Category:The Brothers Four songs
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