Moses In The Wilderness
ALSO RELEASED ON: Snowblind, Heartland Junction, Monsters, Monsters (SRA edition), Live At The Way Inn - 1970, Magnetic Real - The Living Room Tapes, Archive
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Version 1: Capitol / Beechwood mix
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Upon This Rock (Capitol)
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Version 2 is a minor remix of version 1. The mix and stereo image are altered. Lyrically there are no differences - the Larry Norman mix
Note: the South African Impact LP and the Kingsway CD reverse the stereo image Note that on the Upon This Rock Kingsway CD the song fades out fractionally earlier. It fades out very slightly earlier still on the Radio Promo and Illegal Noise CDs |
Upon This Rock (All non Capitol LP and cassette releases)
Upon This Rock (All CD versions) Survivor (Songs From 1956 To 2000) The Best Of Larry Norman Volume One Instigator Frisbee Slinky Shake Your Rattle And Crawl |
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Version 3 is a live recording, performed solo with acoustic guitar
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Version 4 is a live recording, performed solo with acoustic guitar, at the Creation West festival in 2000
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Version 5 is a live recording, performed solo with acoustic guitar at The Assembly Buildings in Belfast, on May 12 1995
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Stranded In Belfast [See the CD tab on the singles page]
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Version 6 is a live recording, performed solo in a mock rap style with acoustic guitar during a concert in Northern Ireland
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Version 7 is the same recording as version 6, but fades out earlier
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Rough Diamonds, Precious Jewels Sampler Disc [First and third versions] [See the CD tab on the singles page]
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Version 8 is the same recording as version 7, but with the requests part removed
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lyrics versions 1 and 2
Moses tending sheep in the fields one day
When he thought he heard a burning scrub-brush say
Gotta free your people
From the Pharaoh's hand
Gotta take 'em all to the promised land
Moses knew that God was talking to him
So he set off to Egypt with a vigor and vim
And Moses bugged the Pharaoh, he bugged him
And he bugged him
'Till he got his people freed
He used real bugs
Yes indeed, ow ow
He got his people freed
Ow ow ow ow [x2]
Moses on the banks of the wide Red Sea
He stuck out a stick and one two three
The water rolled back
And the people walked down
Everybody knew they wouldn't drown
Pharaoh told his army to bring 'em all back
An' here come the chariots, clickety clack
Why Moses took his stick
And he closed up the water
An' the 'Gyptians all took a bath
Ow ow ow ow
What a laugh
Ow they all took a bath
Ow ow ow [cough] ow
Ow ow ow ow
Dirty 'Gyptians
Grab my foot, take my hand
Lead me on to the promised land
Milk and honey, milk and honey
Milk and honey, milk and honey
Me and all my people is here
So keep on sending manna
From the atmosphere
Milk and honey, milk and honey
Milk and honey, milk and honey
After forty long years in the wilderness
They finally saw their potential metropolis
They all gave thanks
And they all praised the Lord
Even though it took time he kept his word
He grab their foot and he tooken their hand
And he brung 'em all over
To the promised land
But it seems to me like an awful long time to be
Looking for a home
Ow ow ow ow
A mighty long roam, home
Looking for a home, a home a home
Never borrow money needlessly [cough]
When he thought he heard a burning scrub-brush say
Gotta free your people
From the Pharaoh's hand
Gotta take 'em all to the promised land
Moses knew that God was talking to him
So he set off to Egypt with a vigor and vim
And Moses bugged the Pharaoh, he bugged him
And he bugged him
'Till he got his people freed
He used real bugs
Yes indeed, ow ow
He got his people freed
Ow ow ow ow [x2]
Moses on the banks of the wide Red Sea
He stuck out a stick and one two three
The water rolled back
And the people walked down
Everybody knew they wouldn't drown
Pharaoh told his army to bring 'em all back
An' here come the chariots, clickety clack
Why Moses took his stick
And he closed up the water
An' the 'Gyptians all took a bath
Ow ow ow ow
What a laugh
Ow they all took a bath
Ow ow ow [cough] ow
Ow ow ow ow
Dirty 'Gyptians
Grab my foot, take my hand
Lead me on to the promised land
Milk and honey, milk and honey
Milk and honey, milk and honey
Me and all my people is here
So keep on sending manna
From the atmosphere
Milk and honey, milk and honey
Milk and honey, milk and honey
After forty long years in the wilderness
They finally saw their potential metropolis
They all gave thanks
And they all praised the Lord
Even though it took time he kept his word
He grab their foot and he tooken their hand
And he brung 'em all over
To the promised land
But it seems to me like an awful long time to be
Looking for a home
Ow ow ow ow
A mighty long roam, home
Looking for a home, a home a home
Never borrow money needlessly [cough]
lyrics version 3
Moses tending sheep in the fields one day
Thought he heard a burning scrub-brush say
Go and free your people
From the Pharaoh's hand
Go and take them all to the promised land
Moses knew that God was talking to him
So he set off for Egypt with a vigor and vim
Moses bugged the Pharaoh, he bugged him
And he bugged him
'Till he got his people free
He used real bugs
Ow ow ow ow
Yes indeed
Ow ow he got his people free
Ow ow ow
Ow
Moses on the banks of the wide Red Sea
He stuck out a stick and one two three
The water rolled back
And the people walked down
Everybody knew that they wouldn't drown
Pharaoh told his army, bring 'em all back
Here come the chariots, clickety clack
Moses took his stick
And he closed up the water
And the 'Gyptians all took a bath
Ow ow ow ow
What a laugh
Ow ow they all took a bath
Ow ow ow
Dirty 'Gyptians
Grab my foot, take my hand
Lead me on to the promised land
Milk and honey, milk and honey
Milk and honey, milk and honey
Me and all of your people are here
So keep on sending manna
From the atmosphere
And I always thought if the choir sang this song, it would sound like this [Spoken]
Milk and honey, milk and honey
Milk and honey, milk and honey
Oooh
After forty long years in the wilderness
They finally saw their potential metropolis
They all gave thanks
And they all praised the Lord
Even though it took time he kept his word
He grab-bed their foot and he tooketh their hand
And he brought 'em all over
To the promised land
But it seems to me like an awful long time to be
Looking for a home
Ow ow ow ow
A mighty long roam
Ow ow ow
Looking for a home
Ow ow ow
Never borrow money needlessly
Borrow from HFC
I know that last line doesn't make any sense. It used to. Eh when I was little there was this advertisement on the radio for the HFC, which is the Household Finance Company, and they had a song that said [Spoken]
Never borrow money needlessly, just when you must
Borrow where loans are specialty, from folks you trust
Borrow confidently from HFC [Sung]
So I thought the Jews were wandering around in the desert for forty years and then they went to the promised land, and they needed to build a house or something and they could borrow the money from HFC. I didn't know that HFC wasn't doing business back then. Ha [Spoken]
Thought he heard a burning scrub-brush say
Go and free your people
From the Pharaoh's hand
Go and take them all to the promised land
Moses knew that God was talking to him
So he set off for Egypt with a vigor and vim
Moses bugged the Pharaoh, he bugged him
And he bugged him
'Till he got his people free
He used real bugs
Ow ow ow ow
Yes indeed
Ow ow he got his people free
Ow ow ow
Ow
Moses on the banks of the wide Red Sea
He stuck out a stick and one two three
The water rolled back
And the people walked down
Everybody knew that they wouldn't drown
Pharaoh told his army, bring 'em all back
Here come the chariots, clickety clack
Moses took his stick
And he closed up the water
And the 'Gyptians all took a bath
Ow ow ow ow
What a laugh
Ow ow they all took a bath
Ow ow ow
Dirty 'Gyptians
Grab my foot, take my hand
Lead me on to the promised land
Milk and honey, milk and honey
Milk and honey, milk and honey
Me and all of your people are here
So keep on sending manna
From the atmosphere
And I always thought if the choir sang this song, it would sound like this [Spoken]
Milk and honey, milk and honey
Milk and honey, milk and honey
Oooh
After forty long years in the wilderness
They finally saw their potential metropolis
They all gave thanks
And they all praised the Lord
Even though it took time he kept his word
He grab-bed their foot and he tooketh their hand
And he brought 'em all over
To the promised land
But it seems to me like an awful long time to be
Looking for a home
Ow ow ow ow
A mighty long roam
Ow ow ow
Looking for a home
Ow ow ow
Never borrow money needlessly
Borrow from HFC
I know that last line doesn't make any sense. It used to. Eh when I was little there was this advertisement on the radio for the HFC, which is the Household Finance Company, and they had a song that said [Spoken]
Never borrow money needlessly, just when you must
Borrow where loans are specialty, from folks you trust
Borrow confidently from HFC [Sung]
So I thought the Jews were wandering around in the desert for forty years and then they went to the promised land, and they needed to build a house or something and they could borrow the money from HFC. I didn't know that HFC wasn't doing business back then. Ha [Spoken]
lyrics version 4
Moses tending sheep in the fields one day
Thought he heard a burning scrub-brush say
Go and free your people
From the Pharaoh's hand
Go and take them all to the promised land
Go', Moses knew that God was talking to him
So he set off to Egypt with a vigor and vim
And Moses bugged the Pharaoh, he bugged him
And he bugged him
'Till he got his people free
He used real bugs
Ow ow ow ow yes indeed
Ow ow he got his people freed
Ow ow ow ow
Ow ow ow ow
Moses on the banks of the wide Red Sea
Stuck out his stick, one two three
The water rolled back
And the people walked down
Everybody knew that they wouldn't drown
Pharaoh told his army, bring 'em all back
Here come the chariots, clickety clack
Moses took his stick
And he closed up the water
And the 'Gyptians all took a bath
Ow ow ow ow
What a laugh
Ow ow they all took a bath
Ow ow ow ow
Dirty 'Gyptians
Ow ow ow ow
Grab my foot, take my hand
Lead me on to the promised land
Milk and honey, milk and honey
Milk and honey, milk and honey
Me and all your people are here
So keep on sending manna
From the atmosphere
I knew from church upstairs that if you sang a song about God you had to have big words in it like you know atmosphere and, so eh. And I always thought the choir would wanna sing this but they never did, uh. So I thought it would sound like this [Spoken]
Milk and honey, milk and honey
Milk and hon', milk and hon'
Oooh
After forty long years in the wilderness
They finally saw their potential metropolis
They all gave thanks
And they all praised the Lord
Even though it took time he kept his word
He grab-bed their foot and he took-eth their hand
And he brought-eth them over
To the promised land
But it seems to me like an awful long time to be
Looking for a home
Ow ow ow ow
A mighty long roam
Ow ow ow
Looking for a home
Ow ow ow
Never borrow money needlessly, borrow from HFC
Thought he heard a burning scrub-brush say
Go and free your people
From the Pharaoh's hand
Go and take them all to the promised land
Go', Moses knew that God was talking to him
So he set off to Egypt with a vigor and vim
And Moses bugged the Pharaoh, he bugged him
And he bugged him
'Till he got his people free
He used real bugs
Ow ow ow ow yes indeed
Ow ow he got his people freed
Ow ow ow ow
Ow ow ow ow
Moses on the banks of the wide Red Sea
Stuck out his stick, one two three
The water rolled back
And the people walked down
Everybody knew that they wouldn't drown
Pharaoh told his army, bring 'em all back
Here come the chariots, clickety clack
Moses took his stick
And he closed up the water
And the 'Gyptians all took a bath
Ow ow ow ow
What a laugh
Ow ow they all took a bath
Ow ow ow ow
Dirty 'Gyptians
Ow ow ow ow
Grab my foot, take my hand
Lead me on to the promised land
Milk and honey, milk and honey
Milk and honey, milk and honey
Me and all your people are here
So keep on sending manna
From the atmosphere
I knew from church upstairs that if you sang a song about God you had to have big words in it like you know atmosphere and, so eh. And I always thought the choir would wanna sing this but they never did, uh. So I thought it would sound like this [Spoken]
Milk and honey, milk and honey
Milk and hon', milk and hon'
Oooh
After forty long years in the wilderness
They finally saw their potential metropolis
They all gave thanks
And they all praised the Lord
Even though it took time he kept his word
He grab-bed their foot and he took-eth their hand
And he brought-eth them over
To the promised land
But it seems to me like an awful long time to be
Looking for a home
Ow ow ow ow
A mighty long roam
Ow ow ow
Looking for a home
Ow ow ow
Never borrow money needlessly, borrow from HFC
lyrics version 5
Okay, I'm gonna sing Moses the way I first wrote it. Not like the record, I was sick the day we recorded that [Spoken]
Moses tending sheep in the field one day
He thought he heard a burning scrub-brush say
Gotta free your people
From the Pharaoh's hand
Gotta take 'em all to the promised land
Moses knew that God was talking to him
So he set off to Egypt with a vigor and vim
It's kind of a version that I wrote when I was real young. It was kinda, I was trying to sing like black, you know blues singer, but it came out more like somebody in The Little Rascals. Yah [Spoken]
Moses took his stick and he
What's the words [Spoken]
Moses bugged the Pharaoh, he bugged him
And he bugged him
'Till he got his people free
Ow ow ow ow
Yes indeed, ow ow
He got his people free
Ow ow ow ow
Ah
I don't know, he used real bugs. Did I go in this verse here? I wrote this when I was really little. I'll probably remember this song when I finally get to my second childhood [Spoken]
Moses
Hm hm hm, near some water there, over in Israel there. [Crowd laugh] Right okay. Thank you [Spoken]
Moses on the banks of the wide Red Sea
He stuck out a stick and one two three
The water rolled back
And the people walked down
Everybody knew that they wouldn't drown
Pharaoh told his army, bring 'em all back
And here come the chariots, clickety clack
Moses took his stick
And he closed up the water
An' the 'Gyptians all took a bath
Ow ow ow ow
What a laugh
Ow ow they all took a bath
Ow ow ow ow
Dirty 'Gyptians
Grab my foot, take my hand
Lead me on to the promised land
Milk and honey, milk and honey
Milk and honey, milk and honey
Me and all of your people are here
I used to do a lot of hand signals in this [Spoken]
So keep on sending manna
From the atmosphere
I always thought the church would wanna sing this song but they never, never, choir never ever wanted to do it. I thought it'd sound really good if they did it 'cause they could sing higher than me. They could sing like [Spoken]
Milk and honey, milk and honey
Milk and honey, milk and honey
Oooooh
After forty long years in the wilderness
They finally saw their potential metropolis
See I thought if you wrote songs for God you had to use your best vocabulary. Like sanctification and, and transfiguration and, I didn't know those words. I just wanted to be respectful. I used to wear my tie as tight as I could get it, so God would know I was willing to suffer for him. I thought he'd appreciate that. I didn't know he loved us so much, I thought we had to prove all of our life that we love him. Now I know different [Spoken]
Okay lady, what's the last verse [Spoken]
Oh everybody walked into the, fro', out of the wilderness
An' 'cause they saw their potential metropolis
They all gave thanks
And they all praised the Lord
Even though it took time he kept his word
He grab-bed their feet and he tooketh their hand
And he broughteth them over
Respectful, you know. And he broughteth, he, and he broughteth them over [Spoken]
To the promised land
But it seems to me like an awful long time to be
Looking for a home
Ow ow ow ow
A mighty long roam
Ow ow ow
Looking for a home
Ow ow ow
Never borrow money needlessly
Borrow from HFC
Moses tending sheep in the field one day
He thought he heard a burning scrub-brush say
Gotta free your people
From the Pharaoh's hand
Gotta take 'em all to the promised land
Moses knew that God was talking to him
So he set off to Egypt with a vigor and vim
It's kind of a version that I wrote when I was real young. It was kinda, I was trying to sing like black, you know blues singer, but it came out more like somebody in The Little Rascals. Yah [Spoken]
Moses took his stick and he
What's the words [Spoken]
Moses bugged the Pharaoh, he bugged him
And he bugged him
'Till he got his people free
Ow ow ow ow
Yes indeed, ow ow
He got his people free
Ow ow ow ow
Ah
I don't know, he used real bugs. Did I go in this verse here? I wrote this when I was really little. I'll probably remember this song when I finally get to my second childhood [Spoken]
Moses
Hm hm hm, near some water there, over in Israel there. [Crowd laugh] Right okay. Thank you [Spoken]
Moses on the banks of the wide Red Sea
He stuck out a stick and one two three
The water rolled back
And the people walked down
Everybody knew that they wouldn't drown
Pharaoh told his army, bring 'em all back
And here come the chariots, clickety clack
Moses took his stick
And he closed up the water
An' the 'Gyptians all took a bath
Ow ow ow ow
What a laugh
Ow ow they all took a bath
Ow ow ow ow
Dirty 'Gyptians
Grab my foot, take my hand
Lead me on to the promised land
Milk and honey, milk and honey
Milk and honey, milk and honey
Me and all of your people are here
I used to do a lot of hand signals in this [Spoken]
So keep on sending manna
From the atmosphere
I always thought the church would wanna sing this song but they never, never, choir never ever wanted to do it. I thought it'd sound really good if they did it 'cause they could sing higher than me. They could sing like [Spoken]
Milk and honey, milk and honey
Milk and honey, milk and honey
Oooooh
After forty long years in the wilderness
They finally saw their potential metropolis
See I thought if you wrote songs for God you had to use your best vocabulary. Like sanctification and, and transfiguration and, I didn't know those words. I just wanted to be respectful. I used to wear my tie as tight as I could get it, so God would know I was willing to suffer for him. I thought he'd appreciate that. I didn't know he loved us so much, I thought we had to prove all of our life that we love him. Now I know different [Spoken]
Okay lady, what's the last verse [Spoken]
Oh everybody walked into the, fro', out of the wilderness
An' 'cause they saw their potential metropolis
They all gave thanks
And they all praised the Lord
Even though it took time he kept his word
He grab-bed their feet and he tooketh their hand
And he broughteth them over
Respectful, you know. And he broughteth, he, and he broughteth them over [Spoken]
To the promised land
But it seems to me like an awful long time to be
Looking for a home
Ow ow ow ow
A mighty long roam
Ow ow ow
Looking for a home
Ow ow ow
Never borrow money needlessly
Borrow from HFC
lyrics version 6
A-Moses tending sheep in the fields one day
Well he thought he heard a burning scrub-brush say
You know you got to free your people
From the Pharaoh's hand
You got to take them all to the promised land
Ah [Makes beatbox noises]
Well he thought he heard a burning scrub-brush say
You know you got to free your people
From the Pharaoh's hand
You got to take them all to the promised land
Ah [Makes beatbox noises]
lyrics version 7
Is there something you'd like to hear? [Audience shout out song titles] Okay well I'm not really into like getting on the new fads and stuff but so, I don't really wanna sing this with, I get th' [Spoken]
A-Moses tending sheep in the fields one day
Well he thought he heard a burning scrub-brush say
You know you got to free your people
From the Pharaoh's hand
You got to take them all to the promised land
Ah [Makes beatbox noises]
A-Moses tending sheep in the fields one day
Well he thought he heard a burning scrub-brush say
You know you got to free your people
From the Pharaoh's hand
You got to take them all to the promised land
Ah [Makes beatbox noises]
lyrics version 8
Okay well I'm not really into like getting on the new fads and stuff but so, I don't really wanna sing this with, I get th' [Spoken]
A-Moses tending sheep in the fields one day
Well he thought he heard a burning scrub-brush say
You know you got to free your people
From the Pharaoh's hand
You got to take them all to the promised land
Ah [Makes beatbox noises]
A-Moses tending sheep in the fields one day
Well he thought he heard a burning scrub-brush say
You know you got to free your people
From the Pharaoh's hand
You got to take them all to the promised land
Ah [Makes beatbox noises]
This is a song I wrote from my Sunday School education. It was written very early in my evolution as a writer but compared to some of the immature songs written before and after this composition, it seems to have held up pretty well. It got me in a bit of trouble with the people who thought of Christianity as being a very serious thing, not to be found amusing on any level. As usual, I wasn't trying to cause trouble or rebel against any tradition, I was merely expressing my beliefs in a way that I thought communicated something real. In this case, the perspective of a young child toward the memorable stories told to us every Sunday, trying to puzzle out the purpose and meaning of God in the lives of those who followed Him.
Charles Norman:
"The last line of Larry's song "Moses in the Wilderness" is "never borrow money needlessly, borrow from HFC". Larry wrote the song when he was a kid and couldn't understand why Moses didn't just take out a home loan from HFC (the Household Finance Company) instead of wandering around the desert for 40 years. Here's the jingle Larry heard a million times while growing up:"
"The last line of Larry's song "Moses in the Wilderness" is "never borrow money needlessly, borrow from HFC". Larry wrote the song when he was a kid and couldn't understand why Moses didn't just take out a home loan from HFC (the Household Finance Company) instead of wandering around the desert for 40 years. Here's the jingle Larry heard a million times while growing up:"