Up On The Hill

Song Meaning

The lyrics of "Up On The Hill" paint a picture of profound, almost spiritual yearning for a place called "home." The speaker traverses vast landscapes—"Up on the hill, down by the river, By the ocean, across the field"—all while repeating a fervent plea: "Lordy, Lordy, Lord, I'm comin' home." This refrain anchors a narrative that blends the mundane with the mystical. The central tension arises from this deep spiritual longing juxtaposed with a strikingly absurd memory. The speaker recalls their "Mama" asking to "smell it" and confirming, "it was smelly." This bizarre, visceral anecdote injects a dose of raw, almost childlike reality into an otherwise ethereal quest, creating a disorienting yet compelling contrast. The figure of "Boognish" emerges as the ultimate guide in this journey. First invoked as a guiding "word," Boognish later appears in a dream, "rising up from the mist" and wielding a "scepter of wealth and power." This shift from the speaker's active declaration, "I'm comin' home," to Boognish's authoritative pronouncement, "I've come to take you home," suggests a surrender to a higher, albeit strange, power. What makes these lyrics effective is their unique blend of earnest devotion and surreal humor. The simple, repetitive structure and the gospel-like invocation of "Lordy, Lordy, Lord" create a sense of genuine yearning, while the unexpected, almost crude details like the "smelly" incident and the enigmatic Boognish prevent the narrative from becoming overly sentimental. It's a homecoming story where the path is as strange and compelling as the destination itself.