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Sewing References in Music

I’m always surprised when songwriters choose to include sewing references in their lyrics. The other day, for instance, I was listening to Broadway music when an Annie song came on the radio. Would you ever have guessed that Annie thinks about sewing in her spare time? Well, in the song “Maybe,” she says the following while daydreaming about her parents:

“Betcha he reads

Betcha she sews

Maybe she’s made me a closet of clothes!”

This got me to thinking about a number of other songs I’ve heard over the years that also feature lines with sewing-related terms. While it might not happen often, it’s quite exciting when it does–especially when you’re not expecting it! Below are a few songs I’ve come across recently that incorporate sewing references in the lyrics. Feel free to use these songs to create an inspirational sewing playlist, and be sure to add in some of your own favorite examples:

1. In the song “Turn! Turn! Turn!,” The Byrds discuss how there is a time for everything, even a time for sewing in the following verse:

“A time to gain, a time to lose

A time to rend, a time to sew”

2. Maroon 5 mentions some very important sewing notions in the first line of their song “Must Get Out”:

“I’ve been the needle and the thread

Weaving figure eights and circles round your head”

3. In “House of the Rising Sun” by The Animals, sewing is mentioned as a profession:

“My mother was a tailor

She sewed my new blue jeans”

4. The title of the song “Details in the Fabric” by Jason Mraz (featuring James Morrison) is considered a metaphor for “the little things in life” and is repeated multiple times throughout the song:

“Are the details in the fabric

Are the things that make you panic

Is it Mother Nature’s sewing machine?”

Have you come across any songs with sewing references in the lyrics? If so, we’d love to hear them. Please share them in the comments section below!

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  1. Barbara_J | | #1

    Simon And Garfunkel – Scarborough Fair

    Tell her to make me a cambric shirt
    Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme
    Without no seams nor needlework
    Then she'll be a true love of mine

    What? No seams? No needlework? :)

  2. pathersl | | #2

    Dolly Parton sang about "The Coat of Many Colors." And you must Google Cathy Miller, The Singing Quilter. she has a wealth of music and it's wonderfully fun.

  3. SamanthaTharler | | #3

    A bit on the light side, but this song is surprisingly to the point https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7hfMkBQLU4&feature=kp

  4. Ellabella100 | | #4

    Doe, a deer, a female deer
    Ray, a drop of golden sun
    Me, a name I call myself
    Far, a long long way to run
    Sew, a needle pulling thread
    La, a note to follow sew
    Tea, I drink with jam and bread
    That will bring us back to doe...

  5. User avater
    Missahope | | #5

    Sound of Music!
    Sew... a needle pulling thread!

  6. cindysews | | #6

    Blue Jean baby, L A Lady, seamstress for the band.......(Elton John)

  7. User avater
    Lusky7 | | #7

    Maroon 5 great band with a nice music, lyrics http://lyricsmusic.name/maroon-5-lyrics/ , Harder to Breathe one of their best, for sure.

  8. user-7731489 | | #8

    BANKS: Beggin for thread

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