Stay Down Here Where You Belong

Irving Berlin

1914

Verse 1

Down below,
Down below,
Sat the Devil talking to his son,
Who wanted to go
Up above,
Up above,

He cried “It’s getting too warm from me down here and so,
I’m going up on Earth where I can have a little fun,”
The Devil simply shook his head and answered his son.

Chorus

Stay down here where you belong,

The folks who live above you don’t know right from wrong,
To please their kings they’ve all gone out to war,
And not a one of them knows what he’s fighting for;
‘Way up above they say that I’m the Devil, and I’m bad,
Kings up there are bigger Devils than your dad,
They’re breaking the hearts of mothers,
Making butchers out of brothers,

You’ll find more hell up there, than there is down below.

Verse 2

Kings up there,
They don’t care,

For the mothers who must stay at home,
Their sorrows to bear,
Stay at home,
Don’t you roam,

Although it’s warm down below, you’ll find it’s warmer up there
If e’er you went up there, my son, I know you’d be surprised,
You’d find a lot of people who are not civilized

Chorus

Stay down here where you belong,

The folks who live above you don’t know right from wrong,
To please their kings they’ve all gone out to war,
And not a one of them knows what he’s fighting for;
‘Way up above they say that I’m the Devil, and I’m bad,

Kings up there are bigger Devils than your dad,
They’re breaking the hearts of mothers,
Making butchers out of brothers,

You’ll find more hell up there, than there is down below.