Eli's Coming

Album: Suitable For Framing (1969)
Charted: 10
Play Video
  • Eli's comin'
    Eli's comin'
    Whoa you better hide your heart
    Your lovin heart
    Eli's a comin and the cards say
    Broken heart
    Oh broken heart
    Eli's comin'
    Hide your heart girl
    Eli's comin'
    Hide your heart girl
    Eli's a comin'
    Better hide girl
    Eli's a comin'
    Better hide your heart
    Your heart
    Eli's comin'
    Hide your heart
    You better better hide your heart
    Eli's comin'
    Better walk walk
    But you'll never get away
    From the burn and the heartache
    I walked to apollo and the bay
    And everywhere I go
    Eli's a comin'
    Eli's a comin'
    Eli's a comin'
    And he's comin' to get me mama
    I'm down on my knees
    Eli's comin'
    Hide it girl
    Eli's a comin'
    Better hide girl
    Eli's a comin'
    Better hide your heart
    Your heart
    Eli's comin'
    Hide your heart
    You better better hide your heart
    Eli's comin'
    Better walk
    Cry but he's never gonna follow
    I cried at the corners of the square
    And everywhere I go
    Eli's a comin'
    Eli's a comin'
    Eli's a comin'
    And he comin' to get me mama
    I'm down on my knees
    I'm down on my knees
    Oh no no no
    Hide it
    Hide it
    Hide it
    Hide it
    Hide it
    Hide it
    Hide it
    Eli's comin'
    Better hide your heart girl
    Writer/s: LAURA NYRO
    Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 10

  • Hillary From Ny from NycApollo referred to the Apollo theater and the bay is either the San Francisco Bay or one of the bays around Long Island or Hudson Bay
  • Ray From Nysomeone please explain, "I walk to Apollo and the bay."
  • Ragin' Cajun from Asheville NcCan't seem to think of any other rock, pop or blues song that had 3 lead singers that performed as well as they do on this song.
  • Peter from IllinoisELI'S COMIN' means God's Coming, as per Dr. Maurice Friedman, famous Martin Buber scholar of Jewish theology. Said in 1968 after hearing Nyro's album.
  • Spencer Benedict from Naperville, IllinoisEli's Coming has a strong "Rockin' Church Revival" type vibe. While listening to it, I can picture the lead singer as the pastor, and the background singers as the Church Choir; exuberantly clapping their hands and rhymically swaying from side to side as the church goers lift up their hands in the air crying Hosana
    " When i mentioned this to a friend, while the song was playing, she thought the tune was from Jesus Christ Superstar-indicating that i was not alone in my interpretation. Everytime i hear it, i feel as if i were in a Baptist Church Choir, clapping my hands vigorously and praising God.
  • Thisguysmusic from FloridaLaura Nyro was a fantastic writer and singer, she deserves as much attention post death as she did in her years of singing in the late 19th century!
  • Rico724 from Carlsbad,caIn 1969 Three Dog Night played in the gym at Grant High School in Van Nuys, CA for just the senior class it was a big class. Unfortunately I was only a junior at the time
  • Seventhmist from 7th HeavenMy nephew Eli was born in 1995 and as my sister was prepped for delivery, we started singing this song. Made for a great moment and a warm memory.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyExactly fifty years today on November 23rd, 1969, "Eli's Coming"* by Three Dog Night peaked at #10 {for 2 weeks} on Billboard's Top 100 chart, and it spent fourteen weeks on the Top 100...
    The rest of the Top 10 on November 23rd, 1969:
    At #1. "Come Together"/"Something" by The Beatles
    #2. "And When I Die"* by Blood, Sweat, and Tears
    #3. "Wedding Bell Blues"* by The 5th Dimension
    #4. "Take A Letter Marie" by R.B. Greaves
    #5. "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" by Steam
    #6. "Smile A Little Smile For Me" by The Flying Machine
    #7. "Leaving On A Jet Plane" by Peter, Paul and Mary
    #8. "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday" by Stevie Wonder
    #9. "Down On The Corner"/"Fotunate Son" by Creedence Clearwater Revival
    * And from the 'For What It's Worth' department; three of the records in the Top 10 were composed by Laura Nyro, "And When I Die", "Wedding Bell Blues", and "Eli's Coming"...
    May Ms. Nyro {1947 - 1997} R.I.P.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn this day in 1969 {October 25th} Three Dog Night performed "Eli's Coming" on the ABC-TV Saturday afternoon program, 'American Bandstand'...
    At the time "Eli's Coming" was in it's first week on Billboard's Top 100 chart at position #61, five weeks later it would peak at #10 {for 2 weeks} and it spent fourteen weeks on the Top 100...
    It reached #8 on the Canadian RPM Singles chart...
    As noted above, "Eli's Coming" was composed by Laura Nyro...
    And on the same 'Bandstand' show they also performed "Easy To Be Hard", at the time it was at position #18 on the Top 100, four weeks earlier it had peaked at #4 {for 2 weeks} and it stayed on the chart for thirteen weeks...
    Between 1969 and 1975 the California band had twenty one records on the Top 100, eleven made the Top 10 with three reaching #1, "Mama Told Me Not To Come" for 2 weeks in 1970, "Joy To The World" for 6 weeks in 1971, and "Black and White" for 1 week in 1972...
    Member Cory Wells, born Emil Lewandowski, passed away at the age of 74 on October 28th, 2015...
    May both he and Laura Nyro {1947 - 1997} R.I.P.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")Song Writing

Director Mark Pellington on Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," and music videos he made for U2, Jon Bon Jovi and Imagine Dragons.

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions Answered

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions AnsweredSong Writing

10 Questions for the author of Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & PalmerSongwriter Interviews

Greg talks about writing songs of "universal truth" for King Crimson and ELP, and tells us about his most memorable stage moment (it involves fireworks).

Paul Williams

Paul WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

He's a singer and an actor, but as a songwriter Paul helped make Kermit a cultured frog, turned a bank commercial into a huge hit and made love both "exciting and new" and "soft as an easy chair."

Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine Band

Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine BandSongwriter Interviews

Harry Wayne Casey tells the stories behind KC and The Sunshine Band hits like "Get Down Tonight," "That's The Way (I Like It)," and "Give It Up."

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And Hell

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And HellSongwriter Interviews

Guitarist Tony Iommi on the "Iron Man" riff, the definitive Black Sabbath song, and how Ozzy and Dio compared as songwriters.