Music

  • There must be some kind of way out of here
    Said the joker to the thief
    There's too much confusion
    I can't get no relief
    Businessman they drink my wine
    Plow men dig my earth
    None will level on the line
    Nobody of it is worth
    Hey hey

    No reason to get excited
    The thief he kindly spoke
    There are many here among us
    Who feel that life is but a joke but uh
    But you and i we've been through that
    And this is not our fate
    So let us not talk falsely now
    The hour's getting late
    Hey

    Hey

    All along the watchtower
    Princes kept the view
    While all the women came and went
    Bare-foot servants to, but huh
    Outside in the cold distance
    A wild cat did growl
    Two riders were approachin'
    And the wind began to howl
    Hey
    Oh
    All along the watchtower
    Hear you sing around the watch
    Gotta beware gotta beware i will
    Yeah
    Ooh baby
    All along the watchtower

  • You walk into the room
    With your pencil in your hand
    You see somebody naked
    And you say, "Who is that man?"
    You try so hard
    But you don't understand
    Just what you'll say
    When you get home

    Because something is happening here
    But you don't know what it is
    Do you, Mister Jones?

    You raise up your head
    And you ask, "Is this where it is?"
    And somebody points to you and says
    "It's his"
    And you say, "What's mine?"
    And somebody else says, "Where what is?"
    And you say, "Oh my God
    Am I here all alone?"

    Because something is happening here
    But you don't know what it is
    Do you, Mister Jones?

    You hand in your ticket
    And you go watch the geek
    Who immediately walks up to you
    When he hears you speak
    And says, "How does it feel
    To be such a freak?"
    And you say, "Impossible"
    As he hands you a bone

    Because something is happening here
    But you don't know what it is
    Do you, Mister Jones?

    You have many contacts
    Among the lumberjacks
    To get you facts
    When someone attacks your imagination
    But nobody has any respect
    Anyway they already expect you
    To just give a check
    To tax-deductible charity organizations

    You've been with the professors
    And they've all liked your looks
    With great lawyers you have
    Discussed lepers and crooks
    You've been through all of
    F. Scott Fitzgerald's books
    You're very well read
    It's well known

    Because something is happening here
    But you don't know what it is
    Do you, Mister Jones?

    Well, the sword swallower, he comes up to you
    And then he kneels
    He crosses himself
    And then he clicks his high heels
    And without further notice
    He asks you how it feels
    And he says, "Here is your throat back
    Thanks for the loan"

    Because something is happening here
    But you don't know what it is
    Do you, Mister Jones?

    Now you see this one-eyed midget
    Shouting the word "NOW"
    And you say, "For what reason?"
    And he says, "How?"
    And you say, "What does this mean?"
    And he screams back, "You're a cow
    Give me some milk
    Or else go home"

    Because something is happening here
    But you don't know what it is
    Do you, Mister Jones?

    Well, you walk into the room
    Like a camel and then you frown
    You put your eyes in your pocket
    And your nose on the ground
    There ought to be a law
    Against you comin' around
    You should be made
    To wear earphones

    Because something is happening here
    But you don't know what it is
    Do you, Mister Jones?

  • Far between sundown's finish and midnight's broken toll
    We ducked inside the doorway, thunder crashing
    As majestic bells of bolts struck shadows in the sounds
    Seeming to be the chimes of freedom flashing
    Flashing for the warriors whose strength is not to fight
    Flashing for the refugees on the unarmed road of flight
    And for each and every underdog soldier in the night
    And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing

    In the city's melted furnace, unexpectedly we watched
    With faces hidden while the walls were tightening
    As the echo of the wedding bells before the blowin' rain
    Dissolved into the bells of the lightning
    Tolling for the rebel, tolling for the rake
    Tolling for the luckless, the abandoned and forsaked
    Tolling for the outcast, burnin' constantly at stake
    And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing

    Through the mad mystic hammering of the wild ripping hail
    The sky cracked its poems in naked wonder
    That the clinging of the church bells blew far into the breeze
    Leaving only bells of lightning and its thunder
    Striking for the gentle, striking for the kind
    Striking for the guardians and protectors of the mind
    And the unpawned painter behind beyond his rightful time
    And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing

    Through the wild cathedral evening the rain unraveled tales
    For the disrobed faceless forms of no position
    Tolling for the tongues with no place to bring their thoughts
    All down in taken-for-granted situations
    Tolling for the deaf and blind, tolling for the mute
    Tolling for the mistreated, mateless mother, the mistitled prostitute
    For the misdemeanor outlaw, chased and cheated by pursuit
    And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing

    Even though a cloud's white curtain in a far-off corner flashed
    And the hypnotic splattered mist was slowly lifting
    Electric light still struck like arrows, fired but for the ones
    Condemned to drift or else be kept from drifting
    Tolling for the searching ones, on their speechless, seeking trail
    For the lonesome-hearted lovers with too personal a tale
    And for each unharmful, gentle soul misplaced inside a jail
    And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing

    Starry-eyed and laughing as I recall when we were caught
    Trapped by no track of hours for they hanged suspended
    As we listened one last time and we watched with one last look
    Spellbound and swallowed 'til the tolling ended
    Tolling for the aching ones whose wounds cannot be nursed
    For the countless confused, accused, misused, strung-out ones and worse
    And for every hung-up person in the whole wide universe
    And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing

  • Uttering idle words from a reprobate mind
    Clinging to strange promises, dying on the vine
    Never bein' able to separate the good from the bad
    Ooh, I can't stand it, I can't stand it
    It's makin' me feel so sad

    Dead man, dead man
    When will you arise?
    Cobwebs in your mind
    Dust upon your eyes

    Satan got you by the heel, there's a bird's nest in your hair (note 1)
    Do you have any faith at all? Do you have any love to share?
    The way that you hold your head, cursin' God with every move
    Ooh, I can't stand it, I can't stand it
    What are you tryin' to prove?

    The glamour and the bright lights and the politics of sin
    The ghetto that you build for me is the one you end up in
    The race of the engine that overrules your heart
    Ooh, I can't stand it, I can't stand it
    Pretending that you're so smart

    What are you tryin' to overpower me with, the doctrine or the gun?
    My back is already to the wall, where can I run?
    The tuxedo that you're wearin', the flower in your lapel
    Ooh, I can't stand it, I can't stand it
    You wanna take me down to hell

  • They're selling postcards of the hanging
    They're painting the passports brown
    The beauty parlor's filled with sailors
    The circus is in town
    In walks the blind commissioner
    They've got him in a trance
    One hand is tied to the tight-rope walker
    The other is in his pants
    And the riot squad they're restless
    They need somewhere to go
    As Lady and I look out tonight
    From Desolation Row

    Now Cinderella, she seems so easy
    "It takes one to know one," she smiles
    And puts her hands in her back pockets
    Bette Davis style
    And in walks Romeo, he's moaning
    "You belong to me I believe"
    And someone says, "You're in the wrong place, my friend (note 1)
    You better leave"
    And the only sound that you can hear
    After the ambulances go
    Is Cinderella sweeping up
    On Desolation Row

    Now Ophelia, she's neath the window
    For her I feel so afraid
    On her twenty-second birthday
    She already is an old maid
    To her, death is quite romantic
    She wears an iron vest
    Her profession's her religion
    Her sin is her lifelessness
    And though her gaze is fixed upon
    Noah's great rainbow
    She spend her time peeking in
    On Desolation Row

    Einstein disguised as Robin Hood
    With his memories in a trunk
    Passed this way an hour ago
    With his friend, a jealous monk
    He looked so immaculately frightful
    As he bummed a cigarette
    Then he went off sniffing drainpipes
    And reciting the alphabet
    Now you would not think to look at him
    But he was famous long ago
    For playing the electric violin
    On Desolation Row

    Now the moon is almost hidden (note 2)
    The stars are beginning to hide
    The fortune telling lady
    Has already taken all her things inside
    All except for Cain and Abel
    And the hunchback of Notre Dame
    Everybody is making love
    Or else expecting rain
    And the Good Samaritan, he's dressing
    He's getting ready for the show
    He's going to the carnival tonight
    On Desolation Row

    Doctor Filth, he keeps his world
    Inside of a leather cup
    And all his sexless patients
    They're all trying to blow it up
    Now his nurse, some local loser
    She's in charge of the cyanide hole
    And she also keeps the cards that read
    "Have mercy on his soul"
    They all play on the penny whistle
    You can hear them blow
    If you lean your head out far enough
    On Desolation Row

    Across the street they've nailed the curtains
    They're getting ready for the feast
    The Phantom of the Opera
    In the perfect image of a priest
    They're spoonfeeding Casanova
    To get him to feel more assured
    Then they'll kill him with self-confidence
    After poisoning him with words
    And the Phantom's shouting to skinny girls
    "Get out of here if you don't know"
    Casanova is just being punished for going
    To Desolation Row

    Now at midnight all the agents
    And the superhuman crew
    They go and round up everyone
    That knows more than they do
    They take them to the facory
    Where the heart attack machine
    Is strapped across their shoulders
    And then the kerosene
    Is brought down from the castles
    By insurance men who go
    Make sure nobody is escaping
    To Desolation Row

    Praise be to Nero's Neptune
    The Titanic sails at dawn
    Everybody's shouting
    "Which side are you on?"
    And Ezra Pound and T.S.Eliot
    They're fighting in the captain's tower
    While calypso singers laugh at them
    And fishermen throw flowers
    Between the windows of the sea
    Where lovely mermaids flow
    And no one has to think too much
    About Desolation Row

    Yes I received your letter yesterday
    About the time the doorknob broke
    When you asked how I was doing
    Was that some kind of joke?
    All these people that you mentioned
    Yes I know them they're quite lame
    I had to rearrange their faces
    And give them all another name
    Right now I can't read so good
    Don't send me no more letters, no
    Not unless you mail them
    From Desolation Row

  • Well it ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe
    If you don't know by now
    It ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe
    It'll never do, some-how
    When the rooster crows at the break of dawn
    Look out your window and I'll be gone
    You're the reason I'm travelin' on
    But don't think twice, it's all right

    Ain't no use in turnin' on your light, babe
    That light I never knowed
    Ain't no use in turnin' on your light, babe
    I'm on the dark side of the road
    Still I wish there was somethin' you would do or say
    To try & make me change my mind and stay
    We never did too much talkin' anyway
    So don't think twice, it's all right

    It ain't no use in callin out my name, gal
    Like you never done before
    It ain't no use in callin out my name, gal
    I can't hear anymore
    I'm sittin' and a-wonderin', walkin' down the road
    I once loved a woman - a child I am told
    I give her my heart, but she wanted my soul
    But don't think twice, it's all right

    So long honey babe
    Where I'm bound, I can't tell
    Goodbye is too good a word babe
    So I'll just say, "Fare thee well"
    I ain't sayin you treated me unkind
    You coulda done better but, I don't mind
    You just kind of wasted my precious time
    But don't think twice, it's all right

  • May God bless and keep you always
    May your wishes all come true
    May you always do for others
    And let others do for you
    May you build a ladder to the stars
    And climb on every one
    May you stay
    Forever young

    Forever young, forever young
    May you stay forever young

    May you grow up to be righteous
    May you grow up to be true
    May you always know the truth
    And see the lights surrounding you
    May you always be courageous
    Stand upright and be true
    May you stay
    Forever young

    May your hands always be busy
    May your feet always be swift
    May you have a strong foundation
    When the winds of changes shift
    May your heart always be joyful
    May your song always be sung
    May you stay
    Forever young

  • You may be an ambassador to England or France
    You may like to gamble, you might like to dance
    You may be the heavyweight champion of the world
    You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls

    But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
    You're gonna have to serve somebody
    Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
    But you're gonna have to serve somebody

    You might be a rock 'n' roll addict prancing on the stage
    You might have drugs at your command, women in a cage
    You may be a business man or some high degree thief
    They may call you Doctor or they may call you Chief

    You may be a state trooper, you might be a young Turk
    You may be the head of some big TV network
    You may be rich or poor, you may be blind or lame
    You may be living in another country under another name

    You may be a construction worker working on a home
    You may be living in a mansion or you might live in a dome
    You might own guns and you might even own tanks
    You might be somebody's landlord, you might even own banks

    You may be a preacher with your spiritual pride
    You may be a city councilman taking bribes on the side
    You may be workin' in a barbershop, you may know how to cut hair
    You may be somebody's mistress, may be somebody's heir

    Might like to wear cotton, might like to wear silk
    Might like to drink whiskey, might like to drink milk
    You might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread
    You may be sleeping on the floor, sleeping in a king-sized bed

    You may call me Terry, you may call me Timmy
    You may call me Bobby, you may call me Zimmy
    You may call me R.J., you may call me Ray
    You may call me anything but no matter what you say

  • Heart of mine go back home
    You [got no] reason to wander, no reason to roam
    You let yourself down
    [?]
    Don't [be] let yourself down
    Heart of mine

    Heart of mine be still
    Oh you play with fire but you'll get the bill
    [Oh let] yourself down
    Let yourself down where you're going
    Don't be a fool, don't be blind
    Heart of mine

    Heart of mine so restless and bold
    Give you an inch and you'll take a mile
    Oh let yourself go
    Let yourself know where you're going
    Oh don't be a fool, don't be blind
    Heart of mine

    Heart of mine always [?] guile
    Give you an inch and you'll take a mile
    Oh [?]
    Your say you know where you're going
    You say you know [?] blind
    Heart of mine

  • Oh God said to Abraham "kill me a son"
    Abe said "man you must be puttin me on"
    God said "no", Abe said "what"
    God say "you can do what you wanna but
    the next time you see me comin you better run"
    Well Abe said "where d'you want this killin done"
    God said "out on Highway 61"

    Well Georgia Sam he had a bloody nose
    welfare department wouldn't give him no clothes
    They asked poor Howard where can I go
    Howard said "there's only one place I know"
    Sam said "tell me quick man I got to run"
    Oh Howard just pointed with his gun
    and said "that way down Highway 61"

    Well Mack the finger said to Louie the king
    "I got 40 red white and blue shoestrings
    and a thousand telephone that don't ring.
    Do you know where I can get rid of these things?"
    and Louie the king said "let me think for a minute son"
    Then he said "yes I think it can be easily done
    Just take everything down to Highway 61"

    Now the 5th daughter on the 12th night
    told the first father that things weren't right
    "my complexion", she says, "is much too white"
    He said "come here and step into the light"
    He said "hmm you're right let me tell the 2nd mother this has been done"
    But the 2nd mother was with the 7th son
    and they were both out on Highway 61

    Now the roving gambler he was very bored
    trying to create a next world war
    He found a promoter who nearly fell off the floor
    He said "I never engaged in this kind of thing before
    But yes, I think it can be very easily done
    We'll just put some bleachers out in the sun
    and have it on Highway 61"

  • The guilty undertaker sighs
    The lonesome organ grinder cries
    The silver saxophones say I should refuse you
    The cracked bells and washed-out horns
    Blow into my face with scorn
    But it's not that way
    I wasn't born to lose you

    I want you, I want you
    I want you so bad
    Honey, I want you

    The drunken politician leaps
    Upon the street where mothers weep
    And the saviours who are fast asleep
    They wait for you
    And I wait for them to interrupt
    Me drinkin' from my broken cup
    And ask me to
    Open up the gate for you

    Now all my fathers, they've gone down
    True love they've been without it
    But all their daughters put me down
    'Cause I don't think about it

    Well, I return to the Queen of Spades (note 1)
    And talk with my chambermaid
    She know

  • Close your eyes, close the door (note 1)
    You don't have to worry any more
    I'll be your baby tonight

    Shut the light, shut the shade (note 2)
    You don't have to be afraid
    I'll be your baby tonight

    Well, that mockingbird's gonna sail away
    We're gonna forget it (note 3)
    That big, fat moon is gonna shine like a spoon
    But we're gonna let it, you won't regret it

    Kick your shoes off, do not fear
    Bring that bottle over here
    I'll be your baby tonight

  • I drive a mailtrain, mama, can't buy a thrill (note 1)
    I been up all night, mama, sleeping on a window sill (note 2)
    Well, if I die on top of the hill
    And if I don't make it, you know my baby will

    Don't the moon look good, mama, shining through the trees? (note 3)
    Don't the brakeman look good, mama, flagging down the "Double E"?
    Don't the sun look fine setting down over the sea? (note 4)
    Don't my gal look fine when she's coming after me? (note 5

    Now the wintertime is coming, the windows are filled with frost
    I tried to tell everybody, but I could not get across (note 6)
    I wanna be your lover, baby, I don't wanna be your boss
    Don't say I didn't warn you when your train gets lost (note 7)

    Don't say I didn't warn you when your train gets lost
    Don't say I didn't warn you when your train gets lost

  • You must leave now, take what you need, you think will last
    But whatever you wish to keep, you better grab it fast
    Yonder stands your orphan with his gun
    He's crying like a fire in the sun
    Look out, all the saints are coming through
    And it's all over now, Baby Blue

    The highway is for gamblers, you'd better use your sense
    Take what you have gathered from coincidence
    The empty-handed painter from your streets
    Is drawing crazy patterns on your sheets
    The sky, too, is folding over you (note 1)
    And it's all over now, Baby Blue

    All your seasick sailors, they are rowing home
    Your empty-handed army is all going home
    The lover who just walked out your door
    Has taken all his blankets from the floor
    The carpet, too, is moving under you (note 1)
    And it's all over now, Baby Blue

    Leave your stepping stones behind, there's something calls for you
    Forget the dead you've left, they will not follow you
    The vagabond who's rapping at your door
    Is standing in the clothes that you once wore
    Strike another match, go start anew
    And it's all over now, Baby Blue

    It's all over now, Baby Blue
    It's all over now, Baby Blue
    It's all over now, Baby Blue

  • Born in Red Hook, Brooklyn, in the year of who knows when
    Opened up his eyes to the tune of an accordion
    Always on the outside of whatever side there was
    When they asked him why it had to be that way, "Well," he answered,"just because"

    Larry was the oldest, Joey was next to last
    They called Joe "Crazy," the baby they called "Kid Blast"
    Some say they lived off gambling and runnin' numbers too
    It always seemed they got caught between the mob and the men in blue

    Joey, Joey
    King of the streets, child of clay
    Joey, Joey
    What made them want to come and blow you away?

    There was talk they killed their rivals, but the truth was far from that
    No one ever knew for sure where they were really at
    When they tried to strangle Larry, Joey almost hit the roof
    He went out that night to seek revenge, thinkin' he was bullet proof

    The war broke out at the break of dawn, it emptied out the streets
    Joey and his brothers suffered terrible defeats
    Till they ventured out behind the lines and took five prisoners
    They stashed them away in a basement, called them amateurs

    The hostages were tremblin' when they heard a man exclaim
    "Let's blow this place to kingdom come, let Con Edison take the blame"
    But Joey stepped up, he raised his hand, said,"We're not those kind of men
    It's peace and quiet that we need to go back to work again"

    Joey, Joey
    King of the streets, child of clay
    Joey, Joey
    What made them want to come and blow you away?

    The police department hounded him, they called him Mr Smith
    They got him on conspiracy, they were never sure who with
    "What time is it?" said the judge to Joey when they met
    "Five to ten," said Joey. The judge says,"That's exactly what you get"

    He did ten years in Attica, reading Nietzsche and Wilhelm Reich
    They threw him in the hole one time for tryin' to stop a strike
    His closest friends were black men 'cause they seemed to understand
    What it's like to be in society with a shackle on your hand

    When they let him out in '71 he'd lost a little weight (note 1)
    But he dressed like Jimmy Cagney and I swear he did look great
    He tried to find the way back into the life he left behind
    To the boss he said,"I have returned and now I want what's mine"

    Joey, Joey
    King of the streets, child of clay
    Joey, Joey
    Why did they have to come and blow you away?

    It was true that in his later years he would not carry a gun
    "I'm around too many children," he'd say,"they should never know of one"
    Yet he walked right into the clubhouse of his lifelong deadly foe
    Emptied out the register, said,"Tell 'em it was Crazy Joe"

    One day they blew him down in a clam bar in New York
    He could see it comin' through the door as he lifted up his fork
    He pushed the table over to protect his family
    Then he staggered out into the streets of Little Italy

    Joey, Joey
    King of the streets, child of clay
    Joey, Joey
    What made them want to come and blow you away?

    Sister Jacqueline and Carmela and mother Mary all did weep
    I heard his best friend Frankie say,"He ain't dead, he's just asleep"
    Then I saw the old man's limousine head back towards the grave
    I guess he had to say one last goodbye to the son that he could not save

    The sun turned cold over President Street and the town of Brooklyn mourned
    They said a mass in the old church near the house where he was born
    And someday if God's in heaven overlookin' His preserve
    I know the men that shot him down will get what they deserve

    Joey, Joey
    King of the streets, child of clay
    Joey, Joey
    What made them want to come and blow you away?

  • John Brown went off to war to fight on a foreign shore
    His mama sure was proud of him
    He stood straight and tall in his uniform and all
    His mama's face broke out all in a grin

    "Oh son, you look so fine, I'm glad you're a son of mine
    You make me proud to know you hold a gun
    Do what the captain says, lots of medals you will get
    And we'll put them on the wall when you come home"

    As that old train pulled out, John's ma began to shout
    Tellin' ev'ryone in the neighborhood
    "That's my son that's about to go, he's a soldier now, you know"
    She made well sure her neighbors understood

    She got a letter once in a while and her face broke into a smile
    As she showed them to the people from next door
    And she bragged about her son with his uniform and gun
    And these things you called a good old-fashioned war
    Oh good old-fashioned war

    Then the letters ceased to come, for a long time they did not come
    They ceased to come for about ten months or more
    Then a letter finally came saying, "Go down and meet the train
    Your son's a-coming home from the war"

    She smiled and went right down, she looked everywhere around
    But she could not see her soldier son in sight
    But as all the people passed, she saw her son at last
    When she did she could hardly believe her eyes

    Oh his face was all shot up and his hand was all blown off
    And he wore a metal brace around his waist
    He whispered kind of slow, in a voice she did not know
    While she couldn't even recognize his face
    Oh Lord, not even recognize his face

    "Oh tell me, my darling son, pray tell me what they done
    How is it you come to be this way?"
    He tried his best to talk but his mouth could hardly move
    And the mother had to turn her face away

    "Don't you remember, Ma, when I went off to war
    You thought it was the best thing I could do?
    I was on the battleground, you were home ... acting proud
    You wasn't there standing in my shoes"

    "Oh, and I thought when I was there, God, what am I doing here?
    I'm a-tryin' to kill somebody or die tryin'
    But the thing that scared me most was when my enemy came close
    And I saw that his face looked just like mine"
    Oh Lord, just like mine

    "And I couldn't help but think, through the thunder rolling and stink
    That I was just a puppet in a play
    And through the roar and smoke, this string is finally broke
    And a cannon ball blew my eyes away"

    As he turned away to walk, his Ma was still in shock
    At seein' the metal brace that helped him stand
    But as he turned to go, he called his mother close
    And he dropped his medals down into her hand

    John Brown went off to war to fight on a foreign shore
    His mama sure was proud of him
    He stood straight and tall in his uniform and all
    His mama's face broke out all in a grin

    "Oh son, you look so fine, I'm glad you're a son of mine
    You make me proud to know you hold a gun
    Do what the captain says, lots of medals you will get
    And we'll put them on the wall when you come home"

    As that old train pulled out, John's ma began to shout
    Tellin' ev'ryone in the neighborhood
    "That's my son that's about to go, he's a soldier now, you know"
    She made well sure her neighbors understood

    She got a letter once in a while and her face broke into a smile
    As she showed them to the people from next door
    And she bragged about her son with his uniform and gun
    And these things you called a good old-fashioned war
    Oh good old-fashioned war

    Then the letters ceased to come, for a long time they did not come
    They ceased to come for about ten months or more
    Then a letter finally came saying, "Go down and meet the train
    Your son's a-coming home from the war"

    She smiled and went right down, she looked everywhere around
    But she could not see her soldier son in sight
    But as all the people passed, she saw her son at last
    When she did she could hardly believe her eyes

    Oh his face was all shot up and his hand was all blown off
    And he wore a metal brace around his waist
    He whispered kind of slow, in a voice she did not know
    While she couldn't even recognize his face
    Oh Lord, not even recognize his face

    "Oh tell me, my darling son, pray tell me what they done
    How is it you come to be this way?"
    He tried his best to talk but his mouth could hardly move
    And the mother had to turn her face away

    "Don't you remember, Ma, when I went off to war
    You thought it was the best thing I could do?
    I was on the battleground, you were home ... acting proud
    You wasn't there standing in my shoes"

    "Oh, and I thought when I was there, God, what am I doing here?
    I'm a-tryin' to kill somebody or die tryin'
    But the thing that scared me most was when my enemy came close
    And I saw that his face looked just like mine"
    Oh Lord, just like mine

    "And I couldn't help but think, through the thunder rolling and stink
    That I was just a puppet in a play
    And through the roar and smoke, this string is finally broke
    And a cannon ball blew my eyes away"

    As he turned away to walk, his Ma was still in shock
    At seein' the metal brace that helped him stand
    But as he turned to go, he called his mother close
    And he dropped his medals down into her hand

  • When you're lost in the rain in Juarez and it's Easter time too
    When your gravity fails you and negativity don't pull you through
    Don't you put on any airs when you're lost on Rue Morgue Avenue
    They got some hungry creatures there, they'll surely make a mess out of you

    Now if you see St Annie, won't you please tell her thanks a lot
    My stalks they are twisted and my tentacles are all in a knot
    I can't even roll out of the bed and crawl across the floor to take another shot
    And my best friend, my drummer, won't even tell me what it was that I dropped

    Now sweet Melinda, the peasants call her the goddess of gloom
    She speaks such good English when she invites you up into her room
    And of course you, you're so kind and conscientious and careful not to go to her too soon
    Still she steals your voice and she leaves you howling at the moon

    Up on Housing Project Hill, it's either fortune or fame
    You must choose one or the other though neither are to be what they claim
    If you're looking to get silly, you better go back to from where you came
    Because the cops don't need you and man, they expect the same

    Now all the authorities, they just lay around and boast
    How they blackmailed the seargent at arms into leaving his post
    And picking up Angel, who just arrived out here from the coast
    Who looked so fine at first, but left just looking like a ghost

    Now I started out on burgundy, but then I soon hit the harder stuff
    Everybody swore that they would stand beside me when the game got rough
    But the joke was on everybody, there wasn't even anybody there to bluff
    I'm goin' back to Foggy Bottom, I do believe I've had enough

  • Come take this badge off of me
    I won't wear it any more
    Now the sun is setting over me
    And I feel like I'm knocking on heaven's door

    Knock, knock, knocking on heaven's door
    Knock, knock, knocking on heaven's door
    Knock, knock, knocking on heaven's door
    Knock, knock, knocking on heaven's door

    Come put these guns in the ground
    I can't shoot them any more
    The sun is going down
    And I believe I'm knocking on heaven's door

    Knock, knock, knocking on heaven's door
    Knock, knock, knocking on heaven's door
    Knock, knock, knocking on heaven's door
    Knock, knock, knocking on heaven's door

    Come wipe these tears from my eyes
    I can't shed them any more
    The sun is setting in the western sky
    People, I believe I must be knocking on heaven's door

    Knock, knock, knocking on heaven's door
    Knock, knock, knocking on heaven's door
    Knock, knock, knocking on heaven's door
    Just like so many times before

    Knock, knock, knocking on heaven's door
    Knock, knock, knocking on heaven's door
    Knock, knock, knocking on heaven's door
    Just like so many times before

  • [Weir]
    I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more
    I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more
    Well I wake in the morning, fold my hands and pray for rain
    I got a head full of ideas that are driving me insane
    It's a shame the way she makes me scrub the floor
    I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more

    [Garcia]
    I ain't gonna work for Maggie's brother no more
    I ain't gonna work for Maggie's brother no more
    Well he hands you a nickel, he hands you a dime
    He asks you with a grin if you're having a good time
    Then he fines you every time you slam the door
    I ain't gonna work for Maggie's brother no more

    [Hornsby]
    I ain't gonna work for Maggie's ma no more
    I ain't gonna work for Maggie's ma no more
    Well she talks to all the servants about man and God and law
    Everybody says she's the brains behind pa
    She's sixty eight but she says she's twenty four (note 1)
    I ain't gonna work for Maggie's ma no more

    [Welnick]
    I ain't gonna work for Maggie's pa no more
    I ain't gonna work for Maggie's father no more
    Well he puts his cigar out in your face just for kicks
    His bedroom window is made out of bricks
    The National Guard hangs around his door
    I ain't gonna work for Maggie's father no more

    [Lesh]
    I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more
    I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more
    Well I try my best to be just like I am
    But everybody wants me to be just like them
    They sing while you slave and I just get bored
    No I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more

  • Look out your window, baby, there's a scene you'd like to catch
    The band is playing "Dixie," a man got his hand outstretched
    Could be the Fuhrer
    Could be the local priest
    You know sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace

    He got a sweet gift of gab, he got a harmonious tongue
    He knows every song of love that ever has been sung
    Good intentions can be evil
    Both hands can be full of grease
    You know that sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace

    Well, first he's in the background, then he's in the front
    Both eyes are looking like they're on a rabbit hunt
    Nobody can see through him
    No, not even the Chief of Police
    You know that sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace

    Well, he catch you when you're hoping for a glimpse of the sun (note 1)
    Catch you when your troubles feel like they weigh a ton
    He could be standing next to you
    The person that you'd notice least
    I hear that sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace

    Well, he can be fascinating, he can be dull (note 2)
    He can ride down Niagara Falls in the barrels of your skull
    I can smell something cooking
    I can tell there's going to be a feast
    You know that sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace

    He's a great humanitarian, he's a great philanthropist (note 1)
    He knows just where to touch you, honey, and how you like to be kissed
    He'll put both his arms around you
    You can feel the tender touch of the beast
    You know that sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace

    Well, the howling wolf will howl tonight, the king snake will crawl (note 1)
    Trees that've stood for a thousand years suddenly will fall
    Wanna get married? Do it now
    Tomorrow all activity will cease
    You know that sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace

    Somewhere Mama's weeping for her blue-eyed boy
    She's holding them little white shoes and that little broken toy
    And he's following a star
    The same one them three men followed from the East
    I hear that sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace

  • Well the ragman draws circles, up and down the block
    I'd ask him what's the matter, but I know that he don't talk
    And the ladies treat me kindly, and they furnish me with tape
    But deep inside my heart, I know I can't escape
    Oh, mama, can this really be the end
    To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again

    Well Shakespeare he's in the alley
    With his pointed shoes and bell
    Speaking with some French girl, who says she knows me well
    And me, I'd send a message, to find out if she's talked
    But the post office has been stolen, and the mailbox is locked
    Oh, mama, can this really be the end
    To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again

    Mona tried to warn me, stay away from the train line
    She said that all the railroad men
    Just drink up your blood like wine
    And I said, oh I didn't know that
    But then again there's only one I've met
    He just smoked my eyelids, and he punched my cigarette
    Oh, mama, can this really be the end
    To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again

    Grandpa died last week, and they buried him in the rocks
    Everyone still talks about how badly they are shocked
    But me, I expected it to happen, I knew he'd lost control
    When he built a fire on Main Street, and he shot it full of holes
    Oh, mama, can this really be the end
    To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again

    Now the senator, he came down here, showing everyone his gun
    Handing out free tickets to the wedding of his son
    And me, I nearly got busted, and wouldn't it be my luck
    To get caught without a ticket and be discovered beneath a truck
    Oh, mama, can this really be the end
    To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again

    Now the preacher looks so baffled
    When I asked him why he dressed
    With twenty pounds of headlines stapled to his chest
    But he cursed me when I proved it to him
    Then I said, you see, not even you can hide
    You see, you're just like me, and I hope you're satisfied
    Oh, mama, can this really be the end
    To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again

    Now the rainman gave me two cures, then he said jump right in
    The first was Texas medecine, the second was just railroad gin
    And like a fool I mixed them up, and it strangled up my mind
    And now people just get uglier, and I've got no sense of time
    Oh, mama, can this really be the end
    To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again

    When Ruthie says come see her in her honky-tonk lagoon
    Where I can watch her waltz for free, 'neath her Panamanian moon
    And I said, oh come on now, you know about my debutante
    And she says, your debutante knows just what you need
    But I know what you want
    Oh, mama, can this really be the end
    To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again

    Now the bricks, they lay on Grand Street where the neon madmen climb
    They all fall there so perfectly, it all seems so well timed
    And here I sit so patiently, waiting to find out what price
    You have to pay to get out of
    Going through all of these things twice
    Oh, mama, can this really be the end
    To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again

    Oh, mama, can this really be the end
    To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again

  • Hey Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me
    I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to
    Hey Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me
    In the jingle jangle morning I'll come followin' you

    Though I know that evening's empire has returned into sand
    Vanished from my hand
    Left me blindly here to stand
    But still not sleeping
    My weariness amazes me
    I'm branded on my feet
    I have no one to meet
    And the ancient empty street's too dead for dreaming

    Take me on a trip upon your magic swirling ship
    My senses have been stripped
    My hands can't feel to grip
    My toes too numb to step
    Wait only for my boot heels to be wandering
    I'm ready to go anywhere
    'm ready for to fade
    Into my own parade
    Cast your dancing spell my way
    I promise to go under it

    Though you might hear laughing, spinning
    Swinging madly across the sun
    It's not aimed at anyone
    It's just escaping on the run
    And but for the sky there are no fences facing
    And if you hear vague traces
    Of skipping reels of rhyme
    To your tambourine in time
    It's just a ragged clown behind
    I wouldn't pay it any mind
    It's just a shadow you're seeing that he's chasing

    Then take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind
    Down the foggy ruins of time
    Far past the frozen leaves
    The haunted, frightened trees
    Out to the windy beach
    Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow
    Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky
    With one hand waving free
    Silhouetted by the sea
    Circled by the circus sands
    With all memory and fate
    Driven deep beneath the waves
    Let me forget about today until tomorrow

  • Now when your mother sends back all your invitations
    And your father to your sister he explains
    That you're tired of yourself and all of your creations
    Won't you come see me, Queen Jane?
    Won't you come see me, Queen Jane?

    Now the flower lady wants back what she has have lent you
    And the smell of her roses does not remain
    When all your children start to resent you
    Won't you come see me, Queen Jane?
    Won't you come see me, Queen Jane?

    Now when all the clowns that you have commissioned
    Have all died in battle or in vain
    And you find yourself sick of all this repetition
    Won't you come see me, Queen Jane?
    Won't you come see me, Queen Jane?

    Now when all of your advisers heave their plastic
    At your feet to convince you of your pain
    Trying to prove that your conclusions should be more drastic
    Won't you come see me, Queen Jane?
    Won't you come see me, Queen Ja

  • Well, they'll stone ya when you're trying to be so good
    They'll stone ya just a-like they said they would
    They'll stone ya when you're tryin' to go home
    Then they'll stone ya when you're there all alone
    But I would not feel so all alone
    Everybody must get stoned

    Well, they'll stone ya when you're walkin' 'long the street
    They'll stone ya when you're tryin' to keep your seat
    They'll stone ya when you're walkin' on the floor
    They'll stone ya when you're walkin' to the door
    But I would not feel so all alone
    Everybody must get stoned

    They'll stone ya when you're at the breakfast table
    They'll stone ya when you are young and able
    They'll stone ya when you're tryin' to make a buck
    They'll stone ya and then they'll say, "good luck"
    Tell ya what, I would not feel so all alone
    Everybody must get stoned

  • She's got everything she needs,
    She's an artist, she don't look back.
    She's got everything she needs,
    She's an artist, she don't look back.
    She can take the dark out of the nighttime
    And paint the daytime black.

    You will start out standing
    Proud to steal her anything she sees.
    You will start out standing
    Proud to steal her anything she sees.
    But you will wind up peeking through her keyhole
    Down upon your knees.

    She never stumbles,
    She's got no place to fall.
    She never stumbles,
    She's got no place to fall.
    She's nobody's child,
    The Law can't touch her at all.

    She wears an Egyptian ring
    That sparkles before she speaks.
    She wears an Egyptian ring
    That sparkles before she speaks.
    She's a hypnotist collector,
    You are a walking antique.

    Bow down to her on Sunday,
    Salute her when her birthday comes.
    Bow down to her on Sunday,
    Salute her when her birthday comes.
    For Halloween give her a trumpet
    And for Christmas, buy her a drum.

  • 'Twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood
    When blackness was a virtue and the road was full of mud
    I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form
    "Come in," she said
    "I'll give you shelter from the storm"

    And if I pass this way again, you can rest assured
    I'll always do my best for her, on that I give my word
    In a world of steel-eyed death, and men who are fighting to be warm
    "Come in," she said
    "I'll give you shelter from the storm"

    Not a word was spoke between us, there was little risk involved
    Everything up to that point had been left unresolved
    Try imagining a place where it's always safe and warm
    "Come in,"she said
    "I'll give you shelter from the storm"

    I was burned out from exhaustion, buried in the hail
    Poisoned in the bushes an' blown out on the trail
    Hunted like a crocodile, ravaged in the corn
    "Come in," she said
    "I'll give you shelter from the storm"

    Suddenly I turned around and she was standin' there
    With silver bracelets on her wrists and flowers in her hair
    She walked up to me so gracefully and took my crown of thorns
    "Come in," she said
    "I'll give you shelter from the storm"

    Now there's a wall between us, somethin' there's been lost
    I took too much for granted, got my signals crossed
    Just to think that it all began on a long-forgotten morn
    "Come in," she said
    "I'll give you shelter from the storm"

    Well, the deputy walks on hard nails and the preacher rides a mount
    But nothing really matters much, it's doom alone that counts
    And the one-eyed undertaker, he blows a futile horn
    "Come in," she said
    "I'll give you shelter from the storm"

    I've heard newborn babies wailin' like a mournin' dove
    And old men with broken teeth stranded without love
    Do I understand your question, man, is it hopeless and forlorn?
    "Come in," she said
    "I'll give you shelter from the storm"

    In a little hilltop village, they gambled for my clothes
    I bargained for salvation an' they gave me a lethal dose
    I offered up my innocence and got repaid with scorn
    "Come in," she said
    "I'll give you shelter from the storm"

    Well, I'm livin' in a foreign country but I'm bound to cross the line
    Beauty walks a razor's edge, someday I'll make it mine
    If I could only turn back the clock to when God and her were born
    "Come in," she said
    "I'll give you shelter from the storm"

  • They sat together in the park (note 1)
    As the evening sky grew dark
    She looked at him and he felt a spark tingle to his bones
    'Twas then he felt alone and wished that he'd gone straight
    And watched out for a simple twist of fate (note 2)

    They walked along by the old canal
    A little confused, I remember well
    And stopped into a strange hotel with a neon burnin' bright
    He felt the heat of the night hit him like a freight train
    Moving with a simple twist of fate

    A saxophone someplace far off played (note 3)
    As she was walkin' by the arcade
    As the light bust through a beat-up shade where he was wakin' up
    She dropped a coin into the cup of a blind man at the gate
    And forgot about a simple twist of fate

    He woke up, the room was bare (note 4)
    He didn't see her anywhere
    He told himself he didn't care, pushed the window open wide
    Felt an emptiness inside to which he just could not relate
    Brought on by a simple twist of fate

    He hears the ticking of the clocks (note 5)
    And walks along with a parrot that talks
    Hunts her down by the waterfront docks where the sailors all come in
    Maybe she'll pick him out again, how long he must wait
    Once more for a simple twist of fate

    People tell me it's a sin
    To know and feel too much within (note 6)
    I still believe she was my twin, but I lost the ring
    She was born in the spring, but I was born too late
    Blame it on a simple twist of fate

  • Sometimes I feel so low-down and disgusted
    Can't help but wonder what's happenin' to my companions
    Are they lost or are they found, have they counted the cost it'll take to bring down
    All their earthly principles they're gonna have to abandon?

    And there's a slow, slow train comin' up around the bend

    I had a woman down in Alabama
    She was a backwoods girl, but she sure was realistic
    She said, "Boy, without a doubt have to quit your mess and straighten out
    You could die down here be just another accident statistic"

    All that foreign oil controlling American soil
    Look around you, it's just bound to make you embarrassed
    Sheiks walkin' around like kings, wearing fancy jewels and nose rings
    Deciding America's future from Amsterdam and to Paris

    Man's ego is inflated, his laws are outdated, they don't apply no more
    You can't rely no more to be standin' around waitin'
    In the home of the brave, Jefferson turnin' over in his grave
    Fools glorifying themselves, trying to manipulate Satan

    Big-time negotiators, false healers and woman haters
    Masters of the bluff and masters of the proposition
    But the enemy I see wears a cloak of decency
    All non-believers and men stealers talkin' in the name of religion

    People starving and thirsting, grain elevators are bursting
    You know it costs more to store the food than it does to give it
    They say lose your inhibitions, follow your own ambitions
    They talk about a life of brotherly love, show me someone who knows how to live it

    Well, my baby went to Illinois with some bad-talkin' boy she could destroy
    A real suicide case, but there was nothin' I could do to stop it
    I don't care about economy, I don't care about astronomy
    But it's sure to bother me to see my loved ones turning into puppets

  • Early one morning the sun was shinin'
    I was layin' in bed (note 1)
    Wondering if she'd changed at all
    If her hair was still red
    Her folks they said that our lives together
    Sure was gonna be rough
    They never did like Mama's home-made dress
    Papa's bank book wasn't big enough
    And I was standing on the side of the road
    Rain falling on my shoes
    Heading out for the old east coast
    Lord knows I've paid some dues (note 2)
    Getting through
    Tangled up in blue

    She was married when we first met (note 3)
    Soon to be divorced
    I helped her out of a jam I guess
    But I used a little too much force
    We drove that car as far as we could
    Abandoned it out west
    Split up on the docks that night
    Both agreeing it was best
    She turned around to look at me
    As I was walking away
    I heard her say over her shoulder
    We'll meet again some day
    On the avenue
    Tangled up in Blue

    I had a job in the great north woods (note 4)
    Working as a cook for a spell
    But I never did like it all that much
    And one day the axe just fell
    So I drifted down to New Orleans
    My luck it was to be employed
    Workin' for a while on a fishing boat
    Right outside of Delacroix
    But all the while I was alone
    The past was close behind
    I seen a lot of women
    But she never escaped my mind
    And I just grew
    Tangled up in blue

    She was working in topless place (note 5)
    And I stopped in for a beer
    I just kept looking at the side of her face
    In the spotlight so clear
    And later on when the crowd thinned out
    I was just about to do the same
    She was standing there in back of my chair
    Said to me Don't I know your name
    I muttered something underneath my breath
    She studied the lines on my face
    I must admit I felt a little uneasy
    When she bent down to tie the laces
    Of my shoe
    Tangled up in blue

    She lit a burner on the stove
    And offered me a pipe
    I thought you'd never say hello she said
    You look like the silent type
    Then open up a book of poems
    And handed it to me
    Written by an Italian poet
    From the thirteenth century
    And every one of them words rang true
    And glowed like burning coal
    Pourin' off of every page
    Like it was written in my soul
    From me to you
    Tangled up in blue

    I lived with them on Montague Street
    In a basement down the stairs
    There was music in the cafes at night
    And revolution in the air
    Then he started dealing in slaves
    And something inside of him died
    She had to sell everything she owned
    And froze up inside
    And when finally the bottom fell out (note 6)
    I became withdrawn
    The only thing I knew how to do
    Was to keep on keeping on
    Like a bird that flew
    Tangled up in blue

    So now I'm going on back again
    I got to get to her somehow
    All the people we used to know
    They're an illusion to me now
    Some are mathematicians
    Some are carpenters wives
    Don't know how it all got started
    I don't know what they do with their lives
    But me, I'm still on the road
    Headin' for another joint
    We always did feel the same
    We just saw it from a different point
    Of view
    Tangled up in blue

    Tangled up in blue
    Tangled up in blue
    [etc]

  • Well, Frankie Lee and Judas Priest
    They were the best of friends
    So when Frankie Lee needed money one day
    Judas quickly pulled out a roll of tens
    And placed them on a footstool
    Just above the plotted plain
    Sayin', "Take your pick, Frankie Boy
    My loss will be your gain"

    Well, Frankie Lee, he sat right down
    And put his fingers to his chin
    But with the cold eyes of Judas on him
    His head began to spin
    "Would you please not stare at me like that," he said
    "It's just my foolish pride
    But sometimes a man must be alone
    And this is no place to hide"

    Well, Judas, he just winked and said
    "All right, I'll leave you here
    But you'd better hurry up and choose
    Which of those bills you want
    Before they all disappear"
    "I'm gonna start my pickin' right now
    Just tell me where you'll be"
    Judas pointed down the road
    And said, "Eternity"

    "Eternity?" said Frankie Lee
    With a voice as cold as ice
    "That's right," said Judas Priest, "Eternity
    Though some might call it 'Paradise'"
    "I don't call it anything"
    Said Frankie Lee with a smile
    "All right," said Judas Priest
    "I'll see you after a while"

    Well, Frankie Lee, he sat back down
    Feelin' low and mean
    When just then a passing stranger
    Burst upon the scene
    Saying, "Are you Frankie Lee, the gambler
    Whose father is deceased?
    Well, if you are
    There's a fellow callin' you down the road
    And they say his name is Priest"

    "Oh, yes, he is my friend"
    Said Frankie Lee in fright
    "I do recall him very well
    In fact, he just left my sight"
    "Yes, that's the one," said the stranger
    As quiet as a mouse
    "Well, my message is, he's down the road
    But he's stranded in a house"

    Well, Frankie Lee, he panicked
    He dropped ev'rything and ran
    Until he came up to the spot
    Where Judas Priest did stand
    "What kind of house is this," he said
    "Where I have come to roam?"
    "It's not a house," said Judas Priest
    "It's not a house, it's a home"

    Well, Frankie Lee, he trembled
    He soon lost all control
    Over everything which he had made
    While the mission bells did toll
    He just stood there staring at that big house
    As bright as any sun
    With four and twenty windows
    And a woman's face in ev'ry one

    Well, up the stairs ran Frankie Lee
    With a soulful, bounding leap
    And foaming at the mouth
    He began to make his midnight creep
    For sixteen nights and days he raved
    But on the seventeenth he burst
    Into the arms of Judas Priest
    Which is where he died of thirst

    No one tried to say a thing
    When they carried him out in jest
    Except, of course, the little neighbor boy
    Who carried him to rest
    And he just walked along, alone
    With his guilt so well concealed
    And muttered underneath his breath
    "Nothing is revealed"

    Well, the moral of the story
    The moral of this song
    Is simply that one should never be
    Where one does not belong
    So when you see your neighbor carryin' somethin'
    Go and help him with his load
    And don't go mistaking Paradise
    For that home across the road

  • Everybody's building ships and boats
    Some are building monuments
    And some are jotting down notes
    Everybody's in despair
    Every girl and boy
    But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here
    Everybody's gonna jump for joy

    Chorus Come on without, come on within
    You'll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn
    Come on without, come on within
    You'll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn

     

    I like to do just like the rest, I like my sugar sweet (note 1)
    But jumping queues and making haste
    Just ain't my cup of meat
    Everybody's 'neath the trees
    Feeding pigeons on a limb
    But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here
    All the pigeons gonna run to him

    If you do what I want you to, I can't decide in my heart (note 2)
    Tell me where to put it, and I'll tell you who to call
    No one can get no sleep, with someone on everyone's toes
    But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here
    Everybody's gonna want a dose

  • Come gather round people wherever you roam
    And admit that the waters around you have grown
    And accept it that soon you'll be drenched to the bone
    If your time to you is worth saving
    Then you'd better start swimming or you'll sink like a stone
    For the times, they are a changing

    Come writers and critics who prophesize with your pens
    And keep your eyes open, the chance won't come again
    And don't speak too soon, the wheel's still in spin
    And there's no telling who that it's naming
    Oh the loser will be later to win
    For the times, they are a changing

    Come senators, congressmen, please head the call (note 1)
    Don't stand in the doorway, don't block up the hall
    For he that gets hurt will be her that has stalled
    The battle outside ragging will soon shake your windows
    And rattle your hall
    For the times, they are a changing

    Come mothers and fathers all over this land
    And don't criticize what you can't understand
    Your sons and your daughter are beyond your command
    Your old role is rapidly aging
    Please get out of the new one if you can't lend a hand
    For the times they are a changing

    The line, it is drawn, the curse, it is cast
    The slow one will later be fast
    And the present now will soon be the past (note 2)
    The order is rapidly fading
    The first one now will later be last
    For the times, they are a changing

  • There was a wicked messenger
    From Eli he did come
    With a mind that multiplied
    The smallest matter
    When questioned who had sent for him
    He answered with his thumb
    For his tongue it could not speak, but only flatter

    He stayed behind the assembly hall
    It was there he made his bed
    Offentimes he could be seen returning
    Until one day he just appeared
    With a note in his hand which read
    "The soles of my my feet, I swear theyre burning"

    Oh, the leaves began to fallin
    And the seas began to part
    And the people that confronted him were many
    And he was told but these few words
    Which opened up his heart
    "If ye cannot bring good news, the dont bring any"

  • If today was not an endless highway
    If tonight was not a crooked trail
    If tomorrow wasn't such a long time
    Then lonesome would mean nothing to me at all

    Yes and only if my own true love was waiting
    And if I could hear her heart softly pounding
    Only if she was lying by me
    Would I lie in my bed once again

    I can't see my reflection in the water
    I can't speak the sounds that know no pain
    I can't hear the echo of my footsteps
    I can't remember the sound of my own name

    There's beauty in the silver singing river
    There's beauty in the sunrise in the sky
    But none of these and nothing else can match the beauty
    That I remember in my true love's eyes

  • Ain't it just like the night to play tricks when you're tryin' to be so quiet?
    Sitting here stranded, though we're all doin' our best to deny it
    And Louise holds a handful of rain, temptin' you to defy it
    Lights flicker from the opposite loft
    In this room the heat pipes just cough
    The country music station plays soft
    But there's nothing, really nothing, to turn off
    Just Louise and her lover so entwined
    And these visions of Johanna that conquer my mind

    In the empty lot where the ladies play blindman's bluff with a key chain
    And all-night girls they whisper of escapades out on the "D" train
    We can hear the night watchman click his flashlight
    Ask himself if it's him or them that's insane
    But Louise she's alright, she's just near
    She's delicate and seems like the mirror
    She just makes it all so concise and so clear
    That Johanna's not here
    The ghost of electricity howls in the bones of her face
    Where these visions of Johanna have now taken my place

    Now, little boy lost, he takes himself so seriously
    He brags of his misery, he likes to live dangerously (note 1)
    And when bringing her name up, he speaks of her farewell kiss to me
    He's sure got a lot of gall, to be so useless and all
    Muttering small talk at the wall, while I'm in the hall
    How can I explain? It's so hard to get on
    And these visions of Johanna they kept me up past the dawn

    Inside the museums, Infinity goes up on trial
    Voices echo this is what salvation must be like after a while
    Mona Lisa must have had the highway blues, you can tell by the way she smiles
    See the primitive wallflower freeze
    When the jelly-faced women all sneeze
    Hear the one with the mustache say "Jeeze, I can't find my knees"
    Jewels and binoculars hang from the head of the mule
    But these visions of Johanna make it all seem so cruel

    The peddlar now speaks to the countess who's pretending to care for him
    Saying "Name me someone that's not a parasite and I'll go out and say a prayer for him"
    But like Louise always says "Ya can't look at much can ya man?"
    As she, herself, prepares for him
    And Madonna she still has not showed
    We see this empty cage now corrode
    Where her cape of the stage once had flowed
    The fiddler now steps to the road
    He writes everything's been returned which was owed
    On the back of the fish truck that loads
    While my conscience explodes
    The harmonicas play the skeleton keys and the rain
    And these visions of Johanna are now all that remain

    And these visions of Johanna are now all that remain

  • What's the matter with me? I don't have much to say
    Daylight's sneaking' through the window
    And I'm still in this all night cafe
    Walking to and fro beneath the moon
    Out to where the trucks are rolling slow
    Sit out on this bank of sand and watch the river flow

    Wish I was back in the city instead of this old bank of sand
    With the sun beatin' down over the chimney tops
    And the one I love so close at hand
    If I had wings and I could fly, I know where I would go
    But right now I just sit here so contentedly (note 1)
    And watch the river flow

    People disagreein' on just about everything, yeah (note 2)
    Makes you stop and wonder why
    Why only yesterday I saw someone on the street
    Who just couldn't help but cry

    Oh, but this old river keeps on rollin' though
    No matter what gets in the way and which was the wind does blow
    And as long as it does I just sit here
    And watch the river flow

    People disagreein' everywhere you look
    Makes you want to stop and read a book
    Why only yesterday I saw somebody on the street
    That was really shook

    Watch the river flow, watching the river flow
    Watching the river flow
    Well, I just sit out on this bank of sand
    And watch the river flow

  • Oh, the streets of Rome are filled with rubble
    Ancient footprints are everywhere
    Well you can almost think that you're seein' double
    On a cold dark night on the Spanish Stairs
    Got to hurry on back to my hotel room
    Where I've got me a date with Botticelli's niece
    She promised she'd be right there with me
    When I paint my masterpiece

    Oh, the hours I've spent inside the Coliseum
    Dodging lions and wastin' time
    Oh, those mighty kings of the jungle
    I can hardly stand to see 'em
    Well, it sure has been a long hard ride (note 1)
    Train wheels runnin' through the back of my memory
    When I ran on the hilltop following a pack of wild geese
    Someday, life will be sweet like a rhapsody (note 2)
    When I paint my masterpiece

    Sailin' 'round the world in a dirty gondola (note 3)
    Oh, to be back in the land of Coca-Cola

     

    I left Rome and landed in Brussels
    On a plane ride so bumpy that I almost cried
    Clergymen in uniform and young girls pullin' muscles
    Everyone was there to greet me when I stepped inside (note 4)
    Newspapermen eating candy
    Had to be held down by big police
    Someday, everything is gonna be diff'rent
    When I paint my masterpiece

    Someday, everything is gonna be diff'rent
    When I paint my masterpiece
    When I paint my masterpiece