Ain't a-gonna grieve no more, no more
Ain't a-gonna grieve no more, no more
D
/f#
G
And ain't a-gonna grieve no more
Come on brother, join the band
Come on sisters, clap your hands
Tell everybody in every land
I ain't a-gonna grieve no more
You know, I ain't a-gonna grieve no more, no more
Ain't a-gonna grieve no more, no more
Ain't a-gonna grieve no more, no more
Ain't a-gonna grieve no more
Brown and blue and white and black
We're one color on the one-way track
We got this far and ain't a-goin' back
And ain't a-gonna grieve no more
And I ain't a-gonna grieve no more, no more
Ain't a-gonna grieve no more, no more
Ain't a-gonna grieve no more, no more
I ain't a-gonna grieve no more
We're gonna notify your next of kin
You're gonna raise the roof 'til the house falls in
You can knock us down, we'll get up again
We ain't a-gonna grieve no more
We ain't a-gonna grieve no more, no more
We ain't a-gonna grieve no more, no more
We ain't a-gonna grieve no more, no more
We ain't a-gonna grieve no more
We'll sing this song all night long
Sing it to my baby from midnight on
She'll sing it to you when I'm dead and gone
Ain't a-gonna grieve no more
Well, I ain't a-gonna grieve no more, no more
Ain't a-gonna grieve no more, no more
Ain't a-gonna grieve, I ain't a-gonna grieve
I ain't a-gonna grieve no more
All Over You
1963
"Let's just put this one down for kicks"
G
/f#
/f
E
Well, if I had to do it all over again
A
D
G
Babe, I'd do it all over you
G
/f#
/f
E
And if I had to wait for ten thousand years
A
D
Babe, I'd even do that too
B7
Em
Well, a dog's got his bone in the alley
B7
Em
A cat, she's got nine lives
A
A millionaire's got a million dollars
D(7)
King Saud's got four hundred wives
C
D
G
Well, everybody's got somethin'
G
/f#
/f
C/e
That they're lookin' forward to
C
G
/f#
/f
E
I'm lookin' forward to when I can do it all again
A
D
G
And babe, I'll do it all over you
Well, if I had my way tomorrow or today
Babe, I'd run circles all around
I'd jump up in the wind, do a somersault and spin
I'd even dance a jig on the ground
Well, everybody gets their hour
Everybody gets their time
Little David when he picked up his pebbles
Even Sampson after he went blind
Well, everybody gets the chance
To do what they want to do
When my time arrives you better run for your life
'Cause babe, I'll do it all over you
Well, I don't need no money, I just need a day that's sunny
Baby, and my days are gonna come
And I grab me a pint, you know that I'm a giant
When you hear me yellin', "Fee-fi-fo-fum"
Well, you cut me like a jigsaw puzzle
You made me to a walkin' wreck
Then you pushed my heart through my backbone
Then you knocked off my head from my neck
Well, if I'm ever standin' steady
A-doin' what I want to do
Well, I tell you little lover that you better run for cover
'Cause babe, I'll do it all over you
I'm just restin' at your gate so that I won't be late
And, momma, I'm a-just sittin' on the shelf
Look out your window fair and you'll see me squattin' there
Just a-fumblin' and a-mumblin' to myself
Well, after my cigarette's been smoked up
After all my liquor's been drunk
After my dreams are dreamed out
After all my thoughts have been thunk
Well, after I do some of these things
I'm gonna do what I have to do
And I tell you on the side, that you better run and hide
'Cause babe, I'll do it all over you
Sometimes I'm in the mood, I wanna leave my lonesome home
C
G
And sometimes I'm in the mood, I wanna hear my milk cow moan
B7/f#
C/g
And sometimes I'm in the mood, I wanna hit the highway road
G
D
G
C
But then again, but then again, I said oh, I said oh, I said
G
D
G
Oh babe, I'm in the mood for you
Sometimes I'm in the mood, Lord, I had my overflowin' fill
Sometimes I'm in the mood, I'm gonna make out my final will
Sometimes I'm in the mood, I'm gonna head for the walkin' hill
But then again, but then again, I said oh, I said oh, I said
Oh babe, I'm in the mood for you
Sometimes I'm in the mood, I wanna lay right down and die
Sometimes I'm in the mood, I wanna climb up to the sky
Sometimes I'm in the mood, I'm gonna laugh until I cry
But then again, I said again, I said again, I said
Oh babe, I'm in the mood for you
Sometimes I'm in the mood, I'm gonna sleep in my pony's stall
Sometimes I'm in the mood, I ain't gonna do nothin' at all
Sometimes I'm in the mood, I wanna fly like a cannon ball
But then again, but then again, I said oh, I said oh, I said
Oh babe, I'm in the mood for you
Sometimes I'm in the mood, I wanna back up against the wall
Sometimes I'm in the mood, I wanna run till I have to crawl
Sometimes I'm in the mood, I ain't gonna do nothin' at all
But then again, but then again, I said oh, I said oh, I said
Oh babe, I'm in the mood for you
Sometimes I'm in the mood, I wanna change my house around
Sometimes I'm in the mood, I'm gonna make a change in this here town
Sometimes I'm in the mood, I'm gonna change the world around
But then again, but then again, I said oh, I said oh, I said
Oh babe, I'm in the mood for you
Same interlude figure also appears in "Standing On The Highway", from the same session.
G 020100
D7 000330
D
G
D
G
D
Sad I'm sittin' on the railroad track
G
D
Watchin' that old smokestack
G
D
D7
D
Train is a-leavin' but it won't be back
D7
: . . .
D
.
--0-|-----0-0-----------------|-----0----
--3-|-----3-3-----------------|-----0----
--3-|-----3-3---1-------------|-----0---- etc
----|-----------------3-----0-|-----0----
----|-------------------------|-----0----
----|-0-----0-----0-----0-----|-0--------
Years ago we hung around
Watchin' trains roll through the town
Now that train is a-graveyard bound
Where we go up in that North Country
Lakes and streams and mines so free
I had no better friend than he
Something happened to him that day
I thought I heard a stranger say
I hung my head and stole away
A diesel truck was rollin' slow
Pullin' down a heavy load
It left him on a Utah road
They carried him back to his home town
His mother cried, his sister moaned
Listin' to them church bells tone
My name is Donald White, you see, I stand before you all
C
F
C
G7
I was judged by you a murderer and the hangman's knot must fall
C
F
C
F
I will die upon the gallows pole when the moon is shining clear
C
F
G7
C
And these are my final words that you will ever hear
I left my home in Kansas When I was very young
I landed in the old Northwest Seattle, Washington
Although I'd a-traveled many miles, I never made a friend
For I could never get along in life with people that I met
If I had some education to give me a decent start
I might have been a doctor or a master in the arts
But I used my hands for stealing when I was very young
And they locked me down in jailhouse cells, that's how my life begun
Oh, the inmates and the prisoners, I found they were my kind
And it was there inside the bars I found my peace of mind
But the jails they were too crowded, institutions overflowed
So they turned me loose to walk upon life's hurried tangled road
And there's danger on the ocean, where the salt sea waves split high
And there's danger on the battlefield, where the shells of bullets fly
And there's danger in this open world, where men strive to be free
And for me the greatest danger was in society
So I asked them to send me back to the institution home
But they said they were too crowded, for me they had no room
I got down on my knees and begged, "Oh, please put me away"
But they would not listen to my plea or nothing I would say
And so it was on Christmas Eve in the year of '59
It was on that night I killed a man, I did not try to hide
The jury found me guilty and I won't disagree
For I knew that it would happen if I wasn't put away
And I'm glad I've had no parents to care for me or cry
For now they will never know the horrible death I die
And I'm also glad I've had no friends to see me in disgrace
For they'll never see that hangman's hood wrap around my face
Farewell unto the Old North Woods of which I used to roam
Farewell unto the crowded bars of which have been my home
Farewell to all you people who think the worst of me
I guess you'll feel much better when I'm on that hanging tree
But there's just one question before they kill me dead
I'm wondering just how much to you I really said
Concerning all the boys that come down a road like me
Are they enemies or victims of your society?
Ballad Of The Gliding Swan
1962
C
C7
Tenderly William kissed his wife
F
D7/f#
Then he opened her head with a butcher's knife
C
G
Am
F
And the swan on the river went gliding by
C
G
C
The swan on the river went gliding by
G
Lady Margaret's pillow was wet with tears
Nobody's been on it in twenty years
And the swan on the river goes gliding by
The swan on the river goes gliding by
Little Billy Brown will shake with fright
He's got a new daddy and mommy every night
And the swan on the river goes laughing by
The swan on the river goes laughing by
"I've got a sad surprise" the doctor said
"A twenty-pound baby without any head"
The swan on the river went lookin' ...
Bob Dylan's New Orleans Rag
1963
B7
I was sittin' on a stump down in New Orleans
E
(
A
)
E
I was feelin' kinda low down, dirty and mean
Along came a fella and he didn't even ask
He says, "I know of a woman who can fix you up fast"
Well, I didn't think twice, I just said like I should
"Let's go find this lady that can do me some good"
We walked across rampard on a sailin' spree
And we came to a door called one-oh-three
I was just about ready to give my little knock
When out comes a fella who couldn't even walk
He's linkin' and a-slinkin', couldn't stand on his feet
And he moaned and he groaned and he shuffled down the street
Well, out of the door there come another man
He couldn't even talk and he couldn't even stand
He moaned and he groaned and he shuffled his feet
And he slid slidin' backwards down Rampart Street
Well, I peeked through the key hole, and comin' down the hall
Was a long-legged man who could hardly crawl
He had a terrible mean look in his eye
Like he just fought a bear and he was ready to die
Well, somebody yells with his hair all messed
Fell out of the window, and he failed the test
Well, he slid and he slunk in broken French
And he looked like he'd been through a monkey wrench
Well, by this time I was a-scared to knock
I was a-scared to move, I's in a state of shock
I hummed a little tune and I shuffled my feet
And I started walkin' backwards down that Rampart street
Well, I got to the corner, I tried my best to smile
I turned around the corner and I ran a bloody mile
Man, I wasn't runnin' for to meet my wife
I's a just a-runnin' for to save my life
Well, I's coughing in my ears and wheezin' in my chest
I must've run a mile in a minute or less
I tripped on a log and I flumped on a stump
I caught a fast freight with a one-arm jump
So, if you're travelin' down the Louisiana way
And you're feelin' kinda lonesome and you need a place to stay
Man, you're better off in your misery
Than to tackle that lady at one-oh-three
Bound To Lose, Bound To Win
1963
G
. .
Em
.
G
.
C
|
G
. .
Em/b
.
G
.
C
|
G
. .
Em/b
.
G
C
. |
G
...
"Here's one, I can write you out the verses to this later,
I can't really remember this right now,
I'll write you out the verses to it."
G
C
Well I'm bound to lose, bound to win
G
C
D
G
Bound to walk to the road again
G
C
Bound to lose, bound to win
C
D
G
/e
/g
Bound for a-walkin' to the road again
G
Em
Well, I'm just one of them ramblin' men
C
D
G
Ramblin' since I don't know when
G
C
Here I come, and I'm a-gone again
/b
D/a
G
You might think I got no end
G
Em
Bound to lose, I'm bound to win
G
C
D
G
I'm bound for a-walkin' to the road again
G
Em
Bound to lose, I'm bound to win
G
C
G
Bound for a-walkin' to the road again
Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?
1965
G
G
C/g
G
C/g
D
He sits in your room, his tomb, with a fist full of tacks
Am
G
Preoccupied with his vengeance
G
Bm
Am
D
Cursing the dead that can't answer him back
Am
C
You know that he has no intentions
D
Of looking your way, unless it's to say
Am
C
D
(
Dsus2/f#
)
That he needs you to test his inventions
G
C
D
Oh, crawl out your window
G
C
D
Come on, don't say it will ruin you
G
C
D
Come on, don't say he will haunt you
G
C
D
You can go back to him any time you want to
G
C
D
He looks so truthful, is this how he feels?
Trying to peel the moon and expose it
With his businesslike anger and his bloodhounds that kneel
If he needs a third eye he just grows it
He just needs you to talk or to hand him his chalk
Or pick it up after he throws it
Oh, crawl out your window...
Why does he look so righteous while your face is so changed?
Are You frightened of the box you keep him in?
While his genocide fools and his friends rearrange
Their religion of the little tin women
That backs up their views but your face is so bruised
Come on out, the dark is beginning
Oh, crawl out your window...
Come gather round me people, and a story I will tell
F
Am
About a night not long ago, you all remember well
F
Am
I tell it to you straight and true, I tell it like friend
F
Am
All about the fearful night, we thought the world would end
I was walkin' down the sidewalk not causin' any harm
The radio reported, it sounded with alarm
The Russian ships were sailin' all out across the sea
We all feared by daybreak it would be World War Number Three
I was worried about an argument I had the day before
Over some small matter, I'm sure it was nothin' more
But just a day ago, how it wrinkled up my brow
The same thing today seems so unimportant now
Death Of Emmett Till
1962
Am
. . .
C/g
.
D/f#
.
F
.
Am
.
E
.
Am
. . .
Am
C/g
D/f#
F
'Twas down in Mississippi no so long ago
Am
C/g
D/f#
E
When a young boy from Chicago town walked in a Southern door
Am
C/g
D/f#
F
This boy's frightful tragedy you should all remember well
Am
C/g
E
Am
The color of his skin was black and his name was Emmett Till
Some men they dragged him to a barn and there they beat him up
They said they had a reason, but I disremember what
They tortured him and did some things too evil to repeat
There was screaming sounds inside the barn, there was laughing sounds out on the street
Then they rolled his body down a gulf amidst the blood-red rain
And they threw him in the waters wide to cease his screaming pain
The reason that they killed him there, and I'm sure it ain't no lie
He was a black-skinned boy, so he was born to die
And then to stop the United States of yelling for a trial
Two brothers they confessed that they had killed poor Emmett Till
But on the jury there were men who helped the brothers commit this awful crime
And so this trial was a mockery, but nobody seemed to mind
I saw the morning papers but I could not bear
To see the smiling brothers walkin' down the courthouse stairs
For the jury found them innocent and the brothers they went free
While Emmett's body floats the foam of a Jim Crow southern sea
If you can't speak out against this kind of thing, a crime that's so unjust
Your eyes are filled with dead men's dirt, your mind is filled with dust
Your arms and legs they must be in shackles and chains and your blood it must cease to flow
For you let this human race fall down so God-awful low!
This song is just a reminder to remind your fellow man
That this kind of thing still lives today in that ghost-robed Klu-Klux Klan
But if all us folks that thinks alike, if we'd give all we could give
We could make this great land of ours a greater place to live
Denise, Denise
1964
Piano outtake from Another Side. Very similar to Black Crow Blues.
G
C
G
Denise, Denise, gal, what's on your mind?
C
G
Denise, Denise, gal, what's on your mind?
D
G
You got your eyes closed, baby, but I know that you ain't blind
Well, I can see you're smilin', but whoa your mouth is inside out
I can see you're smilin', but you're smilin' inside out
Well I know you're laughing, but what are you laughing about?
Well, if you're tryin' to throw me, babe I've already been tossed
If you're tryin' to throw me, babe I've already been tossed
If you're tryin' to lose me, baby I'm already lost
Well, what are you doin', are you fine or have you flipped?
Oh, what are you doin', have you fine or have you flipped?
Well, you call my name and then say your tongue just slipped
Denise, Denise, are you for sale or just on the shelf?
Denise, Denise, are you for sale or just on the shelf?
I'm looking deep in your eyes, babe, but all I can see is myself.
Dusty Old Fairgrounds
1963
G
C
G
Well, it's all up from Florida at the start of the spring
Dsus4
The trucks and the trailers will be winding
G
C
G
Like a bullet we'll shoot for the carnival route
G
D
G
C/g
G
We're following them dusty old fairgrounds a-calling
From the Michigan mud past the Wisconsin sun
'Cross that Minnesota border, keep 'em scrambling
Through the clear county lakes and lumberjack lands
We're following them dusty old fairgrounds a-calling
Hit Fargo on the jump and down to Aberdeen
'Cross them old Black Hills, keep 'em rolling
Through the cow country towns and the sands of old Montana
We're following them fairgrounds a-calling
As the white line on the highway sails under your wheels
I've gazed from the trailer window laughing
Oh, our clothes they was torn but the colors they was bright
Following them dusty old fairgrounds a-calling
It's a-many a friend that follows the bend
The jugglers, the hustlers, the gamblers
Well, I've spent my time with the fortune-telling kind
Following them fairgrounds a-calling
Oh, it's pound down the rails and it's tie down the tents
Get that canvas flag a-flying
Well, let the caterpillars spin, let the ferris wheel wind
Following them fairgrounds a-calling
Well, it's roll into town straight to the fairgrounds
Just behind the posters that are hanging
And it's fill up every space with a different kind of face
Following them fairgrounds a-calling
Get the dancing girls in front, get the gambling show behind
Hear that old music box a-banging
Hear them kids, faces, smiles, up and down the midway aisles
Following them fairgrounds a-calling
It's a-drag it down by the deadline in the town
Hit the old highway by the morning
And it's ride yourself blind for the next town on time
Following them fairgrounds a-calling
As the harmonicas whined in the lonesome night-time
Drinking red wine as we're rolling
Many a turnin' I turn, many a lesson I learn
From following them fairgrounds a-calling
And it's roll back down to St Petersburg
Tie down the trailers and camp 'em
And the money that we made will pay for the space
From following them dusty old fairgrounds a-calling
Eternal Circle
1963
E6 022120
A
E6
A
I sang the song slowly as she stood in the shadows
D/f#
E6
A
She stepped to the light as my silver strings spun
A
E
D
A
She called with her eyes to the tune I's a-playin'
Through a bullet of light her face was reflectin'
The fast fading words that rolled from my tongue
With a long-distance look her eyes was on fire
But the song it was long and there was more to be sung
My eyes danced a circle across her clear outline
With her head tilted sideways she called me again
As the tune drifted out she breathed hard through the echo
But the song it was long and it was far to the end
I glanced at my guitar and played it pretendin'
That of all the eyes out there I could see none
As her thoughts pounded hard like the pierce of an arrow
But the song it was long and it had to get done
As the tune finally folded I laid down the guitar
Then looked for the girl who'd stayed for so long
But her shadow was missin' for all of my searchin'
So I picked up my guitar and began the next song
But my true love who's bound to stay behind
Oh the weather is against me and the wind blows hard
And the rain she's a-turnin' into hail
I still might strike it lucky on a highway goin' west
Though I'm travelin' on a path beaten trail
So it's fare thee well...
I will write you a letter from time to time
As I'm ramblin' you can travel with me too
With my head, my heart and my hands, my love
I will send what I learn back home to you
So it's fare thee well...
I will tell you of the laughter and of troubles
Be them somebody else's or my own
With my hands in my pockets and my coat collar high
I will travel unnoticed and unknown
So it's fare thee well...
I've heard tell of a town where I might as well be bound
It's down around the old Mexican plains
They say that the people are all friendly there
And all they ask of you is your name
So it's fare thee well...
Are being stolen by bandits, I must follow the sound
C
Fmaj7
G
The triangle tingles, the music play slow
Am
Em
C
Em/b
F
C
Csus4
C
But farewell Angelina, the night is on fire and I must go
There is no use in talkin' and there's no need for blame
There is nothing to prove, everything still is the same
A table stands empty by the edge of the stream
But farewell Angelina, the sky's changing colours and I must leave
The jacks and the queens they forsake the courtyard
Fifty-two gypsies now file past the guards
In the space where the deuce and the ace once ran wild
Farewell Angelina, the sky is folding, I'll see you after a while
See the cross-eyed pirates sit perched in the sun
Shooting tin cans with a sawed-off shotgun
And the corporals and neighbors clap and cheer with each blast
But farewell Angelina, the sky it is trembling and I must leave fast
King Kong, little elves, in the rooftops they dance
Valentino type tangos while the hero's clean hands
Shut the eyes of the dead not to embarrass anyone
Farewell Angelina, the sky is flooding over and I must be gone
The camouflaged parrot he flutters from fear
When something he doesn't know about suddenly appears
What cannot be imitated perfect must die
Farewell Angelina, the sky's flooding over and I must go where it is dry
Machine guns are roaring, puppets heave rocks
At misunderstood visions and at the faces of clocks
Call me any name you like, I will never deny it
But farewell Angelina, the sky is erupting and I must go where it's quiet
Guess I'm Doin' Fine
1964
|-----0-------0---|
|-----1-------1---|
|-----0-------0---| etc
|-----2-------2---|
|-3---------------|
|---------3-------|
Dm7/f 100211 (w/thumb)
C(iii) xxx053
F(v) xxx565
In later verses a
G
is inserted between
Dm7
and
C
here and there.
C
Dm7/f
C
Well I ain't a-got my childhood
C
Dm7
/f
C
Or friends I once did know
C
Dm7
C
No I ain't a-got my childhood
C
Dm7
C
Or friends I once did know
C(iii)
F(v)
C(iii)
But I still got my voice left
F(v)
Dm7
G
C
I can take it anywhere I go
Dm7
G
/e
/f
C
Dm7
G
Hey hey so I guess I'm doin' fine
An I've never had much money
But I'm still around somehow
No I've never had much money
But I'm still around somehow
Many times I've bended
But I ain't never yet bowed
Hey hey so I guess I'm doin' fine
Trouble oh trouble
I've trouble on my mind
Trouble oh trouble
Trouble on my mind
But the trouble in the world, Lord
Is much more bigger than mine
Hey hey so I guess I'm doin' fine
And I never had no armies
To jump at my command
No I ain't a-got no armies
To jump at my command
But I don't need no armies
I got me one good friend
Hey hey so I guess I'm doin' fine
C
Dm7
I been kicked and whipped and trampled on
C
Dm7
C
Dm7
G
I been shot at just like you
C
Dm7
C
I been kicked and whipped and trampled on
Dm7
G
C
I been shot at just like you
But as long as the world keeps turnin'
I just keep turnin' too
Hey hey so I guess I'm doin' fine
Well my road might be rocky
The stones might cut my face
My road might be rocky
The stones might cut my face
But there's some folks ain't got no road at all
They gotta stand in the same old place
Hey hey so I guess I'm doin' fine
: . . . . . : . . . : .
Gypsy Lou's gone again
Well, I seen this whole country through
Just to followin' Gypsy Lou
Seen it up, seen it down
Followin' Gypsy Lou around
Hey, round the bend
Gypsy Lou's gone again
Gypsy Lou's gone again
Well, I gotta stop and take some rest
My poor feet are second best
My poor feet are wearin' thin
Gypsy Lou's gone again
Hey, gone again
Gypsy Lou's round the bend
Gypsy Lou's round the bend
Well, seen her up in old Cheyenne
Turned my head and away she ran
From Denver Town to Wichita
Last I heard she's in Arkansas
Hey, round the bend
Gypsy Lou's gone again
Gypsy Lou's gone again
Well, I tell you what if you want to do
Tell you if you'll wear out your shoes
If you want to wear out your shoes
Try and follow Gypsy Lou
Hey, gone again
Gypsy Lou's round the bend
Gypsy Lou's round the bend
Well, Gypsy Lou, I been told
Livin' down on Gallus Road
Gallus Road, Arlington
Moved away to Washington
Hey, round the bend
Gypsy Lou's gone again
Gypsy Lou's gone again
Well, I went down to Washington
Then she went to Oregon
I skipped the ground and hopped a train
She's back in Gallus Road again
Hey, I can't win
Gypsy Lou's gone again
Gypsy Lou's gone again
Well, the last I heard of Gypsy Lou
She's in a Memphis calaboose
She left one too many a boy behind
He committed suicide
Hey, you can't win
Gypsy Lou's gone again
Gypsy Lou's gone again
Hard Times In New York Town
1961
Heavily based on "Down on Penny's Farm" by the Bently Boys.
Take particular notice of the alternation between
/c
and
/g
(5th
and 6th string) as bass note for the
C
chord, and the
F/a
chord (x03211),
to get the bass progression
/c
-
/a
-
/g
-
/c
in the chorus.
The
G
at the end of the verse and the chorus is basically just a bass tone with
hints of other tones added to it, which in some verses make it a
G
chord, in
others a
C/g
(332010).
The finger picking pattern is (more or less):
C
.
F
.
C
. . .
|-----------------|-----------0-----|
|---1-------1-----|---1-------------|
|-------0-------2-|-------0-------0-|
|-----2-------3---|-----2-------2---|
|-3---------------|---------3-------|
|---------1-------|-3---------------|
The Witmark Demos version only has slight textual differences, such as the
penultimate line's "Hard times in the city" instead of "... country".
C
F
C
Come you ladies and you gentlemen, a-listen to my song
C
F
C
Sing it to you right, but you might think it's wrong
C
F
C
Just a little glimpse of a story I'll tell
C
F
G
'Bout an East Coast city that you all know well
C
F/a
It's hard times in the country
C/g
G
C
Livin' down in New York town
Old New York City is a friendly old town
From Washington Heights to Harlem on down
There's a-mighty many people all millin' all around
They'll kick you when you're up and knock you when you're down
It's hard times in the country
Livin' down in New York town
It's a mighty long ways from the Golden Gate
To Rockefeller Plaza and the Empire State
Mister Empire sets up as high as a bird
Old Mister Rockefeller never says a word
It's hard times from the country
Livin' down in New York town
Well, it's up in the mornin' tryin' to fins a job of work
Stand in one place till your feet begin to hurt
If you go a lot o' money you can make yourself merry
If you only got a nickel, it's the Staten Island Ferry
And it's hard times in the country
Livin' down in New York town
Mister Hudson come a-sailin' down the stream
And old Mister Minuet paid for his dream
Bought your city on a one-way track
If I had my way I'd sell it right back
And it's hard times from the country
Livin' down in New York town
I'll take all the smog in Californ-i-a
And every bit of dust in the Oklahoma plains
And the dirt in the caves of the Rocky Mountain mines
It's all much cleaner than the New York kind
And it's hard times in the country
Livin' down in New York town
So all you newsy people, spread the news around
You can listen to my story, listen to my song
You can step on my name, you can try and get me beat
When I leave New York, I'll be standin' on my feet
And it's hard times in the country
Livin' down in New York town
Well the gal I love, I swear she's the screamin' end
C
G
G
Yes, the gal I got, I swear she's the screamin' end
D
She wants me to be a hero
C
G
So she can tell all her friends
Well, she begged and she prayed
She pleaded with me all last night
Well, she begged, she prayed
She pleaded with me all last night
She wants me to go out
And find somebody to fight
She reads too many books
She got new movies inside her head
She reads too many books
She got movies inside her head
She wants me to walk out running
She wants me to crawl back dead
You need a different kinda man, babe
One that can hold your heart
You need a different kind of man, babe
One that can hold your heart
You need a different kind of man, babe
You need Napoleon Bonaparte
Well, when I'm dead
No more good times will I crave
When I'm dead
No more good times will I crave
You can stand and shout hero
All over my lonesome grave
She reads too many books
She got nails inside her head
She reads too many books
She got nails inside her head
Well, she will not be satisfied
Until I wind up dead
Piano demo in
C
Three more versions not transcribed...
Well, she begged and she pleaded
She cried to me all last night
And she begged and she pleaded
She cried to me all last night
She wanted me to go out
And find somebody to fight
You need a different kinda man, babe
One that can hold and grab your heart
You need a different kind of man, babe
One that can hold and grab your heart
You need a different kind of man, babe
You need Napoleon Bonaparte
Live Chicago <1974-Jan-03>
A
The girl I got
A
I swear she's the screamin' end
D
Well, that girl I got
A
A
I swear she's the screamin' end
E
She wants me to be her hero
D
A
So she can tell all of her friends
Runnin' down the highway
Just as fast as I could go
Runnin' down the highway
Just as fast as I could go
They don't tell you, baby
I told you long time ago
You need a different kinda man, babe
One that can hold your heart
You need a different kind of man, babe
One that can hold and grab your heart
You need a different kind of man, babe
Napoleon Bonaparte
Won't be no woman
Show me ???
Without a woman
Nobody needs a slave
She got one foot on the highway
And the other foot in the grave
Live Chicago <1974-Jan-04>
Don't you remember?
I told you long ago
Don't you remember?
I told you once before
That we're gonna ???
Just thinking of work around here no more
She walks on the bottle
But she knows she's gonna be no slave
She walks in the bottle
But she knows she's gonna be no slave
She got one foot on the highway
And the other foot in the grave
Cruel shower ???
Until the early dawn
Watching the sidewalk
Up until the early dawn
You can write on my tombstone
Just been here and gone
You're thinking of your sales, you ain't thinking of me
You're not thinking of any George Washington
You're not thinking of any Thomas Jefferson
But you say that you are and you lie and mislead
You use their names for your aims, for your selfish greed
Don't speak to me of your patriotism
When you throw the Southern black boy in prison
And you say the only good niggers are the ones that have died
Don't think I'll ever stand on your side
Though you make it so hard for me to love
My face will never feel the slap of your glove
My hands will never buy the cards that you play
My feet will never walk down the road that you lay
Get out in the open, stop standing afar
Let the whole world see what a hypocrite you are
I ain't joking and it ain't no gag
You been hiding too long behind the American flag
I'll Keep It With Mine
1965
C
F
C
F
You will search, babe
C
F
C
G
F
At any cost
C
F
C
F
But how long, babe
C
F
C
G
C
F
Can you search for what's not lost?
C
F
C
F
C
F
Everybody will help you
C
F
C
F
Some people are very kind
C
F
C
Dm
C
F
C
G
C
F
But if I can save you any time
C
F
C
F
Come on, give it to me
C
Dm
F11
C
I'll keep it with mine
I can't help it
If you might think I'm odd
If I say I'm loving you
Not for what you are But for what you're not
Everybody will help you
Discover what you set out to find
But if I can save you any time
Come on, give it to me
I'll keep it with mine
Everybody will help you
Discover what you set out to find
But if I can save you any time
Come on, give it to me
I'll keep it with mine
Now the train leaves
At half past ten
But it'll be back
In the same old spot again
The conductor
He's still stuck on the line
And if I can save you any time
Come on, give it to me
I'll keep it with mine
On that dreadful day
You're gonna start to sweat
And you ain't a-gonna stop
You're gonna have a nightmare
And never wake up
Hey, hey, hey!
I'd sure hate to be you
On that dreadful day
You're gonna cry for pills
Your head's gonna be in a knot
But the pills are gonna cost
More than what you've got
Hey, hey! I'd sure hate to be you
On that dreadful day
You're gonna have to walk naked
You can't ride in no car
You're gonna let everybody see
Just what you are
Hey, hey! I'd sure hate to be you
On that dreadful day
Well, the good wine's a-flowin'
For five cents a quart
You're gonna look in your moneybags
And find you're one cent short
Hey, hey, hey! I'd sure hate to be you
On that dreadful day
You're gonna yell and scream
"Don't anybody care?"
You're gonna hear out a voice say
"Shoulda listened when you heard them words down there"
Hey, hey! I'd sure hate to be you
On that dreadful day
And if I was a rogue, I would lay in all your morning laurel
F
C
G7
With the law hangin' after me
I rode six mare, I've been on my wagon
And now here I stand with you facin' me
And alone makin' only that I'm morning morrow
With her hand facin' me
I'd give up all I have to tell her one thought
To kiss I would give it all too, so she could see
But here I stand on a lake in the narrow wide road
Condemned in a lake flamed and free
If I was a king, I'd give her all my land
To her and that rogue after me
And if I was a rogue I would give her all my road darken
And take my chances in the lake and the sea
Take 2
C
F
G7
I'd stand by her road and the lonely water
F
C
G7
I've stood there many times before this, you see
F
C
F
G7
And I know that once you woken my heart up
Am
F
G7
With her sin finally aching after me
I swore by her, by her uncle and her mother
While she didn't roll it back on me
And I swore by her ring that she went in, and I would go after
And alone in makin' after me
If I was a king I would give her my castles
I'd give her all my land given to me
And if I was a rogue I would steal her away from my other
And take my chances in the deep blue sea
And now would I stand, here by the fountain
The rain ready to shelter me
Chased by rain and Snow White and all her Seven Dwarfs
Chasin' me, but I cannot flee
Or else you gotta stay all night
It ain't that I'm questionin' you
To take part in any quiz
It's just that I ain't got no watch
And you keep askin' me what time it is
But if you gotta go...
I am just a poor boy, baby
Lookin' to connect
But I certainly don't want you thinkin'
That I ain't got any respect
But if you gotta go...
You know I'd have nightmares
And a guilty conscience, too
If I kept you from anything
That you really wanted to do
But if you gotta go...
It ain't that I'm wantin'
Anything you never gave before
It's just that I'll be sleepin' soon
It'll be too dark for you to find the door
But if you gotta go...
I rode out one morning, tryin' to make me a friend
D
G/d
I rode down to the city, no one to defend
G/d
D
But my hands they were dirty and my hair it was messed
D
G/d
D
And I came from the east and I went out to the west
It's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard ground to walk
It's hard as the nail, it's hard as the rock
It's hard as the sail that stands to the wind
But they're all not as hard as the love that I'm in
I Wanna Be Your Lover
1965
G
Well, the rainman comes with his magic wand
And the judge says, "Mona can't have no bond"
And the walls collide, Mona cries
D7
G
And the rainman leaves in the wolfman's disguise, ooh......
C
I wanna be your lover, baby, I wanna be your man
I wanna be your lover, baby
G
I don't wanna be hers, I wanna be yours
Well, the undertaker in his midnight suit
Says to the masked man, "Ain't you cute!"
Well, the mask man he gets up on the shelf
And he says, "You ain't so bad yourself"
I wanna be your lover, baby, I wanna be your man
I wanna be your lover, baby
I don't wanna be hers, I wanna be yours
Well, jumpin' Judy can't go no higher
She had bullets in her eyes, and they fire
Rasputin he's so dignified
He touched the back of her head and he died
I wanna be your lover, baby, I wanna be your man
I wanna be your lover, baby
I don't wanna be hers, I wanna be yours
Well, Phaedra with her looking glass
Stretchin' out upon the grass
She gets all messed up and she faints
That's 'cause she's so obvious and you ain't
I wanna be your lover, baby, I wanna be your man
I wanna be your lover, baby
I don't wanna be hers, I wanna be yours
*** Lyrics from studio outtake ***
Well, the rainman's comin' and he wavin' his wand
The judge says Mona can't have no bond
Mona she starts to cry
The rainman leaves in the wolf's disguise, ooh
I wanna be your partner, babe
I wanna be your man
I wanna be your partner, babe
I wanna be your man
And I never wrote a letter to my home
It was just the other day
I was bringing home my pay
When I met an old friend I used to know
Said your mother's dead and gone
Baby sister's all gone wrong
And your daddy needs you home right away
Not a shirt on my back
Not a penny on my name
But I can't go home this-a-way
This-a-way, Lord, Lord, Lord
And I can't go home this-a-way
If you miss the train I'm on
Count the days I'm gone
You will hear that whistle blow a hundred miles
Hundred miles, honey baby, Lord, Lord, Lord
And you'll hear that whistle blow a hundred miles
I'm playing on a track
Ma would come and whup me back
On them trestles down by old Jim McKay's
When I pay the debt I owe
To the commissary store
I will pawn my watch and chain and go home
Go home, Lord, Lord, Lord
I will pawn my watch and chain and go home
Used to tell ma sometimes
When I see them riding blind
Gonna make me a home out in the wind
In the wind, Lord, in the wind
Make me a home out in the wind
I don't like it in the wind
I go back home again
But I can't go home this-a-way
This-a-way, Lord, Lord, Lord
And I can't go home this-a-way
I was young when I left home
And I been all rambling round
And I never wrote a letter to my home
To my home, Lord, Lord, Lord
And I never wrote a letter to my home
Jet Pilot
1965
E
Well, she's got Jet Pilot eyes from her hips on down
All the bombardiers are trying to force her out of town
She's five feet nine and she carries a monkey wrench
She weighs more by the foot than she does by the inch
When John Brown went off to war to fight on a foreign shore
D5
C9
G/b
D5
His mother sure was proud of him!
D5
C9
D5
C9
G/b
D5
As he stood straight and tall in his uniform and all
C9
G/b
D
His mother's face broke out all to 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"
When that old train pulled out, John's ma began to shout
Tellin' everybody in the whole neighborhood
"That's my son that's about to go, he's a soldier now, you know"
She made well sure her neighbors understood
Oh! Lord! 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
Then the letters ceased to come, for a long time they'd never come
They ceased to come for about nine months or more
Then a letter finally came saying, "Go down and meet the train
Your son's a-coming home from the war"
Oh! Lord! From the war
She smiled and went right down, she looked up and all around
But she did 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
His face was all shot up and his hands were both 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 my darling son, tell me what to you they done
How is it that you come to be this way?"
His mouth could hardly move as he tried his best to talk
And she did not even recognize his voice
"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, feeling proud
Thank God you wasn't standing in my shoes"
"Oh, I thought when I was there, God, what am I doing here?
I'm a-tryin' to kill my enemy or die tryin'
But as the enemy came close, the thing that hurt me most
As I saw that his face looked just like mine"
Oh! Lord! Just like mine!
"And I couldn't help but think, through the thunder sound 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
Oh! Lord! To her hand!
D/c x30030 (Cadd9)
G/b x20030 (G6/b)
Gm/Bb x10030 (Gm6/Bb)
The chords gradually change from this:
D
John Brown went off to war to fight on a foreign shore
/c
/b
D
His mama sure was proud of him!
He stood so straight and tall in his uniform and all
/c
/b
D
His mama's face broke out into a grin
To this:
D
/c
Oh his face was all shot off and his hand were both blown back
G/b
D
And he wore a metal brace around his waist
D
/c
He whispered kind of slow, in a voice she did not know
G/b
D
While she couldn't even recognize his face!
With the ending:
|:
D
. . . |
/c
. . . |
G/b
. . . |
Gm/bb
. . . :|
D
A
. . .
|-----------------|--------
Occasional |-----2-2---------|--------
lick: |-----2-2---------|--------
|-----2-2---------|--------
|-0-------3h0-----|-0------
|-------------3---|--------
A
John Brown went off to war to fight on a foreign shore
G
D/f#
A
His mama sure was proud of him!
A
He stood so straight and tall in his uniform and all
G
D/f#
A
His mama's face broke out into a grin
...
As he turned away to go, his Mother was acting slow
Seein' the metal brace that helped him stand
But as he turned to leave, he called his mother close
And he dropped his medals down into her hand
A
. . .
G
. . .
D/f#
. . .
F
. . .
A
. . .
G
. . .
D/f#
. . .
F
. . .
A
. . .
G
. . .
D/f#
. . .
F
. . .
A
Lay Down Your Weary Tune
1963
D
C
/b
/a
G
C
G
Lay down your weary tune, lay down
G
Em
D
Lay down the song you strum
C
/b
/a
G
D/a
G
C
And rest yourself 'neath the strength of strings
C
G
D
/c
/b
G
D
No voice can hope to hum
Struck by the sounds before the sun
I knew the night had gone
The morning breeze like a bugle blew
Against the drums of dawn
Lay down your weary tune, lay down...
The ocean wild like an organ played
The seaweed's wove its strands
The crashin' waves like cymbals clashed
Against the rocks and sands
Lay down your weary tune, lay down...
I stood unwound beneath the skies
And clouds unbound by laws
The cryin' rain like a trumpet sang
And asked for no applause
Lay down your weary tune, lay down...
The last of leaves fell from the trees
And clung to a new love's breast
The branches bare like a banjo played
To the winds that listened best
I gazed down in the river's mirror
And watched its winding strum
The water smooth ran like a hymn
And like a harp did hum
Lay down your weary tune, lay down...
Let Me Die In My Footsteps
1962
G
I will not go down under the ground
C
'Cause somebody tells me that death's comin' round
G
An' I will not carry myself down to die
C
When I go to my grave my head will be high
G
C
Let me die in my footsteps
G
D/f#
C
G
Before I go down under the ground
There's been rumors of war and wars that have been
The meaning of the life has been lost in the wind
And some people thinkin' that the end is close by
'Stead of learnin' to live they are learning to die
Let me die in my footsteps
Before I go down under the ground
I don't know if I'm smart but I think I can see
When someone is pullin' the wool over me
And if this war comes and death's all around
Let me die on this land 'fore I die underground
Let me die in my footsteps
Before I go down under the ground
There's always been people that have to cause fear
They've been talking of the war now for many long years
I have read all their statements and I've not said a word
But now Lord God, let my poor voice be heard
Let me die in my footsteps
Before I go down under the ground
If I had rubies and riches and crowns
I'd buy the whole world and change things around
I'd throw all the guns and the tanks in the sea
For they are mistakes of a past history
Let me die in my footsteps
Before I go down under the ground
Let me drink from the waters where the mountain streams flood
Let me smell of wildflowers flow free through my blood
Let me sleep in your meadows with the green grassy leaves
Let me walk down the highway with my brother in peace
Let me die in my footsteps
Before I go down under the ground
Go out in your country where the land meets the sun
See the craters and the canyons where the waterfalls run
Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Idaho
Let every state in this union seep in your souls
And you'll die in your footsteps
Before you go down under the ground
Liverpool Gal
1962
Written during Bob's stay in London in Dec-1962.
Recorded on the Whitaker tape, 17-Jul-1963.
C
/b
Am
F
When first I came to London town
C/g
G
F
G
C
A stranger I did come
C
/b
Am
F
I'd walk the streets so silently
C/g
G
F
G
C
I did not know no one
Am
Em
F
G
C
I was thinking thoughts and dreaming dreams
C
Em
F
G
The kind when you roll along
C
/b
Am
F
But most of all I was thinking about
C/g
G
Am
Em
F
G
The land I'd left back home
I'd stand by the river Themes
With the wind blowing through my hair
And who should come and stand by me
But a London gal so fair
Her eyes were blue, her hair was brown
Her face was gentle and kind
For a second, well, I clear forgot
The land I left behind
As we began walking and talkin'
All through the English air
I did not know where we'd end up
'Til we came to the top of a stair
As we lay round on a worn-out rug
The room it was so cold
And we talked for hours by the inside fire
'Bout the outside world so old
All through our sweet conversation
She thought my ways were so strange
But I know there was one thing about me
That she would try to change
And the night passed on with the drizzling rain
There's one thing I found out
[A pair of sweet curls] I know too well
Her love I know not much about
And I awoke the next morning
And the rain had turned to snow
I looked out of her window
And I knew that I must go
I did not know how to tell her
I didn't know if I could
But she smiled a smile I'd never seen
To say she understood
And thinking of her as I stood in the snow
How strange she appeared to be
On the reason I was leaving
She seemed no better than me
I gazed all up at her window
Where the snowy snowflakes blowed
I put my hands in my pockets
And I walked 'long down the road
So it's now I'm leaving London, boys
Well, the town I'll soon forget
Likewise its winds and weather
Likewise some people I met
But there's one thing that's for certain
Sure as the sunshine down
I'll never forget that Liverpool Gal
Who lived in London Town
major chord is held throughout, but with the 1st string rarely played.
The middle finger alternates between fingering the 3rd and 6th strings.
D
. . . : . . .
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----3-3-----3-3-|-----3-3---3-3-3-| ...
|-----2-2-----0-0-|-----2-2---0-0-0-|
|-----0-0-----0-0-|-----0-0---0-0-0-|
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-0-------3b------|-0-------3b------|
D
To preach of peace and brotherhood
Oh what might be the cost!
A man he did it long ago
And they hung him on a cross
A
D
Long ago, far away
G
A
D
Those things don't happen nowadays
The chains of slaves they dragged the ground
With heads and hearts hung low
But that was during Lincoln's time
And that was long ago
Long ago, far away...
The war guns they bombed and blazed
The whole world bled its blood
Men's bodies rotted on the ground on the edge
As their graves were made in mud
Long ago, far away...
One man had much money
One man had not enough to eat
One man he lived just like a king
The other man begged on the street
Long ago, far away...
One man died of a knife so sharp
One man died from the bullet of a gun
One man died of a broken heart
A
D
To see the lynchin' of his son
Long ago, far away...
Gladiators killed themselves
It was during the Roman times
People cheered with bloodshot grins
As eye and minds went blind
Long ago, far away...
And to talk of peace and brotherhood
Oh, what might be the cost!
A man he did it long ago
And they hung him on a cross
Long ago, far away
Things like that don't happen no more nowadays
Do they?
My parents raised me tenderly, I was their only son
D
C
D
My mind got mixed with ramblin' when I was all so young
D
C
D
An' I left my home the first time when I was twelve an' one
D
C
D
I'm a long time a-comin', ma, I'll be a long time gone
On the western side of Texas, on the Texas plains
I tried to find a job of work but they said I's young of age
My eyes they burned when I heard, "Go home where you belong!"
I'm a long time a-comin', I'll be a long time gone
I remember when I's ramblin' around with the carnival trains
Different towns, different people, somehow they're all the same
I remember children's faces best, I remember travelin' on
I'm a long time a-comin', I'll be a long time gone
I once loved a fair young maid, an' I ain't too big to tell
If she broke my heart a single time, she broke it ten or twelve
I walked an' talked all by myself, I did not tell no one
I'm a long time a-comin', babe, I'll be a long time gone
|
D
. . .
/c
|
D
. . . |
G6/d
. . . |
D
. . . | . .
Many times by the highway side I tried to flag a ride
With bloodshot eyes an' grittin' teeth I'd watch the cars roll by
The empty air hung in my head, I's thinkin' all day long
I'm a long time a-comin', an' I'll be a long time gone
You might see me on your crossroads when I'm passin' through
Remember me how you wished to as I'm a-driftin' from your view
I ain't got the time to think about it, I got too much to get done
Well, I'm a long time a-comin', an' I'll be a long time gone
If I can't help somebody with a word or song
If I can't show somebody they are travelin' wrong
But I know I ain't no prophet, an' I ain't no prophet's son
I'm just a long time a-comin', an' I'll be a long time gone
So you can have your beauty, it's skin deep an' it only lies
An' you can have your youth, it'll rot before your eyes
Just give to me my gravestone with it clearly carved upon
"I's a long time a-comin', an' I'll be a long time gone"
Down in the Gypsy Cafe with a friend of a friend of mine
D
Am
She sat with a baby heavy on her knee
D
Am
Yet spoke of life most free from slavery
D
Am
With eyes that showed no trace of misery
D
Am
C
D
A phrase in connection first with she, but I heard
D7
G
That love is just a four-letter word
Outside a rambling storefront window
Cats meowed to the break of day
Me, I kept my mouth shut, too
To you I had no words to say
My experience was limited and underfed
You were talking while I hid
To the one who was the father of your kid
You probably didn't think I did, but I heard
You say that love is just a four-letter word
I said goodbye unnoticed
Pushed towards things in my own games
Drifting in and out of lifetimes
Unmentionable by name
Searching for my double, looking for
Complete evaporation to the core
Though I tried and failed at finding any door
I must have thought that there was nothing more
Absurd than that love is just a four-letter word
Though I never knew just what you meant
When you were speaking to your man
I can only think in terms of me
And now I understand
After waking enough times to think I see
The Holy Kiss that's supposed to last eternity
Blow up in smoke, its destiny
Falls on strangers, travels free
Yes, I know now, traps are only set by me
And I do not really need to be
Assured that love is just a four-letter word
Lunatic Princess
1965
Why should you have to be so frantic?
You always wanted to live in the past
Now you should be so Atlantic
You finally got your wish at last
You used to be oh so modest
With your arm around the cigarette machine
Now you lost it all I see, and all you got is
Your two dollar bill and your hat full of gasoline
Well you, ...
After all, things could be much worse
"I'm scared, man! I'm scared!"
G6 322003 (drop the 1st string and play 32000x-32200x-32300x
G7 323003 that's the only way to get this one smooth)
The third line, sometimes has an
E
or
G
in place of
C/b
and an
F
at the end.
C
E
Perhaps it's the color of the sun cut flat
Am
D7/f#
An' coverin' the crossroads I'm standing at
C
/b
Am
G
C/g
(
F
)
Or maybe it's the weather or something like that
G
G6
G7
C
G
But mama, you been on my mind
I don't mean trouble, please don't put me down or get upset
I am not pleadin' or sayin', "I can't forget you"
I do not pace the floor bowed down and bent, but yet
Mama, you been on my mind
Even though my mind is hazy and my thoughts they might be narrow
Where you been don't bother me nor bring me down with sorrow
I don't even mind who you'll be wakin' with tomorrow
But mama, you're just on my mind
I am not askin' you to say words like yes or no
Please understand me, I have no place I'm callin' you to go
I'm just whisperin' to myself, so I can pretend that I don't know
Mama, you are on my mind
When you wake up in the mornin', baby, look inside your mirror
You know I won't be next to you, you know I won't be near
I'd just be curious to know if you can see yourself as clear
As someone who has had you on his mind
Man On The Street
1961
Music from: "Young Man Who Wouldn't Hoe Corn"
Em
figure for 2nd and 4th lines:] [Bass pattern for the third and fourth lines:
They found him dead in the street one day
Well, the crowd, they gathered one fine morn
At the man whose clothes and shoes were torn
There on the sidewalk he did lay
They stopped and stared and they went their way
Well, the policeman come and he looked around
"Get up, old man, or I'm a-takin' you down"
He jabbed him once with his bully club
The old man then rolled off the curb
Witmark Demos version breaks off here:
"Christ, I can't get it. I lost the verses!"
Well, he jabbed him again and loudly said
"Call the wagon; this man is dead"
The wagon come, they loaded him in
I never saw the man again
I've sung you my song, it ain't very long
'Bout an old man who never done wrong
How he died no body could say
They found him dead in the street one day
Man, it's a-killin' me
Well, there's too many people
And they're all too hard to please
Well, my hat's in my hand
Babe, I'm walkin' down the line
An' I'm lookin' for a woman
Whose head's mixed up like mine
Well, my head's full of questions
My temperature's risin' fast
Well, I'm lookin' for some answers
But I don't know who to ask
But I'm walkin' and wonderin'
And my poor feet don't ever stop
Seein' my reflection
I'm hung over, hung down, hung up!
On A Rainy Afternoon
1966
**** On A Rainy Afternoon/I Can't Leave Her Behind ****
From Eat the Document, filmed in hotel room on the 1966 tour
Changes the rhythm from 6/8 time to 2/4 time (more or less)
C
F
That's the way I think she told me [?]
Bb
F
Heart she bent on me [?]
Bb
F
C
Dm/a
I'll be out all morning, for you
G
C7
But you can't stop me
F
Yes, I try my best to please you
Bb
Bbmaj7
Try my best, but if I fail
Am7
Gm7
C7
You must help me to see you
F
As I go by...
|
F
.
C
. |
Dm
.
Bb
. |
C7
. . . |
C7
. . . |
|
F
. . . |
Bbmaj7
. . . |
F
. . . |
C
F
Now, if you send me a letter
Bb
F
I'll be on my way to get it for you
Bb
F
C
I'll be with my sister too
Dm
G7
C7
I can't find me what to do
F
Yes, I've been trying to get a message
Bb
Bmaj7
Am7
To you, but you have to treat me
Gm7
C7
I won't let her to
F
C7
Dm/a
And then I try my best
G7
C7
To hunt her, you...
*** I Can't Leave Her Behind ***
Fmaj7
C
Where she leads me I do not know
Fmaj7
C
Well she leads me where she goes
G
Am
D
G7
I can't find her nowhere
C
Well, she needs me here
Fmaj7
C
All aware, I just can't hear her walk
Fmaj7
C
I just can't hear her talk
G
Am
D
G7
Though sometimes you know you will
C
And when she comes my way
Fmaj7
Fmaj7
I'll just be left any night or day
Em
Dm
G7
I will hear her say
C
G
Am
F
That I don't wanna try, I tried also cried
C
G7
F
F
Em
Dm
C
But I can't leave her behind
Only A Hobo
1963
Cadd2 x30030
G
C
G
As I was out walking on a corner one day
D
I spied an old hobo, in a doorway he lay
G
C
G
His face was all grounded in the cold sidewalk floor
D
G
And I guess he'd been there for the whole night or more
C
G
Only a hobo, but one more is gone
D
Cadd2
G/b
Leavin' nobody to sing his sad song
G
C
G
Leavin' nobody to carry him home
D
Cadd2
G
He was only a hobo, but one more is gone
A blanket of newspaper covered his head
As the curb was his pillow, the street was his bed
One look at his face showed the hard road he'd come
And a fistful of coins showed the money he bummed
Only a hobo, but one more is gone
Leavin' nobody to sing his sad song
Leavin' nobody to carry him home
Only a hobo, but one more is gone
Does it take much of a man to see his whole life go down
To look up on the world from a hole in the ground
To wait for your future like a horse that's gone lame
To lie in the gutter and die with no name?
Only a hobo, but one more is gone
Leavin' nobody to sing his sad song
Leavin' nobody to carry him home
Only a hobo, but one more is gone
We shall walk
I walked down to the valley
I turned my head up high
I seen that silver linin'
That was hangin' in the sky
Trails of troubles...
The evenin' dust was rollin'
I was walking down the track
There was a one-way wind a-blowin'
It was blowin' at my back
Trails of troubles...
The gravel road is bumpy
It's a hard old road to ride
But the clearer road's up yonder
With the cinders on the side
Trails of troubles...
That mornin' train was movin'
The hummin' of its wheels
Told me of a new day
Comin' across the field
Trails of troubles...
Turn, turn to the rain and the wind
Tell me the trouble, Tell once to my ear
Joliet prison and ninety-nine years
Oh what's the charge of how this came to be?
Manslaughter in the highest of degree
I sat down and wrote the best words I could write
Explaining to the judge I'd be there on Wednesday night
Without a reply, I left by the moon
And was in his chambers by the next afternoon
"Could ya tell me the facts?" I said without fear
"That a friend of mine would get ninety-nine years"
A crash on the highway flew the car to a field
There was four persons killed and he was at the wheel
But I knew him as good as I'm knowin' myself
And he wouldn't harm a life that belonged to someone else
The judge spoke out of the side of his mouth
Sayin', "The witness who saw, he left little doubt"
That may be true, he's got a sentence to serve
But ninety-nine years, he just don't deserve
Too late, too late, for his case it is sealed
His sentence is passed and it cannot be repealed
But he ain't no criminal and his crime it is none
What happened to him could happen to anyone
And at that the judge jerked forward and his face it did freeze
Sayin', "Could you kindly leave my office now, please"
Well his eyes looked funny and I stood up so slow
With no other choice except for to go
I walked down the hallway and I heard his door slam
I walked down the courthouse stairs and I did not understand
And I played my guitar through the night to the day
Turn, turn, turn again
And the only tune my guitar could play
Was, "Oh the Cruel Rain And the Wind"
Poor Boy Blues
1962
Recorded Feb-1962 as a Leeds Music demo, and released on Bootleg Series 9.
The guitar part consists of one little figure, played over and over again.
Here is the main figure with an example of a variation:
G/b
/a
D/f
D
G/b
D/f
D
|--0----0----0----0----| |--0----0----0----0----|
|*-0----0----0----0---*| |--0----0----0----0----|
|--1----1----0----0----| |--1----1----0----0----|
|--0----0----0----0----| |--0----0----0----0----|
|*-2----0----0----0---*| |--2----2----0----0----|
|------------3----0----| |------------3----0----|
Mm, tell mama
Where'd ya sleep last night?
Can't you hear me cryin'?
Hmm, hmm
Hey, tell me baby
What's the matter here?
Can't you hear me cryin'?
Hmm, hmm
Hey, stop the ol' train
Let a poor boy ride
Can't you hear me cryin'?
Hmm, hmm
Hey, mister bartender
I swear I'm not too young
Can't you hear me cryin'?
Hmm, hmm
Blow you whistle, policeman
My poor feet are trained to run
Can't you hear me cryin'?
Hmm, um, ha ha, hmm
Long distance operator
I hear this phone call is on the house
Can't you hear me cryin'?
Hmm, hmm
Ashes an' diamonds
The difference I can't see
Can't you hear me cryin'?
Hmm, hmm
Positively 4th Street
1965
G
Am
You got a lotta nerve
C
G
To say you are my friend
G
D
When I was down
C
Em
D
You just stood there grinning
You got a lotta nerve
To say you got a helping hand to lend
You just want to be on
The side that's winning
You say I let you down
You know it's not like that
If you're so hurt
Why then don't you show it
You say you lost your faith
But that's not where it's at
You had no faith to lose
And you know it
I know the reason
That you talk behind my back
I used to be among the crowd
You're in with
Do you take me for such a fool
To think I'd make contact
With the one who tries to hide
What he don't know to begin with
You see me on the street
You always act surprised
You say, "How are you?", "Good luck"
But you don't mean it
When you know as well as me
You'd rather see me paralyzed
Why don't you just come out once
And scream it
No, I do not feel that good
When I see the heartbreaks you embrace
If I was a master thief
Perhaps I'd rob them
And now I know you're dissatisfied
With your position and your place
Don't you understand
It's not my problem
I wish that for just one time
You could stand inside my shoes
And just for that one moment
I could be you
Yes, I wish that for just one time
You could stand inside my shoes
You'd know what a drag it is
To see you
Quit Your Low Down Ways
1962
Recorded 09-Jul-1962, during the Freewheelin' sessions.
The "You're gonna need my help someday" part is copied exactly from
. .
You're gonna need...
. ,riff . . ,riff . .
My help someday
D5
A
. . .
Well, if y'all can't quit your sinnin'
. . ,
riff
x2
Please quit your low down ways
You can run down to the desert
You can stick your head in the sand
You can raise up your right hand,
But your good man ain't a-comin' home
You better understand
You're gonna need
You're gonna need my help someday
(Someday, you're gonna need my help, someday)
Well, if y'all can't quit your sinnin'
Please quit your low down ways
Now, you can run down to the White House
You can gaze on the Capitol Dome
You can knock on the President's gate, pretty mama
But you know it's gonna be too late
You're gonna need
You're gonna need my help someday (my help someday)
Well, if y'all can't quit your sinnin'
Please quit your low down ways
And you can hitch hike on the highway
You can stand all alone by the side of the road
Try to flag a ride back home, pretty mama
But you ain't a-gonna ride in my car no more
You're gonna need
You're gonna need my help someday (oh yes, yeah)
Well, if y'all can't quit your sinnin'
Please quit your low down ways
So, you can read out your Hymn book
You can fall down on your knees
And pray to the Lord, pretty mama
But it ain't gonna do no good
You're gonna need
You're gonna need my help someday
(Oh, wait and see)
If y'all can't quit your sinnin'
Please quit your low down ways
Come around you rovin' gamblers and a story I will tell
D
G/d
D
G/d
D
About the greatest gambler, you all should know him well
D
G/d
D
G/d
D
His name was Will O' Conley and he gambled all his life
G/d
A/d
G/d
He had twenty-seven children, yet he never had a wife
D
G/d
D
And it's ride, Willie, ride
D
G/d
A
Roll, Willie, roll
G/d
D
G/d
D
Wherever you are a-gamblin' now, nobody knows
He gambled in the White House and in the railroad yards
Wherever there was people, there was Willie and his cards
He had a reputation as the gamblin'est man around
Wives would keep their husbands home when Willie came to town
And it's ride, Willie, ride...
Sailin' down the Mississippi to a town called New Orleans
They're still talkin' about their card game on that Jackson River Queen
"I've come to win some money," Gamblin' Willie says
When the game finally ended up, the whole damn boat was his
And it's ride, Willie, ride...
Up in the Rocky Mountains in a town called Cripple Creek
There was an all-night poker game, lasted about a week
Nine hundred miners had laid their money down
When Willie finally left the room, he owned the whole damn town
And it's ride, Willie, ride...
But Willie had a heart of gold and this I know is true
He supported all his children, and all their mothers too
He wore no rings or fancy things, like other gamblers wore
He spread his money far and wide, to help the sick and the poor
And it's ride, Willie, ride...
When you played your cards with Willie, you never really knew
Whether he was bluffin' or whether he was true
He won a fortune from a man who folded in his chair
The man, he left a diamond flush, Willie didn't even have a pair
And it's ride, Willie, ride...
It was late one evenin' during a poker game
A man lost all his money, he said Willie was to blame
He shot poor Willie through the head, which was a tragic fate
When Willie's cards fell on the floor, they were aces backed with eights
And it's ride, Willie, ride...
So all you rovin' gamblers, wherever you might be
The moral of this story is very plain to see
Make your money while you can, before you have to stop
For when you pull that dead man's hand, your gamblin' days are up
And it's ride, Willie, ride...
Rocks And Gravel
1962
Written by Bob? Or Mance Lipscombe or Alan Lomax and W. B. Richardson.
Recorded twice during the Freewheelin' sessions (25-Apr-1962 and 01-Nov-1962).
The following is the version from the second Gaslight concert in late Oct-1962.
Takes rocks and gravel, baby, make a solid road, make a solid road
G
D
Takes rocks and gravel, baby, make a solid road, make a solid road
A
Takes a good woman mama
D
To satisfy my weary soul
Have you ever been down on that Mobile and KC line?
Have you ever been down on that Mobile and KC line?
Well I just wanna ask you
If you seen that gal of mine
Don't the clouds look lonesome shining across the sea
Don't the clouds look lonesome shining across the sea
Don't my gal look good
When she's comin' after me?
Recorded by Bob Dylan 24/25-Apr-1962, during the Freewheelin' sessions
|
G
Em
|
C
.
D
G
|
x4
Harp improvisation over
D
|
D
| ...
|
G
Em
|
C
.
D
G
|
x2
|
G
|
G
Em
Well, I'm gonna get to you, Sally Girl
C
D
G
I'm gonna get to you, Sally Girl
G
Em
I'm gonna get to you, Sally Girl
C
D
G
I'm gonna get to you, Sally Girl
Short interlude
G
C
Well, I'm just one of them ramblin' men
D
G
Ramblin' since I don't know when
G
C
Here I come, and I'm a-gone again
D
G
Sally says I got no end
I'm gonna get to you, Sally Girl
I'm gonna get to you, Sally Girl
I'm gonna get to you, Sally Girl
I'm gonna get to you, Sally Girl
With an iron chain around his neck
Old Reilly's daughter got a message
That her father was goin' to hang
She rode by night and came by morning
With gold and silver in her hand
When the judge he saw Reilly's daughter
His old eyes deepened in his head
Sayin', "Gold will never free your father
The price, my dear, is you instead"
"Oh I'm as good as dead," cried Reilly
"It's only you that he does crave
And my skin will surely crawl if he touches you at all
Get on your horse and ride away"
"Oh father you will surely die
If I don't take the chance to try
And pay the price and not take your advice
For that reason I will have to stay"
The gallows shadows shook the evening
In the night a hound dog bayed
In the night the grounds were groanin'
In the night the price was paid
The next mornin' she had awoken
To know that the judge had never spoken
She saw that hangin' branch a-bendin'
She saw her father's body broken
These be seven curses on a judge so cruel
That one doctor will not save him
That two healers will not heal him
That three eyes will not see him
That four ears will not hear him
That five walls will not hide him
That six diggers will not bury him
And that seven deaths shall never kill him
She's Your Lover Now
1966
C
Dm
Em
F
Your pawnbroker roared, also, so, so did the landlord
C/e
Dm
C/e
F
G
The scene was so crazy, Wasn't it?
C
Dm
Em
F
Both were so glad to watch me destroy what I had
C/e
Dm
C/e
F
G
Pain sure brings out the best in people, doesn't it?
Em
Dm
Why didn't you just leave me, if you didn't want to stay?
Em
Dm
F
G
Why'd you have to treat me so bad? Did it have to be that way?
G
F
C/e
Dm
C
/b
Now you stand here expectin' me
Am
/g
F
C/e
G
To remember something you forgot to say
Am
G
Yes, and you, I see you're still with her, well
Am
G
G
F
Em
Dm
That's fine 'cause she's comin' on so strange, can't you tell?
C
Dm
C/e
F
Somebody better explain
C
Dm
C/e
F
She's got her iron chain
C
Dm
C/e
F
G
I'd do it, but I just can't remember how
Am
G
F
C
G
You talk to her, she's your lover now
I already assumed that we were in the felony room
But I ain't a judge, you don't have to be nice to me
Will you please tell that to your friend in the cowboy hat
You know he keeps on sayin' everything twice to me
You know I was straight with you
You know I never tried to change you in any way
You know if you didn't want to be with me
That you didn't have to stay
Now you stand here sayin' you forgive and forget
Honey, what can I say?
And you, you just sit around and ask for ashtrays, can't you reach?
I see you kiss her on the cheek every time she gives a speech
With her picture books of the pyramid
And her postcard of billy the kid
Why must everybody bow?
You better talk to her about it, you're her lover now
Oh everybody that cares is goin' up the castle stairs
But I'm not up in your castle, honey
It's true, I can't recall San Francisco at all
I can't even remember El Paso, uh , honey
You never had to be faithful
I didn't want you to grieve
Oh, why was it so hard to you
If you didn't want to be with me, just to leave?
Now you stand here while your finger's goin' up my sleeve
An' you, just what do you do, anyway? Ain't there nothing you can say?
She'll be standin' on the bar soon
With a fish head an' a harpoon
An' a fake beard plastered on her brow
You'd better do somethin' quick, she's your lover now
Oh, why must I fall into this sadness? Do I look like Charles Atlas?
Do you think I still got what you still got, baby?
Her voice is really warm, it's just that it ain't got no form
But it's just like a dead man's last pistol shot, baby
Oh, your mouth used to be naked, your eyes used to be so blue
Your hurts used to be so nameless and your tears used to be so few
Now your eyes cry wolf while your mouth cries
"I'm not scared of animals like you"
And you there's really nothing about you I can recall
I just saw you that one time and you were just there that's all
But I've already been kissed
I'm not gonna get into this
I couldn't make it anyhow
You do it for me, you're her lover now
I paid fifteen million dollars, twelve hundred and seventy-two cents
G
I paid one thousand two hundred twenty-seven dollars and fifty-five cents
D7
See my bull dog bite a rabbit
C9
G
And my hound dog is sittin' on a barbed wire fence
Well, my temperature rises and my feet can't walk so hot
Yes, my temperature rises and my feet can't walk so hot
Well, this Arabian doctor comes in, gives me a shot
But he wouldn't tell me what it was that I got
Well, this woman I've got, she's killin' me alive
Yes, this woman I've got, she's killin' me alive
She's makin' me into an old man
And man I'm not even 25!
Of course, you're gonna think this song is a riff
I know you're gonna think this song is just a riff
Unless you've been inside a tunnel
And fell down 69, 70 feet over a barbed wire fence
All right!
|-----3-----------| This little figure is repeated over and over again
|---3---1---------|
|-----------3---0-| (It also features in Ballad For A Friend)
|-----------------|
|-0---0---0---0---|
Well, I'm standin' on the highway
Tryin' to bum a ride, tryin' to bum a ride
Tryin' to bum a ride
Well, I'm standin' on the highway
Tryin' to bum a ride, tryin' to bum a ride
Tryin' to bum a ride
Nobody seem to know me
Everybody pass me by
Well, I'm standin' on the highway
Tryin' to hold up, tryin' to hold up
Tryin' to hold up and be brave
Well, I'm standin' on the highway
Tryin' to hold up, tryin' to hold up and be brave
One roads goin' to the bright lights
The others goin' down to my grave
Well, I'm lookin' down at two card
They seem to be handmade
Well, I'm lookin' down at two card
They seem to be handmade
One looks like it's the ace of diamonds
The other looks like it is the ace of spades
Well, I'm standin' on the highway
Watchin' my life roll by
Well, I'm standin' on the highway
Watchin' my life roll by
Well, I'm standin' on the highway
Tryin' to bum a ride
Well, I'm standin' on the highway
Wonderin' where everybody went, wonderin' where everybody went
Wonderin' where everybody went
Well, I'm standin' on the highway
Wonderin' where everybody went, wonderin' where everybody went
Wonderin' where everybody went
Please mister, pick me up
I swear I ain't gonna kill nobody's kids
I wonder if my good gal
I wonder if she knows I'm here
Nobody else seems to know I'm here
I wonder if my good gal
I wonder if she knows I'm here
Nobody else seems to know I'm here
If she knows I'm here, Lord
I wonder if she said a prayer
Suze (The Cough Song)
1963
Let the chords begin on the last 8th note of the previous bar, and emphasise
this note wherever it figures as a melody tone, such as in the first measure.
Many of the hammer-ons or pull-offs are really just the inevitable result
Well, I run right down and bought a ticket
To this thing called the Bear Mountain Picnic
Little did I realize
I was in for a pleasant funny surprise
It had nothing to do with picnics
Didn't come close to a mountain
And I hate bears
Took the wife and kids down to the pier
There were six thousand people there
Everybody had a ticket for the trip
G
. .
/a
/b
C
"Oh well." I said, "it's a pretty big ship
D
Besides, anyhow, the more the merrier"
Well, we all got on and what d'ya think
That big old boat started t' sink
More people kept a-pilin' on
G
. .
/a
/b
C
That old ship was a-goin' down
D
Funny way t' start a picnic
Well, I soon lost track of my kids and wife
So many people I never saw in my life
That old ship was sinkin' down in the water
/f#
G
There were six thousand people tryin' t' kill each other
C
Dogs a-barkin', cats a-screamin'
Women a-yellin', men a-flyin', fists a-flyin', paper flyin'
Cops a-comin', me a-runnin'
D
Maybe we just better call off the picnic
I got shoved down, got pushed around
All I remember was a moanin' sound
Don't remember one thing more
/f#
G
. .
/a
/b
C
All I remember was wakin' up on the shore
/b
/c
D
My arms and legs were broken
My feet were splintered, my head was cracked
I couldn't walk, couldn't talk, smell, feel, couldn't see
Didn't know where I was, I was bald...
/f#
G
Quite lucky to be alive though
Well, feelin' like I just climbed outta my casket
I grabbed back hold of my picnic basket
Took the wife and kids and started home
Wishin' I'd never got up that mornin'
Now, I don't care just what you do
If you want t' have a picnic, that's up t' you
But don't tell me about it, I don't want t' hear it
/f#
G
. .
/a
/b
You see, I just lost all my picnic spirit
C
/b
/c
Stay in my kitchen
D
Have my picnic in the bathroom
Well, it don't seem to me quite so funny
What some people are gonna do for money
There's a brand new gimmick every day
/f#
G
. .
/a
/b
Just t' take somebody's money away
C
/b
/c
I think we oughta take some o' these people
D
Put 'em on a boat, send 'em up to Bear Mountain...
For a picnic
Talkin' Devil
1963
Recorded 19-Jan-1963 at the Broadside office
Released on Broadside Ballads, Sep-1963, under the name Blind Boy Grunt
"This is all about what the devil is,
some people say that there's no devil."
G
G
C
Well sometimes you can't see him so good
D
When he hides his head 'neath a snow white hood
/f#
G
C
An' rides to kill with his face well hid
D
An' then goes home to his wife an' kids
Wonder if his kids know who he is?
/f#
|
G
. .
/a
/b
|
C
.
/b
/c
|
D
. .
/e
/f#
|
G
Well he wants you to hate, he wants to fear
He wants you to fear somethin' that's not even there
He'll give you his hate an' he'll give you his lies
He'll give you the weapons to run out an' die
An' you give him your soul
"That's just two verses to it."
Talkin' Hava Negilah Blues
1962
Recorded 25-Apr-1962 during the Freewheelin' sessions
Released on The Bootleg Series 1-3
G
Here's a foreign song I learned in Utah
G
C
Hava
D
Havana
G
Havanagei
C
Havanegeilah
Havanegeilah
D
Yodel-lay-hee-o
G
. .
C
D
.
G
C/g
G
. .
Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues
1963
This is called: Talkin' John Birch Blues.
And there ain't nothing wrong with this song!
G
C
Well, I was feelin' sad and kinda blue
D
I didn't know what I was a-gonna do
G
C
Them Communists was a-comin' around
D
They was in the air, they was on the ground
G
.
C
.
D
. .
G
. . .
They was all over
So I run down most hurriedly
And joined the John Birch Society
Got me a secret membership card
And went back home to the yard
Started lookin' on the sidewalk
Under the hedges
Well, I got up in the mornin', looked under my bed
I was lookin' every place for them gol-darned Reds
Looked behind the sink, and under the floor
Looked in the glove compartment of my car
Couldn't find any...
Looked behind the clothes, behind my chair
Lookin' for them reds everywhere
Looked up my chimney hole
Even deep down inside my toilet bowl
They got away...
I heard some footsteps by the front porch door
So I grabbed my shotgun from the floor
Snuck around the house with a huff and a hiss
Saying "Hands up, you communist!"
It was the mailman
He punched me out
Well, I was sittin' home alone an' started to sweat
Figured they was in my TV set
I peeked behind the picture frame
Got a shock from my feet that hit my brain
Them Reds did it!
Hootenanny Television...
Well, I quit my job so I could work alone
Got a magnifying glass like Sherlock Holmes
Followed some clues from my detective bag
And discovered: red stripes on the American flag!
Betsy Ross...
Now Eisenhower, he's a Russian spy
Lincoln, Jefferson and that Roosevelt guy
To my knowledge there's just one man
That's really a true American
That's George Lincoln Rockwell
I know for a fact he hates Commies 'cause he picketed the movie Exodus
Well, I finally started thinkin' straight
When I run outta things to investigate
Couldn't imagine nothing else
So now I'm home investigatin' myself!
Hope I don't find out too much... Good God!
Now we all agree with Hitler's views
Although he killed six million Jews
It don't matter too much that he was a Fascist
At least you can't say he was a Communist!
That's to say like if you got a cold you take a shot of malaria
Well, I investigated all the books in the library
Ninety percent of 'em gotta be burned away
I investigated all the people that I knowed
Ninety-eight percent of them gotta go
The other two percent are fellow Birchers... just like me
This is called, "Talkin' John Birch PARANOID Blues"!
It's a fictitious story...
Well, I was feelin' sad and kind of blue
I didn't know what I was gonna do
The Communists were comin' around
They were in the air
They were on the ground
They were all over
So I ran down most hurriedly
And joined the John Birch Society
I got me a secret membership card
Went back to my back yard
Started lookin'
On the sidewalk
'Neath the rose bush
I was lookin' everywhere for them gol-darned Reds
I got up in the mornin' looked under my bed
Looked behind the kitchen, behind the door
Even tore loose the kitchen floor
Couldn't find any...
I looked beneath the sofa, beneath the chair
Lookin' for them reds everywhere
I looked way up my chimney hole
Even deep down inside my toilet bowl
They got away...
I heard some footsteps by the front porch door
So I grabbed my shotgun from the floor
Snuck around the house with a huff and a hiss
Saying "Hands up, you communist!"
It was the mailman
He punched me out
Well, I quit my job so I could work alone
Got a magnifying glass like Sherlock Holmes
Following some clues from my detective bag
I discovered there was red stripes on the American flag!
Did you know about Betsy Ross...?
Well, I was sittin' home alone an' I started to sweat
I figured they was in my television set
I peeked behind the picture frame
Got a shock from my feet that hit my brain
Them Reds did it!
The ones on Hootenanny!
Well, I finally started thinkin' straight
When I run outta things to investigate
I couldn't imagine doing anything else
So now I'm home investigatin' myself!
Hope I don't find out too much... Good God!
Yes, you got your steam drill, now you're lookin' for some kid
Em
F#m
To get it to work for you like your nine-pound hammer did
D
Dadd2
D
Dadd2
D
G/d
D
Dadd2
But I know that you know that I know that you show
Em
F#m
A
Something is tearing up your mind
D
Tell me, momma
Tell me, momma
Tell me, momma
Em
F#m
D
What is it? What's wrong with you this time?
Black sun glass can't make pony run
Tombstone babes, y'all can get it done
Fool's gold in your teeth and cemetery hips
Get outside of your graveyard lips
Yes, everybody's wonderin' when your friendship's gonna end
But come on, baby, I'm your friend!
And I know that you know that I know that you show
Something is tearing up your mind
Tell me, momma
Tell me, momma
Tell me, momma
What is it? What's wrong with you this time?
Oh it's sure pleasing but your face is red
But he can't get it, he's almost dead
Everybody sees you on your window ledge
How long's it gonna take for you to get off the edge?
You just gonna make everybody jump and roar
Now, whatcha wanna go and do that for?
For I know that you know that I know that you know
Something is tearing up your mind
Tell me, momma
Tell me, momma
Tell me, momma
What is it? What's wrong with you this time?
I'd lie in my bed once again
I can't see my reflection in the waters
I can't speak the sounds that show no pain
I can't hear the echo of my footsteps
Or can't remember the sound of my own name
Yes, and only if my own true love was waitin'...
There's beauty in the silver, singin' river
There's beauty in the sunrise in the sky
But none of these and nothing else can touch the beauty
That I remember in my true love's eyes
Yes, and only if my own true love was waitin'...
If today was not an endless highway
If tonight was not a crooked trail
D7
A
If tomorrow wasn't such a long time
D
A
Then lonesome would mean nothing to me at all
D7
A
And if only my own true love was waitin'
D
A
If I could hear her heart a-softly poundin'
D
A
If only she was lyin' by me
A*
Then I'd lie in my bed once again
Train A-Travelin'
1963
G
There's an iron train
G
/e
/d
/b
/g
/e
/d
/b
C
There's an iron train a-travelin' been a-rollin' through the years
D
G
With a firebox of hatred and a furnace full of fears
G
/e
/d
/b
/g
/b
C
If you ever heard its sound or seen its blood-red broken frame
C/b
/b
/a
/b
/c
/d
G
Then you know my voice and you've heard my name
G
/e
/d
/b
/g
/b
C
Did you ever stop to wonder 'bout the hatred that it holds?
/b
D7/a
G
Have you ever seen its passengers, its crazy mixed-up souls?
G
/e
/d
/b
/e
/d
C
Have you ever started thinkin' that you gotta stop that train?
C
/b
/a
/b
/c
/d
G
Then you know my voice and you've heard my name
G
/e
/d
/b
/a
C
Have you ever had it on your lips or said it in your head
C
/b
D7/a
G
That the person standin' next to you just might be misled?
G
/e
/d
/b
/g
/b
C
Have you ever looked around and been confused at what you've seen?
C
/b
/c
/b
/a
G
Then you know my voice and you've heard my name
Additional verses not sung in the Broadside recording:
Do you ever get tired of the preachin' sounds of fear
When they're hammered at your head and pounded in your ear?
Have you ever asked about it and not been answered plain?
Then you know my voice and you've heard my name
I'm a-wonderin' if the leaders of the nations understand
This murder-minded world that they're leavin' in my hands
Have you ever laid awake at night and wondered 'bout the same?
Then you know my voice and you've heard my name
Do the kill-crazy bandits and the haters get you down?
Does the preachin' and the politics spin your head around?
Does the burning of the buses give your heart a pain?
Then you know my voice and you've heard my name
I'm troubled and I don't know why
Oh, what did the morning say?
Oh, what did the morning say?
Well, it rolled from the night with a dark dreary light
Sayin' another old weary day
What did the newspaper tell?
What did the newspaper tell?
Well, it rolled in the door and it laid on the floor
Sayin' things ain't goin' so well
What did the television squall?
What did the television squall?
Well, it roared and it boomed and it bounced around the room
And it never said nothing at all
What did the movie-screen lecture?
What did the movie-screen lecture?
Well, it heated and it froze and it took off all its clothes
And I left in the middle of the picture
Walkin' Down The Line
1963
Recorded Mar-1963 as a Witmark Demo. Released on The Bootleg Series 1-3
To tell about my troubled mind
I got a heavy-headed gal
I got a heavy-headed gal
I got a heavy-headed gal
She ain't feelin' well
When she's better only time will tell
Well, I'm walkin' down the line
I'm walkin' down the line
An' I'm walkin' down the line
My feet 'll be a-flyin'
To tell about my troubled mind
My money comes and goes
My money comes and goes
My money comes and goes
And rolls and flows and rolls and flows
Through the holes in the pockets in my clothes
Well, I'm walkin' down the line
I'm walkin' down the line
An' I'm walkin' down the line
My feet 'll be a-flyin'
To tell about my troubled mind
I see the morning light
I see the morning light
Well it's not because
I'm an early riser
I didn't go to sleep last night
Well, I'm walkin' down the line
I'm walkin' down the line
An' I'm walkin' down the line
My feet 'll be a-flyin'
To tell about my troubled mind
I got my walkin' shoes
I got my walkin' shoes
I got my walkin' shoes
An' I ain't a-gonna lose
I believe I got the walkin' blues
Well, I'm walkin' down the line
I'm walkin' down the line
An' I'm walkin' down the line
My feet 'll be a-flyin'
To tell about my troubled mind
Oh, the age of the inmates I remember quite freely
/g
/b
/c
D/f#
No younger than twelve, no older and seventeen
G
C
G
Thrown in like bandits and cast off like criminals
C
/b
/a
G
D
/c
/b
G
Inside the walls, on the grounds of Red Wing
From the dirty old mess hall you march to the brick wall
Too weary to talk and too tired to sing
Oh, it's all afternoon you remember your home town
Inside the walls, the walls of Red Wing
Oh, the gates are cast iron and the walls are barbed wire
Stay far from the fence with the 'lectricity sting
And it's keep down your head and stay in your number
Inside the walls, the walls of Red Wing
Oh, it's fare thee well to the deep hollow dungeon
Farewell to the boardwalk that takes you to the screen
And farewell to the minutes they threaten you with it
Inside the walls, the walls of Red Wing
It's many a guard that stands around smilin'
Holdin' his club like he was a king
Hopin' to get you behind a wood pilin'
Inside the walls, the walls of Red Wing
The night aimed shadows through the crossbar windows
And the wind punched hard to make the wall-siding sing
It's many a night I pretended to be a-sleepin'
Inside the walls, the walls of Red Wing
As the rain rattled heavy on the bunk-house shingles
And the sounds in the night, they made my ears ring
'Til the keys of the guards clicked the tune of the morning
Inside the walls, the walls of Red Wing
Oh, some of us 'll end up in St. Cloud Prison
And some of us 'll wind up to be lawyers and things
And some of us 'll stand up to meet you on your crossroads
From inside the walls, the walls of Red Wing
Wanted Man
1969
Co-written with Johnny Cash
C
D
Wanted man in California, wanted man in Buffalo
G
F
C
Wanted man in Kansas City, wanted man in Ohio
Wanted man in Mississippi, wanted man in old Cheyenne
Wherever you might look tonight you might see this wanted man
I might be in Colorado, or Georgia by the sea
Workin' for some man who may not know at all who I might be
If you ever see me comin', and if you know who I am
Don't you breath it to nobody 'cause you know I'm on the lamb
Wanted man by Lucy Watson, wanted man by Jeannie Brown
Wanted man by Nelly Johnson, wanted man in this Tex town
Well, I've had all that I wanted of a lot of things I had
And a lot more than I needed of some things that turned out bad
I got sidetracked in El Paso, stopped to get myself a map
Went the wrong way in Pleura with Juanita on my back
Then I went to sleep in Shreveport, woke up in Abilene
Wonderin' why I'm wanted at some town half way between
Wanted man in Albuquerque, wanted man in Syracuse
Wanted man in Tallahassee, wanted man in Baton Rouge
There's somebody set to grab me anywhere that I might be
And wherever you might look tonight you might get a glimpse of me
Wanted man in California, wanted man in Buffalo
Wanted man in Kansas City, wanted man in Ohio
Wanted man in Mississippi, wanted man in ol' Cheyenne
Wherever you might look tonight you might see this wanted man
Western Road
1969
Well, I'm going to Chicago, going on the Western Road
Yes, I'm going to Chicago, going on the Western Road
There are good times in Baltimore, but my life's a heavy load
Well, I might take a train, I might take a plane
But if I have to walk I'll be going to Chicago just the same
Well, I'm going to Chicago, going on the Western Road
There are some bad times in Baltimore, I can't take this load
Have you seen, have you seen, have you seen Miss Maggie-Ann?
Have you seen, have you seen, have you seen Miss Maggie-Ann?
Well, I wanna tell you there's one kind of woman who is missing her man
Saw her on the street on Friday, by Saturday she was gone
I looked for her on Thursday, but she had moved along
Oh, Miss Maggie-Ann, has anyone seen Miss Maggie-Ann?
Well, let me tell you there's one woman, one woman sure missing her man
Whatcha Gonna Do
1962
Recorded 14-Nov-1962 and 06-Dec-1962 during the Freewheelin' sessions.
There are lots of variations from verse to verse, but it's not as hard as it looks.
What shall you do?
Tell me what you're gonna do
When the devil calls your cards
Tell me what you're gonna do
When the devil calls your cards
Tell me what you're gonna do
When the devil calls your cards
Oh Lord, Oh Lord
What shall you do?
Tell me what you're gonna do
When your water turns to wine
Tell me what you're gonna do
When your water turns to wine
Tell me what you're gonna do
When your water turns to wine
O Lord, O Lord
What shall you do?
Tell me what you're gonna do
When you can't play God no more
Tell me what you're gonna do
When you can't play God no more
Tell me what you're gonna do
When you can't play God no more
O Lord, O Lord
What shall you do?
Tell me what you're gonna do
When the shadow comes creepin' in your room
Tell me what you're gonna do
When the shadow comes creepin' in your room
Tell me what you're gonna do
When the shadow comes creepin' in your room
O Lord, O Lord
What should you do?
Well, every kind of thing I was...
Doo doo, doo doo, doo doo, doo doo
G7
Doo doo, doo doo, doo doo, doo doo, doo
That was the run
Doo doo, doo doo, doo doo, doo doo
C
Tell me what kind of friend is this
What kind of friend is this?
Who loves me behind my back
What kind of friend is this
Shows up every place I've been
She act kind of 'lone
But she don't
She making a loan
But you know she won't
She got a language [in] the morning
And she's making it on my bed
Aw, what kind of friend is this
What kind of friend is this
Makin' [...]
What kind of friend is this
Losing up anything
Back off, [boy]
When she goes down
Lay down laid [?]
She's walking around
Well, she ain't got nothin'
But she's teedle toodle tummin' on a
Pack of beans
Tell me what kind of friend is this?
F
Well she [don't lean if she don't man]
C
You know she's gonna be her dog
F
She done gone, She no ho
C
G7
Heat stopped a-beating and she [...]
Well, what kind of friend is this
Make me holler to and fro
Who wants to go everywhere I wanna go
Back off, she
Don't care for me
[...] own lady
If she could only see
I'd give her everything
If she comes back along to this [hiss?]
Tell me what kind of friend is this?
When I Got Troubles
1959
Basic pattern:
E
A
|-0----0----0----0----||-0----0----0----0----||
|-0----0----0----0----||-2----2----2----2----||
|-1----1----1----1--0-||-2----2----2----2--0-||
|-2----2----2----2--0-||-2----2----2----2--0-||
|-2----2----2----2----||-0----0----0----0----||
|-0----0----0----0----||---------------------||
E
A
E
Well I got troubles, troubles on my mind
A
E
Yes, when I got those troubles, troubles on my mind
B7
A
E
Well, I'm gonna forget my troubles, leave my troubles behind
B7
Behind
E
A
E
I'm gonna swing it up, swing down
A
E
Grab my baby, and wind, wind, wind
A
E
Well, swing your troubles, swing your troubles away
B7
A
E
Well, swing, baby, swing your troubles today
: . .
"Not I," says the referee
"Don't point your finger at me
I could've stopped it in the eighth
An' maybe kept him from his fate
But the crowd would've booed, I'm sure
At not gettin' their money's worth
It's too bad he had to go
But there was a pressure on me too, you know
It wasn't me that made him fall
No, you can't blame me at all"
Who killed Davey Moore?
Why an' what's the reason for?
"Not us," says the angry crowd
Whose screams filled the arena loud
"It's too bad he died that night
But we just like to see a fight
We didn't mean for him t' meet his death
We just meant to see some sweat
There ain't nothing wrong in that
It wasn't us that made him fall
No, you can't blame us at all"
Who killed Davey Moore?
Why an' what's the reason for?
"Not me," says his manager
Puffing on a big cigar
"It's hard to say, it's hard to tell
I always thought that he was well
It's too bad for his wife an' kids he's dead
But if he was sick, he should've said
It wasn't me that made him fall
No, you can't blame me at all"
Who killed Davey Moore?
Why an' what's the reason for?
"Not me," says the gambling man
With his ticket stub still in his hand
"It wasn't me that knocked him down
My hands never touched him none
I didn't commit no ugly sin
Anyway, I put money on him to win
It wasn't me that made him fall
No, you can't blame me at all"
Who killed Davey Moore?
Why an' what's the reason for?
"Not me," says the boxing writer
Pounding print on his old typewriter
Sayin', "Boxing ain't to blame
There's just as much danger in a football game"
Sayin', "Fist fighting is here to stay
It's just the old American way
It wasn't me that made him fall
No, you can't blame me at all"
Who killed Davey Moore?
Why an' what's the reason for?
"Not me," says the man whose fists
Laid him low in a cloud of mist
Who came here from Cuba's door
Where boxing ain't allowed no more
"I hit him, yes, it's true
But that's what I am paid to do
Don't say murder, don't say kill
It was destiny, it was God's will"
Who killed Davey Moore?
Why an' what's the reason for?
There are two possible ways of playing the second beat of the second measure.
Either as written (000500), which is what Dylan plays, or with all the strings
open (000000). That would ensure a smoother transition to the next shape (x01200).
The last chord in the second line of the tab (x02100) sound like a mistake. It
only occurs at the very beginning of the song, so it's likely that he misplaced
the fingers, playing the more common shape instead of the "correct" x01200).
A 000000
D 201200 or x01200
A7 003300
A
D
A
And when I left Wichita the weather was blowing free
D
A
And when I left Wichita the wind was blowing free
A7
D
A
Well, my papa said, "Son, Watch out, you might catch that old TB"
A7
D
A
When I landed in West Memphis, Lord, I never had a dime
D
A
When I landed in West Memphis, Lord, I never had a dime
A7
D
A
Operator said, "Son, you ain't no friend of mine"
Operator, operator Let a poor boy ride
Operator, operator, oh Let a poor boy ride
Can't you see my standing here, how tears are running down my eyes
ride Operator
[...] let me ride your train
[...] let me ride your train
Lord, I'm standing in the weather, Lord, clouds look like it will rain
Going down to Louisiana where that green river runs
Going down to Louisiana where that green river runs
Lord, I just went out, my ramblin' is just begun
And when I left Wichita the weather was blowing free
And when I left Wichita the wind was blowing free
Well, my papa said, "Son, Watch out, you might catch that old TB"