Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways Album Lyrics

Today, tomorrow, and yesterday, too
The flowers are dyin' like all things do
Follow me close, I'm going to Balian Bali
I'll lose my mind if you don't come with me
I fuss with my hair, and I fight blood feuds
I contain multitudes

Got a tell-tale heart, like Mr. Poe
Got skeletons in the walls of people you know
I'll drink to the truth and the things we said
I'll drink to the man that shares your bed
I paint landscapes, and I paint nudes
I contain multitudes

Red Cadillac and a black mustache
Rings on my fingers that sparkle and flash
Tell me, what's next? What shall we do?
Half my soul, baby, belongs to you
Oh, while I cannot frolic with all the young dudes
I contain multitudes

I'm just like Anne Frank, like Indiana Jones
And them British bad boys, The Rolling Stones
I go right to the edge, I go right to the end
I go right where all things lost are made good again
I sing the songs of experience like William Blake
I have no apologies to make
Everything's flowing all at the same time
I live on the boulevard of crime
I drive fast cars, and I eat fast foods
I contain multitudes

Pink petal-pushers, red blue jeans
All the pretty maids, and all the old queens
All the old queens from all my past lives
I carry four pistols and two large knives
I'm a man of contradictions, I'm a man of many moods
I contain multitudes

You greedy old wolf, I'll show you my heart
But not all of it, only the hateful part
I'll sell you down the river, I'll put a price on your head
What more can I tell you?
I sleep with life and death in the same bed
Get lost, madame, get up off my knee
Keep your mouth away from me
I'll keep the path open, the path in my mind
I'll see to it that there's no love left behind
I'll play Beethoven's sonatas, and Chopin's preludes
I contain multitudes

Another day that don't end
Another ship goin' out
Another day of anger, bitterness, and doubt
I know how it happened
I saw it begin
I opened my heart to the world and the world came in

Hello Mary Lou
Hello Miss Pearl
My fleet-footed guides from the underworld
No stars in the sky shine brighter than you
You girls mean business and I do too

Well I'm the enemy of treason
Enemy of strife
I'm the enemy of the unlived meaningless life
I ain't no false prophet
I just know what I know
I go where only the lonely can go

I'm first among equals
Second to none
The last of the best
You can bury the rest
Bury 'em naked with their silver and gold
Put them six feet under and pray for their souls

What are you lookin' at
There's nothing to see
Just a cool breeze that's encircling me
Let's go for a walk in the garden
So far and so wide
We can sit in the shade by the fountain-side

I search the world over
For the Holy Grail
I sing songs of love
I sing songs of betrayal
Don't care what I drink
I don't care what I eat
I climbed the mountains of swords on my bare feet

You don't know me darlin'
You never would guess
I'm nothing like my ghostly appearance would suggest
I ain't no false prophet
I just said what I said
I'm just here to bring vengeance on somebody's head

Put out your hand
There's nothing to hold
Open your mouth
I'll stuff it with gold
Oh you poor devil look up if you will
The city of God is there on the hill

Hello stranger
A long goodbye
You ruled the land
But so do I
You lost your mule
You got a poison brain
I'll marry you to a ball and chain

You know darlin'
The kind of life that I live
When your smile meets my smile something's got to give
I ain't no false prophet
No I'm nobody's bride
Can't remember when I was born
And I forgot when I died

All through the summers, into January
I've been visiting morgues and monasteries
Looking for the necessary body parts
Limbs and livers and brains and hearts
I'll bring someone to life, is what I wanna do
I wanna create my own version of you

Well, it must be the winter of my discontent
I wish you'd've taken me with you wherever you went
They talk all night and they talk all day
Not for a minute, do I believe anything they say
I'm gon' bring someone to life, someone I've never seen
You know what I mean, you know exactly what I mean

I'll take the Scarface Pacino and the Godfather Brando
Mix it up and attack, and get a robot commando
If I do it up right and put the head on straight
I'll be saved by the creature that I create
I'll get blood from a cactus, gunpowder from ice
I don't gamble with cards and I don't shoot no dice
Can you look in my face with your sightless eyes?
Can you cross your heart and hope to die?
I'll bring someone to life, someone for real
Someone who feels the way that I feel

I study Sanskrit and Arabic to improve my mind
I wanna do things for the benefit of all mankind
I say to the willow tree, "Don't weep for me"
I'm saying to hell with all things that used to be
Well, I get into trouble, then I hit the wall
No place to turn, no place at all
I'll pick a number between a-one and two
And I ask myself, "What would Julius Caesar do?"
I will bring someone to life in more ways than one
Don't matter how long it takes, it'll be done when it's done

I'm gonna make you play the piano like Leon Russell
Like Liberace, like St. John the Apostle
I'll play every number that I can play
I'll see you maybe on Judgment Day
After midnight, if you still wanna meet
I'll be at the Black Horse Tavern on Armageddon Street
Two doors down, not that far a walk
I'll hear your footsteps, you won't have to knock
I'll bring someone to life, balance the scales
I'm not gonna get involved any insignificant details

You can bring it to St. Peter, you can bring it to Jerome
You can bring it all the way over, bring it all the way home
Bring it to the corner where the children play
You can bring it to me on a silver tray
I'll bring someone to life, spare no expense
Do it with decency and common sense

Can you tell me what it means, to be or not to be?
You won't get away with fooling me
Can you help me walk that good land mile?
Can you give me the blessings of your smile?
I'll bring someone to life, use all of my powers
Do it in the dark in the wee, small hours

I can see the history of the whole human race
It's all right there, it's carved into your face
Should I break it all down? Should I fall on my knees?
Is there light at the end of the tunnel, can you tell me please?
Stand over there by the cypress tree
Where the Trojan women and children are sold into slavery
Long before the first Crusade
Way back 'fore England or America were made
Step right into the burnin' hell
Where some of the best-known enemies of mankind dwell
Mr. Freud with his dreams, Mr. Marx with his ax
See the raw hide lash rip the skin from their backs

Got the right spirit, you can feel it you can hear it
You've got what they call the immortal spirit
You can feel it all night, you can feel it in the morn'
It creeps in your body, the day you were born
One strike of lightning is all that I need
And a blast of electricity that runs at top speed
Shimmy your ribs, I'll stick in the knife
Gonna jump-start my creation to life
I wanna bring someone to life, turn back the years
Do it with laughter and do it with tears

I'm sitting on my terrace, lost in the stars
Listening to the sounds of the sad guitars
Been thinking it all over and I've thought it all through
I've made up my mind to give myself to you

I saw the first fall of snow
I saw the flowers come and go
I don't think that anyone ever has ever knew
I've made up my mind to give myself to you

I'm giving myself to you, I am
From Salt Lake City to Birmingham
From East L.A. to San Antone
I don't think I can bear to live my life alone

My eyes like a shooting star
It looks at nothing here or there, looks at nothing near of far
No one ever told me, it's just something I knew
I've made up my mind to give myself to you

If I had the wings of a snow-white dove
I'd preach the gospel, the gospel of love
A love so real, a love so true
I've made up my mind to give myself to you

Take me out traveling, you're a traveling man
Show me something I don't understand
I'm not what I was, things aren't what they were
I'll go far away from home with her

I've traveled a long road of despair
I've met no other traveler there
Lot of people gone, lot of people I knew
I've made up my mind to give myself to you

Well, my heart's like a river, a river that sings
Just takes me a while to realize things
I've seen the sunrise, I've seen the dawn
I'll lay down beside you when everyone's gone

I've traveled from the mountains to the sea
I hope that the gods go easy with me
I knew you'd say yes, I'm saying it too
I've made up my mind to give myself to you

Black rider, black rider, you've been living too hard
Been up all night, have to stay on your guard
The path that you're walking, too narrow to walk
Every step of the way, another stumbling block
The road that you're on, same road that you know
Just not the same as it was a minute ago

Black rider, black rider, you've seen it all
You've seen the great world and you've seen the small
You fell into the fire and you're eating the flame
Better seal up your lips if you wanna stay in the game
Be reasonable, mister, be honest, be fair
Let all of your earthly thoughts be a prayer

Black rider, black rider, all dressed in black
I'm walking away, you try to make me look back
My heart is at rest, I'd like to keep it that way
I don't wanna fight, at least not today
Go home to your wife, stop visiting mine
One of these days, I'll forget to be kind

Black rider, black rider, tell me when, tell me how
If there ever was a time, then let it be now
Let me go through, open the door
My soul is distressed, my mind is at war
Don't hug me, don't flatter me, don't turn on the charm
I'll take a sword and hack off your arm

Black rider, black rider, hold it right there
The size of your cock will get you nowhere
I'll suffer in silence, I'll not make a sound
Maybe I'll take the high moral ground
Some enchanted evening, I'll sing you a song
Black rider, black rider, you've been on the job too long

I live on a street named after a Saint
Women in the churches wear powder and paint
Where the Jews and the Catholics and the Muslims all pray
I can tell they're Proddie from a mile away
Goodbye, Jimmy Reed, Jimmy Reed, indeed
Give me that old time religion, it's just what I need

For thine is kingdom, the power and the glory
Go tell it on the mountain, go tell the real story
Tell it in that straightforward, puritanical tone
In the mystic hours, when a person's alone
Goodbye, Jimmy Reed, godspeed
Thump on the Bible, proclaim a creed

You won't amount to much, the people all said
'Cause I didn't play guitar behind my head
Never pandered, never acted proud
Never took off my shoes, throw 'em in the crowd
Goodbye Jimmy Reed, goodbye, goodnight
Put a jewel in your crown and I put out the lights

They threw everything at me, everything in the book
I had nothing to fight with but a butcher's hook
They had no pity, they never lend a hand
I can't sing a song that I don't understand
Goodbye, Jimmy Reed, goodbye, good luck
I can't play the record 'cause my needle got stuck

Transparent woman in a transparent dress
Suits you well, I must confess
I'll break open your grapes, I'll suck out the juice
I need you like my head needs a noose
Goodbye, Jimmy Reed, goodbye and so long
I thought I could resist her but I was so wrong

God be with you, brother, dear
If you don't mind me asking, what brings you here?
Oh, nothing much, I'm just looking for the man
Need to see where he's lying in this lost land
Goodbye Jimmy Reed, and everything within ya
Can't you hear me calling from down in Virginia?

Mother of Muses, sing for me
Sing of the mountains and the deep, dark sea
Sing of the lakes and the nymphs of the forest
Sing your hearts out, all your women of the chorus
Sing of honor and fate and glory be
Mother of Muses, sing for me

Mother of Muses, sing for my heart
Sing of a love too soon to depart
Sing of the heroes who stood alone
Whose names are engraved on tablets of stone
Who struggled with pain, so the world could go free
Mother of Muses, sing for me

Sing of Sherman, Montgomery and Scott
And of Zhukov, and Patton, and the battles they fought
Who cleared the path for Presley to sing
Who carved the path for Martin Luther King
Who did what they did and they went on their way
Man, I could tell their stories all day

I'm falling in love with Calliope
She don't belong to anyone, why not give her to me?
She's speaking to me, speaking with her eyes
I've grown so tired of chasing lies
Mother of Muses, wherever you are
I've already outlived my life by far

Mother of Muses, unleash your wrath
Things I can't see, they're blocking my path
Show me your wisdom, tell me my fate
Put me upright, make me walk straight
Forge my identity from the inside out
You know what I'm talking about

Take me to the river, release your charms
Let me lay down a while in your sweet, loving arms
Wake me, shake me, free me from sin
Make me invisible, like the wind
Got a mind that ramble, got a mind that roam
I'm travelin' light and I'm a-slow coming home

I crossed the Rubicon on the fourteenth day
Of the most dangerous month of the year
At the worst time, at the worst place
That's all I seem to hear
I got up early
So I could greet the goddess of the dawn
I painted my wagon, abandoned all hope
And I crossed the Rubicon

Well, the Rubicon is a red river
Goin' gently as she flows
Redder than your ruby lips
And the blood that flows from the rose
Three miles north of purgatory
One step from the great beyond
I prayed to the cross, I kissed the girls
And I crossed the Rubicon

What are these dark days I see?
In this world so badly bent
I cannot redeem the time
The time so idly spent
How much longer can it last?
How long can it go on?
I embrace my love
Put down my hair
And I crossed the Rubicon

I can feel the bones beneath my skin
And they're tremblin' with rage
I'll make your wife a widow
You'll never see old age
Show me one good man in sight
That the sun shines down upon
I pawned my watch, I paid my debts
And I crossed the Rubicon

Put my hide up on a hill
Where some happiness I'll find
If I survive, then let me love
Let the hour be mine
Take the high road, take the low
Take any one you're on
I poured the cup, I passed it along
And I crossed the Rubicon

Well, you defiled the most lovely flowers
In all her womanhood
Others can be tolerant
Others can be good
I'll cut you up with a crooked knife
Lord, and I'll miss you when you're gone
I stood between heaven and earth
And I crossed the Rubicon

You won't find any happiness here
No happiness or joy
Go back to the gutter, try your luck
Find you some nice pretty boy
Tell me how many men I need
And who can I count upon
I strapped my belt, I buttoned my coat
And I crossed the Rubicon

I feel the holy spirit inside
See the light that freedom gives
I believe it's in the reach of
Every man who lives
Keep as far away as possible
It's darkest 'fore the dawn (oh, Lord)
I turned the key, I broke it off
And I crossed the Rubicon

Mornin' baby, I used to look my mind
I truly believe that you are
Couldn't be anybody else but you
Who's come with me this far
The killing frost is on the ground
And the autumn leaves are gone
I lit the torch, I looked to the east
And I crossed the Rubicon

McKinley hollered, McKinley squalled
Doctor said, "McKinley, death is on the wall
Say it to me, if you got something to confess"
I heard all about it, he was goin' down slow
I heard it all, the wireless radio
From down in the boondocks, way down in Key West
I'm searching for love, for inspiration
On that pirate radio station
Coming out of Luxembourg and Budapest
Radio signal, clear as can be
I'm so deep in love that I can hardly see
Down on the flatlands, way down in Key West

Key West is the place to be
If you're looking for immortality
Stay on the road, follow the highway sign
Key West is fine and fair
If you lost your mind, you will find it there
Key West is on the horizon line

I was born on the wrong side of the railroad track
Like Ginsberg, Corso and Kerouac
Like Louis and Jimmy and Buddy and all the rest
Well, it might not be the thing to do
But I'm sticking with you, through and through
Down in the flatlands, way down in Key West
I got both my feet planted square on the ground
Got my right hand high with the thumb down
Such is life, such is happiness
Hibiscus flowers, they grow everywhere here
If you wear one, put it behind your ear
Down in the bottom, way down in Key West

Key West is the place to go
Down by the Gulf of Mexico
Beyond the sea, beyond the shifting sand
Key West is the gateway key
To innocence and purity
Key West, Key West is the enchanted land

I've never lived in the land of Oz
Or wasted my time with an unworthy cause
It's hot down here, and you can't be overdressed
China blossoms of a toxic plant
They can make you dizzy, I'd like to help you but I can't
Down in the flatlands, way down in Key West
Well, the fish tail ponds and the orchid trees
They can give you that bleeding heart disease
People tell me I ought to try a little tenderness
On Newton Street, Bayview Park
Walking in the shadows after dark
Down under, way down in Key West
I played Gumbo Limbo spirituals
I know all the Hindu rituals
People tell me that I'm truly blessed
Bougainvillea blooming in the summer, in the spring
Winter here is an unknown thing
Down in the flat lands, way down in Key West

Key West is under the sun, under the radar, under the gun
You stay to the left, and then you lean to the right
Feel the sunlight on your skin, and the healing virtues of the wind
Key West, Key West is the land of light

Wherever I travel, wherever I roam
I'm not that far before I come back home
I do what I think is right, what I think is best
History Street off of Mallory Square
Truman had his White House there
East bound, West bound, way down in Key West
Twelve years old, they put me in a suit
Forced me to marry a prostitute
There were gold fringes on her wedding dress
That's my story, but not where it ends
She's still cute, and we're still friends
Down on the bottom, way down in Key West
I play both sides against the middle
Trying to pick up that pirate radio signal
I heard the news, I heard your last request
Fly around, my pretty little Miss
I don't love nobody, give me a kiss
Down on the bottom, way down in Key West

Key West is the place to be
If you're looking for immortality
Key West is paradise divine
Key West is fine and fair
If you lost your mind, you'll find it there
Key West is on the horizon line

Twas a dark day in Dallas, November '63

A day that will live on in infamy

President Kennedy was a-ridin' high

Good day to be livin' and a good day to die

Being led to the slaughter like a sacrificial lamb

He said, "Wait a minute, boys, you know who I am?"

"Of course we do, we know who you are"

Then they blew off his head while he was still in the car

Shot down like a dog in broad daylight

Was a matter of timing and the timing was right

You got unpaid debts, we've come to collect

We're gonna kill you with hatred, without any respect

We'll mock you and shock you and we'll put it in your face

We've already got someone here to take your place

The day they blew out the brains of the king

Thousands were watchin', no one saw a thing

It happened so quickly, so quick, by surprise

Right there in front of everyone's eyes

Greatest magic trick ever under the sun

Perfectly executed, skillfully done

Wolfman, oh Wolfman, oh Wolfman, howl

Rub-a-dub-dub, it's a murder most foul



Hush, little children, you'll understand

The Beatles are comin', they're gonna hold your hand

Slide down the banister, go get your coat

Ferry 'cross the Mersey and go for the throat

There's three bums comin' all dressed in rags

Pick up the pieces and lower the flags

I'm goin' to Woodstock, it's the Aquarian Age

Then I'll go to Altamont and sit near the stage

Put your head out the window, let the good times roll

There's a party goin' on behind the Grassy Knoll

Stack up the bricks, pour the cement

Don't say Dallas don't love you, Mr. President

Put your foot in the tank and step on the gas

Try to make it to the triple underpass

Blackface singer, whiteface clown

Better not show your faces after the sun goes down

I'm in the red-light district, like a cop on the beat

Livin' in a nightmare on Elm Street

When you're down in Deep Ellum, put your money in your shoe

Don't ask what your country can do for you

Cash on the barrelhead, money to burn

Dealey Plaza, make a left-hand turn

I'm goin' down to the crossroads, gonna flag a ride

The place where faith, hope, and charity died

Shoot him while he runs, boy, shoot him while you can

See if you can shoot the invisible man

Goodbye, Charlie, goodbye, Uncle Sam

Frankly, Miss Scarlet, I don't give a damn

What is the truth, and where did it go?

Ask Oswald and Ruby, they oughta know

"Shut your mouth," said the wise old owl

Business is business, and it's a murder most foul



Tommy, can you hear me? I'm the Acid Queen

I'm riding in a long, black Lincoln limousine

Riding in the backseat next to my wife

Heading straight on in to the afterlife

I'm leaning to the left, I got my head in her lap

Hold on, I've been led into some kind of a trap

Where we ask no quarter, and no quarter do we give

We're right down the street from the street where you live

They mutilated his body and they took out his brain

What more could they do? They piled on the pain

But his soul's not there where it was supposed to be at

For the last fifty years they've been searchin' for that

Freedom, oh freedom, freedom over me

I hate to tell you, mister, but only dead men are free

Send me some lovin', tell me no lies

Throw the gun in the gutter and walk on by

Wake up, little Suzie, let's go for a drive

Cross the Trinity River, let's keep hope alive

Turn the radio on, don't touch the dials

Parkland hospital, only six more miles

You got me dizzy, Miss Lizzy, you filled me with lead

That magic bullet of yours has gone to my head

I'm just a patsy like Patsy Cline

Never shot anyone from in front or behind

Got blood in my eye, got blood in my ear

I'm never gonna make it to the new frontier

Zapruder's film, I've seen that before

Seen it thirty-three times, maybe more

It's vile and deceitful, it's cruel and it's mean

Ugliest thing that you ever have seen

They killed him once and they killed him twice

Killed him like a human sacrifice

The day that they killed him, someone said to me, "Son

The age of the Antichrist has just only begun"

Air Force One comin' in through the gate

Johnson sworn in at 2:38

Let me know when you decide to throw in the towel

It is what it is, and it's murder most foul



What's new, pussycat? What'd I say?

I said the soul of a nation been torn away

And it's beginning to go into a slow decay

And that it's thirty-six hours past Judgment Day

Wolfman Jack, he's speaking in tongues

He's going on and on at the top of his lungs

Play me a song, Mr. Wolfman Jack

Play it for me in my long Cadillac

Play me that, "Only The Good Die Young"

Take me to the place Tom Dooley was hung

Play, "St. James Infirmary" and, "The Port of King James"

If you want to remember, you better write down the names

Play Etta James, too, play "I'd Rather Go Blind"

Play it for the man with the telepathic mind

Play John Lee Hooker, play "Scratch My Back"

Play it for that strip club owner named Jack

Guitar Slim going down slow

Play it for me and for Marilyn Monroe



Play, "Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"

Play it for the First Lady, she ain't feeling any good

Play Don Henley, play Glenn Frey

Take it to the limit and let it go by

Play it for Carl Wilson, too

Looking far, far away down Gower Avenue

Play, "Tragedy" play, "Twilight Time"

Take me back to Tulsa to the scene of the crime

Play another one and, "Another One Bites the Dust"

Play, "The Old Rugged Cross" and, "In God We Trust"

Ride the pink horse down that long, lonesome road

Stand there and wait for his head to explode

Play, "Mystery Train" for Mr. Mystery

The man who fell down dead like a rootless tree

Play it for the Reverend, play it for the Pastor

Play it for the dog that got no master

Play Oscar Peterson, play Stan Getz

Play, "Blue Sky", play Dickey Betts

Play Hot Pepper, Thelonious Monk

Charlie Parker and all that junk

All that junk and, "All That Jazz"

Play something for the Birdman of Alcatraz

Play Buster Keaton, play Harold Lloyd

Play Bugsy Siegel, play Pretty Boy Floyd

Play the numbers , play the odds

Play, "Cry Me A River" for the Lord of the gods

Play Number Nine, play Number Six

Play it for Lindsey and Stevie Nicks

Play Nat King Cole, play, "Nature Boy"

Play, "Down In The Boondocks" for Terry Malloy

Play, "It Happened One Night" and, "One Night of Sin"

There's twelve million souls that are listening in

Play, "Merchant to Venice" play, "Merchants of Death"

Play, "Stella by Starlight" for Lady Macbeth



Don't worry, Mr. President, help's on the way

Your brothers are coming, there'll be hell to pay

Brothers? What brothers? What's this about hell?

Tell them, "We're waiting, keep coming"

We'll get them as well

Love Field is where his plane touched down

But it never did get back up off the ground

Was a hard act to follow, second to none

They killed him on the altar of the rising sun

Play, "Misty" for me and, "That Old Devil Moon"

Play, "Anything Goes" and, "Memphis in June"

Play, "Lonely At the Top" and, "Lonely Are the Brave"

Play it for Houdini spinning around his grave

Play Jelly Roll Morton, play, "Lucille"

Play, "Deep In a Dream" and play "Driving Wheel"

Play, "Moonlight Sonata" in F-sharp

And, "A Key To The Highway" for the king of the harp

Play, "Marching Through Georgia" and, "Dumbaroton's Drums"

Play, "Darkness" and death will come when it comes

Play, "Love Me Or Leave Me" by the great Bud Powell

Play, "The Blood-stained Banner" play, "Murder Most Foul"