BOB DYLAN
BLONDE ON BLONDE
(Columbia C2S-841)
May 16/1966
Produced by Bob Johnston
Bob Dylan - vocal/rh.guitar/harmonica/piano
Jerry Kennedy, Wayne Moss, Joe South, Robbie Robertson - guitar
Charlie McCoy - bass/harmonica/trumpet
Henry Strzelecki - bass
Rick Danko - bass/violin/vocals
Kenneth Buttrey, Sanford Konikoff, Richard Manuel - drums
Hargus Pig Robbins, Bill Atkins, Paul Griffin - piano/keyboards
Al Kooper - organ/horn
Wayne Butler - trombone
Garth Hudson - sax
Recorded:
Feb 14-16/1966, Columbia Recording Studio, Nashville (3,6,14)
March 7-9/1966, Columbia Recording Studio, Nashville (1,2,4,5,7-13)
1.
RAINY DAY WOMEN NUMBERS 12 AND 35
(Bob Dylan)
« © '66 Dwarf Music, SESAC »
Well they'll stone you when you're trying to be so good
They'll stone you just a like they said they would
They'll stone you when you're trying to go home
Then they'll stone you when you're there all alone
But I would not feel so all alone everybody must get stoned
Well they'll stone you when you're walking long the street
They'll stone you when you're trying to keep your seat
They'll stone you when you're walking on the floor
They'll stone you when you're walking to the door
But I would not feel so all alone everybody must get stoned
They'll stone you when you're at the breakfast table
They'll stone you when you are young and able
They'll stone you when you're trying to make a buck
They'll stone you and then they'll say good luck
Tell you what I would not feel so all alone everybody must get stoned
[ horns ]
Well they'll stone you and say that it's the end
Then they'll stone you and then they'll come back again
They'll stone you when you're riding in your car
They'll stone you when you're playing your guitar
Yes but I would not feel so all alone everybody must get stoned
[ horns - harmonica ]
Well they'll stone you when you walk all alone
They'll stone you when you are walking home
They'll stone you and then say you are brave
They'll stone you when you are set down in your grave
But I would not feel so all alone everybody must get stoned
**********
2.
PLEDGING MY TIME
(Bob Dylan)
« © '66 Dwarf Music, SESAC »
Well early in the morning till late at night
I got a poison headache but I feel all right
I'm pledging my time to you hoping you'll come through too
Well the hobo got you high he came to me naturally
He stole my baby then he wanted to steal me
I'm pledging my time to you hoping you'll come through too
Won't you come with me baby I'll take you where you wanna go
And if it don't work out you'll be the first to know
I'm pledging my time to you hoping you'll come through too
[ harmonica ]
Well the room is so stuffy I can hardly breathe
Everybody's gone but me and you and I can't be the last to leave
I'm pledging my time to you hoping you'll come through too
Well they sent for the ambulance and one was sent
Somebody got lucky but it was an accident
I'm pledging my time to you hoping you'll come through too
[ harmonica ]
**********
3.
VISIONS OF JOHANNA
(Bob Dylan)
« © '66 Dwarf Music, SESAC »
Ain't it just like the night to play tricks when you're trying to be so quiet
We sit here stranded though we're all doing our best to deny it
And Louise holds a handful of rain tempting you to defy it
Lights flicker from the opposite loft in this room the heat pipes just cough
The country music station plays soft but there's nothing really nothing to turn off
Just Louise and her lovers so entwined
And these visions of Johanna that conquer my mind
In the empty lot where the ladies play blindman's bluff with the key chain
And the all night girls they whisper of escapades out on the D train
We can hear the night watchman click his flashlight
Ask himself if it's him or them that's really insane
Louise she's all right she's just near she's delicate and seems like the mirror
But she just makes it all too concise and too clear that Johanna's not here
The ghost of 'lectricity howls in the bones of her face
Where these visions of Johanna have now taken my place
Now a little boy lost he takes himself so seriously
He brags of his misery he likes to live dangerously
And when bringing her name up he speaks of a farewell kiss to me
He's sure got a lot of gall to be so useless and all
Muttering small talk at the wall while I'm in the hall
Oh how can I explain it's so hard to get on
And these visions of Johanna they kept me up past the dawn
Inside the museums infinity goes up on trial
Voices echo this is what salvation must be like after a while
But Mona Lisa must've had the highway blues you can tell by the way she smiles
See the primative wallflower freeze when the jelly-faced women all sneeze
Hear the one with the mustache say Jeeze I can't find my knees
Oh jewels and binoculars hang from the head of the mule
But these visions of Johanna they make it all seem so cruel
The peddler now speaks to the countess who's pretending to care for him
Saying name me someone that's not a parasite
And I'll go out and say a prayer for him
But like Louise always says you can't look at much can you man
As she herself prepares for him
And Madonna she still has not showed we see this empty cage now corrode
Where her cape of the stage once had flowed
The fiddler he now steps to the cold
He writes ev'rything's been returned which was owed
On the back of the fish truck that loads while my conscience explodes
The harmonicas play the skeleton keys and the rain
And these visions of Johanna are now all that remain
**********
4.
ONE OF US MUST KNOW (SOONER OR LATER)
(Bob Dylan)
« © '66 Dwarf Music, SESAC »
I didn't mean to treat you so bad you shouldn't take it so personal
I didn't mean to make you so sad you just happened to be there that's all
When I saw you say goodbye to your friend and smile
I thought that it was well understood
That you'd be coming back in a little while
I didn't know that you were saying goodbye for good
But sooner or later one of us must know you just did what you're supposed to do
Sooner or later one of us must know that I really did try to get close to you
I couldn't see what you could show me your scarf had kept your mouth well hid
I couldn't see how you could know me but you said you knew me and I believed you did
When you whispered in my ear asked me if I was leavin' with you or her
I didn't realize just what I did hear I didn't realize how young you were
But sooner or later one of us must know...
I couldn't see when it started snowing your voice was all that I heard
I couldn't see where we were going but you said you knew and I took your word
And then you told me later as I apologized
That you were just kiddin' me you weren't really from the farm
And I told you as you clawed out my eyes
That I never really meant to do you any harm
But sooner or later one of us must know...
**********
5.
I WANT YOU
(Bob Dylan)
« © '66 Dwarf Music, SESAC »
The guilty undertaker sighs the lonesome organ grinder cries
The silver saxophones say I should refuse you
The cracked bells and washed out horns blow into my face with scorn
But it's not that way I wasn't born to lose you
I want you I want you I want you so bad honey I want you
The drunken politician leaps upon the street where mothers weep
And the saviors who are fast asleep they wait for you
And I wait for them to interrupt Me drinkin' from my broken cup
And ask me to open up the gate for you
I want you I want you I want you so bad honey I want you
Now all my fathers they've gone down true love they've been without it
But all their daughters put me down cause I don't think about it
Well I return to the Queen of Spades and talk with my chambermaid
She knows that I'm not afraid to look at her
She is good to me and there's nothing she doesn't see
She knows where I'd like to be
But it doesn't matter I want you I want you I want you so bad
Honey I want you
Now your dancing child with his Chinese suit he spoke to me I took his flute
No I wasn't very cute to him was I
But I did it though because he lied Because he took you for a ride
And because time was on his side and because I
Want you I want you I want you so bad honey I want you
**********
6.
STUCK INSIDE OF MOBILE WITH THE MEMPHIS BLUES AGAIN
(Bob Dylan)
« © '66 Dwarf Music, SESAC »
Oh the ragman draws circles up and down the block
I'd ask him what the matter was but I know that he don't talk
And the ladies treat me kindly and they furnish me with tape
But deep inside my heart I know I can't escape
Oh mama can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
Well Shakespeare he's in the alley with his pointed shoes and his bells
Speaking to some French girl who says she knows me well
And I would send a message to find out if she'd talked
But the post office has been stolen and the mailbox is locked
Oh mama can this really be the end...
Mona tried to tell me to stay away from the train line
She said that all the railroad men just drink up your blood like wine
And I said oh I didn't know that but then again there's only one I've met
And he just smoked my eyelids and punched my cigarette
Oh mama can this really be the end...
Grandpa died last week and now he's buried in the rocks
But everybody still talks about how badly they were shocked
But me I expected it to happen I knew he'd lost control
When I build a fire on Main street and shot it full of holes
Oh mama can this really be the end...
Now the senator came down here showing everyone his gun
Handing out free tickets to the wedding of his son
And me I nearly got busted and wouldn't it be my luck
To get caught without a ticket and be discovered beneath a truck
Oh mama can this really be the end...
Now the preacher looked so baffled when I asked him why he dressed
With twenty pounds of headlines stapled to his chest
But he cursed me when I proved it to him
Then I whispered not even you can hide
You see you're just like me I hope you're satisfied
Oh mama can this really be the end...
Now the rainman gave me two cures then he said jump right in
The one was Texas medicine the other was just railroad gin
And like a fool I mixed them and it strangled up my mind
And now people just get uglier and I have no sense of time
Oh mama can this really be the end...
When Ruthie says come see her in her honky tonk lagoon
Where I can watch her waltz for free neath the Panamanian moon
And I say ah come on now you must know about my debutante
And she says your debutante just knows what you need but I know what you want
Oh mama can this really be the end...
Now the bricks lay on Grand street where the neon madmen climb
They all fall there so perfectly it all seems so well timed
Here I sit so patiently waiting to find out what price
You have to pay to get out of going through all these things twice
Oh mama is this really be the end...
**********
7.
LEOPARD-SKIN PILL-BOX HAT
(Bob Dylan)
« © '66 Dwarf Music, SESAC »
Well I see you got your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat
Yes I see you got your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat
Well you must tell me baby how your head feels under somethin' like that
Under your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat
Well you look so pretty in it honey can I jump on it sometime
Yes I just wanna see if it's really that expensive kind
You know it balances on your head just like a mattress balances on a bottle of wine
Your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat
Well if you wanna see the sun rise honey I know where
We'll go out and see it sometime we'll both just sit there and stare
Me with my belt wrapped around my head and you just sittin' there
In your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat
[ guitar ]
Well I asked the doctor if I could see you it's bad for your health he said
Yes I disobeyed his orders I came to see you but I found him there instead
You know I don't mind him cheatin' on me but I sure wish he'd take that off his head
Your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat
Well I see you got a new boyfriend you know I never seen him before
Well I saw him making love to you you forgot to close the garage door
You might think he loves you for your money but I know what he really loves you for
It's your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat
[ guitar ]
**********
8.
JUST LIKE A WOMAN
(Bob Dylan)
« © '66 Dwarf Music, SESAC »
Nobody feels any pain tonight as I stand inside the rain
Everybody knows that baby's got new clothes
But lately I see her ribbons and her bows
Have fallen from her curls
She takes just like a woman yes she does
She makes love just like a woman yes she does
And she aches just like a woman but she breaks just like a little girl
Queen Mary she's my friend yes I believe I'll go see her again
Nobody has to guess that baby can't be blessed
Till she finally sees that she's like all the rest
With her fog her amphetamine and her pearls
She takes just like a woman yes she does
She makes love just like a woman yes she does
And she aches just like a woman but she breaks just like a little girl
It was raining from the first and I was dying there of thirst so I came in here
And your long time curse hurts but what's worse is this pain in here
I can't stay in here ain't it clear
That I just can't fit yes I believe it's time for us to quit
When we meet again introduced as friends
Please don't let on that ya knew me when
I was hungry and it was your world
Ah you fake just like a woman yes you do
You make love just like a woman yes you do
Then you ache just like a woman but you break just like a little girl
[ harmonica ]
**********
9.
MOST LIKELY YOU GO YOUR WAY (AND I'LL GO MINE)
(Bob Dylan)
« © '66 Dwarf Music, SESAC »
You say you love me and you're thinkin' of me but you know you could be wrong
You say you told me that you wanna hold me but you know you're not that strong
I just can't do what I done before I just can't beg you anymore
I'm gonna let you pass and I'll go last then time will tell just who has fell
And who's been left behind when you go your way and I go mine
You say you disturb me and you don't deserve me but you know sometimes you lie
You say you're shaking and you're always achin' but you know how hard you try
Sometimes it gets so hard to care it can't be this way everywhere
And I'm gonna let you pass yes and I'll go last then time will tell who has fell
And who's been left behind when you go your way and I go mine
The judge he holds a grudge he's gonna call on you
But he's badly built and he walks on stilts watch out he don't fall on you
[ harmonica ]
You say you're sorry for tellin' stories that you know I believe are true
You say you got some other kinda lover and yes I believe you do
You say my kisses are not like his but this time I'm not gonna tell you why that is
I'm just gonna let you pass yes and I'll go last then time will tell who has fell
And who's been left behind when you go your way and I go mine
**********
10.
TEMPORARY LIKE ACHILLES
(Bob Dylan)
« © '66 Dwarf Music, SESAC »
Standing on your window honey yes I've been here before
Feeling so harmless I'm looking at your second door
How come you don't send me no regards
You know I want your lovin' honey why are you so hard
Kneeling neath your ceiling yes I guess I'll be here for a while
I'm tryin' to read your portrait but I'm helpless like a rich man's child
How come you send someone out to have me barred
You know I want your lovin' honey why are you so hard
Like a poor fool in his prime yes I know you can hear me walk
But is your heart made out of stone or is it lime or is it just solid rock
Well I rush into your hallway lean against your velvet door
I watch upon your scorpion who crawls across your circus floor
Just what do you think you have to guard
You know I want your lovin' honey but you're so hard
[ harmonica ]
Achilles is in your alleyway he don't want me here he does brag
He's pointing to the sky and he's hungry like a man in drag
How come you get someone like him to be your guard
You know I want your lovin' honey but you're so hard
[ harmonica ]
**********
11.
ABSOLUTELY SWEET MARIE
(Bob Dylan)
« © '66 Dwarf Music, SESAC »
Well your railroad gate you know I just can't jump it
Sometimes it gets so hard you see
I'm just sitting here beating on my trumpet
With all these promises you left for me
But where are you tonight sweet Marie
Well I waited for you when I was half sick
Yes I waited for you when you hated me
Well I waited for you inside of the frozen traffic
Even you knew I had some other place to be
Now where are you tonight sweet Marie
Well anybody can be just like me obviously
But then now again not too many can be like you fortunately
Well six white horses that you did promise
Were finally delivered down into the penitentiary
But to live outside the law you must be honest
I know you always say that you agree
All right so where are you tonight sweet Marie
Well I don't know how it happened but the riverboat captain he knows my fate
But everybody else even yourself they're just gonna have to wait
Well I got the fever down in my pockets
The Persian drunkard he follows me
Yes I can take him to your house but I can't unlock it
You see you forgot to leave me with the key
Oh where are you tonight sweet Marie
[ harmonica ]
Well I been in jail when all my mail showed
That a man can't give his address out to bad company
And now I stand here looking at your yellow railroad
In the ruins of your balcony
Wondering where you are tonight sweet Marie
**********
12.
FOURTH TIME AROUND
(Bob Dylan)
« © '66 Dwarf Music, SESAC »
When she said don't waste your words they're just lies I cried she was deaf
And she worked on my face until breaking my eyes then what else you got left
It was then that I got up to leave but she said don't forget
Everybody must give something back for something they get
I stood there and hummed I tapped on her drum and asked her how come
And she buttoned her boot and straightened her suit then she said don't get cute
So I forced my hands in my pockets and felt with my thumbs
And gallantly handed her my very last piece of gum
She threw me outside I stood in the dirt where everyone walked
And after finding that I'd forgotten my shirt I went back and knocked
I waited in the hallway she went to get it and I tried to make sense
Out of that picture of you in your wheelchair that leaned up against
Her Jamaican rum and when she did come I asked her for some
She said no dear I said your words aren't clear you'd better spit out your gum
She screamed till her face got so red then she fell on the floor
And I covered her up and then thought I'd go look through her drawer
And when I was through I filled up my shoe and brought it to you
And you you took me in you loved me then you didn't waste time
And I I never took much I never asked for your crutch now don't ask for mine
[ harmonica ]
**********
13.
OBVIOUSLY FIVE BELIEVERS
(Bob Dylan)
« © '66 Dwarf Music, SESAC »
Early in the morning early in the morning
I'm calling you to I'm calling you to please come home
Yes I guess I could make it without you if I just didn't feel so all alone
Don't let me down don't let me down
I won't let you down I won't let you down no I won't
You know I can if you can honey but honey please don't
I got my black dog barkin' black dog barkin'
Yes it is now yes it is outside my yard
Yes I could tell you what he means if I just didn't have to try so hard
Your mama's workin' your mama's moanin'
She's cryin' you know she's tryin' you know you better go now
Well I'd tell you what she wants but I just don't know how
Fifteen jugglers fifteen jugglers
Five believers five believers all dressed like men
Tell your mama not to worry because they're just my friends
[ guitar ]
Early in the morning early in the morning
I'm calling you to I'm calling you to please come home
Yes I could make it without you if I just did not feel so all alone
**********
14.
SAD EYED LADY OF THE LOWLANDS
(Bob Dylan)
« © '66 Dwarf Music, SESAC »
With your mercury mouth in the missionary times
And your eyes like smoke and your prayers like rhymes
And your silver cross and your voice like chimes
Oh who do they think could bury you
With your pockets well protected at last
And your streetcar visions which you place on the grass
And your flesh like silk and your face like glass
Who do they think could carry you
Sad eyed lady of the lowlands
Where the sad eyed prophet says that no man comes
My warehouse eyes my Arabian drums
Should I put them by your gate or sad eyed lady should I wait
With your sheets like metal and your belt like lace
And your deck of cards missing the jack and the ace
And your basement clothes and your hollow face
Who among them can think he could outguess you
With your silhouette when the sunlight dims
Into your eyes where the moonlight swims
And your matchbook songs and your gypsy hymns
Who among them would try to impress you
Sad eyed lady of the lowlands...
The kings of Tyrus with their convict list
Are waiting in line for their geranium kiss
And you wouldn't know it would happen like this
But who among them really wants just to kiss you
With your childhood flames on your midnight rug
And your Spanish manners and your mother's drugs
And your cowboy mouth and your curfew plugs
Who among them do you think could resist you
Sad eyed lady of the lowlands...
Oh the farmers and the businessmen they all did decide
To show you the dead angels that they used to hide
But why did they pick you to sympathize with their side
How could they ever mistake you
They wished you'd accepted the blame for the farm
But with the sea at your feet and the phony false alarm
And with the child of a hoodlum wrapped up in your arms
How could they ever ever persuade you
Sad eyed lady of the lowlands...
With your sheet metal memory of Cannery Row
And your magazine husband who one day just had to go
And your gentleness now which you just can't help but show
Who among them do you think would employ you
Now you stand with your thief you're on his parole
With your holy medallion which your fingertips now fold
And your saintlike face and your ghostlike soul
Oh who among them do you think could destroy you
Sad eyed lady of the lowlands...
[ harmonica ]
**********