Dylan - Lyrics, 1962-2001

additional early lyrics Ramblin outa the wild West Leavin the towns I love the best Thought Id seen some ups and downs Til I come into New York town People goin down to the ground Buildings goin up to the sky Wintertime in New York town The wind blowin snow around Walk around with nowhere to go Somebody could freeze right to the bone I froze right to the bone New York Times said it was the coldest winter in seventeen years I didnt feel so cold then I swung onto my old guitar Grabbed hold of a subway car And after a rocking, reeling, rolling ride I landed up on the downtown side Greenwich Village I walked down there and ended up In one of them coffee-houses on the block Got on the stage to sing and play Man there said, Come back some other day You sound like a hillbilly We want folk singers here Well, I got a harmonica job, begun to play Blowin my lungs out for a dollar a day I blowed inside out and upside down The man there said he loved m sound He was ravin about how he loved m sound Dollar a days worth And after weeks and weeks of hangin around I finally got a job in New York town In a bigger place, bigger money too Even joined the union and paid m dues Now, a very great man once said That some people rob you with a fountain pen It didnt take too long to find out Just what he was talkin about A lot of people dont have much food on their table But they got a lot of forks n knives And they gotta cut somethin So one mornin when the sun was warm I rambled out of New York town Pulled my cap down over my eyes And headed out for the western skies So long, New York Howdy, East Orange Im out here a thousand miles from my home Walkin a road other men have gone down Im seein your world of people and things Your paupers and peasants and princes and kings Hey, hey, Woody Guthrie, I wrote you a song Bout a funny ol world thats a-comin along Seems sick an its hungry, its tired an its torn It looks like its a-dyin an its hardly been born Hey, Woody Guthrie, but I know that you know All the things that Im a-sayin an a-many times more Im a-singin you the song, but I cant sing enough Cause theres not many men that done the things that youve done Heres to Cisco an Sonny an Leadbelly too An to all the good people that traveled with you Heres to the hearts and the hands of the men That come with the dust and are gone with the wind Im a-leavin tomorrow, but I could leave today Somewhere down the road someday The very last thing that Id want to do Is to say Ive been hittin some hard travelin too Come you ladies and you gentlemen, a-listen to my song Sing it to you right, but you might think its wrong Just a little glimpse of a story Ill tell Bout an East Coast city that you all know well Its hard times in the city Livin down in New York town Old New York City is a friendly old town From Washington Heights to Harlem on down Theres a-mighty many people all millin all around Theyll kick you when youre up and knock you when youre down Its hard times in the city Livin down in New York town Its a mighty long ways from the Golden Gate To Rockefeller Plaza n the Empire State Mister Rockefeller sets up as high as a bird Old Mister Empire never says a word Its hard times from the country Livin down in New York town Well, its up in the mornin tryin to find a job of work Stand in one place till your feet begin to hurt If you got a lot o money you can make yourself merry If you only got a nickel, its the Staten Island Ferry And its hard times in the city 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 F I had my way Id sell it right back And its hard times in the city Livin down in New York town Ill take all the smog in Cal-i-for-ne-ay N every bit of dust in the Oklahoma plains N the dirt in the caves of the Rocky Mountain mines Its all much cleaner than the New York kind And its hard times in the city Livin down in New York town So all you newsy people, spread the news around You cn listen to m story, listen to m song You cn step on my name, you cn try n get me beat When I leave New York, Ill be standin on my feet And its hard times in the city Livin down in New York town I saw it advertised one day Bear Mountain picnic was comin my way Come along n take a trip Well bring you up there on a ship Bring the wife and kids Bring the whole family Yippee! Well, I run right down n bought a ticket To this Bear Mountain Picnic But little did I realize I was in for a picnic surprise Had nothin to do with mountains I didnt even come close to a bear Took the wife n kids down to the pier Six thousand people there Everybody had a ticket for the trip Oh well, I said, its a pretty big ship Besides, anyway, the more the merrier Well, we all got on n what dya think That big old boat started t sink More people kept a-pilin on That old ship was a-slowly goin down Funny way t start a picnic Well, I soon lost track of m kids n wife So many people there I never saw in m life That old ship sinkin down in the water Six thousand people tryin t kill each other Dogs a-barkin, cats a-meowin Women screamin, fists a-flyin, babies cryin Cops a-comin, me a-runnin Maybe we just better call off the picnic I got shoved down n pushed around All I could hear there was a screamin sound Dont remember one thing more Just remember wakin up on a little shore Head busted, stomach cracked Feet splintered, I was bald, naked... Quite lucky to be alive though Feelin like I climbed outa m casket I grabbed back hold of m picnic basket Took the wife n kids n started home Wishin Id never got up that morn Now, I dont care just what you do If you wanta have a picnic, thats up t you But dont tell me about it, I dont wanta hear it Cause, see, I just lost all m picnic spirit Stay in m kitchen, have m own picnic... In the bathroom Now, it dont seem to me quite so funny What some people are gonna do fr money Theres a bran new gimmick every day Just t take somebodys money away I think we oughta take some o these people And put em on a boat, send em up to Bear Mountain... For a picnic Come around you rovin gamblers and a story I will tell About the greatest gambler, you all should know him well His name was Will OConley and he gambled all his life He had twenty-seven children, yet he never had a wife And its ride, Willie, ride Roll, Willie, roll Wherever you are a-gamblin now, nobody really knows He gambled in the White House and in the railroad yards Wherever there was people, there was Willie and his cards He had the reputation as the gamblinest man around Wives would keep their husbands home when Willie came to town And its ride, Willie, ride Roll, Willie, roll Wherever you are a-gamblin now, nobody really knows Sailin down the Mississippi to a town called New Orleans Theyre still talkin about their card game on that Jackson River Queen Ive come to win some money, Gamblin Willie says When the game finally ended up, the whole damn boat was his And its ride, Willie, ride Roll, Willie, roll Wherever you are a-gamblin now, nobody really knows 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 its ride, Willie, ride Roll, Willie, roll Wherever you are a-gamblin now, nobody really knows 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 its ride, Willie, ride Roll, Willie, roll Wherever you are a-gamblin now, nobody really knows 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 didnt even have a pair And its ride, Willie, ride Roll, Willie, roll Wherever you are a-gamblin now, nobody really knows 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 Willies cards fell on the floor, they were aces backed with eights And its ride, Willie, ride Roll, Willie, roll Wherever you are a-gamblin now, nobody really knows So all you rovin gamblers, wherever you might be The moral of the story is very plain to see Make your money while you can, before you have to stop For when you pull that dead mans hand, your gamblin days are up And its ride, Willie, ride Roll, Willie, roll Wherever you are a-gamblin now, nobody really knows