BOB DYLAN: Rough and Rowdy (2020)

1. I Contain Multitudes

2. False Prophet

3. My Own Version of You

4. I've Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You

5. Black Rider

6. Goodbye Jimmy Reed

7. Mother of Muses

8. Crossing the Rubicon

9. Key West (Philosopher Pirate)

10. Murder Most Foul

I CONTAIN MULTITUDES

Today, tomorrow, and yesterday, too

The flowers are dyin' like all things do

Follow me close, I'm going to Bally-Na-Lee

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

A 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

I rollick and I 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 a boulevard of crime

I drive fast cars and I eat fast foods

I contain multitudes

Pink pedad-pushers red blue jeans

All the pretty maids and all the old queens

All the old queens grom 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 preludes

I conatin multitudes

FALSE PROPHET

Another day without end - another ship going 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

I’m the enemy of treason - the 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

I’m last of the best - you can bury the rest

Bury ’em naked with their silver and gold

Put ’em six feet under and then pray for their souls

What are you lookin’ at - there’s nothing to see

Just a cool breeze encircling me

Let’s walk in the garden - so far and so wide

We can sit in the shade by the fountain side

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 here to bring vengeance on somebody’s head

I’ve searched the world over for the Holy Grail

I sing songs of love - I sing songs of betrayal

Don’t care what I drink - don’t care what I eat

I climbed a mountain of swords on my bare feet

Put out your hand - there’s nothin’ 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 - Hello and goodbye

You rule the land but so do I

You lusty old mule - you got a poisoned brain

I’m gonna’ marry you to a ball and chain

You know darlin’ the kind of life that I live

When your smile meets my smile - somethings got to give

I ain’t no false prophet - I’m nobody’s bride

Can’t remember when I was born and I forgot when I died

MY OWN VERSION OF YOU

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 in a tank and get a robot commando

If I do it upright 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 at 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 to all things that I 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 moonlight 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 were sold into slavery

Long before the first Crusade

Way back before England or America were made

Step right into the burning 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 jumpstart my creation to life

I wanna bring someone to life, turn back the years

Do it with laughter and do it with tears

I'VE MADE UP MY MIND TO GIVE MYSELF TO YOU

I'm sittin' 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 else 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 eye is like a shooting star

It looks at nothin' here or there, looks at nothin' near or 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 traveled a long road of despair

I 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, 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

GOODBYE JIMMY REED

I live on a street named after a Saint

Women in the churches wear powder and paint

Where the Jews, and 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, 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

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

CROSSING THE RUBICON

I crossed the Rubicon on the 14th 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 can greet the goddess of the dawn

I've 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

Mona, baby, are you still in 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

KEY WEST (PHILOSOPHER PIRATE)

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 going down slow

‪I heard it on 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

‪Tiny 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 Fishtail Palms, and the orchid trees

‪They can give you that bleeding heart disease

‪People tell me I ought to try a little tenderness

‪On Amelia 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 from the convent home

I do what I think is right, what I think is best

Mystery 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

MURDER MOST FOUL

‘Twas a dark day in Dallas - November ‘63

The day that will live on in infamy

President Kennedy was riding high

A good day to be living and a good day to die

Being led to the slaughter like a sacrificial lamb

Say wait a minute boys, do you know who I am?

Of course we do, we know who you are

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

Shot down like a dog in broad daylight

‘Twas a matter of timing and the timing was right

You got unpaid debts and we’ve come to collect

We’re gon’ kill you with hatred and without any respect

We’ll mock you and shock you, we’ll grin in your face

We’ve already got someone here to take your place

The day that they blew out the brains of the king

Thousands were watching, 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 murder most foul

Hush li’l children, you’ll soon understand

The Beatles are coming they’re gonna hold your hand

Slide down the bannister, 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 going to Woodstock, it’s the Aquarian Age

Then I’ll go over to Altamont and sit near the stage

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

There’s a party going on behind the grassy knoll

Stack up the bricks and 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

Black face singer - white face clown

Better not show your faces after the sun goes down

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

Living in a nightmare on Elm Street

When you’re down on deep Ellum put your money in your shoe

Don’t ask what your country can do for you

Cash on the barrel head, money to burn

Dealey Plaza, make a left hand turn

I’m going to the crossroads, gonna flag a ride

That’s the place where Faith, Hope and Charity died

Shoot ‘em while he runs, boy, shoot ‘em 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, says the wise old owl

Business is business and it’s murder most foul

Tommy can you hear me, I’m the Acid Queen

I’m ridin’ in a long black Lincoln limousine

Ridin’ in the back seat, next to my wife

Heading straight on into the afterlife

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

Oh Lord, I’ve been led into some kind of a trap

We ask no quarter, no quarter do we give

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

They mutilated his body and took out his brain

What more could they do, they piled on the pain

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

For the last fifty years they’ve been searching for that

Freedom, oh freedom, freedom over me

Hate to tell you, Mister, but only dead men are free

Send me some loving - tell me no lie

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’s 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

I never shot anyone from in front or behind

Got blood in my eyes, 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, 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 anti-Christ has just only begun.”

Air Force One coming in through the gate

Johnson sworn in at two thirty-eight

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 - wha’d I say

I said the soul of a nation been torn away

It’s beginning to go down 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 that Only The Good Die Young

Take me to the place where Tom Dooley was hung

Play St. James Infirmary in the court of King James

If you want to remember, 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 - Goin’ Down Slow

Play it for me and for Marilyn Monroe

And please, Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood

Play it for the First Lady, she ain’t feeling that good

Play Don Henley - play Glenn Frey

Take it to the Limit and let it go by

And play it for Carl Wilson, too

Lookin’ 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 G-d 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’s got no master

Play Oscar Peterson and play Stan Getz

Play Blue Sky, play Dickie Betts

Play Art Pepper, play 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 all the numbers, play all 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 the Merchant of Venice, play the merchants of death

Play Stella by Starlight for Lady Macbeth

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

Your brothers are comin’, there’ll be hell to pay

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

Tell ‘em we’re waitin’- keep coming - we’ll get ‘em as well

Love Field is where his plane touched down

But it never did get back up off of 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 in his grave

Play Jelly Roll Morton, play Lucille

Play Deep in a Dream and play Drivin’ Wheel

Play Moonlight Sonata in F sharp

And Key to the Highway by the king of the harp

Play Marchin’ Through Georgia and Dumbarton’s drum

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