Released: June 10, 1985
Songwriter: Bob Dylan
Producer: Bob Dylan
[Verse 1]
Everybody wants to know why he couldn’t adjust
Adjust to what, a dream that bust?
[Chorus]
He was a clean-cut kid
But they made a killer out of him
That’s what they did
[Verse 2]
They said what’s up is down, they said what isn’t is
They put ideas in his head he thought were his
[Chorus]
[Verse 3]
He was on the baseball team, he was in the marching band
When he was ten years old he had a watermelon stand
[Chorus]
[Verse 4]
He went to church on Sunday, he was a Boy Scout
For his friends he would turn his pockets inside out
[Chorus]
[Verse 5]
They said, “Listen boy, you’re just a pup”
They sent him to a napalm health spa to shape up
They gave him dope to smoke, drinks and pills
A jeep to drive, blood to spill
They said “Congratulations, you got what it takes”
They sent him back into the rat race without any brakes
[Chorus]
[Verse 6]
He bought the American dream but it put him in debt
The only game he could play was Russian roulette
He drank Coca-Cola, he was eating Wonder Bread
Ate Burger Kings, he was well fed
He went to Hollywood to see Peter O’Toole
He stole a Rolls-Royce and drove it in a swimming pool
[Chorus]
[Verse 7]
He could’ve sold insurance, owned a restaurant or bar
Could’ve been an accountant or a tennis star
He was wearing boxing gloves, took a dive one day
Off the Golden Gate Bridge into China Bay
His mama walks the floor, his daddy weeps and moans
They got to sleep together in a home they don’t own
[Chorus]
[Verse 8]
Well, everybody’s asking why he couldn’t adjust
All he ever wanted was somebody to trust
They took his head and turned it inside out
He never did know what it was all about
He had a steady job, he joined the choir
He never did plan to walk the high wire
[Chorus]
Everybody wants to know why he couldn’t adjust
Adjust to what, a dream that bust?
[Chorus]
He was a clean-cut kid
But they made a killer out of him
That’s what they did
[Verse 2]
They said what’s up is down, they said what isn’t is
They put ideas in his head he thought were his
[Chorus]
[Verse 3]
He was on the baseball team, he was in the marching band
When he was ten years old he had a watermelon stand
[Chorus]
[Verse 4]
He went to church on Sunday, he was a Boy Scout
For his friends he would turn his pockets inside out
[Chorus]
[Verse 5]
They said, “Listen boy, you’re just a pup”
They sent him to a napalm health spa to shape up
They gave him dope to smoke, drinks and pills
A jeep to drive, blood to spill
They said “Congratulations, you got what it takes”
They sent him back into the rat race without any brakes
[Chorus]
[Verse 6]
He bought the American dream but it put him in debt
The only game he could play was Russian roulette
He drank Coca-Cola, he was eating Wonder Bread
Ate Burger Kings, he was well fed
He went to Hollywood to see Peter O’Toole
He stole a Rolls-Royce and drove it in a swimming pool
[Chorus]
[Verse 7]
He could’ve sold insurance, owned a restaurant or bar
Could’ve been an accountant or a tennis star
He was wearing boxing gloves, took a dive one day
Off the Golden Gate Bridge into China Bay
His mama walks the floor, his daddy weeps and moans
They got to sleep together in a home they don’t own
[Chorus]
[Verse 8]
Well, everybody’s asking why he couldn’t adjust
All he ever wanted was somebody to trust
They took his head and turned it inside out
He never did know what it was all about
He had a steady job, he joined the choir
He never did plan to walk the high wire
[Chorus]
more tracks from the album
From the album
- Empire Burlesque (1985)
Bob Dylan popular songs
- Murder Most Foul
- Blowin’ in the Wind
- The Times They Are A-Changin’
- All Along the Watchtower
- Like a Rolling Stone
- Make You Feel My Love
- Hurricane
- Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
- Mr. Tambourine Man
- A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall
- Subterranean Homesick Blues
- Desolation Row
- Tangled Up in Blue
- Masters of War
- Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
- It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)
- Girl from the North Country
- Tempest
- It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue
- Ballad of a Thin Man
- Visions of Johanna
- I Contain Multitudes
- To Fall in Love with You
- Shelter from the Storm