Released: March 26, 1991
Songwriter: Bob Dylan
Producer: Jeff Rosen
[Chorus]
Who killed Davey Moore?
Why, and what’s the reason for?
[Verse 1]
“Not I,” says the referee
“Don’t point your finger at me
I could’ve stopped it in the eighth
And maybe kept him from his fate
But the crowd would’ve booed, I’m sure
At not getting their money’s worth
It’s too bad he had to go
But there was a pressure on me too, you know
It wasn’t me that made him fall
No, you can’t blame me at all”
[Chorus]
Who killed Davey Moore?
Why, and what’s the reason for?
[Verse 2]
“Not us,” says the angry crowd
Whose screams filled the arena loud
“It’s too bad he died that night
But we just like to see a fight
We didn’t mean for him to meet his death
We just meant to see some sweat
There is nothing wrong in that
It wasn’t us that made him fall
No, you can’t blame us at all”
[Chorus]
Who killed Davey Moore?
Why, and what’s the reason for?
[Verse 3]
“Not me,” says his manager
Puffing on a big cigar
“It’s hard to say, it’s hard to tell
I always thought that he was well
It’s too bad for his wife an’ kids he’s dead
But if he was sick, he should’ve said
It wasn’t me that made him fall
No, you can’t blame me at all”
[Chorus]
Who killed Davey Moore?
Why, and what’s the reason for?
[Verse 4]
“Not me,” says the gambling man
With his ticket stub still in his hand
“It wasn’t me that knocked him down
My hands never touched him none
I didn’t commit no ugly sin
Anyway, I put money on him to win
It wasn’t me that made him fall
No, you can’t blame me at all”
[Chorus]
Who killed Davey Moore?
Why, and what’s the reason for?
[Verse 5]
“Not me,” says the boxing writer
Pounding print on his old typewriter
Saying, “Boxing is not to blame
There’s just as much danger in a football game”
Saying, “Fist fighting is here to stay
It’s just the old American way
It wasn’t me that made him fall
No, you can’t blame me at all”
[Chorus]
Who killed Davey Moore?
Why, and what’s the reason for?
[Verse 6]
“Not me,” says the man whose fists
Laid him low in a cloud of mist
Who came here from Cuba’s door
Where boxing is not allowed no more
“I hit him, yes, it’s true
But that’s what I am paid to do
Don’t say ‘murder,’ don’t say ‘kill’
It was destiny, it was God’s will”
[Chorus]
Who killed Davey Moore?
Why, and what’s the reason for?
Who killed Davey Moore?
Why, and what’s the reason for?
[Verse 1]
“Not I,” says the referee
“Don’t point your finger at me
I could’ve stopped it in the eighth
And maybe kept him from his fate
But the crowd would’ve booed, I’m sure
At not getting their money’s worth
It’s too bad he had to go
But there was a pressure on me too, you know
It wasn’t me that made him fall
No, you can’t blame me at all”
[Chorus]
Who killed Davey Moore?
Why, and what’s the reason for?
[Verse 2]
“Not us,” says the angry crowd
Whose screams filled the arena loud
“It’s too bad he died that night
But we just like to see a fight
We didn’t mean for him to meet his death
We just meant to see some sweat
There is nothing wrong in that
It wasn’t us that made him fall
No, you can’t blame us at all”
[Chorus]
Who killed Davey Moore?
Why, and what’s the reason for?
[Verse 3]
“Not me,” says his manager
Puffing on a big cigar
“It’s hard to say, it’s hard to tell
I always thought that he was well
It’s too bad for his wife an’ kids he’s dead
But if he was sick, he should’ve said
It wasn’t me that made him fall
No, you can’t blame me at all”
[Chorus]
Who killed Davey Moore?
Why, and what’s the reason for?
[Verse 4]
“Not me,” says the gambling man
With his ticket stub still in his hand
“It wasn’t me that knocked him down
My hands never touched him none
I didn’t commit no ugly sin
Anyway, I put money on him to win
It wasn’t me that made him fall
No, you can’t blame me at all”
[Chorus]
Who killed Davey Moore?
Why, and what’s the reason for?
[Verse 5]
“Not me,” says the boxing writer
Pounding print on his old typewriter
Saying, “Boxing is not to blame
There’s just as much danger in a football game”
Saying, “Fist fighting is here to stay
It’s just the old American way
It wasn’t me that made him fall
No, you can’t blame me at all”
[Chorus]
Who killed Davey Moore?
Why, and what’s the reason for?
[Verse 6]
“Not me,” says the man whose fists
Laid him low in a cloud of mist
Who came here from Cuba’s door
Where boxing is not allowed no more
“I hit him, yes, it’s true
But that’s what I am paid to do
Don’t say ‘murder,’ don’t say ‘kill’
It was destiny, it was God’s will”
[Chorus]
Who killed Davey Moore?
Why, and what’s the reason for?
more tracks from the album
The Bootleg Series Vol. 6: Bob Dylan Live 1964, Concert at Philharmonic Hall
- The Times They Are A-Changin’
- If You Gotta Go, Go Now
- Who Killed Davey Moore?
- Mama, You Been on My Mind
- It Ain’t Me Babe
- To Ramona
- Spanish Harlem Incident
- All I Really Want to Do
- The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
- With God on Our Side
- Talkin’ John Birch Paranoid Blues
- I Don’t Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)
- A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall
- Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
- It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)
- Gates of Eden
- Mr. Tambourine Man
- Talkin’ World War III Blues
- Silver Dagger
From the albums
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