Released: March 8, 1965
Songwriter: Bob Dylan
Producer: Tom Wilson (producer)
[Verse 1]
Johnny's in the basement, mixin' up the medicine
I'm on the pavement, thinkin' about the government
The man in a trench coat, badge out, laid off
Says he's got a bad cough, wants to get it paid off
Look out kid, it's somethin' you did
God knows when, but you're doin' it again
You better duck down the alleyway, looking for a new friend
The man in the coon-skin cap in a pig pen
Wants 11 dollar bills – you only got 10
[Verse 2]
Maggie comes fleet foot, face full of black soot
Talkin' that the heat put plants in the bed, but
Phone's tapped anyway
Maggie says the many say
They must bust in early May
Orders from the D.A
Look out kid, don't matter what you did
Walk on your tip toes, don’t tie no bows
Better stay away from those that carry around a fire hose
Keep a clean nose, watch the plainclothes
You don't need a weather man to know which way the wind blows
[Verse 3]
Oh, get sick, get well, hang around a ink well
Hang bail, hard to tell if anything is gonna sell
Try hard, get barred, get back, ride rail
Get jailed, jump bail, join the Army if you fail
Look out kid, you're gonna get hit
By losers, cheaters, six-time users
Hanging 'round the theaters
Girl by the whirlpool's looking for a new fool
Don't follow leaders, a-watch the parking meters
[Verse 4]
Oh, get born, keep warm
Short pants, romance
Learn to dance, get dressed
Get blessed, try to be a success
Please her, please him, buy gifts
Don't steal, don't lift
20 years of schoolin' and they put you on the day shift
Look out kid, they keep it all hid
Better jump down a manhole, light yourself a candle
Don't wear sandals, try to avoid the scandals
Don't want to be a bum, you better chew gum
The pump don't work 'cause the vandals took the handles
Johnny's in the basement, mixin' up the medicine
I'm on the pavement, thinkin' about the government
The man in a trench coat, badge out, laid off
Says he's got a bad cough, wants to get it paid off
Look out kid, it's somethin' you did
God knows when, but you're doin' it again
You better duck down the alleyway, looking for a new friend
The man in the coon-skin cap in a pig pen
Wants 11 dollar bills – you only got 10
[Verse 2]
Maggie comes fleet foot, face full of black soot
Talkin' that the heat put plants in the bed, but
Phone's tapped anyway
Maggie says the many say
They must bust in early May
Orders from the D.A
Look out kid, don't matter what you did
Walk on your tip toes, don’t tie no bows
Better stay away from those that carry around a fire hose
Keep a clean nose, watch the plainclothes
You don't need a weather man to know which way the wind blows
[Verse 3]
Oh, get sick, get well, hang around a ink well
Hang bail, hard to tell if anything is gonna sell
Try hard, get barred, get back, ride rail
Get jailed, jump bail, join the Army if you fail
Look out kid, you're gonna get hit
By losers, cheaters, six-time users
Hanging 'round the theaters
Girl by the whirlpool's looking for a new fool
Don't follow leaders, a-watch the parking meters
[Verse 4]
Oh, get born, keep warm
Short pants, romance
Learn to dance, get dressed
Get blessed, try to be a success
Please her, please him, buy gifts
Don't steal, don't lift
20 years of schoolin' and they put you on the day shift
Look out kid, they keep it all hid
Better jump down a manhole, light yourself a candle
Don't wear sandals, try to avoid the scandals
Don't want to be a bum, you better chew gum
The pump don't work 'cause the vandals took the handles
The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991
- Tangled Up in Blue (Alternate take)
- Nobody ’Cept You
- Wallflower
- Santa Fé
- She’s Your Lover Now
- Sitting on a Barbed Wire Fence
- If You Gotta Go, Go Now
- Suze (The Cough Song)
- Eternal Circle
- Seven Curses
- Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie
- Moonshiner
- Only a Hobo
- Call Letter Blues
- Golden Loom
- Catfish
- Worried Blues
- Man on the Street
- Series of Dreams
- Foot of Pride
- Lord Protect My Child
- Tell Me
- Someone’s Got a Hold of My Heart
- Angelina
- Need a Woman
- You Changed My Life
- Ye Shall Be Changed
- Seven Days
- Who Killed Davey Moore?
- Paths of Victory
- Idiot Wind
- When the Ship Comes In
- Talkin’ John Birch Paranoid Blues
- Rambling Gambling Willie
- Let Me Die in My Footsteps
- Every Grain of Sand
- He Was a Friend of Mine
- It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry
- Blind Willie McTell
- The Times They Are A-Changin’
- Like a Rolling Stone
- Talkin’ Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues
- Mama, You Been on My Mind
- Farewell, Angelina
- If Not for You
- Walls of Red Wing
- Walkin’ Down the Line
- Kingsport Town
- Quit Your Low Down Ways
- Talkin’ Hava Negeilah Blues
- House Carpenter
- No More Auction Block
- Hard Times in New York Town (Demo)
- I’ll Keep It with Mine
- When the Night Comes Falling from the Sky
- If You See Her, Say Hello
- I Shall Be Released
- Subterranean Homesick Blues
- 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