Released: October 16, 1989
Songwriter: Bob Dylan
Producer: Grateful Dead
Well, the ragman, he draws circles, up and down the block
I'd ask him what's the matter, but I know he don't talk
And the ladies they treat me kindly, and they furnish me with tape
But deep inside my heart, I, I know I can't escape
Oh, mama, can this really be the end?
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
Now, Shakespeare he's in the alley
With his pointed shoes and bell
Speaking with some French girl, who says she knows me well
And I would send a message, to find out if she's talked
But the post office has been stolen, and the mailbox is locked
Oh, oh mama, can this really be the end?
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
[Instrumental break]
Now, Mona tried to warn me, said stay away from the railroad line
She says all the railroad men, they drink up your blood like wine
And I said, "Oh I didn't know that"
But then again there's only one I've met
And he just smoked my eyelids, and he punched my cigarette
Oh, ph mama, can this really be the end?
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
Grandpa, he died last week, and they buried him in the rocks
Now, everyone still talks about how badly they are shocked
But me, I expected it to happen, I knew he'd lost control
When he built a fire on Main Street, and he shot it full of holes
Oh, mama, can this really be the end?
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
[Instrumental break]
Now the senator, he came down here, showing everyone his gun
Handing out free tickets to the wedding of his son
And me, I nearly got busted, and wouldn't it be my luck
To get caught without a ticket and be discovered beneath a truck
Oh, mama, can this really be the end?
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
Now the preacher, he looks so baffled
When I asked him why he dressed
With twenty pounds of headlines stapled to his chest
But he cursed me when I proved it to him
Then I said, "See, not even you can hide
You see, you're just like me, and I hope you're satisfied"
Oh, oh mama, can this really be the end?
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
Now the rainman gave me two cures, then he said, "Jump right in"
The first was Texas medicine, the second was just railroad gin
But like a fool I mixed them, and it strangled up my mind
And now people just get uglier, and I've got no sense of time
Ooh, mama, can this really be the end?
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
[Instrumental break]
And when Ruthie says come see me in a honky-tonk lagoon
Where I can watch her waltz for free, 'neath her Panamanian moon
And I said, "Oh come on now, you know about my debutante"
And she says, "Your debutante knows just what you need
But I know what you want"
Oh, mama, can this really be the end?
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
The bricks, they lay on Grand Street, where the neon madmen climb
They all fall there so perfectly, it all seems so well timed
And here I sit so patiently, waiting to find out what price
You have to pay to get out of
Going through all of these things twice, twice
Oh mama, can this really be the end?
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
Oh, mama, can this really be the end?
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
I'd ask him what's the matter, but I know he don't talk
And the ladies they treat me kindly, and they furnish me with tape
But deep inside my heart, I, I know I can't escape
Oh, mama, can this really be the end?
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
Now, Shakespeare he's in the alley
With his pointed shoes and bell
Speaking with some French girl, who says she knows me well
And I would send a message, to find out if she's talked
But the post office has been stolen, and the mailbox is locked
Oh, oh mama, can this really be the end?
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
[Instrumental break]
Now, Mona tried to warn me, said stay away from the railroad line
She says all the railroad men, they drink up your blood like wine
And I said, "Oh I didn't know that"
But then again there's only one I've met
And he just smoked my eyelids, and he punched my cigarette
Oh, ph mama, can this really be the end?
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
Grandpa, he died last week, and they buried him in the rocks
Now, everyone still talks about how badly they are shocked
But me, I expected it to happen, I knew he'd lost control
When he built a fire on Main Street, and he shot it full of holes
Oh, mama, can this really be the end?
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
[Instrumental break]
Now the senator, he came down here, showing everyone his gun
Handing out free tickets to the wedding of his son
And me, I nearly got busted, and wouldn't it be my luck
To get caught without a ticket and be discovered beneath a truck
Oh, mama, can this really be the end?
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
Now the preacher, he looks so baffled
When I asked him why he dressed
With twenty pounds of headlines stapled to his chest
But he cursed me when I proved it to him
Then I said, "See, not even you can hide
You see, you're just like me, and I hope you're satisfied"
Oh, oh mama, can this really be the end?
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
Now the rainman gave me two cures, then he said, "Jump right in"
The first was Texas medicine, the second was just railroad gin
But like a fool I mixed them, and it strangled up my mind
And now people just get uglier, and I've got no sense of time
Ooh, mama, can this really be the end?
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
[Instrumental break]
And when Ruthie says come see me in a honky-tonk lagoon
Where I can watch her waltz for free, 'neath her Panamanian moon
And I said, "Oh come on now, you know about my debutante"
And she says, "Your debutante knows just what you need
But I know what you want"
Oh, mama, can this really be the end?
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
The bricks, they lay on Grand Street, where the neon madmen climb
They all fall there so perfectly, it all seems so well timed
And here I sit so patiently, waiting to find out what price
You have to pay to get out of
Going through all of these things twice, twice
Oh mama, can this really be the end?
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
Oh, mama, can this really be the end?
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
- Nightfall of Diamonds (2001)
- When I Paint My Masterpiece
- Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again
- All Along the Watchtower
- Ballad of a Thin Man
- Queen Jane Approximately
- Maggie’s Farm
- Man of Peace
- Gimme Some Lovin’ (Live at Knickerbocker Arena, Albany, NY, March 26, 1990)
- When I Paint My Masterpiece (Live)
- Dear Mr. Fantasy
- Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)
- Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
- Desolation Row
- It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry
- Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues
- She Belongs to Me
- When I Paint My Masterpiece (Live at Knickerbocker Arena, March 1990)
- All Along the Watchtower (Live at Knickerbocker Arena, March 1990)
- Second That Emotion (Live at Fillmore East NYC April 1971)
- Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again (Live at the Meadowlands, October 16, 1989)
- Tomorrow Never Knows (Live at Oakland Coliseum Arena, Oakland, CA, December 16, 1992)
- Gimme Some Lovin’ (Live at Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, VA, November 1, 1985)
- Dear Mr. Fantasy (Live at Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA, March 27, 1988)
- Dear Mr. Fantasy (Live at Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ, April 1, 1988)