Released: August 24, 1993

Songwriter: Bob Dylan

Producer: Don DeVito Jeff Rosen

Like the lion tears the flesh off of a man
So can a woman who passes herself off as a male
They sang "Danny Boy" at his funeral and the Lord's Prayer
Preacher talking 'bout Christ betrayed
Like the earth just opened and swallowed him up
Reached too high, was thrown back to the ground
You know what they say about bein' nice to the right people on the way up
Sooner or later you gonna meet them comin' down

Oh, there ain't no comin' back when your foot of pride come down
Ain't no comin' back
Oh, no, comin' back when your foot of pride come down
Ain't no comin' back

They got a brother named James, don't forget faces or names
Sunken cheeks and his blood is mixed
He looked straight into the sun and said revenge is mine
But he drinks, and drinks can be fixed
Sing me one more song, ha, about ya love me to the moon and the stranger
And your fall by the sword love affair with Erroll Flynn
In these times of compassion when conformity's in fashion
Say, one more stupid thing to me before the final nail is driven in

Oh, there ain't no comin' back when your foot of pride come down
Hey, hey, hey, hey
Oh, baby, ain't no comin' back when your foot of pride come down
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, ain't no comin' back

There's a retired businessman named Red...
Cast down from heaven and he's out of his head
He feeds off of everyone that he can touch
He said he only deals in cash or sells tickets to a plane crash
Not somebody that you play around with much Miss Delilah is his
A Philistine is what she is, She'll do wondrous works with your fate
Ah, Feed you coconut bread, spice buns in your bed
If you don't mind sleepin' with your head face down in a grave

Oh, there ain't no comin' back when your foot of pride come down
Baby, hey, hey, hey, hey, ain't no comin' back, oh, oh
There, hey, hey, ain't no comin' back when your foot of pride come down
Oh, oh, ain't no comin' back

Oh, they'll choose a man for you to meet tonight
You'll play the fool and learn how to walk through doors
How to enter into the gates of paradise, no
How to carry a burden too heavy to be yours
Yeah, from the stage they'll be tryin' to get water outta rocks
A whore will pass the hat, collect a hundred grand and say
Hey, hey, hey, thanks
They like to take all this money from sin
Build big universities to study in
Sing "Amazing Grace" all the way to the Swiss banks

Oh, there ain't no comin' back when your foot of pride come down
Hey, hey, hey, ain't no comin' back, baby, ain't no comin' back
Oh, foot of pride come down, ain't no comin' back, ah, ha, ha
Ain't no comin' back

They got some beautiful people out there, man
They can be a terror to your mind
And show you how to hold your tongue
They got mystery written all over their forehead
They kill babies in the crib and say only the good die young
They don't believe in mercy, ah, judgment on them
Is something, something that, something that, you'll never see
Ah, They can exalt you up or bring you down main route
Turn you into anything that they want you to be

Ooohhh, ooohhh, ain't no comin' back when your foot of pride
Ain't no comin' back
Hey, no comin' back when your foot of pride
Ain't, ain't no comin' back

Yes, I guess I loved him too
I can still see him in my mind climbin' that hill
Ah, did he make it to the top, well he probably did and dropped
Struck down by the strength of the will
Ah, ain't nothin' left here partner
Just the dust of a plague, left that whole, left that whole
Town afraid from now on, this'll be where you're from
Let the dead bury the dead, your time will come
Let hot iron blow as he raised the shade

Oh, baby, baby, ain't no comin' back when your foot of pride come down
Oh, oh, oh, oh, ain't no comin' back
Oh, oh, oh, ain't no comin' back, you know that
Foot, foot, foot, foot of pride come down

Oh, ain't no comin' back, ain't no comin' back
Oh, ain't no comin' back, baby, oh, no, no, ain't no comin' back

Lou Reed

Lewis Allan “Lou” Reed was the front man for The Velvet Underground and had a successful solo career spanning several decades.

Lou passed away on October 27, 2013, after undergoing a liver transplant in the spring.