Released: June 26, 1975
Songwriter: Robbie Robertson
Producer: Bob Dylan The Band
Stranded out in the night
Eliza took me down
To see the widow give
Rain to the town
It's against the law
To be a tonic man
But the widow knows
She's got the upper hand
So I went on in
Feelin' kinda wheezy
You know she soothed my mind, boys
She rocked me kinda slow and easy
All day and all night
Pick a card before you go
It's a long trip to Mexico
Eliza wait by the door
I can't stay here anymore, no, no
Then she took a pill
She washed her feet in the mud
She said "Look out, son
You know, I just ordered a flood
For forty days and forty nights"
Then I dropped my shoes
Eliza called my name
She said it looked to her
Like it's gonna rain
Then the cotton king
Came in chokin'
And the widow laughed and said:
"I ain't jokin'
Take once for all"
She said "Now don't ya tease me
I just fell in love, boy
So rock me kinda slow and kinda easy
All day and all night"
Sweet William said
With a drunken head:
"If I had a boat
I'd help y'all float"
Eliza stood there watching
William in a trance
As the widow did
The St. Vitus dance
But just then an old man
With a boat named "Breezy"
Said, "You can ride with Clyde, boys
If you rock it kinda slow and easy
All day and all night"
Eliza took me down
To see the widow give
Rain to the town
It's against the law
To be a tonic man
But the widow knows
She's got the upper hand
So I went on in
Feelin' kinda wheezy
You know she soothed my mind, boys
She rocked me kinda slow and easy
All day and all night
Pick a card before you go
It's a long trip to Mexico
Eliza wait by the door
I can't stay here anymore, no, no
Then she took a pill
She washed her feet in the mud
She said "Look out, son
You know, I just ordered a flood
For forty days and forty nights"
Then I dropped my shoes
Eliza called my name
She said it looked to her
Like it's gonna rain
Then the cotton king
Came in chokin'
And the widow laughed and said:
"I ain't jokin'
Take once for all"
She said "Now don't ya tease me
I just fell in love, boy
So rock me kinda slow and kinda easy
All day and all night"
Sweet William said
With a drunken head:
"If I had a boat
I'd help y'all float"
Eliza stood there watching
William in a trance
As the widow did
The St. Vitus dance
But just then an old man
With a boat named "Breezy"
Said, "You can ride with Clyde, boys
If you rock it kinda slow and easy
All day and all night"
more tracks from the album
The Basement Tapes
- Tears of Rage
- Tiny Montgomery
- Don’t Ya Tell Henry
- Nothing Was Delivered
- Open the Door, Homer
- This Wheel’s on Fire
- Orange Juice Blues (Blues for Breakfast)
- Katie’s Been Gone
- Yazoo Street Scandal
- Bessie Smith
- Long Distance Operator
- Ain’t No More Cane
- Yea! Heavy and a Bottle of Bread
- You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere
- Crash on the Levee (Down in the Flood)
- Odds and Ends
- Million Dollar Bash
- Goin’ to Acapulco
- Lo and Behold!
- Clothes Line Saga
- Apple Suckling Tree
- Please, Mrs. Henry
- Too Much of Nothing
- Ruben Remus
From the album
- The Basement Tapes (1975)
Bob Dylan & The Band popular songs
- You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere
- This Wheel’s on Fire
- Tears of Rage
- Katie’s Been Gone
- Yazoo Street Scandal
- Orange Juice Blues (Blues for Breakfast)
- Bessie Smith
- Long Distance Operator
- Ruben Remus
- Crash on the Levee (Down in the Flood)
- Odds and Ends
- Million Dollar Bash
- Goin’ to Acapulco
- Lo and Behold!
- Clothes Line Saga
- Apple Suckling Tree
- Please, Mrs. Henry
- Too Much of Nothing
- Yea! Heavy and a Bottle of Bread
- Ain’t No More Cane
- Tiny Montgomery
- Don’t Ya Tell Henry
- Nothing Was Delivered
- Open the Door, Homer