The Band

Released: August 15, 1972

Featuring: Bob Dylan

Songwriter: Bob Dylan

Producer: The Band

Crash on the levee, mama
Water's gonna overflow
Swamp's gonna rise
No boat's gonna row
Now, you can train on down
To Williams Point
You can bust your feet
You can rock this joint
But oh mama, ain't you gonna miss your best friend now?
You're gonna have to find yourself
Another best friend, somehow

Now, don't you try an' move me
You're just gonna lose
There's a crash on the levee
And, mama, you've been refused
Well, it's sugar for sugar
And salt for salt
If you go down in the flood
It's gonna be your own fault
Oh mama, ain't you gonna miss your best friend now?
You're gonna have to find yourself
Another best friend, somehow

Well, that high tide's risin'
Mama, don't you let me down
Pack up your suitcase
Mama, don't you make a sound
Now, it's king for king
Queen for queen
It's gonna be the meanest flood
That anybody's seen
Oh mama, ain't you gonna miss your best friend now?
Yes, you're gonna have to find yourself
Another best friend, somehow

The Band was a Canadian-American rock group, consisting of Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, Robbie Robertson and Levon Helm. The members first met when they joined Ronnie Hawkins' Ontario-based group “The Hawks.” After separating, they were picked up by Bob Dylan for his 1965 US Tour, and then for the 1966 World Tour.

Their relationship with Dylan helped the group move to New York, where they collaborated with him on music that would end up becoming some of the most sought-after bootlegs of the time; namely, the 1975-released project known as The Basement Tapes. They followed up these sessions with the release of their debut album, 1968’s Music From Big Pink.

They have garnered numerous accolades and critical praise over the years, including a 1994 induction into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and a 2008 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Rolling Stone magazine ranked them at number 50 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of all Time. Additionally, 1968’s “The Weight” was ranked at number 41 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

more tracks from the album

Rock of Ages (The Band in Concert)

From the album

Rock of Ages (The Band in Concert) (1972)

The Band popular songs

Down in the Flood [Live at the Academy of Music]The Band

The Band

Rock of Ages (The Band in Concert)