Tryin’ to Get to Heaven – Robyn Hitchcock

The air is getting hotter
There’s a rumbling in the sky
I’m drifting through that high muddy water
With a full moon shining in my eyes

Every day your memory grows dimmer
It don’t haunt me like it did before
I’m in the middle of nowhere
Tryin’ to get to heaven before they close the door

When I was in Missouri
They would not let me be
I had to leave there in a hurry
I only saw what they let me see

You broke the heart that loved you
Now you can see what the book cannot write anymore
I’m just stuck in the half-light
Tryin’ to get to heaven before they close the door

People on the platform
Waiting for the train
I can feel their hearts a-beating
Like pendulums swingin’ on chains

When you think that you’ve lost everything
You find out you can always lose a little more
I’m in the dinosaurs’ waiting room
Tryin’ to get to heaven before they close the door

I’m going down the river
Down to New Orleans
They tell me everything is alright
But I don’t even know what alright means

I was riding in a buggy with Miss Mary Jane
Miss Mary Jane’s got a house in Baltimore
I’ve been to Sugartown; I shook the sugar down
Now I’m tryin’ to get to heaven before they close the door

I’m gonna sleep down in the parlour
And relive my dreams
I close my eyes and I wonder
If everything’s as hollow as it seems

Some trains don’t pull no gamblers
No midnight ramblers like they did before
I’m just goin’ down the road, feelin’ bad
Tryin’ to get to heaven before they close the door

Beyond Here Lies Nothing – Bob Dylan

Oh well, I love you pretty baby
You’re the only love I’ve ever known
Just as long as you stay with me
The whole world is my throne
Beyond here lies nothin’
Nothin’ we can call our own

Well, I’m movin’ after midnight
Down boulevards of broken cars
Don’t know what I’d do without it
Without this love that we call ours
Beyond here lies nothin’
Nothin’ but the moon and stars

Down every street there’s a window
And every window’s made of glass
We’ll keep on lovin’ pretty baby
For as long as love will last
Beyond here lies nothin’
But the mountains of the past

Well, my ship is in the harbor
And the sails are spread
Listen to me, pretty baby
Lay your hand upon my head
Beyond here lies nothin’
Nothin’ done and nothin’ said

NE PLUS ULTRA – SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE
Sole Positive of Night!
Antipathist of Light!
Fate’s only essence! primal scorpion rod–
The one permitted opposite of God!–
Condensed blackness and abysmal storm
Compacted to one sceptre
Arms the Grasp enorm–
The Interceptor–
The Substance that still casts the shadow
Death!–
The Dragon foul and fell–
The unrevealable,
And hidden one, whose breath
Gives wind and fuel to the fires of Hell!–
Ah! sole despair
Of both the eternities in Heaven!
Sole interdict of all-bedewing prayer,
The all-compassionate!
Save to the Lampads Seven
Reveal’d to none of all the Angelic State,
Save to the Lampads Seven,
That watch the throne of Heaven!

Visions of Johanna – Bob Dylan

Ain’t it just like the night to play tricks when you’re tryin’ to be so quiet?
We sit here stranded, though we’re all doin’ our best to deny it
And Louise holds a handful of rain, temptin’ you to defy it
Lights flicker from the opposite loft
In this room the heat pipes just cough
The country music station plays soft
But there’s nothing, really nothing to turn off
Just Louise and her lover so entwined
And these visions of Johanna that conquer my mind

In the empty lot where the ladies play blindman’s bluff with the key chain
And the all-night girls they whisper of escapades out on the “D” train
We can hear the night watchman click his flashlight
Ask himself if it’s him or them that’s really insane
Louise, she’s all right, she’s just near
She’s delicate and seems like the mirror
But she just makes it all too concise and too clear
That Johanna’s not here
The ghost of ‘lectricity howls in the bones of her face
Where these visions of Johanna have now taken my place

Now, little boy lost, he takes himself so seriously
He brags of his misery, he likes to live dangerously
And when bringing her name up
He speaks of a farewell kiss to me
He’s sure got a lotta gall to be so useless and all
Muttering small talk at the wall while I’m in the hall
How can I explain?
Oh, it’s so hard to get on
And these visions of Johanna, they kept me up past the dawn

Inside the museums, Infinity goes up on trial
Voices echo this is what salvation must be like after a while
But Mona Lisa musta had the highway blues
You can tell by the way she smiles
See the primitive wallflower freeze
When the jelly-faced women all sneeze
Hear the one with the mustache say, “Jeeze
I can’t find my knees”
Oh, jewels and binoculars hang from the head of the mule
But these visions of Johanna, they make it all seem so cruel

The peddler now speaks to the countess who’s pretending to care for him
Sayin’, “Name me someone that’s not a parasite and I’ll go out and say a prayer for him”
But like Louise always says
“Ya can’t look at much, can ya man?”
As she, herself, prepares for him
And Madonna, she still has not showed
We see this empty cage now corrode
Where her cape of the stage once had flowed
The fiddler, he now steps to the road
He writes ev’rything’s been returned which was owed
On the back of the fish truck that loads
While my conscience explodes
The harmonicas play the skeleton keys and the rain
And these visions of Johanna are now all that remain

“Visions Of Johanna” (live, unreleased version, 1966)

Lucky Old Sun – Bob Dylan & Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers

Up in the morning. Out on the job,
I work like the devil for my pay.
But that lucky old sun has got nothing to do
but roll around heaven all day.

Fuss with my woman and toil for my kids.
Sweat till I’m wrinkled and gray.
But that lucky old sun has got nothing to do
but roll around heaven all day.

Oh Lord above can’t you hear me crying?
Tears running down my eyes.
Send down the cloud with the silver lining,
Take me to Paradise.

Show me that river. Take me across.
Wash all my troubles away.
Like that lucky old sun that’s got nothing to do
but roll around heaven all day.

Red River Shore – Bob Dylan

Some of us turn off the lights and we live
In the moonlight shooting by
Some of us scare ourselves to death in the dark
To be where the angels fly
Pretty maids all in a row lined up
Outside my cabin door
I’ve never wanted any of them wanting me
‘Cept the girl from the Red River shore

Well, I sat by her side and for a while I tried
To make that girl my wife
She gave me her best advice and she said
“Go home and lead a quiet life.”
Well, I’ve been to the east and I’ve been to the west
And I’ve been out where the black winds roar
Somehow, though, I never did get that far
With the girl from the Red River shore

Well, I knew when I first laid eyes on her
I could never be free
One look at her and I knew right away
She should always be with me
Well, the dream dried up a long time ago
Don’t know where it is anymore
True to life, true to me
Was the girl from the Red River shore

Now I’m wearing the cloak of misery
And I’ve tasted jilted love
And the frozen smile upon my face
Fits me like a glove
But I can’t escape from the memory
Of the one that I’ll always adore
All those nights when I lay in the arms
Of the girl from the Red River shore

Well, we’re living in the shadows of a fading past
Trapped in the fires of time
I’ve tried not to ever hurt anybody
And to stay out of a life of crime
And when it’s all been said and done
I never did know the score
One more day is another day away
From the girl from the Red River shore

Well, I’m a stranger here in a strange land
But I know this is where I belong
I’ll ramble and gamble for the one I love
And the hills will give me a song
Though nothing looks familiar to me
I know I’ve stayed here before
Once, a thousand nights ago
With the girl from the Red River shore

Well, I went back to see about it once
Went back to straighten it out
Everybody that I talked to had seen us there
Said they didn’t know who I was talking about
Well, the sun went down on me a long time ago
I’ve had to fall back from the door
I wish I could have spent every hour of my life
With the girl from the Red River shore

Now, I’ve heard of a guy who lived a long time ago
A man full of sorrow and strife
Whenever someone around him died and was dead
He knew how to bring ‘em on back to life
Well, I don’t know what kind of language he used
Or if they do that kind of thing anymore
Sometimes I think nobody ever saw me here at all
‘Cept the girl from the Red River shore

She Acts Like We Never Have Met – Bob Dylan

I can’t understand,
She let go of my hand
An’ left me here facing the wall.
I’d sure like t’ know
Why she did go,
But I can’t get close t’ her at all.
Though we kissed through the wild blazing nighttime,
She said she would never forget.
But now mornin’s clear,
It’s like I ain’t here,
She just acts like we never have met.

It’s all new t’ me,
Like some mystery,
It could even be like a myth.
Yet it’s hard t’ think on,
That she’s the same one
That last night I was with.
From darkness, dreams’re deserted,
Am I still dreamin’ yet?
I wish she’d unlock
Her voice once an’ talk,
‘Stead of acting like we never have met.

If I didn’t have t’ guess,
I’d gladly confess
T’ anything I might’ve tried.
If I was with ‘er too long
Or have done something wrong,
I wish she’d tell me what it is, I’ll run an’ hide.
Though her skirt it swayed as a guitar played,
Her mouth was watery and wet.
But now something has changed
For she ain’t the same,
She just acts like we never have met.

I’m leavin’ today,
I’ll be on my way
Of this I can’t say very much.
But if you want me to,
I can be just like you
An’ pretend that we never have touched.
An’ if anybody asks me, “Is it easy to forget?”
I’ll say, “It’s easily done,
You just pick anyone,
An’ pretend that you never have met.”

Mississippi (Acoustic Blues)- Bob Dylan

Every step of the way we walk the line
Your days are numbered, so are mine
Time is pilin’ up, we struggle and we scrape
We’re all boxed in, nowhere to escape

City’s just a jungle, more games to play
Trapped in the heart of it, trying to get away
I was raised in the country, I been workin’ in the town
I been in trouble ever since I set my suitcase down

Got nothing for you, I had nothing before
Don’t even have anything for myself anymore
Sky full of fire, pain pourin’ down
Nothing you can sell me, I’ll see you around

All my powers of expression and thoughts so sublime
Could never do you justice in reason or rhyme
Only one thing I did wrong
Stayed in Mississippi a day too long

Well, the devil’s in the alley, mule’s in the stall
Say anything you wanna, I have heard it all
I was thinkin’ about the things that Rosie said
I was dreaming I was sleeping in Rosie’s bed

Walking through the leaves, falling from the trees
Feeling like a stranger nobody sees
So many things that we never will undo
I know you’re sorry, I’m sorry too

Some people will offer you their hand and some won’t
Last night I knew you, tonight I don’t
I need somethin’ strong to distract my mind
I’m gonna look at you ’til my eyes go blind

Well I got here following the southern star
I crossed that river just to be where you are
Only one thing I did wrong
Stayed in Mississippi a day too long

Well my ship’s been split to splinters and it’s sinking fast
I’m drownin’ in the poison, got no future, got no past
But my heart is not weary, it’s light and it’s free
I’ve got nothin’ but affection for all those who’ve sailed with me

Everybody movin’ if they ain’t already there
Everybody got to move somewhere
Stick with me baby, stick with me anyhow
Things should start to get interesting right about now

My clothes are wet, tight on my skin
Not as tight as the corner that I painted myself in
I know that fortune is waitin’ to be kind
So give me your hand and say you’ll be mine

Well, the emptiness is endless, cold as the clay
You can always come back, but you can’t come back all the way
Only one thing I did wrong
Stayed in Mississippi a day too long

Dreaming of You – Bob Dylan

The light in this place is really bad
Like being in the bottom of a stream
Any minute now I’m expecting to wake up from a dream
Miss so much, the softest touch
Like the grave of some child
Who neither wept nor smiled
I’m hiding my faith in the rain
I’ve been dreamin’ of you
That’s all I do
And it’s driving me insane

Somewhere dawn is breaking
Light is streaking across the floor
Church bells are ringing
I wonder who they’re ringing for
Travel under any star
You’ll see me wherever you are

The shadowy past is so vague and so vast,
I’m sleeping in the balance of pain
I’ve been dreamin’ of you
That’s all I do
But it’s driving me insane

Maybe they’ll get me, maybe they won’t
But whatever, it won’t be tonight
I wish your hand was in mine right now,
We could go where the moon is wide

For years they had me locked in a cage,
Then they threw me onto the stage
Somethings just last longer then you thought they would
And they never ever explain
I’m dreamin’ of you
That’s all I do
And it’s driving me insane

Well I eat when I’m hungry
Drink when I’m dry
Live my life on the square
Even if the flesh falls off my face
It won’t matter as long as you’re there

Feel like a ghost in love
Underneath the heavens above
Feel further away then I ever did before
Feel further than I can take
Dreamin’ of you, that’s all I do,
But it’s driving me insane

Everything in the way is so shy like the day
In queer and unusual form
Spirals of golden haze here in there in a blaze
Like beams of light in a star.

Maybe you’re here or maybe you weren’t
Maybe you touched somebody and got burned
The silent sun has got me on the run
Burning a hole in my brain
I’m dreamin’ of you,
That’s all I do
But it’s driving me insane.

Oh Babe, It Ain’t No Lie – Bob Dylan

Some old lady in this town
Keeps telling her lies on me
Wish to my soul that old lady would die
Stop telling all her lies on me

Oh babe, it ain’t no lie
Oh babe, it ain’t no lie
Oh babe, it ain’t no lie
This life I lead is mighty fine

Been all around this whole wide world
And Honey, I just got back here today
I’ve been saving all my love for you
Honey, baby what more can I do?

Oh babe, it ain’t no lie
Oh babe, it ain’t no lie
Oh babe, it ain’t no lie
You know this life I lead is mighty high

Huck’s Tune – Bob Dylan

Well I wandered alone,
through a desert of stone,
and I dreamt of my future wife.
My sword’s in my hand,
and I’m next in command,
in this version of Death called Life.
My plate and my cup,
are right straight up,
I took a rose from the hand of a child.
When I kiss your lips,
the honey drips,
I’m gonna have to put you down for a while.

Every day we meet,
on any old street,
and you’re in your girlish prime.
The short and the tall,
are coming to the ball,
I go there all the time.
Behind every tree,
there’s something to see,
the river is wider than a mile.
I tried you twice,
you can’t be nice,
I’m gonna have to put you down for a while.

Here come the nurse,
with money in her purse,
here come the ladies and men.
You push it all in,
and you’ve no chance to win,
you play ‘em on down to the end.
I’m laying in the sand,
getting a sunshine tan,
Moving along, riding in style.
From my toes to my head,
you knock me dead,
I’m gonna have to put you down for a while.

I count the years,
and I shed no tears,
I’m blinded to what might have been.
Nature’s voice,
makes my heart rejoice,
play me the wild song of the wind.
I found hopeless love,
in the room above,
when the sun and the weather were riled.
You’re as fine as wine,
I ain’t handing you no line,
I’m gonna have to put you down for a while.

All the merry little elves,
can go hang themselves,
my faith is as cold as can be.
I’m stacked high to the roof,
and I’m not without proof,
If you don’t believe me, come see.
You think I’m blue,
I think so, too,
in my words you’ll find no guile.
The game’s gotten old,
the deck’s gone cold,
and I’m gonna have to put you down for a while.

The game’s gotten old,
the deck’s gone cold,
and I’m gonna have to put you down for a while.

On The Road Again – Bob Dylan

Well, I woke up in the morning
There’s frogs inside my socks
Your mama, she’s a-hidin’
Inside the icebox
Your daddy walks in wearin’
A Napoleon Bonaparte mask
Then you ask why I don’t live here
Honey, do you have to ask?

Well, I go to pet your monkey
I get a face full of claws
I ask who’s in the fireplace
And you tell me Santa Claus
The milkman comes in
He’s wearing a derby hat
Then you ask why I don’t live here
Honey, how come you have to ask me that?

Well, I asked for something to eat
I’m hungry as a hog
So I get brown rice, seaweed
And a dirty hot dog
I’ve got a hole
Where my stomach disappeared
Then you ask why I don’t live here
Honey, I gotta think you’re really weird.

Your grandpa’s cane
It turns into a sword
Your grandma prays to pictures
That are pasted on a board
Everything inside my pockets
Your uncle steals
Then you ask why I don’t live here
Honey, I can’t believe that you’re for real.

Well, there’s fist fights in the kitchen
They’re enough to make me cry
The mailman comes in
Even he’s gotta take a side
Even the butler
He’s got something to prove
Then you ask why I don’t live here
Honey, how come you don’t move?

The Water is Wide – Bob Dylan w/ Joan Baez

The water is wide and I can’t cross over
I neither have wings so I can fly
Build me a boat that can carry two
And both shall row, my love and I

There is a ship and it sails on the sea
It’s loaded deep as deep can be
But not so deep as the love I’m in
I know not if I sink or swim

I leaned my back against an oak
Thinking it was a trusty tree
But first it bent and then it broke
So did my love prove false to me

Oh love is gentle and love is kind
Gay as a jewel when first it’s new
But love grows old and waxes cold
And fades away like some morning dew

The water is wide and I can’t cross over
I neither have wings so I can fly
Build me a boat that can carry two
And both shall row, my love and I

Love Henry – Bob Dylan

“Get down, get down, Love Henry,” she cried.
“And stay all night with me.
I have gold chains, and the finest I have
I’ll apply them all to thee.”

“I can’t get down and I shan’t get down,
Or stay all night with thee.
Some pretty little girl in Cornersville
I love far better than thee.”

He layed his head on a pillow of down.
Kisses she gave him three.
With a penny knife that she held in her hand
She murdered mortal he.

“Get well, get well, Love Henry, ” She cried,
“Get well, get well,” said she.
“Oh don’t you see my own heart’s blood
Come flowin’ down so free?”

She took him by his long yellow hair,
And also by his feet.
She plunged him into well water, where
It runs both cold and deep.

“Lie there, lie there, Love Henry,” she cried,
“Til the flesh rots off your bones.
Some pretty little girl in Cornersville
Will mourn for your return.”

“Hush up, hush up, my parrot,” she cried
“Don’t tell no news on me
Or these costly beads around my neck
I’ll apply them all to thee.”

“Fly down, fly down, pretty bird,” she cried,
“And light on my right knee.
The doors to your cage shall be decked with gold
And hung on a willow tree.”

“I won’t fly down, I can’t fly down
And light on your right knee.
A girl who would murder her own true love
Would kill a little bird like me.”

Most Of The Time – Bob Dylan

Most of the time
I’m clear focused all around,
Most of the time
I can keep both feet on the ground,
I can follow the path, I can read the signs,
Stay right with it, when the road unwinds,
I can handle whatever I stumble upon,
I don’t even notice she’s gone,
Most of the time.

Most of the time
It’s well understood,
Most of the time
I wouldn’t change it if I could,
I can’t make it all match up, I can hold my own,
I can deal with the situation right down to the bone,
I can survive, I can endure
And I don’t even think about her
Most of the time.

Most of the time
My head is on straight,
Most of the time
I’m strong enough not to hate.
I don’t build up illusion ’till it makes me sick,
I ain’t afraid of confusion no matter how thick
I can smile in the face of mankind.
Don’t even remember what her lips felt like on mine
Most of the time.

Most of the time
She ain’t even in my mind,
I wouldn’t know her if I saw her
She’s that far behind.
Most of the time
I can’t even be sure
If she was ever with me
Or if I was with her.

Most of the time
I’m halfway content,
Most of the time
I know exactly where I went,
I don’t cheat on myself, I don’t run and hide,
Hide from the feelings, that are buried inside,
I don’t compromise and I don’t pretend,
I don’t even care if I ever see her again
Most of the time.

The Picasso of Songwriting

Bob Dylan – Shelter From the Storm

‘Twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood
When blackness was a virtue and the road was full of mud
I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form.
“Come in,” she said,
“I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”

And if I pass this way again, you can rest assured
I’ll always do my best for her, on that I give my word
In a world of steel-eyed death, and men who are fighting to be warm.
“Come in,” she said,
“I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”

Not a word was spoke between us, there was little risk involved
Everything up to that point had been left unresolved.
Try imagining a place where it’s always safe and warm.
“Come in,” she said,
“I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”

I was burned out from exhaustion, buried in the hail,
Poisoned in the bushes an’ blown out on the trail,
Hunted like a crocodile, ravaged in the corn.
“Come in,” she said,
“I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”

Suddenly I turned around and she was standin’ there
With silver bracelets on her wrists and flowers in her hair.
She walked up to me so gracefully and took my crown of thorns.
“Come in,” she said,
“I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”

Now there’s a wall between us, somethin’ there’s been lost
I took too much for granted, got my signals crossed.
Just to think that it all began on a long-forgotten morn.
“Come in,” she said,
“I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”

Well, the deputy walks on hard nails and the preacher rides a mount
But nothing really matters much, it’s doom alone that counts
And the one-eyed undertaker, he blows a futile horn.
“Come in,” she said,
“I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”

I’ve heard newborn babies wailin’ like a mournin’ dove
And old men with broken teeth stranded without love.
Do I understand your question, man, is it hopeless and forlorn?
“Come in,” she said,
“I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”

In a little hilltop village, they gambled for my clothes
I bargained for salvation an’ they gave me a lethal dose.
I offered up my innocence and got repaid with scorn.
“Come in,” she said,
“I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”

Well, I’m livin’ in a foreign country but I’m bound to cross the line
Beauty walks a razor’s edge, someday I’ll make it mine.
If I could only turn back the clock to when God and her were born.
“Come in,” she said,
“I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”

Bob Dylan is a planet that everyone must explore.

–I think Tom Waits said that.

Dylan is the only musician I know of where the question of a favorite or best song is irrelevant. The proper question is which version of your favorite songs do you like best.

–I said that.

A Summary of Genius.

Dylan once told Mick Jagger: ‘The difference between us is that I could have written “Satisfaction” and you couldn’t have written “Mr. Tambourine man”.’