"Rough and Rowdy Ways" — The Lyrics as I hear them

*please scroll down my blog for the lyrics to “I Contain Multitudes,” “False Prophet,” and “Murder Most Foul,” the three songs from this record that were released earlier in the year.

These are not official lyrics, just what I heard as I listened. However, all lyrics here are by Bob Dylan and © Special Rider Music 2020

My Own Version of You

All through the summers into January

I been visiting morgues and monasteries

Lookin’ for the necessary body parts

Limbs and livers and brains and hearts

Aw, bring someone to life is what I wanna do

I wanna create my own version of you.

Well, it must be the winter of my discontent

I wish youd’a taken me with you wherever you went

They talk all night and they talk all day

Not for a minute do I believe anything they say

I’m go’ bring someone to life, someone I’ve never seen,

You know what I mean, you know exactly what I mean.

I take the Scarface Pacino and the Godfather Brando

Mix ‘em up in a tank and get a robot commando

If I do it up right and put the head on straight

I’ll be saved by the creature that I create.

I’ll get blood from a cactus, gunpowder from ice

I don’t gamble with cards, and I don’t shoot no dice,

Can ya look at my face with your sightless eyes,

Can you cross your heart and hope to die?

I’ll bring someone to life, someone for real

Someone who feels the way that I feel.

I study Sanskrit and Arabic to improve my mind

I wanna do things for the benefit of all mankind.

I say to the willow tree, don’t wait for me

I’m saying the hell to all things that used to be

Well I get into trouble and I hit the wall

No place to turn, no place at all

I pick a number between one and two

And I ask myself “What would Julius Caesar do?”

I wanna bring someone to life in more ways than one

Don’t matter how long it takes, it’ll be done when it’s done.

I’m gonna make you play the piano like Leon Russell

Like Liberace, like St. John the Apostle

I’ll play every number that I can play

I’ll see you maybe on Judgment Day

After midnight, if you still wanna meet,

I’ll be at the Black Horse Tavern on Armageddon Street

Two doors down, not that far to walk,

I’ll hear your footsteps, you won’t have to knock

I’ll bring someone to life, balance the scales,

I’m not gonna get involved in insignificant details.

You can bring it to St. Peter, you can bring it to Jerome

You can bring it all the way over, bring it all the way home,

Bring it to the corner where the children play,

You can bring it to me on a silver tray

I’ll bring someone to life, spare no expense,

Do it with decency and common sense.

Can ya tell me what it means to be or not to be?

You won’t get away with foolin’ me.

Can ya help me walk that moonlight mile,

Can ya give me the blessings of your smile?

I’ll bring someone to life, use all of my powers,

Do it in the dark in the wee small hours.

I can see the history of the whole human race

It’s all right there, it’s carved into your face.

Should I break it all down, should I fall on my knees?

Is there light at the end of the tunnel, can you tell me please?

Stand over there by the cypress tree,

Where the Trojan women and children are sold into slavery,

Long before the First Crusade, way back ‘fore

         England or America were made.

Step right in to the burnin’ hell

Where some of the best known enemies of mankind dwell

Mr. Freud with his dreams, Mr. Marx with his ax,

See the rawhide lash rip the skin from their backs.

Got the right spirit? You can feel it, you can hear it.

You’ve got what they call the immortal spirit.

You can feel it all night, you can feel it in the morn,

It creeps in your body the day you were born.

One strike of lightning is all that I need,

And a blast of ‘lectricity that runs at top speed,

Show me your ribs, I’ll stick in the knife

Gonna jump-start my creation to life.

I wanna bring someone to life, turn back the years

Do it with laughter, and do it with tears.

I’ve Made Up My Mind to Give Myself To You

I’m sittin’ on my terrace lost in the stars

Listenin’ to the sounds of the sad guitars

Been thinkin’ it all over and I thought it all through

I’ve made up my mind to give myself to you.

I saw the first fall of snow

I saw the flowers come and go

I don’t think that anyone ever else will ever do

I made up my mind to give myself to you

I’m givin’ myself to you, I am,

From Salt Lake City to Birmingham

From East LA to San Antone

I don’t think I could bear to live my life alone.

My eye is like a shooting star

It looks at nothing here or there, looks at nothing near of far

No one ever told me it’s just something I do

I’ve made up my mind to give myself to you.

If I had the wings of a snow white dove

I’d preach the gospel, the gospel of love

A love so new a love so true

I’ve made up my mind to give myself to you.

Take me out travelin, you’re a travelin’ man

Show me something that I’ll understand

I’m not what I was, things aren’t what they were

I’ll go far away from home with her.

I traveled a long road of despair

I met no other traveler there

Lotta people gone a lotta people I knew

I’ve made up my mind to give myself to you.

Well my heart’s like a river, a river that sings

Just takes me awhile to realize things

I’ll see you at sunrise, see you at dawn,

On the other side when everyone’s gone

I’ve traveled from the mountains to the sea

I hope that the gods go easy with me

I knew you’d say yes, I’m sayin’ it too

I’ve made up my mind to give myself to you.

Black Rider

Black Rider, Black Rider, you been livin’ too hard

Been up all night, have to stay on your guard

The path that you’re walkin’ too narrow to walk

Every step of the way another stumblin’ block

The road that you’re on, same road that you know

Just not the same as it was a minute ago.

Black Rider, Black Rider, you’ve seen it all

You’ve seen the great world and you’ve seen the small

You fell into the fire and you’re eating the flame

Better seal up your lips if you wanna stay in the game

Be reasonable, mister, be honestly fair,

let all of your earthly thoughts be a prayer.

Black Rider, Black Rider, all dressed in black

I’m walkin’ away, you try to make me look back

My heart is at rest, I’d like to keep it that way

I don’t wanna fight, at least not today.

Go home to your wife, stop visiting mine,

One of these days, I’ll hurt ya to be kind.

Black Rider, Black Rider, tell me when, tell me how,

If there ever was a time, then let it be now

Lemme go through, open the door,

My soul is distressed, my mind is at war

Don’t hug me, don’t flatter me, don’t turn on the charm,

I’ll take a sword and hack off your arm.

Black Rider, Black Rider, hold it right there

The size of your cock will get you nowhere

I’ll suffer in silence, I’ll not make a sound,

Maybe I’ll take the high moral ground

Some enchanted evening I’ll sing you a song,

Black Rider, Black Rider, you been on the job too long.

Goodbye Jimmy Reed

I live on a street named after a saint

Women in the churches wear powder and paint

Where the Jews and the Catholics and the Muslims all pray

I can tell a prayer [?] from a mile away

Goodbye Jimmy Reed, Jimmy Reed indeed,

Gimme that old time religion, it’s just what I need.

Well thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory

Go tell it on the mountain, go tell the real story,

Tell it in that straightforward Puritanical tone

In the mystic hours where the person’s alone

Goodbye Jimmy Reed, Godspeed,

Thump on the Bible, proclaim a creed.

You won’t a minded much, the people all said

Cause I didn’t play guitar behind my head

Never pandered, never acted proud,

Never took off my shoes, threw ‘em in a crowd

Goodbye Jimmy Reed, goodbye and goodnight

Put a jewel in your crown and I’ll put out the light.

They threw everything at me, everything in the book

I had nothin’ to fight with but a butcher’s hook

They had no pity, they never lend a hand

I can’t sing a song that I don’t understand.

Goodbye Jimmy Reed, goodbye and good luck

I can’t play the record cause my needle got stuck.

Transparent woman in a transparent dress.

Suits ya well, I must confess,

I break open your grapes, I suck out the juice,

I need you like my head needs a noose.

Goodbye Jimmy Reed, goodbye and so long,

I thought I could resist her, but I was so wrong.

God be with ya, brother dear

If you don’t mind me asking, what brings ya here?

Aw, nothing much, I’m just lookin’ for the man

Came to see where he’s lyin in this lost land.

Goodbye Jimmy Reed, and everything within ya

Can’t you hear me callin’ from (uh) down in Virginia?

Mother of Muses

Mother of Muses, sing for me

Sing of the mountains and the deep dark sea

Sing of the lakes and the nymphs of the forest

Sing your hearts out, all ye women of the chorus

Sing of honor and fate and glory be,

Mother of Muses, sing for me.

Mother of Muses, sing for my heart

Sing of a love too soon to depart

Sing of the heroes who stood alone

Whose names are engraved on tablets of stone

Who struggled with pain so the world could go free

Mother of Muses, sing for me.

Sing of Sherman, Montgomery and Scott,

And of Zhukov, and Patton, and the battles they fought,

Who cleared the path for Presley to sing,

Who carved the path for Martin Luther King

Who did what they did and they went on their way

Man, I could tell their stories all day.

I’m falling in love with Calliope

She don’t belong to anyone, why not give her to me

She’s speakin’ to me, speakin’ with her eyes

I’ve grown so tired of chasing lies.

Mother Muses, wherever you are

I’ve already outlived my life by far.

Mother of Muses, unleash your wrath

Things I can’t see, they’re blockin’ my path

Show me your wisdom, tell me my fate

Put me upright, make me walk straight

Forge my identity from the inside out

You know what I’m talkin’ about

Take me to the river, release your charms

Let me lay down awhile in your sweet lovin’ arms

Wake me shake me, free me from sin

Make me invisible like the wind

Got a mind to ramble, got a mind to roam

I’m travelin’ light, and I’m a-slow comin’ home.

Crossing the Rubicon

I crossed the Rubicon on the fourteenth day

Of the most dangerous month of the year

At the worst time, at the worst place,

That’s all I seem to hear

I got up early so I could greet the Goddess of the Dawn

I painted my wagon “Abandon all Hope”

         and I crossed the Rubicon.

Well the Rubicon is a red river goin’ gently as she flows

Redder than your ruby lips and the blood that flows from the rose

Three miles north of Purgatory, one step from the Great Beyond

I prayed to the cross, I kissed the girls,

         and I crossed the Rubicon.

Well at least this time I see in this world so badly [? bent]

How can I redeem the time a time so idly [spent?]

How much longer can it last, how long can it go on

I embraced my love, put down my hair, and I crossed the Rubicon.

I can feel the bones beneath my skin, and they’re trembling with rage

I’ll make your wife a widow, you’ll never see old age

Show me one boatman [good man?] in sight that the sun shines down upon

I pawned my watch, I paid my debts, and I crossed the Rubicon.

Put my heart up on a hill, where some happiness I’ll find

If I survive then let me love, let the hour be mine.

Take the high road, take the low, take any one you’re on

I poured the cup, I passed it along, and I crossed the Rubicon.

Well you defiled the most lovely flower in all of womanhood

Others can be tolerant, others can be good,

I’ll cut ya up with a crooked knife, law, then I’ll miss ya when you’re gone

I stood between heaven and earth and I crossed the Rubicon.

You won’t find any happiness here, no happiness or joy

Go back to the gutter, try your luck, find you some nice pretty boy

Tell me how many men I need, and who can I count upon,

I’ll strap my belt, I’ll button my coat, and I cross the Rubicon.

I feel the Holy Spirit inside, see the light that freedom gives,

I believe it’s in the reach of every man who lives,

Keep as far away as possible, it’s darkest ‘fore the dawn

Oh God

I turned the key and broke it off, and I crossed the Rubicon.

[?] baby, are you still in my mind, I truly believe that you are

Could it be anybody else but you who’s come with me this far?

The killin’ frost is on the ground and autumn leaves are gone

I lit the torch, I looked at the east, and I crossed the Rubicon.

Key West (Philosopher Pirate)

McKinley hollered, McKinley squalled,

Doctor said McKinley, death is on the wall

Say it to me, if you got something to confess

I heard all about it, he was goin’ down slow

I heard it on the wireless radio

Down in the boondocks, way down in Key West

I’m searchin’ for love, for inspiration

On that pirate radio station

Comin’ outta Luxembourg and Budapest

Radio signal play clear as can be

I’m so deep in love that I can hardly see

Down in the flatlands, way down in Key West

Key West is the place to be

If you’re lookin’ for immortality

Stay on the road, follow the highway signs.

Key West is fine and fair,

If you’ve lost your mind you’ll find it there.

Key West is on the horizon line.

I was born on the wrong side of the railroad track

Like Ginsberg, Corso and Kerouac

Like Louie and Jimmy and Buddy and all the rest

Well it might not be the thing to do

But I’m stickin’ with you through and through

Down in the flatlands, way down in Key West.

I got both my feet planted square on the ground

Got my right hand high with the thumb down

Such is life, such is happiness

Hibiscus flowers, they grow everywhere here

If you wear one, put it behind your ear

Down on the bottom, way down in Key West.

Key West is the place to go

Down by the Gulf of Mexico

Beyond the sea, beyond the shifting sand

Key West is the gateway key

To innocence and purity

Key West is the enchanted land.

I’ve never lived in the Land of Oz

Or wasted my time with an unworthy cause

It’s hot down here and you can’t be overdressed

Tiny blossoms of a toxic plant

They can make ya dizzy, I’d like to help you but I can’t

Down in the flatlands, way down in Key West

Well the fishtail palms and the orchid trees

They can give ya that bleedin’ heart disease

People tell me I oughta try a little tenderness

On Newton Street, Bayview Park

Walkin’ in the shadows after dark

Down under, way down in Key West

I play gumbo-limbo spirituals

I know all the Hindu rituals

People tell me that I’m truly blessed

Bougainvillea blooming in the summer and the spring

Winter here is an unknown thing

Down in the flatlands, way down in Key West.

Key West is under the sun, under the radar, under the gun

You stay to the left, and then ya lean to the right

Feel the sunlight on your skin, and the healing virtues of the wind

Key West, Key West is the land of light.

Wherever I travel, wherever I roam,

I’m not that far from the convent home

I do what I think is right, what I think is best,

[History?] Street off of Mallory Square

Truman had his White House there

Eastbound, westbound, way down in Key West.

Twelve years old, they put me in a suit

Forced me to marry a prostitute

There were gold fringes on her wedding dress.

That’s my story, but not where it ends

She’s still cute and we’re still friends

Down on the bottom, way down in Key West

I play both sides against the middle

Trying to pick up that pirate radio signal

I heard the news, I heard your last request

Fly around, my pretty little miss

I don’t love nobody, give me a kiss

Down on the bottom, way down in Key West.

Key West is the place to be

If you’re lookin’ for immortality

Key West is paradise divine.

Key West is fine and fair,

If you’ve lost your mind you’ll find it there.

Key West is on the horizon line.

* to repeat: these aren’t official lyrics, just my pass at them from listening to the album — and they’re all © Special Rider Music 2020.