Second night of the 2024 Outlaw Music Festival — Bob Dylan
The songs and the words (Theme Time Radio Hour plays / some notes)
Charlotte, North Carolina. 22nd June, 2024.
Bob Dylan — Piano, harmonica
Tony Garnier — Electric and stand-up bass
Jim Keltner — Drums
Bob Britt — Acoustic guitar, electric guitar
Doug Lancio — Acoustic guitar, electric guitar
—
Highway 61 Revisited
Shooting Star
Love Sick
Little Queenie
Mr. Blue
Early Roman Kings
Can't Wait
Under The Red Sky
Things Have Changed
Stella Blue
Six Days on the Road
Soon After Midnight
Ballad Of A Thin Man
I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
—
Highway 61 Revisited (piano)
Oh God said to Abraham, “Kill me a son”
Abe says, “Man, you must be puttin’ me on”
God say, “No.” Abe say, “What?”
God say, “You can do what you want Abe, but
The next time you see me comin’ you better run”
Well Abe says, “Where do you want this killin’ done?”
God says, “Out on Highway 61”
Well Georgia Sam he had a bloody nose
Welfare Department they wouldn’t give him no clothes
He asked poor Howard where can I go
Howard said there’s only one place I know
Sam said tell me quick man I got to run
Ol’ Howard just pointed with his gun
And said that way down on Highway 61
Well Mack the Finger said to Louie the King
I got forty red white and blue shoestrings
And a thousand telephones that don’t ring
Do you know where I can get rid of these things
And Louie the King said let me think for a minute son
And he said yes I think it can be easily done
Just take everything down to Highway 61
Now the fifth daughter on the twelfth night
Told the first father that things weren’t right
My complexion she said is much too white
He said come here and step into the light he says hmm you’re right
Let me tell the second mother this has been done
But the second mother was with the seventh son
And they were both out on Highway 61
Now the rovin’ gambler he was very bored
He was tryin’ to create a next world war
He found a promoter who nearly fell off the floor
He said I never engaged in this kind of thing before
But yes I think it can be very easily done
We’ll just put some bleachers out in the sun
And have it on Highway 61
—
Shooting Star (piano and harmonica)
Seen a shooting star tonight
And I thought of you
You were trying to break into another world
A world I never knew
I always kind of wondered
If you ever made it through
Seen a shooting star tonight
And I thought of you
Seen a shooting star tonight
And I thought of me
If I was still the same
If I ever became what you wanted me to be
Did I miss the mark or overstep the line
That only you could see?
Seen a shooting star tonight
And I thought of me
Listen to the engine, listen to the bell
As the last fire truck from hell
Goes rolling by
All good people are praying
It’s the last temptation, the last account
The last time you might hear the sermon on the mount
The last radio is playing
Seen a shooting star tonight
Slip away
Tomorrow will be
Another day
Guess it’s too late to say the things to you
That you needed to hear me say
Seen a shooting star tonight
Slip away
—
Love Sick (piano)
I’m walking through streets that are dead
Walking, walking with you in my head
My feet are so tired, my brain is so wired
And the clouds are weeping
Did I hear someone tell a lie?
Did I hear someone’s distant cry?
You thrilled me to my heart, then you ripped it all apart
You went through my pockets when I was sleeping
I’m sick of love…but I’m in the thick of it
This kind of love…I’m so sick of it
I see lovers in the meadow
I see silhouettes in the window
I watch them ’til they’re gone and they leave me hanging on
To a shadow
I’m sick of love…I hear the clock tick
This kind of love…I’m love sick
Sometimes the silence can be like the thunder
Sometimes I feel like I’m being plowed under
Could you ever be true? I think of you
And I wonder
I’m sick of love…I wish I’d never met you
I’m sick of love…I’m trying to forget you
Just don’t know what to do
I’d give anything to be with you
—
Little Queenie (Chuck Berry) (Piano)
I got lumps in my throat
When I saw her comin' down the aisle
I got the wiggles in my knees
When she looked at me and sweetly smiled
There she is again
Standin' over by the record machine
Looking like a model
On the cover of a magazine
She's too cute to be a minute over seventeen
Meanwhile I was thinkin'
If she's in the mood no need to break it
I got the chance and I oughta take it
If she can dance we can make it
C'mon queenie let's shake it
Go, go, go, little queenie
Go, go, go, little queenie
Go, go, go, little queenie
Tell me who's the queen
Standin' over by the record machine
Looking like a model
On the cover of a magazine
She's too cute to be a minute over seventeen
Meanwhile, I was still thinkin'
If it's a slow song, we'll omit it
If it's a rocker, then we'll get it
And if it's good, she'll admit it
C'mon queenie, let's get with it
Go, go, go, little queenie
Go, go, go, little queenie
Go, go, go, little queenie
—
Mr. Blue (Dewayne Blackwell) (piano)
Our guardian star lost all his glow
The day that I lost you
He lost all his glitter the day you said no
And his silver turned to blue
Like him, I a him doubtful
That your love is true
But if you decide to call on me
Ask for Mr. Blue
I'm Mr. Blue
When you say you love me (oh Mr. Blue)
Then prove it by going out on the sly
Proving your love isn't true
Call me Mr. Blue
I'm Mr. Blue
When you say you're sorry (oh Mr. Blue)
Then turn around, heading for the lights of town
Hurtin' me through and through
Call me Mr. Blue
I stay at home at night (I stay at home)
Right by the phone at night (right by the phone)
But you won't call
And I won't hurt my pride
Call me Mr
I won't tell you
While you paint the town (oh Mr. Blue)
A bright red to turn it upside down
I'm painting it too
But I'm painting it blue
Call me Mr. Blue
Call me Mr. Blue
Call me Mr. Blue
—
Early Roman Kings (piano and harmonica)
All the early Roman Kings in their sharkskin suits
Bowties and buttons, high top boots
Driving the spikes in, blazing the rails
Nailed in their coffins in top hats and tails
Fly away little bird, fly away, flap your wings
Fly by night like the early Roman Kings
All the early Roman Kings in the early, early morn’
Coming down the mountain, distributing the corn
Speeding through the forest, racing down the track
You try to get away, they drag you back
Tomorrow is Friday, we’ll see what it brings
Everybody’s talking ‘bout the early Roman Kings
They’re peddlers and they’re meddlers, they buy and they sell
They destroyed your city, they’ll destroy you as well
They’re lecherous and treacherous, hell bent for leather
Each of them bigger than all men put together
Sluggers and muggers wearing fancy gold rings
All the women going crazy for the early Roman Kings
I'll dress up your wounds with a blood clotted rag
I ain’t afraid to make love to a bitch or a hag
If you see me coming and you’re standing there
Wave your handkerchief in the air
I ain’t dead yet, my bell still rings
I keep my fingers crossed like the early Roman Kings
I'll strip you of life, strip you of breath
Ship you down to the house of death
One day you will ask for me
There’ll be no one else that you’ll want to see
Bring down my fiddle, tune up my strings
Gonna break it wide open like the early Roman Kings
I was up on black mountain the day Detroit fell
They killed them all off and they sent them to hell
Ding Dong Daddy, you’re coming up short
Gonna put you on trial in a Sicilian court
I’ve had my fun, I’ve had my flings
Gonna shake ‘em all down like the early Roman Kings
—
Can’t Wait (piano)
I can’t wait, wait for you to change your mind
It’s late, I’m trying to walk the line
Well, it’s way past midnight and there are people all around
Some on their way up, some on their way down
The air burns and I’m trying to think straight
And I don’t know how much longer I can wait
I’m your man, I’m trying to recover the sweet love that we knew
You understand that my heart can’t go on beating without you
Well, your loveliness has wounded me, I’m reeling from the blow
I wish I knew what it was keeps me loving you so
I’m breathing hard, standing at the gate
But I don’t know how much longer I can wait
Skies are grey, I’m looking for anything that will bring a happy glow
Night or day, it doesn’t matter where I go anymore, I just go
If I ever saw you coming I don’t know what I would do
I’d like to think I could control myself, but it isn’t true
That’s how it is when things disintegrate
And I don’t know how much longer I can wait
I’m doomed to love you, I’ve been rolling through stormy weather
I’m thinking of you and all the places we could roam together
It’s mighty funny, the end of time has just begun
Oh, honey, after all these years you’re still the one
While I’m strolling through the lonely graveyard of my mind
I left my life with you somewhere back there along the line
I thought somehow that I would be spared this fate
But I don’t know how much longer I can wait
—
Under the Red Sky (piano and harmonica)
There was a little boy and there was a little girl
And they lived in an alley under the red sky
There was a little boy and there was a little girl
And they lived in an alley under the red sky
There was an old man and he lived in the moon
One summer’s day he came passing by
There was an old man and he lived in the moon
And one day he came passing by
Someday little girl, everything for you is gonna be new
Someday little girl, you’ll have a diamond as big as your shoe
Let the wind blow low, let the wind blow high
One day the little boy and the little girl were both baked in a pie
Let the wind blow low, let the wind blow high
One day the little boy and the little girl were both baked in a pie
This is the key to the kingdom and this is the town
This is the blind horse that leads you around
Let the bird sing, let the bird fly
One day the man in the moon went home and the river went dry
Let the bird sing, let the bird fly
The man in the moon went home and the river went dry
—
Things Have Changed (piano)
A worried man with a worried mind
No one in front of me and nothing behind
There’s a woman on my lap and she’s drinking champagne
Got white skin, blood in my eyes
I’m looking up into the sapphire-tinted skies
I’m well dressed, waiting on the last train
Standing on the gallows with my head in a noose
Any minute now I’m expecting all hell to break loose
People are crazy and times are strange
I’m locked in tight, I’m out of range
I used to care, but things have changed
This place ain’t doing me any good
I’m in the wrong town, I should be in Hollywood
Just for a second there I thought I saw something move
Gonna take dancing lessons, do the jitterbug rag
Ain’t no shortcuts, gonna dress in drag
Only a fool in here would think he’s got anything to prove
Lot of water under the bridge, lot of other stuff too
Don’t get up gentlemen, I’m only passing through
People are crazy and times are strange
I’m locked in tight, I’m out of range
I used to care, but things have changed
I’ve been walking forty miles of bad road
If the Bible is right, the world will explode
I’ve been trying to get as far away from myself as I can
Some things are too hot to touch
The human mind can only stand so much
You can’t win with a losing hand
Feel like falling in love with the first woman I meet
Putting her in a wheelbarrow and wheeling her down the street
People are crazy and times are strange
I’m locked in tight, I’m out of range
I used to care, but things have changed
I hurt easy, I just don’t show it
You can hurt someone and not even know it
The next sixty seconds could be like an eternity
Gonna get low down, gonna fly high
All the truth in the world adds up to one big lie
I’m in love with a woman who don’t even appeal to me
Mr. Jinx and Miss Lucy, they jumped in the lake
I’m not that eager to make a mistake
People are crazy and times are strange
I’m locked in tight, I’m out of range
I used to care, but things have changed
—
Stella Blue (Hunter / Garcia) (piano)
All the years combine
They melt into a dream
A broken angel sings
From a guitar
In the end there's just a song
Comes crying like the night (wind)
Through all the broken dreams
And vanished years
Stella Blue
When all the cards are down
There's nothing left to see
There's just the pavement left
And broken dreams
In the end there's still that song
Comes crying like the wind
Down every lonely street
That's ever been
Stella Blue
I've stayed in every blue-light cheap hotel
Can't win for trying
Dust off those rusty strings just
One more time
Gonna make em shine
It all rolls into one
And nothing comes for free
There's nothing you can hold
For very long
And when you hear that song
Come crying like the wind
It seems like all this life
Was just a dream
Stella Blue
—
Six Days on the Road (Dave Dudley) (piano)
Well, I pulled outta Pittsburgh
A-rollin' down that eastern seaboard
I got my diesel wound up, and she's a-runnin' like a-never before
There's a speed zone ahead, well, alright
I don't see a cop in sight
Six days on the road and I'm a-gonna make it home tonight
I got me ten forward gears and a Georgia overdrive
I'm takin' little white pills, and my eyes are open wide
I just passed a Jimmy and a White
I been a-passin' everything in sight
Six days on the road and I'm a-gonna make it home tonight
Well, it seems like a month since I kissed my baby goodbye
I could have a lotta women, but I'm a-not a-like a-some of the guys
I could find one to hold me tight
But I could never make believe it's all right
Six days on the road and I'm a-gonna make it home tonight
ICC is checkin' on down the line
Well, I'm a little overweight, and my log book's way behind
But nothin' bothers me tonight
I can dodge all the scales alright
Six days on the road and I'm a-gonna make it home tonight
Well, my rig's a little old but that don't mean she's slow
That's a flame from my stack and that smoke's a-blowin' black as coal
My hometown's a-comin' in sight
If you think I'm a-happy, you're right
Six days on the road and I'm a-gonna make it home tonight
Six days on the road and I'm a-gonna make it home tonight
Six days on the road and I'm a-gonna make it home tonight
..
Six days on the road was played on Theme Time Radio Hour, ‘Second Countdown’ episode.
“Like a lot of country musicians, he had to make a choice between music and baseball. Growing up he played semi-pro ball, he had and arm injury and hung up his mitt, and stepped behind the microphone. He recorded this song in Minneapolis, it came out on the Tiny Golden Wing label — He became one of the singing spokesmen for truckers — Recording songs like Truck Driving Son of a Gun and Trucker’s Prayer… But this is where it all started, a number two country hit in 1963 — This song could not be denied. It even showed up on the pop charts. Here’s Dave Dudley — Six Days on the Road.”
—
Soon After Midnight (piano and harmonica)
I’m searching for phrases to sing your praises
I need to tell someone
It’s soon after midnight and my day has just begun
A gal named Honey took my money
She was passing by
It’s soon after midnight and the moon is in my eye
My heart is cheerful, it’s never fearful
I been down on the killing floors
I’m in no great hurry, I’m not afraid of your fury
I've faced stronger walls than yours
Charlotte’s a harlot, dresses in scarlet
Mary dresses in green
It’s soon after midnight and I’ve got a date with a fairy queen
They chirp and they chatter, what does it matter
They’re lying there dying in their blood
Two Timing Slim, who’s ever heard of him?
I’ll drag his corpse through the mud
It’s now or never, more than ever
When I met you I didn’t think you would do
It’s soon after midnight and I don’t want nobody but you
..
I posted this previously about how it seemed to be that there was a passing of the torch from Soon After Midnight to I’ve Made Up My Mind To Give Myself To You, back in the first Rough and Rowdy Ways show. It will be interesting if Soon After Midnight stays being played .. after one show of playing neither.
—
Ballad of a Thin Man (piano and harmonica)
You walk into the room
With your pencil in your hand
You see somebody naked
And you say, “Who is that man?”
You try so hard
But you don’t understand
Just what you’ll say
When you get home
Because something is happening here
But you don’t know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?
You raise up your head
And you ask, “Is this where it is?”
And somebody points to you and says
“It’s his”
And you say, “What’s mine?”
And somebody else says, “Where what is?”
And you say, “Oh my God
Am I here all alone?”
Because something is happening here
But you don’t know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?
You hand in your ticket
And you go watch the geek
Who immediately walks up to you
When he hears you speak
And says, “How does it feel
To be such a freak?”
And you say, “Impossible”
As he hands you a bone
Because something is happening here
But you don’t know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?
You have many contacts
Among the lumberjacks
To get you facts
When someone attacks your imagination
But nobody has any respect
Anyway they already expect you
To just give a check
To tax-deductible charity organizations
You’ve been with the professors
And they’ve all liked your looks
With great lawyers you have
Discussed lepers and crooks
You’ve been through all of
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s books
You’re very well read
It’s well known
Because something is happening here
But you don’t know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?
Well, the sword swallower, he comes up to you
And then he kneels
He crosses himself
And then he clicks his high heels
And without further notice
He asks you how it feels
And he says, “Here is your throat back
Thanks for the loan”
Because something is happening here
But you don’t know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?
Now you see this one-eyed midget
Shouting the word “NOW”
And you say, “For what reason?”
And he says, “How?”
And you say, “What does this mean?”
And he screams back, “You’re a cow
Give me some milk
Or else go home”
Because something is happening here
But you don’t know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?
Well, you walk into the room
Like a camel and then you frown
You put your eyes in your pocket
And your nose on the ground
There ought to be a law
Against you comin’ around
You should be made
To wear earphones
Because something is happening here
But you don’t know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?
—
I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight (piano)
Close your eyes, close the door
You don’t have to worry anymore
I’ll be your baby tonight
Shut the light, shut the shade
You don’t have to be afraid
I’ll be your baby tonight
Well, that mockingbird’s gonna sail away
We’re gonna forget it
That big, fat moon is gonna shine like a spoon
But we’re gonna let it
You won’t regret it
Kick your shoes off, do not fear
Bring that bottle over here
I’ll be your baby tonight
—
Some notes:
Well Georgia Sam he had a bloody nose … I got forty red white and blue shoe strings. Seen a shooting star tonight (my eye is like a shooting star), (Beyond here lies nothin' / nothin' but the moon and stars) — I’m looking up into the sapphire-tinted skies. I watch them ’til they’re gone, and they leave me hanging on.. to a shadow. I wish I knew what it was keeps me loving you so / I’m breathing hard, standing at the gate / but I don’t know how much longer I can wait. I ain’t dead yet, my bell still rings — I keep my fingers crossed, like the early Roman Kings.
I've stayed in every blue-light cheap hotel, can't win for trying, dust off those rusty strings just.. one more time, gonna make em shine — I was up on black mountain the day Detroit fell.
I got me ten forward gears and a Georgia overdrive.. I'm takin' little white pills, and my eyes are open wide… I just passed a Jimmy and a White .. I been a-passin' everything in sight.. Six days on the road and I'm a-gonna make it home tonight. — Well, it seems like a month since I kissed my baby goodbye.
It’s soon after midnight and the moon is in my eye — Charlotte’s a harlot, dresses in scarlet. Something is happening. That big, fat moon is gonna shine like a spoon.
—
nm
Hey I love your work! I was at this concert and I have a recording of the whole fabulous set. If you want I can send it over - low quality as it may be I'm sure Dylan's genius will still shine through.
Thank you so much for all of this fine work!
My pal traveled with his lady from KC, & sat in the front row for this show Saturday night. He was just knocked out by it.
Appreciate all your aricles, very much.
Corky in KC