Opening night of the 2024 Outlaw Music Festival — Bob Dylan
Some notes on the songs played and the lyrics.
Alpharetta, Georgia. 21st June, 2024. Bob Dylan and his band. A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by Bob Dylan and his band…
Tony Garnier — electric and stand up bass
Jim Keltner — drums
Bob Britt — acoustic guitar, electric guitar
Doug Lancio — acoustic guitar, electric guitar
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Thank you to Donnie Herron for all the playing over the years — He’s been on the stage with Bob from the early days of when I first saw Bob Dylan. He seems to have a strong connection with Bob — His playing along with Bob's piano playing these last few years, his notes and Bob's seemingly merging together in the sound it seems at times. I hope that he returns to the band maybe after the summer tour.
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If you’ve not already seen, some great little close up video clips of Bob Dylan playing last night have been posted by Ray Padgett — Last night. He’s due to post a full report of the show over on his Substack page later today (A link to his page in my ‘recommendations’ on here, if you aren’t already subscribing to it).
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Some notes /
I have just been looking at the songs on paper — the titles, lyrics, considering if any have been played on Theme Time Radio Hour. The Colours TTRH episode.. Mr Blue, Under the Red Sky, Scarlet Town (Sometimes I consider which Bob Dylan songs could be on TTRH episodes.. so this kind of linked to that). Pay in Blood .. just after Mr Blue.. cold, cold Heart .. blue.. blood.. There's something happening with colours, temperature, heat. Early Roman Kings.. "I'll dress up your wounds with a blood clotted rag" ..Pay in Blood.. "Legs and arms and body and bone, I pay in blood, but not my own" (Another love before my time / made your heart sad and blue / and so my heart is paying now / for things I didn't do — Cold, Cold Heart) … "In Scarlet Town where I was born, there’s ivy leaf and silver thorn"... (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 — Mr Blue). Little Boy Blue come blow your horn, in Scarlet Town where I was born.
—
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
(Two trains running side by side / Forty miles wide down the Eastern line)
..
Let the bird sing, let the bird fly
(Fly away little bird, fly away, flap your wings
Fly by night like the early Roman Kings)
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
..
But I'm painting it blue
Call me Mr. Blue
Call me Mr. Blue
Call me Mr. Blue
—
The songs:
My Babe (Willie Nixon) —
My baby don't stand no cheatin', my babe
Oh, yeah, she don't stand no cheatin', my babe
Oh, yeah she don't stand no cheatin'
She don't stand none of that midnight creepin'
My babe, true little baby, my babe
My babe, I know she love me, my babe
Oh, yes, I know she love me, my babe
Oh, yes, I know she love me
She don't do nothin' but kiss and hug me
My babe, true little baby, my babe
My baby don't stand no cheatin', my babe
Oh, no, she don't stand no cheatin', my babe
Oh, no, she don't stand no cheatin'
Everything she do she do so pleasin'
My babe, true little baby, my babe
My baby don't stand no foolin', my babe
Oh, yeah, she don't stand no foolin', my babe
Oh, yeah, she don't stand no foolin'
When she's hot there ain't no coolin'
My babe, true little baby, my babe (She's my baby)
She's my baby (True little baby)
She's my baby (True little baby)
She's my baby (True little baby)
She's my baby (True little baby)
She's my baby
—
Beyond Here Lies Nothin’ —
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'
..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 is window
And every window 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
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
—
Simple Twist of Fate —
Well they sat together in the park
As the evening sky grew dark
She looked at him and felt a spark tingle to his bones
’Twas then he felt alone and tried to get things straight
And watched out for a simple twist of fate
They walked along by the old canal
A little confused, I remember well
Stopped into a strange hotel.. with a neon burning sign
She said put your hand in mine, I don’t need to hesitate
It was all about that simple twist of fate
A saxophone someplace softly played
She was walkin’ on by the arcade
She heard a melody rise and fade, the sun was coming up
She dropped a coin into the cup..
Of a blind man at the gate
And forgot about that simple twist of fate
He woke up, she was gone
He didn’t see nothing but the dawn
Got out of bed and put his shoes back on,
And he pushed back the blinds, found a note she left behind
What did it say? Said you should’ve met me back in ‘58
We could have avoided this little simple twist of fate
Now he hears the ticking of the clocks
And he hunts for her through the city blocks
Even down there by the waterfront docks, where the sailors all roll in
Maybe he’ll see her once again, how long must he wait
One more time.. for a simple twist of fate
People tell me it’s a sin
That’s it’s too far working, way down in ..(?)
I let her get under my skin, under my skin too late
I had another date, a date that couldn’t wait
Blame it on.. blame it on a simple twist of fate
—
Little Queenie (Chuck Berry) —
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) —
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
—
Pay in Blood —
Well I`m grinding my life away, steady and sure
Nothing more wretched than what I must endure
I`m drenched in the light that shines from the sun
I could stone you to death for the wrongs that you done
Sooner or later you`ll make a mistake
I`ll put you in a chain that you never can break
Legs and arms and body and bone
I pay in blood, but not my own
Night after night, day after day
They strip your useless hopes away
The more I take, the more I give
The more I die, the more I live
I got something in my pocket make your eyeballs swim
I got dogs that could tear you limb to limb
I`m circling around in the southern zone
I pay in blood, but not my own
Another political pumping out his piss
Another ragged beggar blowin’ ya a kiss
Life is short and it don’t last long
They`ll hang you in the morning and sing ya a song
Someone must have slipped a drug in your wine
You gulped it down and you lost your mind
My head so hard, it must be made of stone
I pay in blood, but not my own
How I made it back home nobody knows
Or how I survived so many blows
I been through hell, what good did it do?
My conscience is clear, what about you?
I’ll give you justice, I’ll fatten your purse
Show me your moral virtues first
Hear me holler hear me moan
I pay in blood but not my own
You bit your lover in the bed,
Come here I`ll break your lousy head
Our nation must be saved and freed
You been accused of murder, how do you plead?
This is how I spend my days
I came to bury not to praise
I`ll drink my fill and sleep alone
I pay in blood, but not my own
—
Cold, Cold Heart (Hank Williams) —
I've tried so hard, my dear
To show that you're my every dream
Yet you're afraid each thing I do
Is just some evil scheme
A memory from your lonesome past
Keeps us so far apart
Why can't I free your doubtful mind
And melt your cold, cold heart?
Another love before my time
Made your heart sad and blue
And so my heart is paying now
For things I didn't do
In anger, unkind words I say
That made the teardrop starts
Why can't I free your doubtful mind
And melt your cold, cold heart?
There was a time when I believed
That you belonged to me
But now I know your heart
Is shackled to a memory
The more I learn to care for you
The more we drift apart
Why can't I free your doubtful mind
And melt your cold, cold heart?
Ooh, ooh
—
Early Roman Kings —
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
—
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 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
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
—
The Fool (Naomi Ford and Lee Hazlewood) —
Gather round me buddies
Hold your glasses high
And drink to a fool
A crazy fool
Who told his baby, goodbye
Too late he found out he loves her
So much he wants to die
But drink to a fool
A crazy fool
Who told his baby, goodbye
He needs her, he needs her so
He wonders why he let her go-oo, o-oo, oooo
She's found a new love, buddy
He's a lucky guy
So drink to the fool
'Cause I'm that fool
Who told his baby, goodbye
He needs her, he needs her so
He wonders why he let her go-oo, o-oo, oooo
She's found a new love, buddy
He's a lucky guy
So drink to the fool
'Cause I'm that fool
I told my baby, goodbye
I told my baby, goodbye
..
Bob Dylan played this song, The Fool, by Stanford Clark, on the Theme Time Radio Hour episode — Fools. “I always thought it was one of the best Elvis Presley records that Elvis Presley never made”
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Scarlet Town —
In Scarlet Town where I was born
There’s ivy leaf and silver thorn
The streets have names you can’t pronounce
Gold is down to a quarter of an ounce
The music starts and the people sway
Everybody says, are you going my way?
Uncle Tom still working for Uncle Bill
Scarlet town is under the hill
Scarlet Town in the month of May
Sweet William on his deathbed lay
Mistress Mary by the side of the bed
Kissing his face, heaping prayers on his head
So brave, so true, so gentle is he
I’ll weep for him as he’d weep for me
Little Boy Blue come blow your horn
In Scarlet Town where I was born
Scarlet Town in the hot noon hours
There’s palm leaf shadows and scattered flowers
Beggars crouching at the gate
Help comes but it comes too late
On marble slabs and in fields of stone
You make your humble wishes known
I touched the garment but the hem was torn
In Scarlet Town where I was born
In Scarlet Town the end is near
The seven wonders of the world are here
The evil and the good living side by side
All human forms seem glorified
Put your heart on a platter and see who’ll bite
See who’ll hold you and kiss you good night
There’s walnut groves and maple wood
In Scarlet town crying won’t do you no good
In Scarlet Town you fight your father’s foes
Up on the hill a chilly wind blows
You fight ‘em on high and you fight ‘em down in
You fight ‘em with whisky, morphine and gin
You got legs that can drive men mad
A lot of things we didn’t do that I wish we had
In Scarlet Town the sky is clear
You'll wish to God that you stayed right here
Set ‘em up Joe, play Walking The Floor
Play it for my flat chested junky whore
I’m staying up late and I’m making amends
While the smile of heaven descends
If love is a sin than beauty is a crime
All things are beautiful in their time
The black and the white, the yellow and the brown
It’s all right there for ya in Scarlet Town
—
Long and Wasted Years —
It’s been such a long, long time
Since we loved each other and our hearts were true
One time, for one brief day
I was the man for you
Last night I heard you talking in your sleep
Saying things you shouldn’t say
Oh, baby
You just might have to go to jail some day
Is there a place we can go?
Is there anybody we can see?
Maybe what's right for you
Isn't really right for me
I ain’t seen my family in twenty years
That ain’t easy to understand
They may be dead by now
I lost track of them after they lost their land
Shake it up baby, twist and shout
You tell me what it's all about
What you doing out in the sun anyway?
Don’t you know the sun can burn your brains right out?
My enemy slammed into the earth
I don’t know what he was worth
But he lost it all, everything and more
What a blithering fool he took me for
I wear dark glasses to cover my eyes
There’re secrets in them I can’t disguise
Come back, baby
If I hurt your feelings, I apologize
Two trains running side by side
Forty miles wide down the Eastern line
You don’t have to go, I just came to you
Because you’re a friend of mine
I think when my back was turned
The whole world behind me burned
Maybe today, if not today, maybe tomorrow
Maybe there’ll be a limit on all my sorrow
We cried on a cold and frosty morn’
We cried because our souls were torn
So much for tears
So much for those long and wasted years.
—
Tonight …
22nd June, 2024 / Charlotte, North Carolina. Outlaw
—
“No one in front of me, and nothing behind”
“Beyond here lies nothin' / Nothin' but the moon and stars”
(Image from video by Ray Padgett).
—
nm.
Question, we are going on 4th of July, Show starts at 1:30 PM. how may hours did the show last? I just need to plan since i have 2 dogs at home that hate fireworks. Thank you
Appreciate having these lyrics and first takes as I head to shows next Sunday and the following Thursday (4th of July “Picnic”) – you’ve saved me a lot of time pulling the lyrics up. Also appreciate that you led with the band personnel – too little of that in real time, and while I understand the intense focus on the set list, the composition of the band is so critical. All of that said, I’m not sure we won’t see variation and – even significant – change in the set list as the summer goes on, particularly during the 3-week break before everyone heads out west. Will miss what Donnie Herron adds, though wouldn’t be surprised to see him back very soon – his skills as a multi instrumentalist would serve this set list superbly.