Lyrics:

Words and music by Bob Dylan



Down over the window

From the dazzling sunlit place

Through the back alleys, through the blinds

Another one of the Memphis days



Honey bees are buzzing

Leaves begin to stir

I'm in love with my second cousin

I tell myself I could be happy forever with her



I keep listening for footsteps

But I ain't never hearing any

From the boat, I fish for bullheads

I catch a lot, sometimes too many



A summer breeze is blowin'

A squall is setting in

Sometimes it's just plain stupid

To get into any kind of wind



Well the old men 'round here

Sometimes they get on bad terms

With the younger men,

Old, young, age don't carry weight

It doesn't matter in the end



One of the boss' hangers-on

Sometimes comes to call

At times you least expect

Tryin' to bully you, strongarm you,

Inspire you with fear

It has the opposite effect



There's a new grove of trees on the outskirts of town

The other one is long gone

10 foot, 2 foot, 6 across

Burns with the bark still on



They say times are hard

If you don't believe it you can follow your nose

It don't bother me, times are hard anywhere

We'll just have to see how it goes



My old man, he's like some feudal lord

He's got more lives than a cat

I've never seen him quarrel with my mother even once

Things come alive or they fall flat



You can smell the pine wood burnin'

You can hear the school bell ring

Got to get up near the teacher, if you can

If you wanna learn anything



Romeo, he said to Juliet, you got a poor complexion

That don't give your appearance a very youthful touch

Juliet said back to Romeo,

Why don't you just shove off,

If it bothers you so much



They all got outta here any way they could

Cold rain can give you the shivers

They went down the Ohio, the Cumberland, the Tennessee,

All the rest of them rebel rivers



If you ever try to interfere with me

Or cross my path again,

You do so at the peril of your life

I'm not quite as cool, or forgiving as I sound

I've seen enough heartache and strife



My grandfather was a duck trapper,

He could do it with just dragnets and ropes

My grandmother could sew new dresses out of old cloth,

I don't know if they had any dreams or hopes



I had 'em once, though I suppose

To go along with all the ring dancing,

Christmas carols and all the Christmas eves

I left all my dreams and hopes

Buried under tobacco leaves



Not always easy kicking someone out

Got to wait awhile, it can be an unpleasant task

Sometimes somebody wants you to give something up

And tears or not, it's too much to ask