Selected Songs of Bob Dylan 1 Tracklisting 01. No More Auction Block 02. Maggie s Farm 03. It s Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) 04. High Water (For Charley Patton) No More Auction Block For Me No more pint of salt for me No more pint of salt for me No more driver s lash for me No more driver s lash for me 1 All lyrics are available at http://www.bobdylan.com/us/songs 1
Maggie's Farm No, Well, I wake in the morning, fold my hands and pray for rain I got a head full of ideas that are drivin me insane It s a shame the way she makes me scrub the floor I ain t gonna work for Maggie s brother no more No, I ain t gonna work for Maggie s brother no more Well, he hands you a nickel He hands you a dime He asks you with a grin If you re havin a good time Then he fines you every time you slam the door I ain t gonna work for Maggie s brother no more I ain t gonna work for Maggie s pa no more No, I ain t gonna work for Maggie s pa no more Well, he puts his cigar Out in your face just for kicks His bedroom window It is made out of bricks The National Guard stands around his door Ah, I ain t gonna work for Maggie s pa no more I ain t gonna work for Maggie s ma no more No, I ain t gonna work for Maggie s ma no more Well, she talks to all the servants About man and God and law Everybody says She s the brains behind pa She s sixty- eight, but she says she s twenty- four I ain t gonna work for Maggie s ma no more No, Well, I try my best to be just like I am But everybody wants you to be just like them They sing while you slave and I just get bored 2
It s Alright, Ma (I m Only Bleeding) Darkness at the break of noon Shadows even the silver spoon The handmade blade, the child s balloon Eclipses both the sun and moon To understand you know too soon There is no sense in trying Pointed threats, they bluff with scorn Suicide remarks are torn From the fool s gold mouthpiece the hollow horn Plays wasted words, proves to warn That he not busy being born is busy dying Temptation s page flies out the door You follow, find yourself at war Watch waterfalls of pity roar You feel to moan but unlike before You discover that you d just be one more Person crying So don t fear if you hear A foreign sound to your ear It s alright, Ma, I m only sighing As some warn victory, some downfall Private reasons great or small Can be seen in the eyes of those that call To make all that should be killed to crawl While others say don t hate nothing at all Except hatred Disillusioned words like bullets bark As human gods aim for their mark Make everything from toy guns that spark To flesh- colored Christs that glow in the dark It s easy to see without looking too far That not much is really sacred 3
While preachers preach of evil fates Teachers teach that knowledge waits Can lead to hundred- dollar plates Goodness hides behind its gates But even the president of the United States Sometimes must have to stand naked An though the rules of the road have been lodged It s only people s games that you got to dodge And it s alright, Ma, I can make it Advertising signs they con You into thinking you re the one That can do what s never been done That can win what s never been won Meantime life outside goes on All around you You lose yourself, you reappear You suddenly find you got nothing to fear Alone you stand with nobody near When a trembling distant voice, unclear Startles your sleeping ears to hear That somebody thinks they really found you A question in your nerves is lit Yet you know there is no answer fit To satisfy, insure you not to quit To keep it in your mind and not forget That it is not he or she or them or it That you belong to Although the masters make the rules For the wise men and the fools I got nothing, Ma, to live up to For them that must obey authority That they do not respect in any degree Who despise their jobs, their destinies Speak jealously of them that are free Do what they do just to be Nothing more than something they invest in 4
While some on principles baptized To strict party platform ties Social clubs in drag disguise Outsiders they can freely criticize Tell nothing except who to idolize And then say God bless him While one who sings with his tongue on fire Gargles in the rat race choir Bent out of shape from society s pliers Cares not to come up any higher But rather get you down in the hole That he s in But I mean no harm nor put fault On anyone that lives in a vault But it s alright, Ma, if I can t please him Old lady judges watch people in pairs Limited in sex, they dare To push fake morals, insult and stare While money doesn t talk, it swears Obscenity, who really cares Propaganda, all is phony While them that defend what they cannot see With a killer s pride, security It blows the minds most bitterly For them that think death s honesty Won t fall upon them naturally Life sometimes must get lonely My eyes collide head- on with stuffed Graveyards, false gods, I scoff At pettiness which plays so rough Walk upside- down inside handcuffs Kick my legs to crash it off Say okay, I have had enough, what else can you show me? And if my thought- dreams could be seen They d probably put my head in a guillotine But it s alright, Ma, it s life, and life only 5
High Water (For Charley Patton) High water risin', rising night and day. All the gold and silver are being stolen away. Big Joe Turner looking east and west from the dark room of his mind. He made it to Kansas City, Twelfth Street and Vine. Nothin' standing there, high water everywhere. High water risin, the shacks are sliding down. Folks lose their possessions; the folks are leaving town. Bertha Mason shook it, broke it, then she hung it on the wall Saying, You dancin' with whom they tell you to or you don't dance at all. It's tough out there, high water everywhere. I got a craven love for blazin' speed; I got a hopped up Mustang Ford. Jump into the wagon, love, throw your panties overboard. I can write you poems, make a strong man lose his mind. I'm no pig without a wig; I hope you treat me kind. Things are breakin' up out there, high water everywhere. High water rising, six inches above my head. Coffins droppin' in the street like balloons made out of lead. Water poured into Vicksburg, don't know what I'm gonna do. "Don't reach out for me," she said, Can't you see I'm drowning too. It's rough out there, high water everywhere. Well, George Lewes told the Englishman, the Italian and the Jew: You can't open up your mind, boys, to every conceivable point of view. They got Charles Darwin trapped out there on Highway 5. Judge says to the High Sheriff, "I want him dead or alive. Either one, I don't care, high water everywhere. Well, the cuckoo is a pretty bird, she warbles as she flies. I'm preachin' the word of God; I'm puttin' out your eyes. I asked Fat Nancy for somethin' to eat; she said, "Take it off the shelf. As great as you are man, you'll never be greater than yourself. I told her I didn't really care, high water everywhere. I get up in the mornin'; I believe I'll dust my broom. Keepin' away from the women, I'm givin' them lots of room. Thunder rollin' over Clarksdale, everythin' a- lookin' blue. I just can't be happy, love, unless you're happy too. It's bad out there, high water everywhere. 6