The Groom's Still Waiting At The Altar

Transcript of the performance by Bob Dylan, recorded 15 November 1980 live at the Fox Warfield Theater, San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
Lyric and music written by Bob Dylan



Prayed in the ghetto
with my face in the cement,
heard the last moan of a boxer,
I seen the massacre of the innocent,
felt around for the light switch,
became nauseated.
Just me, an overweight dancer,
between walls that had deteriorated.

Oh, set my affection on things above,
let nothing stand in the way of that love,
not even the Rock of Gibraltar.
If you see her on Fanning Street,
tell her that I still think she's neat
and that the groom's still waiting at the altar.

We... h't'm'n 'n' highwaymen,
pushin' women into robbery,
mistake your shyness for aloofness,
your silence for snobbery.
Never did get the message,
didn't even know one was sent to me
for the madness of becomin'
what one was never meant to be.

Well, set my affection on things above,
let nothing stand in the way of that love,
not even the Rock of Gibraltar.
If you see her on Fanning Street,
well, tell her that I still think she's neat
and that the groom's still waiting at the altar.

Well, what can I say about Claudette
that wouldn't come on back to haunt me.
I finally had to give her up
'bout the time she began to want me.
The Lord God has mercy
on them slandered and humiliated.
I'd a-done anything for that woman
if she'd only made me feel obligated.

Well, set my affection on things above,
let nothing stand in the way of that love,
not even the Rock of Gibraltar.
Well, if you see her on Fanning Street,
tell her that I still think she's neat
and that the groom's still waiting at the altar.

Locked into a time zone,
with a high-degree temperature,
wise men count no money,
fools standin' around like furniture.
There's a wall between you
and what you want and you got to leap it.
Tonight you got the power to take it,
tomorrow you won't even need the power to keep it.

Well, set my affection on things above,
let nothing stand in the way of that love,
not even the Rock of Gibraltar.
If you see her on Fanning Street,
tell her that I still think she's neat
and that the groom's still waiting at the altar.

Wait on a minute,
I found the solution,
too rich for my blood
and I needed a transfusion.
Don't know what I can say 'bout Claudette?
She's in the mountains or the prairies,
she could be respectably married
or running a whorehouse in Buenos Aires.

Well, set my affection on things above,
let nothing stand in the way of that love,
not even the Rock of Gibraltar.
If you see her on Fanning Street,
tell her that I still think she's neat
and that the groom's still waiting at the altar.



Tangled Up In Blue

Transcript of the performance by Bob Dylan on his album "Real Live", recorded 7 July 1984 live at the Wembley Stadion, London, England
Lyric and music written by Bob Dylan



Early one morning the sun was shinin',
he was laying in bed,
wond'ring if she'd changed at all,
if her hair was still red.
Her folks, they said that their lives together
sure was gonna be rough.
They never did like Mama's home-made dress,
Papa's bankbook wasn't big enough.
And he was standing on the side of the road,
rain fallin' on his shoes,
headin' out for the old East coast,
radio blasting the news,
straight on through,
tangled up in blue.

She was married when they first met
to a man four times her age.
He left her penniless in a state of regret,
it was time to bust out of the cage.
And they drove that car as far as they could,
abandoned it out West,
splitting up on a dark sad night,
both agreeing that it was best.
She turned around to look at him
as he was walking away,
saying, "I wish I could tell you all the things
that I never learned how to say."
He said, "That's alright, baby, I love you too",
but we were tangled up in blue.

He had a steady job and a pretty face
and everything seemed to fit.
One day he could just feel the waste,
he put it all down and split.
And he drifted down to New Orleans,
where they treated him like a boy.
He nearly went mad in Baton Rouge,
he nearly drowned in Delacroix.
But all the while he was alone,
the past was close behind.
He had one too many lovers and
none of them were too refined,
all except for you,
but you were tangled up in blue.

She was workin' in the blinding light
and I stopped in for a drink.
I just kept lookin' at her face so white,
I didn't know what to think.
Later on when the crowd thinned out,
I was getting ready to leave.
She was standin' there right beside my chair,
said, "What's that you got up your sleeve?"
I said, "Nothin', baby, and that's for sure."
She leaned down into my face.
I could feel the heat and the pulse of her
as she bent down to tie the laces of my shoe,
tangled up in blue.

I lived with them on Montague Street
in a basement down the stairs.
There was snow all winter and no heat,
revolution was in the air.
And one day all of his slaves ran free,
something inside of him died.
The only thing I could do was be me
and get on that train and ride.
And when it all came crashing down,
I was already South.
I didn't know whether the world was flat or round,
I had the worst taste in my mouth
that I ever knew,
tangled up in blue.

So now I'm goin' on back again,
maybe tomorrow, maybe next year.
I gotta find someone among the women and men
whose destiny is unclear.
Some are masters of illusion,
some are ministers of the trade,
all under strong delusion,
all of their beds are unmade.
Me, I'm still heading towards the sun,
tryin' to stay out of the joint.
We always did love the very same one,
we just saw her from a different point of view,
tangled up in blue.



Love Sick

Transcript of the performance by Bob Dylan, recorded 1 October 1997 live at the Bournemouth International Centre, Bournemouth, England
Lyric and music written by Bob Dylan



I'm walkin' through streets that are dead,
walkin' with you in my head.
My feet are so tired,
my brain is so wired,
and the clouds are weepin'.

Did I hear someone tell a lie?
Did I hear someone's distant cry?
I spoke like a child,
you destroyed me with a smile
while I was sleepin'.

I'm sick of love,
that 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, see silhouettes in the window.
And I watch them 'til they're gone,
and it leaves me hangin' on
to a shadow.

I'm sick of love,
I hear the clock tick.
I'm sick of love,
I'm love sick.

Sometimes the silence can be like thunder.
Sometimes I wanna take to the road and plunder.
Could you ever be true?
I think about you
and I wonder.

I'm sick of love,
I wish I'd never met you.
I'm sick of love,
I'm tryin' to forget you.

I just don't know what to do.
I'd give anything to just be with you.