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20. Desire
1. Hurricane
by Bob Dylan and Jacques Levy
1975
Pistol shots ring out in the barroom night
Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall.
She sees the bartender in a pool of blood,
Cries out, "My God, they killed them all!"
Here comes the story of the Hurricane,
The man the authorities came to blame
For somethin' that he never done.
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world.
Three bodies lyin' there does Patty see
And another man named Bello, movin' around mysteriously.
"I didn't do it," he says, and he throws up his hands
"I was only robbin' the register, I hope you understand.
I saw them leavin'," he says, and he stops
"One of us had better call up the cops."
And so Patty calls the cops
And they arrive on the scene with their red lights flashin'
In the hot New Jersey night.
Meanwhile, far away in another part of town
Rubin Carter and a couple of friends are drivin' around.
Number one contender for the middleweight crown
Had no idea what kinda shit was about to go down
When a cop pulled him over to the side of the road
Just like the time before and the time before that.
In Paterson that's just the way things go.
If you're black you might as well not show up on the street
'Less you wanna draw the heat.
Alfred Bello had a partner and he had a rap for the cops.
Him and Arthur Dexter Bradley were just out prowlin' around
He said, "I saw two men runnin' out, they looked like middleweights
They jumped into a white car with out-of-state plates."
And Miss Patty Valentine just nodded her head.
Cop said, "Wait a minute, boys, this one's not dead"
So they took him to the infirmary
And though this man could hardly see
They told him that he could identify the guilty men.
Four in the mornin' and they haul Rubin in,
Take him to the hospital and they bring him upstairs.
The wounded man looks up through his one dyin' eye
Says, "Wha'd you bring him in here for? He ain't the guy!"
Yes, here's the story of the Hurricane,
The man the authorities came to blame
For somethin' that he never done.
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world.
Four months later, the ghettos are in flame,
Rubin's in South America, fightin' for his name
While Arthur Dexter Bradley's still in the robbery game
And the cops are puttin' the screws to him, lookin' for somebody to blame.
"Remember that murder that happened in a bar?"
"Remember you said you saw the getaway car?"
"You think you'd like to play ball with the law?"
"Think it might-a been that fighter that you saw runnin' that night?"
"Don't forget that you are white."
Arthur Dexter Bradley said, "I'm really not sure."
Cops said, "A poor boy like you could use a break
We got you for the motel job and we're talkin' to your friend Bello
Now you don't wanta have to go back to jail, be a nice fellow.
You'll be doin' society a favor.
That sonofabitch is brave and gettin' braver.
We want to put his ass in stir
We want to pin this triple murder on him
He ain't no Gentleman Jim."
Rubin could take a man out with just one punch
But he never did like to talk about it all that much.
It's my work, he'd say, and I do it for pay
And when it's over I'd just as soon go on my way
Up to some paradise
Where the trout streams flow and the air is nice
And ride a horse along a trail.
But then they took him to the jail house
Where they try to turn a man into a mouse.
All of Rubin's cards were marked in advance
The trial was a pig-circus, he never had a chance.
The judge made Rubin's witnesses drunkards from the slums
To the white folks who watched he was a revolutionary bum
And to the black folks he was just a crazy nigger.
No one doubted that he pulled the trigger.
And though they could not produce the gun,
The D.A. said he was the one who did the deed
And the all-white jury agreed.
Rubin Carter was falsely tried.
The crime was murder "one," guess who testified?
Bello and Bradley and they both baldly lied
And the newspapers, they all went along for the ride.
How can the life of such a man
Be in the palm of some fool's hand?
To see him obviously framed
Couldn't help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land
Where justice is a game.
Now all the criminals in their coats and their ties
Are free to drink martinis and watch the sun rise
While Rubin sits like Buddha in a ten-foot cell
An innocent man in a living hell.
That's the story of the Hurricane,
But it won't be over till they clear his name
And give him back the time he's done.
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world.
2. Isis
words by Bob Dylan & Jacques Levy
music by Bob Dylan
I married Isis on the fifth day of May
But I could not hold on to her very long
So I cut off my hair and I rode straight away
For the wild unkown country where I could not go wrong
I came to a high place of darkness and light
The dividing line ran through the centre of town
So I hitched up my pony to a post on the right
Went into a laundry to wash my clothes down
A man in the corner approached me for a match
I knew right away he was not ordinary
He said "Are you lookin' for something easy to catch?"
I said "I ain't got no money," He said "That ain't necessary".
We set out that night for the cold in the North.
I gave him my blanket, he gave me his word
I said, "Where are we goin'?" He said we'd be back by the fourth.
I said "That's the best news I ever heard."
I was thinking about turquiose I was thinking about gold.
I was thhinking about diamonds and the worlds biggest necklace.
As we rode through the canyons, through the devilish cold,
I was thinking about Isis, how she thought I was so reckless.
How she told me that one day we'd meet up again,
And thing would be different the next time we wed.
If I only hang on and just be her friend.
I still can't remember all the best things she said.
We came to the pyramids all embedde in ice.
He said "There's a body I'm trying to find,
If I carry it out it'll fetch a good price."
Twas then that I knew what he had on his mind.
The wind it was howling and the snow was outrageous.
We chopped throught he night and we chopped throught he dawn.
When he died I was hopong that it wasn't contagious,
But I made up my mind that I had to go on.
I broke into the tomb but the casket was empty
There were no jewels no nothing, I felt I'd been had.
When I saw that my partner was just being friendly,
When I took up his offer I must-a been mad
I picked up his body and I dragged it inside,
Threw down into the hole and I put back the cover.
I said a quick prayer and I felt satified
Then I rode back to Isis just to tell her I love her.
She was there in the meadow where the creek used to rise.
Blinded by sleep and in need of a bed.
I came in from the East with the sun in my eyes.
I cursed one time then rode on ahead.
She said "Where ya been?" I said "No place special."
She said "You look different." I said "Well I guess."
She said "You been gone." I said "That's only natural."
She said "You gonna stay." I said "Well if you want me to yes."
Isis oh Isis you're a mystical child
What drives me to you is what drives me insane
I still can remember the way that you smiled
On the fifth day of May in the drizziling rain.
3. Mozambique
(Music by Bob Dylan, Words by Bob Dylan and Jacques Levy)
1975, 1976 Ram's Horn Music
I like to spend some time in Mozambique
The sunny sky is aqua blue
And all the couples dancing cheek to cheek.
It's very nice to stay a week or two.
There's lots of pretty girls in Mozambique
And plenty time for good romance
And everybody likes to stop and speak
To give the special one you seek a chance
Or maybe say hello with just a glance.
Lying next to her by the ocean
Reaching out and touching her hand,
Whispering your secret emotion
Magic in a magical land.
And when it's time for leaving Mozambique,
To say goodbye to sand and sea,
You turn around to take a final peek
And you see why it's so unique to be
Among the lovely people living free
Upon the beach of sunny Mozambique.
4. One More Cup of Coffee
Bob Dylan and Jacques Levy
Your Breath is sweet, your eyes are like
Two jewels in the sky
Your back is straight your hair is smooth
On the pillow where you lie.
But I don't sense affection
No gratitude or love.
Your loyalty is not me but to the stars above
Chourus :
One more cup of coffee for the road.
One more cup of coffee for I go,
To the valley below.
Your daddy he's an outlaw
And a wanderer by trade.
He'll teach you how to pick an choose
And how to throw the blade.
And he oversees his kingdom
So no stranger does intrude.
His voice it trembles as he calls out
For another plate of food
Chorus
Your sister sees the future
Like your momma and yourself.
You've never learned to read or write
There's no books upon your shelf.
And your pleasure know no limits
Your voice is like a meadow larks.
But your heart is like an ocean
Mysterious and dark.
Chours
5. Oh, Sister
words and music by Bob Dylan & Jacques Levy
Oh sister when I come, to ly in your arms.
You should not treat me like a stranger.
Our father would not like the way that you act,
And you must realize the danger.
Oh sister am I not a brother to you.
And one deserving of affection.
And is our purpose not the same on this earth,
To love and follow his direction.
We grew up together from the cradle to the grave.
We died and were reborn and left mysteriously saved
Oh sister when I come to knock on your door
Don't turn away, you'll create sorrow.
Time is an ocean, but it ends at the shore.
You may not see me tomorrow.
6. Joey
(Music by Bob Dylan, Words by Bob Dylan and Jacques Levy)
1975, 1976 Ram's Horn Music
Born in Red Hook, Brooklyn, in the year of who knows when
Opened up his eyes to the tune of an accordion
Always on the outside of whatever side there was
When they asked him why it had to be that way, "Well," he answered, "just because."
Larry was the oldest, Joey was next to last.
They called Joe "Crazy," the baby they called "Kid Blast."
Some say they lived off gambling and runnin' numbers too.
It always seemed they got caught between the mob and the men in blue.
Joey, Joey,
King of the streets, child of clay.
Joey, Joey,
What made them want to come and blow you away?
There was talk they killed their rivals, but the truth was far from that
No one ever knew for sure where they were really at.
When they tried to strangle Larry, Joey almost hit the roof.
He went out that night to seek revenge, thinkin' he was bulletproof.
The war broke out at the break of dawn, it emptied out the streets
Joey and his brothers suffered terrible defeats
Till they ventured out behind the lines and took five prisoners.
They stashed them away in a basement, called them amateurs.
The hostages were tremblin' when they heard a man exclaim,
"Let's blow this place to kingdom come, let Con Edison take the blame."
But Joey stepped up, he raised his hand, said, "We're not those kind of men.
It's peace and quiet that we need to go back to work again."
Joey, Joey,
King of the streets, child of clay.
Joey, Joey,
What made them want to come and blow you away?
The police department hounded him, they called him Mr. Smith
They got him on conspiracy, they were never sure who with.
"What time is it?" said the judge to Joey when they met
"Five to ten," said Joey. The judge says, "That's exactly what you get."
He did ten years in Attica, reading Nietzsche and Wilhelm Reich
They threw him in the hole one time for tryin' to stop a strike.
His closest friends were black men 'cause they seemed to understand
What it's like to be in society with a shackle on your hand.
When they let him out in '71 he'd lost a little weight
But he dressed like Jimmy Cagney and I swear he did look great.
He tried to find the way back into the life he left behind
To the boss he said, "I have returned and now I want what's mine."
Joey, Joey,
King of the streets, child of clay.
Joey, Joey,
Why did they have to come and blow you away?
It was true that in his later years he would not carry a gun
"I'm around too many children," he'd say, "they should never know of one."
Yet he walked right into the clubhouse of his lifelong deadly foe,
Emptied out the register, said, "Tell 'em it was Crazy Joe."
One day they blew him down in a clam bar in New York
He could see it comin' through the door as he lifted up his fork.
He pushed the table over to protect his family
Then he staggered out into the streets of Little Italy.
Joey, Joey,
King of the streets, child of clay.
Joey, Joey,
What made them want to come and blow you away?
Sister Jacqueline and Carmela and mother Mary all did weep.
I heard his best friend Frankie say, "He ain't dead, he's just asleep."
Then I saw the old man's limousine head back towards the grave
I guess he had to say one last goodbye to the son that he could not save.
The sun turned cold over President Street and the town of Brooklyn mourned
They said a mass in the old church near the house where he was born.
And someday if God's in heaven overlookin' His preserve
I know the men that shot him down will get what they deserve.
Joey, Joey,
King of the streets, child of clay.
Joey, Joey,
What made them want to come and blow you away?
7. Romance In Durango
(Music by Bob Dylan, Words by Bob Dylan and Jacques Levy)
1975, 1985 Ram's Horn Music
Hot chili peppers in the blistering sun
Dust on my face and my cape,
Me and Magdalena on the run
I think this time we shall escape.
Sold my guitar to the baker's son
For a few crumbs and a place to hide,
But I can get another one
And I'll play for Magdalena as we ride.
No llores, mi querida
Dios nos vigila
Soon the horse will take us to Durango.
Agarrame, mi vida
Soon the desert will be gone
Soon you will be dancing the fandango.
Past the Aztec ruins and the ghosts of our people
Hoofbeats like castanets on stone.
At night I dream of bells in the village steeple
Then I see the bloody face of Ramon.
Was it me that shot him down in the cantina
Was it my hand that held the gun?
Come, let us fly, my Magdalena
The dogs are barking and what's done is done.
No llores, mi querida
Dios nos vigila
Soon the horse will take us to Durango.
Agarrame, mi vida
Soon the desert will be gone
Soon you will be dancing the fandango.
At the corrida we'll sit in the shade
And watch the young torero stand alone.
We'll drink tequila where our grandfathers stayed
When they rode with Villa into Torre6n.
Then the padre will recite the prayers of old
In the little church this side of town.
I will wear new boots and an earring of gold
You'll shine with diamonds in your wedding gown.
The way is long but the end is near
Already the fiesta has begun.
The face of God will appear
With His serpent eyes of obsidian.
No llores, mi querida
Dios nos vigila
Soon the horse will take us to Durango.
Agarrame, mi vida
Soon the desert will be gone
Soon you will be dancing the fandango.
Was that the thunder that I heard?
My head is vibrating, I feel a sharp pain
Come sit by me, don't say a word
Oh, can it be that I am slain?
Quick, Magdalena, take my gun
Look up in the hills, that flash of light.
Aim well my little one
We may not make it through the night.
No llores, mi querida
Dios nos vigila
Soon the horse will take us to Durango.
Agarrame, mi vida
Soon the desert will be gone
Soon you will be dancing the fandango.
8. Black Diamond Bay
(Music by Bob Dylan, Words by Bob Dylan and Jacques Levy)
1975, 1976 Ram's Horn Music
Up on the white veranda
She wears a necktie and a Panama hat.
Her passport shows a face
From another time and place
She looks nothin' like that.
And all the remnants of her recent past
Are scattered in the wild wind.
She walks across the marble floor
Where a voice from the gambling room is callin' her to come on in.
She smiles, walks the other way
As the last ship sails and the moon fades away
From Black Diamond Bay.
As the mornin' light breaks open, the Greek comes down
And he asks for a rope and a pen that will write.
"Pardon, monsieur," the desk clerk says,
Carefully removes his fez,
"Am I hearin' you right?"
And as the yellow fog is liftin'
The Greek is quickly headin' for the second floor.
She passes him on the spiral staircase
Thinkin' he's the Soviet Ambassador,
She starts to speak, but he walks away
As the storm clouds rise and the palm branches sway
On Black Diamond Bay.
A soldier sits beneath the fan
Doin' business with a tiny man who sells him a ring.
Lightning strikes, the lights blow out.
The desk clerk wakes and begins to shout,
"Can you see anything?"
Then the Greek appears on the second floor
In his bare feet with a rope around his neck,
While a loser in the gambling room lights up a candle,
Says, "Open up another deck."
But the dealer says, "Attendez-vous, s'il vous plalt,''
As the rain beats down and the cranes fly away
From Black Diamond Bay.
The desk clerk heard the woman laugh
As he looked around the aftermath and the soldier got tough.
He tried to grab the woman's hand,
Said, "Here's a ring, it cost a grand."
She said, "That ain't enough."
Then she ran upstairs to pack her bags
While a horse-drawn taxi waited at the curb.
She passed the door that the Greek had locked,
Where a handwritten sign read, "Do Not Disturb."
She knocked upon it anyway
As the sun went down and the music did play
On Black Diamond Bay.
"I've got to talk to someone quick!"
But the Greek said, "Go away," and he kicked the chair to the floor.
He hung there from the chandelier.
She cried, "Help, there's danger near
Please open up the door!"
Then the volcano erupted
And the lava flowed down from the mountain high above.
The soldier and the tiny man were crouched in the corner
Thinking of forbidden love.
But the desk clerk said, "It happens every day,"
As the stars fell down and the fields burned away
On Black Diamond Bay.
As the island slowly sank
The loser finally broke the bank in the gambling room.
The dealer said, "It's too late now.
You can take your money, but I don't know how
You'll spend it in the tomb."
The tiny man bit the soldier's ear
As the floor caved in and the boiler in the basement blew,
While she's out on the balcony, where a stranger tells her,
"My darling, je vous aime beaucoup."
She sheds a tear and then begins to pray
As the fire burns on and the smoke drifts away
From Black Diamond Bay.
I was sittin' home alone one night in L.A.,
Watchin' old Cronkite on the seven o'clock news.
It seems there was an earthquake that
Left nothin' but a Panama hat
And a pair of old Greek shoes.
Didn't seem like much was happenin',
So I turned it off and went to grab another beer.
Seems like every time you turn around
There's another hard-luck story that you're gonna hear
And there's really nothin' anyone can say
And I never did plan to go anyway
To Black Diamond Bay.
9. Sara
Bob Dylan
I laid on a dune
I looked at the sky
When the children were babies
And played on the beach
You came up to behind me
I saw you go by
You were always so close
and still within' reach
Sara, Sara
Whatever made you want to change you mind
Sara, Sara
So easy to look at, so hard to define.
I can still see them playin'
With their pails in the sand
They run to the water
Their buckets to fill
I can still see the shells
Fallin' out of their hands
As they follow each other
Back up the hill
Sara, Sara
Sweet virgin angel, sweet love of my life
Sara, Sara
Radiant jewel, mystical wife
Sleepin' in the woods
By a fire in the night
Drinkin' white rum
In a Portugal bar
Them playin' leap-frog
And hearin' about Snow White
You in the market place
In Savanna-la-Mar
Sara, Sara
It's all so clear, I could never forget
Sara, Sara
Lovin' you is the one thing I'll never regret
I can still hear the sounds
Of those Methodist bells
I'd taken the cure
And had just gotten through
Stayin' up for days
In the Chelsea Hotel
Writin' "Sad-Eyed Lady
Of the Lowlands" for you
Sara, Sara
Wherever we travel we're never apart
Sara, oh Sara
Beautiful lady, so dear to my heart
How did I meet you
I don't know
A messenger sent me
In a tropical storm
You were there in the winter
Moonlight on the snow
And on Lily Pond Lane
When the weather was warm
Sara, oh Sara
Scorpio Sphinx in a calico dress
Sara, Sara
You must forgive me my unworthiness
Now the beach is deserted
Except for some kelp
And a peice of an old ship
That lies on the shore
You always responded
When I needed your help
You gimme a map
And a key to your door
Sara, oh Sara
Glamorous nymph with an arrow and bow
Sara, oh Sara
Don't ever leave me, don't ever go
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