I and I

Been so long since a strange woman has slept in my bed.

Look how sweet she sleep, how free must be her dream.

In another lifetime, she must have owned the world or been faithfully wed

To some righteous king who wrote psalms beside moonlight stream¹.

I and I, in creation where one's nature neither honor, nor forgive.

I and I, one said to the other, "No man see my face and live."

I think I'll go out and go for a walk --

Not much happening here, nothing ever does.

If she wake up now, you know, she'll just a-want me to talk.

I got nothing to say, 'specially about whatever was.

I and I, in creation where one's a-nature neither honor, nor forgive.

I and I, one said to the other, "No man see my face and live."

Outside of two men on the train tracks, there nobody in sight,

And they're waiting for spring to come, smoking down the track.

The world could come to an end tonight, but that's alright.

She should still be there sleeping when I get back.

I and I, in creation where one's nature neither honor, nor forgive.

I and I, one said to the other, "No man see my face and live."

Noontime and I'm still on the road, on the darkest part,

Into the narrow lanes where I can't stumble or stay put.

Someone else is speaking with my mouth, but I'm listening only to my heart.

I've made shoes for everyone – even you – while I still go barefoot.

I and I, creation² where one's nature neither honor, nor forgive.

I and I, one said to the other, "No man see my face and live."

¹ In the album version, this word is plural, but in this version the plural s is either absent or practically inaudible. This same issue applies for many of the other words that are in other versions plural nouns or verbs in the present third-person singular tense. On another note, "moonlight" in the album version is "moonlit", but here it could be "moonlighted" (with a practically inaudible ed ending.

² Here Dylan seems to leave out the word "in", which precedes the word "creation" in every other chorus.