Well, the sweet, pretty things are in bed now of course,
The city fathers, they're trying to endorse
Reincarnation of Paul Revere's horse,
But the town has no need to be nervous.
Well, the ghost of Belle Starr, she hand down her wits
1
To Jezebel, the nun, she violently knits
A bald wig for Jack the Ripper, who sits
At the head of the Chamber of Commerce.
Mama's in the factory, she ain't got no shoes,
Dad's in the hallway looking hard for the fuze,
I'm in the kitchen with the tombstone blues – oh, well!
The hysterical bride in the penny arcade,
Screaming, she moans, "I've just been made!"
Send for the doctor, who pull down the shade,
Saying, "Don't let the boys in."
Well, the medicine man come and then he shuffles inside,
Walk with a swagger and he say to the bride:
"Stop all this weeping, swallow your pride,
You won't die, it's not poison!"
Mama's in a factory, she ain't got no shoes,
Dad's in a alley looking hard for the fuze,
I'm in the kitchen with the tombstone blues – oh, ah! Yeah!
John the Baptist, after torturing a thief,
Looks at his hero, the Commander-in-Chief.
"Tell me, great hero, but please make it brief,
Is there a hole for me to get sick in?"
Well, the Commander-in-Chief answers him while chasing a fly.
"Death to all those that––who would whimper and cry!"
Dropping a barbell, he point to the sky.
"The sun not yellow, it's chicken!"
Oh, mama's in the factory, she ain't got no shoes,
Dad's in the hallway looking hard for the fuze,
I'm in the kitchen with the tombstone blues – oh, well!
Where Ma Rainey and Beethoven once unwrapped their bedroll,
Tuba players now rehearse around the flagpole,
National Bank is selling road-maps to the soul
To the old folks' home and the college.
Well, I wish that I could write you a melody so plain
That'd ease you, dear lady, from going insane,
Ease you and cool you and cease the pain
Of your useless and pointless knowledge.
Mama in a factory ,she ain't got no shoes,
Dad's in a hallway looking hard for the fuze,
I'm in the kitchen with the tombstone blues – oh, yeah!
1
I have often wondered if Dylan actually said "whips" in this version (as opposed to "wits").