Well, sweet, pretty things, they're in bed now of course,
City fathers, they're trying to endorse
Reincarnation of Paul Revere's horse,
But the town has no need to be nervous.
Ghost of Belle Starr, she hands down her wits
To Jezebel, the nun, she violently knits
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,
Daddy's in the hallway looking for the fuze,
I'm in the kitchen with the tombstone blues.
Hysterical bride in the penny arcade,
Screaming, she moans that I've just been made,
Sends for the doctor, pulls down the shade,
Says, "My advice is not to let the boys in."
Well, the medicine man comes, he shuffles inside,
He walks with a swagger and he says to the bride,
"Stop all this weeping and swallow your pride,
You will not die, it's not poison!"
Mama's in the factory, ain't got no shoe,
Daddy's in the alley looking for the fuze,
I'm in the kitchen with the tombstone blues.
Where Ma Rainey and Beethoven unwrapped their bedroll,
Tuba players now rehearse around the flagpole
And the National Bank at a profit sells road-maps to the soul
To the old folks' home and the college.
I wish I could write you a melody so plain,
Praise
1 you, dear lady, from going insane,
Stop this weeping, this useless pain
Of your useless and pointless knowledge.
Mama's in the factory, ain't got no shoes,
Daddy's in the hallway looking for the fuze,
I'm in the kitchen with the tombstone blues.
1
It's unclear what Dylan says here. The original album version has the following: "That could hold you, dear lady, from going insane..." It sounds as though Dylan says "praise" in place of "hold". But praise doesn't really fit syntactically, so it seems questionable.