Like most of the album, it was cut in Nashville in late 1967 with just bass, drums and Dylan's guitar and harmonica.
The words
A walker meets a captive young woman who begs to go south with him, until a figure of authority intervenes.
This short ballad is told by a man out walking who comes upon a young woman bound in chains. She pleads to run off south with him, and he turns her down, wary of what she wants, until the figure of Tom Paine hurries up to apologize for her and take charge. It reads like an allegory about freedom and its claims, told in a cool, deadpan voice. The arrangement is spare, just bass, drums, guitar and harmonica, like most of the album.
Lyrics on bobdylan.com ↗Listen and watch
The words
A walker meets a captive young woman who begs to go south with him, until a figure of authority intervenes.
This short ballad is told by a man out walking who comes upon a young woman bound in chains. She pleads to run off south with him, and he turns her down, wary of what she wants, until the figure of Tom Paine hurries up to apologize for her and take charge. It reads like an allegory about freedom and its claims, told in a cool, deadpan voice. The arrangement is spare, just bass, drums, guitar and harmonica, like most of the album.
Lyrics on bobdylan.com ↗In threads
The same year · 1967
- All Along the WatchtowerJohn Wesley Harding
- I’ll Be Your Baby TonightJohn Wesley Harding
- Dear LandlordJohn Wesley Harding
- I Pity the Poor ImmigrantJohn Wesley Harding
- John Wesley HardingJohn Wesley Harding
- I Dreamed I Saw St. AugustineJohn Wesley Harding
- The Wicked MessengerJohn Wesley Harding
- The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas PriestJohn Wesley Harding
Read onWikipedia ↗MusicBrainz ↗