One of several takes on the same ballad about Billy the Kid spread across the soundtrack.
Takes on the album: Billy 1 · Billy 4 · Billy 7
The words
A ballad that follows the outlaw Billy as the law hunts him across the border country.
The singer speaks directly to Billy the Kid, an outlaw on the run, as the law closes in. The verses follow him through lonely towns, card games, borrowed beds and the long ride toward the border, while a lawman who was once his friend draws nearer. Each verse returns to the same address to Billy, part warning and part lament, as if the outcome is already known. The mood is unhurried and fatalistic, a portrait of a young man living on borrowed time.
Lyrics on bobdylan.com ↗Listen and watch
The words
A ballad that follows the outlaw Billy as the law hunts him across the border country.
The singer speaks directly to Billy the Kid, an outlaw on the run, as the law closes in. The verses follow him through lonely towns, card games, borrowed beds and the long ride toward the border, while a lawman who was once his friend draws nearer. Each verse returns to the same address to Billy, part warning and part lament, as if the outcome is already known. The mood is unhurried and fatalistic, a portrait of a young man living on borrowed time.
Lyrics on bobdylan.com ↗Connections
On the map
In threads
The same year · 1973
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