Its tune is close to the Scottish folk song Come All You Tramps and Hawkers; Joan Baez recorded it on her 1968 album Any Day Now.
The words
A grave lament for a newcomer whose greed and selfishness leave him empty even in a land of plenty.
The singer looks with pity, not anger, on an immigrant who arrives seeking a better life but lives only for gain and harms others along the way. The verses list his failings in a solemn, almost biblical voice, and the song suggests his dreams will bring him no peace. Its mood is mournful and reflective, a moral portrait more than a story. Dylan sings it slowly over acoustic guitar and harmonica.
Lyrics on bobdylan.com ↗Listen and watch
The words
A grave lament for a newcomer whose greed and selfishness leave him empty even in a land of plenty.
The singer looks with pity, not anger, on an immigrant who arrives seeking a better life but lives only for gain and harms others along the way. The verses list his failings in a solemn, almost biblical voice, and the song suggests his dreams will bring him no peace. Its mood is mournful and reflective, a moral portrait more than a story. Dylan sings it slowly over acoustic guitar and harmonica.
Lyrics on bobdylan.com ↗Connections
On the map
In threads
The same year · 1967
- All Along the WatchtowerJohn Wesley Harding
- I’ll Be Your Baby TonightJohn Wesley Harding
- Dear LandlordJohn 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
- I Am a Lonesome HoboJohn Wesley Harding
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