A Dylan song from the 1967 basement period, not the old Irish ballad; Self Portrait's version is live from the 1969 Isle of Wight festival with the Band.
The words
A worn-out travelling minstrel keeps rolling on, and the song asks whether anyone will help or reward him.
The song is about a wandering musician who has travelled a long way and grown tired, still on the move with no one to ease his load. It asks, again and again in its chorus, who will offer him some kindness for his trouble. The tone is affectionate and a little mournful, a portrait of the performer as a lonely drifter. The live Isle of Wight recording leans on the Band's harmony voices, giving it a ragged, gospel-tinged warmth.
Lyrics on bobdylan.com ↗Listen
The words
A worn-out travelling minstrel keeps rolling on, and the song asks whether anyone will help or reward him.
The song is about a wandering musician who has travelled a long way and grown tired, still on the move with no one to ease his load. It asks, again and again in its chorus, who will offer him some kindness for his trouble. The tone is affectionate and a little mournful, a portrait of the performer as a lonely drifter. The live Isle of Wight recording leans on the Band's harmony voices, giving it a ragged, gospel-tinged warmth.
Lyrics on bobdylan.com ↗The same year · 1970
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