• Track: Positively 4th Street
• Artist: Bob Dylan
• Album: Positively 4th Street / From a Buick 6 single
• Year: 1965

Lyrics:

You’ve gotta lotta nerve to say you are my friend
When I was down you just stood there grinnin’
You’ve gotta lotta nerve to say you have a helping hand to lend
You just want to be on the side that’s winnin’
You see me on the street, you always act surprised
Ya say “how are you?”, “good luck”, but ya don’t mean it
When you know as well as me you’d rather see me paralyzed
Why don’t you just come out once and scream it
I know the reason you talked behind my back
I used to be among the crowd you’re in with
But do you take me for such a fool, to think I’d make contact
With the one who tries to hide what he don’t know to begin with?
You say I’ve let you down – ya know its not like that
If you’re so hurt, why then doncha show it?

Yes, I wish that for just one time you could stand inside my shoes
You’d know what a drag it is to see you

You say you’ve lost your faith, but that’s not where its at
Ya have no faith to lose – an’ ya know it
No, I doe not feel that good when I see the heartbreaks you embrace
If I was a master thief perhaps I’d rob them
And tho I know you’re dissatisfied with your position and your place
Don’t you understand, its not my problem?
I wish that for just one time you could stand inside my shoes
And just for that one moment I could be you
Yes, I wish that for just one time you could stand inside my shoes
You’d know what a drag it is to see you

Get It:

The Positively 4th Street single is available here:

Without a doubt, this is my favorite of Uncle Bob’s tracks. Originally released as a single, it never appeared on a full-length LP until 1967’s Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits.

There a number of theories about who is targeted by this track’s biting lyrics. According to Rolling Stone, this is Dylan’s kiss-off to the pre-fame doubters he dealt with when he lived in on 4th Street in Greenwich Village, and when he lived on fraternity row at the University of Minnesota (located on 4th Street in Minneapolis).

Regardless of Dylan’s intended target, I say we can all use this song as a musical middle finger to whomever we choose. Personally, the line, “Yes, I wish that for just one time you could stand inside my shoes; you’d know what a drag it is to see you” has a personal meaning and target.

And no, I’ll never tell.

Video:

Uncle Bob hasn’t recorded many official music videos, but here is a shortened video version of Thunder on the Mountain (from the album Modern Times), a staff fave here at Dances with Bass Radio:

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