• Track: Subterranean Homesick Blues
• Artist: Bob Dylan
• Album: Bringing It All Back Home
• Year: 1965

Lyrics:

Johnny’s in the basement
Mixing up the medicine
I’m on the pavement
Thinking about the government
The man in a trench coat
Badge out, laid off
Says he’s got a bad cough
Wants to get it paid off

You don’t need a weatherman
To know which way the wind blows

Look out, kid
It’s somethin’ you did
God knows when
But you’re doin’ it again
You better duck down the alleyway
Lookin’ for a new friend
A man in a coon-skin cap
In a pig pen
Wants eleven dollar bills
You only got ten

Maggie comes fleet foot
Face full of black soot
Talkin’ that the heat put
Plants in the bed but
The phone’s tapped anyway
Maggie says that many say
They must bust in early May
Orders from the DA

Look out, kid
Don’t matter what you did
Walk on your tip toes
Don’t tie no bows
Better stay away from those
That carry around a fire hose
Keep a clean nose
Watch the plain clothes
You don’t need a weatherman
To know which way the wind blows

Ah, get sick, get well
Hang around an inkwell
Ring bell, hard to tell
If anything is gonna sell
Try hard, get barred
Get back, write Braille
Get jailed, jump bail
Join the army, if you fail

Look out kid
You’re gonna get hit
By losers, cheaters
Six-time users
Hanging ’round the theaters
Girl by the whirlpool is
Lookin’ for a new fool
Don’t follow leaders
Watch the parkin’ meters

Ah, get born, keep warm
Short pants, romance, learn to dance
Get dressed, get blessed
Try to be a success
Please her, please him, buy gifts
Don’t steal, don’t lift
Twenty years of schoolin’
And they put you on the day shift

Look out kid
They keep it all hid
Better jump down a manhole
Light yourself a candle
Don’t wear sandals
Try to avoid the scandals
Don’t wanna be a bum
You better chew gum
The pump don’t work
‘Cause the vandals took the handles

Nearly 53 years ago to the day, Bob Dylan—affectionately known here at the Dances with Bass complex as Uncle Bob—scored his first top 40 hit with Subterranean Homesick Blues. According to Uncle Bob, the song’s lyrics are an amalgamation of writers/poets Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti blended with a Chuck Berry rhythm and some 1940s scat. I once tried this, but suffered a subdural hematoma and decided to go back to blogging.

The iconic line, “You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,” was the impetus behind the name of the radical group, The Weathermen. According to NPR, some of Dylan’s lyrics are so iconic that Dylan has been quoted by judges and lawyers many times in legal proceedings. This article determined that Dylan’s lyrics have been cited a whopping 186 times (as of 2011 anyway). His weatherman quote from this track has been quoted numerous times by the California Court of Appeals. In a nutshell, during a trial, lawyers introduce evidence (at least we hope). Sometimes, that evidence is scientific and quite complicated; sometimes, the evidence is so, well, evident, that no expert testimony is required because one doesn’t need a weatherman to determine which way the wind is blowing. That’s some nifty cocktail party dynamite right there, folks.

Obviously, you don’t need me (or a weatherman) to tell you that Dylan has been a prolific—and very successful—artist in the 56 years he has been making music, but I do think you might be interested in knowing that he’s released 8 studio albums, 85 singles, 26 EPs, 40 music videos, 11 live albums, 13 box sets (referred to as his Bootleg Series), 11 other box sets, 14 compilation albums, and 7 soundtracks as the main contributor. And if like me, you were wondering, Dylan has written and published 458 songs (as best I can determine).

Truly, Mr. Dylan is an extraordinary artist and among a handful of artists who have influenced nearly every rock, blues, folk, and country musician making music today, whether they realize it or not. Dylan’s blood runs through the very veins of modern music. He is a national treasure.

Video:

Here is the official video for Uncle Bob’s Subterranean Homesick Blues.

And here is a positively incredible version of Subterranean Homesick Blues by The Lumineers. I’ve never seen drums played this way, but it’s perfect for the track:

Finally, following is an interesting acoustic version of the track by the Dead Fingers:

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