If you see her, say hello
She might be in Tangier
She left here last early spring
Is livin' there, I hear
Say for me that I'm all right
Though things get kind of slow
She might think that I've forgotten her
Don't tell her it isn't so

We had a falling-out
Like lovers often will
And to think of how she left that night
It still brings me a chill
And though our separation
It pierced me to the heart
She still lives inside of me
We've never been apart

If you get close to her
Kiss her once for me
I always have respected her
For doin' what she did and gettin' free
Oh, whatever makes her happy
I won't stand in the way
Though the bitter taste still lingers on
From the night I tried to make her stay

I see a lot of people
As I make the rounds
And I hear her name here and there
As I go from town to town
And I've never gotten used to it
I've just learned to turn it off
Either I'm too sensitive
Or else I'm gettin' soft

Sundown, yellow moon
I replay the past
I know every scene by heart
They all went by so fast
If she's passin' back this way
I'm not that hard to find
Tell her she can look me up
If she's got the time


Lyrics submitted by evilwoman

If You See Her, Say Hello Lyrics as written by Bob Dylan

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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If You See Her, Say Hello song meanings
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  • -1
    General Comment

    The song is both a love song and a parody of a love song:

    On one level, it's straight forward. Dylan loves some girl. He misses her. He wants her back. Blah Blah. That's the boring bit.

    But on another level, there's an awareness that what he's actually saying is ridiculous. As the song progresses, we learn:

    -He's asking someone to 'say hello' to some girl, even though he has absolutely no idea where she is (he 'might' be able to specify the city)

    -He assumes that whoever he's talking to will not only find her, but probably kiss her and 'get close to her'. Seems unlikely, but often when people are in love/obsessed they assume that everyone else shares their object of affection/obsession.

    -'I hear her name' - It's not clear whether people are saying her name because they know her and are talking about her - or whether they are saying her name, referring to somebody else. He's getting upset because they're talking about e.g. a different Sara.

    What's more, the singer is constantly undermining and contradicting himself:

    -'I'm alright' vs 'things get kinda slow'

    -'I won't stand in the way' vs 'I tried to make her stay' (He 'won't' stand in the way because he can't)

    -'Our separation... pierced me to the heart' vs 'we've never been apart'

    -'Don't tell her [I haven't forgotten her]' vs 'Tell her she can look me up' (What's he supposed to say? 'Bob's forgotten you completely, but you should really look him up sometime...'?)

    Not that the song isn't heart-felt... That's why it's good. Dylan manages at once to come across as both in love/obsessed with some girl - and also to recognise through the words (although the 'singer' doesn't recognise it) just how ridiculous he is being.

    gravitydwarfon January 31, 2006   Link

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