Mr. Tambourine Man

The Byrds

Hey, Mr. Tambourine man, play a song for me
I'm not sleepy and there ain't no place I'm going to
Hey, Mr. Tambourine man, play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning, I'll come followin' you

Take me for a trip upon your magic swirling ship
All my senses have been stripped
And my hands can't feel to grip and my toes too numb to step
Wait only for my boot heels to be wandering

I'm ready to go anywhere, I'm ready for to fade
Into my own parade
Cast your dancing spell my way
I promise to go under it

Hey, Mr. Tambourine man, play a song for me
I'm not sleepy and there ain't no place I'm going to
Hey, Mr. Tambourine man, play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning, I'll come followin' you


Lyrics submitted by planetearth, edited by Paymaan

Mr. Tambourine Man Lyrics as written by Bob Dylan

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group

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Mr. Tambourine Man song meanings
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15 Comments

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  • +1
    General Commenti dont get it is she talking about sex or something else? what does she mean by do it?
    kiana wolfon June 10, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Commentwow, i love this song and i just learned it on guitar, im actually most surprised that only three people have commented on any other byrds songs. this one would have to be my favorite
    autpaxautbellum37on May 12, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Commenti have to say the dylan version is much better.
    thinkinghurtson June 03, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General CommentIt's a pity that the Byrds had to cut the song short for the sake of a single - the hypnotic Rickenbacker jangle and the whole song would have been a trip. And you don't have to worry about bad ones. Bob Dylan just shattered the boundaries of lyricism with this song. No one knows what it actually means, it's just fragments dragged from across his mind. But it's just so beautiful...
    drew_007on November 08, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General CommentThis is so much better than the dylan version. Or maybe it's just because I've heard this one first...
    ScatScaton February 22, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General CommentWelll my friend told me that this song was about their drug dealer, I'm not sure if I believe that but he said he saw it on tv
    jake69on June 27, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General CommentSounds to me like it's about a drug dealer
    bayberry_moonon January 05, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Commentim not sure what the heck this song is about. mayb bayberry_moon is right. this song is weird.
    lvrpl09on January 05, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General CommentI first heard this song when I was very young, I thought the lyrics were just beautiful.
    Now that im older, I must admit that it does suggest drugs or something of the sort.
    Infact, reading over the lyrics, im almost postive. Alot of the words symbolise drugs.
    However it would make me happier if it was just innocent words thrown together :)
    Either way, this is a beautiful song! I love it, its just one of those songs I will never forget.
    summergirl85on June 10, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General CommentThis song is about an acid dealer in late 60s Berkeley.

    The narrator is numb and has the dumbs, fried from last night's trip. "Evening's empire" refers to last night's hallucinations. He's come down, mostly, but is still strung out and can't sleep.

    But it was a great trip. A fantastic trip. He's maybe never had such a heavy acid trip, but his mind is blown, he's astounded by the possibilities and the brilliant glory of LSD.

    He's burned out. He can't sleep, his body and brain are numb, he's walking funny and everything seems gray and dead.

    But he's ready to do it again.

    The second layer of meaning of this song is about the crazy, freewheeling sensation of the 1960s. The possibilities seemed limitless.

    And they still are limitless. The Big Lie is that they ever went away. Hippie culture is still around if you look. It's one of the few functioning, healthy communities left.
    BloodReignon July 16, 2007   Link

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