Things are crashing down, she's all too tight
In my neighborhood she cry both day and night
It's a milestone but she's down on her luck
Days make her so lonely and it's so hard to buck
Now and then

I believe that she'd stop him if she'd find time to care
I believe that she may look upon deciding whose to care
And I go by the Lord, anywhere she's on my way
But I don't belong there

No, I don't belong to her, I don't belong to [Incomprehensible]
She's my Christ forsaken angel but she don't hear me cry
She's a long hearted mystic and she can't carry on
When I'm there she's alright then she's not when I'm gone

Heaven knows that the answer she don't con no one
She's the way forsaken beauty, she's mine for the one
And I lost her hesitating about temptation as it runs
She don't harm me, I'm not there I'm gone

Now I've cried tonight like I cried the night before
And I'll feast on the highway but I'll dream about the door
It's alone she's forsaken by her fate with to tell
It don't have approximation she is smiling fairly well

Her smile is contagious, I was born to love her
But she knows that the kingdom waits so high above her
And I run by the race but it's not too fast stayed
But I got the fever I'm not there, I'm gone

Well, it's all about diffusion as I cry for her veil
I don't need anybody now beside me to tell
And it's all affirmation, I'm asleep but it's not
She's a lone-hearted beauty but she don't like spot
And she calls

Yeah, she's gone like a rainbow that was shining yesterday
But she's home now beside me and I'd like her to stay
She's a lone forsaken beauty and she don't trust no one
And I wish I was beside her but I'm not there, I'm gone

It's too hard to stay here and I don't want to leave
It's so hard for so few you see but she's hard to, hard to me
It's a [Incomprehensible] it's a crime, the way she mauls me around
But she don't phone to hate me but it's down to make her crown

Yes, I believe that it's rightful, I believe it in my mind
I've been told like I said for carrying on crying
Yes, the soul gypsy told her like I said carry on
Wish I was there to help me but I'm not there, I'm gone



Lyrics submitted by focused, edited by HansLucas

I'm Not There Lyrics as written by Bob Dylan

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

I'm Not There song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

12 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +2
    General Comment

    I can not believe more people have not commented on this song. To me it is incredibly beautiful and meaningful. My favorite version is from the "I'm Not There" soundtrack.

    It sounds to me like he has an intense love for a woman. He realizes how much she loves him, too. I am guessing it is a forbidden love. She has incredible and unbearable pain over it and "cries both day and night" and he knows because he was "there". To me he is saying, when you love someone this intensely, you feel you are together even though you are physically apart.

    Since it is forbidden love, they are not able to have open and honest communication. Therefore they are not at ease to convey their anger or passion or intense feelings of love. This is awful because if they were able to speak to each other, face to face and eye to eye, they could see the love or hurt or anger or betrayal in each other's eyes and face, Only then could they get past these feelings and begin to truly love each other in a positive way. Since they are not able to do that, the communication becomes strained and difficult and feelings get blown out of proportion in a negative way. To me, even though this is all so awful, it doesn't discount the feelings of love.

    I think he is saying that even though he is "not there" physically- with her, where he would like to be- that he IS with her in spirit and a part of him always will be.

    Recently I heard a phrase that really struck me: " You can't put the tears back in your eyes." Meaning to me, that the love you have felt for this person and the pain and trauma it has caused you, has shaped you. It has made you who you are today. You are not the same person anymore.

    I think the name of the song should be "I AM THERE".

    scarletmagnoliaon August 28, 2009   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Album art
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.