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Doin' the Things That We Want To Lyrics
The other night we went to see Sam's play
Doin' the things that we want to
It was very physical, it held you to the stage
Doin' the things that he wants to
Doin' the things that he wants to
The guy's a cowboy from some rodeo
Doin' the things that he wants to
The girl had once loved him, but now she want to go
Doin' the things that she wants to
Doin' the things that she wants to
The man was bullish, the woman was a tease
Doin' the things that they want to
They fought with their words, their bodies and their deeds
Doin' the things that they want to
When they finished fighting, they exited the stage
Doin' the things that they want to
I was firmly struck by the way they had behaved
Doin' the things that they want to
Doin' the things that they want to
Hey
It reminds me of the movies Marty made about New York
(Doin' the things that he wants to)
Those frank and brutal movies that are so brilliant
(Doin' the things that he wants to)
"True Love" meet "The Raging Bull"
(Doin' the things that he wants to)
They're very inspirational, I love the things they do
(Doin' the things that he wants to)
Doin' the things that I want to
There's not much you hear on the radio today
(Doin' the things that we want to)
But you could still see a movie or a play
(Doin' the things that we want to)
Here's to Travis Bickle and here's Johnny Boy
(Doin' the things that we want to)
Growing up in the mean streets of New York
(Doin' the things that we want to)
I wrote this song 'cause I'd like to shake your hand
(Doin' the things that we want to)
In a way you guys are the best friends I ever had
(Doin' the things that we want to)
Doin' the things that we want to
That we want to
A true love
Doin' the things that we want to
It was very physical, it held you to the stage
Doin' the things that he wants to
Doin' the things that he wants to
The girl had once loved him, but now she want to go
Doin' the things that she wants to
Doin' the things that they want to
They fought with their words, their bodies and their deeds
Doin' the things that they want to
When they finished fighting, they exited the stage
Doin' the things that they want to
I was firmly struck by the way they had behaved
Doin' the things that they want to
Hey
Those frank and brutal movies that are so brilliant
(Doin' the things that he wants to)
"True Love" meet "The Raging Bull"
(Doin' the things that he wants to)
They're very inspirational, I love the things they do
(Doin' the things that he wants to)
(Doin' the things that we want to)
But you could still see a movie or a play
(Doin' the things that we want to)
Here's to Travis Bickle and here's Johnny Boy
(Doin' the things that we want to)
Growing up in the mean streets of New York
(Doin' the things that we want to)
I wrote this song 'cause I'd like to shake your hand
(Doin' the things that we want to)
In a way you guys are the best friends I ever had
(Doin' the things that we want to)
A true love
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This is one of my favorite songs. "Doin' the things that we want to" is such a simple line but it means a lot. It's a happy celebration of life and being free and having opportunities but at the same time it's saying everything is so subjective it borders on meaninglessness if the only thing we have to guide us is our preferences which are so petty and are changing all the time. I think it's basically about watching a play and noticing that life is like a play. It just goes on and it's kind of ridiculous because nobody is really aware they are just caught up in their small mindedness. I think "Doin' the things that we want to" is also a comment on art because he says Sam was doing what he wanted to with the play and in art pretty much anything goes and that can be liberating but maybe it gets self-indulgent after a little while. I think "Doing the things that we want to" was like the whole attitude behind the Velvet Underground and they transcended a lot of boundaries of expression but they actually did have substance, it wasn't just doing whatever you felt like for it's own sake, like a lot of people in music have been doing since then and it is getting old. Hence "There's not much you hear on the radio today." "In a way you guys the best friends I ever had" could be saying people that understand his music are his best friends which is kinda sad if you think about it. It's like people who think their best friends are like Thoreau or something. I like the way this song starts to rock out like halfway through. Ok, I'll shut up now.
I thought he was making fun of Sam and Martin, because I thought Lou was always kidding.
Then I grew up, and learned more about Lou's life, and now I know that he really does think that they, or their characters, are the best friends he's ever had (in a way).
He asked about different songwriters I'd interviewed, and when I mentioned Lou Reed, Dylan talked about Reed's "Doin' the Things That We Want To" and its reference to Sam Shephard's play "Fool For Love." He said that Reed's song had inspired Dylan and Shephard to write a sort of response - which emerged in 1986 as "Brownsville Girl." Dylan said that just as Reed's song opened with the narrator at the play, the Shephard/Dylan song would open with the narrator at the movie. Maybe what's most surprising about Bob Dylan is that once you connect with his vision, everything he says makes sense.
http://www.interferenza.com/bcs/interw/85-mar.htm