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Talkin' New York Lyrics
Rambling out of the wild west
Leaving the towns I love best
Thought I'd seen some ups and down
'Till I come into New York town
People going down to the ground
Building going up to the sky
Wintertime in New York town
The wind blowing snow around
Walk around with nowhere to go
Somebody could freeze right to the bone
I froze right to the bone
New York Times said it was the coldest winter in seventeen years
I didn't feel so cold then
I swung on to my old guitar
Grabbed hold of a subway car
And after a rocking, reeling, rolling ride
I landed up on the downtown side
Greenwich Village
I walked down there and ended up
In one of them coffee-houses on the block
Got on the stage to sing and play
Man there said, come back some other day
You sound like a hillbilly
We want folksingers here
Well, I got a harmonica job, begun to play
Blowing my lungs out for a dollar a day
I blowed inside out and upside down
The man there said he loved my sound
He was raving about he loved my sound
Dollar a day's worth
After weeks and weeks of hanging around
I finally got a job in New York town
In a bigger place, bigger money too
Even joined the union and paid my dues
Now, a very great man once said
That some people rob you with a fountain pen
It don't take too long to find out
Just what he was talking about
A lot of people don't have much food on their table
But they got a lot of forks and knives
And they gotta cut something
So one morning when the sun was warm
I rambled out of New York town
Pulled my cap down over my eyes
And heated out for the western skies
So long New York
Howdy, East Orange
Leaving the towns I love best
Thought I'd seen some ups and down
'Till I come into New York town
People going down to the ground
Building going up to the sky
The wind blowing snow around
Walk around with nowhere to go
Somebody could freeze right to the bone
I froze right to the bone
New York Times said it was the coldest winter in seventeen years
I didn't feel so cold then
Grabbed hold of a subway car
And after a rocking, reeling, rolling ride
I landed up on the downtown side
Greenwich Village
In one of them coffee-houses on the block
Got on the stage to sing and play
Man there said, come back some other day
You sound like a hillbilly
We want folksingers here
Blowing my lungs out for a dollar a day
I blowed inside out and upside down
The man there said he loved my sound
He was raving about he loved my sound
Dollar a day's worth
I finally got a job in New York town
In a bigger place, bigger money too
Even joined the union and paid my dues
That some people rob you with a fountain pen
It don't take too long to find out
Just what he was talking about
A lot of people don't have much food on their table
But they got a lot of forks and knives
And they gotta cut something
I rambled out of New York town
Pulled my cap down over my eyes
And heated out for the western skies
So long New York
Howdy, East Orange
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
this line is really witty
A lot of people don't have much food on their table, But they got a lot of forks 'n' knives, And they gotta cut somethin'.
@spook!! Yeah
@spook!! Yeah
@spook!! Yeah
@spook!! Yeah
He was ravin' about how he loved m' sound; Dollar a day's worth.
My favorite line!
dylans early days playing, working in cafes and nightclubs around new york. Just like a slice out of the first part of his autobiography.
this song's so good. i can't believe the lack of comments. it's such a true song about his early experiences playing around new york.
Such a great song, about Dylan's time in New York.
I love the lines;
"Now a very great man once said That some people rob you with a fountain pen."
The "great man" Dylan talks about is Woody Guthrie, who in his song "Pretty Boy Floyd" wrote...
"Some will rob you with a six-gun, And some with a fountain pen"
Great song by a great artist.
//CrackedDisc\
"A lot of people don't have much food on their table, But they got a lot of forks 'n' knives, And they gotta cut somethin'."
is he talking about pay cuts?
I was thinking more along the lines of crime. i.e. muggings that they're forced to do to support themselves financially. Literally, stabbing. But yours is probably right.
I was thinking more along the lines of crime. i.e. muggings that they're forced to do to support themselves financially. Literally, stabbing. But yours is probably right.
This is about the beginnings of Dylan's musical career in Greenwich Village, where he moved to from the Midwest. For more information on this stage of Dylan's career, read Dylan's memoir/autobiography Chronicles Vol. I. The structure and melody of the song are based off of "Talkin' Dust Bowl Blues" by Woody Guthrie, Dylan's idol. There is at least one other homage to Guthrie: the line "rob you with a fountain pen" references Guthrie's song "Pretty Boy Floyd." Dylan's first album also contains "Song to Woody," a more overt tribute to Guthrie.