This is one of those songs whose lyrics have changed around a lot as Dylan has re-examined his life. The above is the released version. The original demo (available on The Bootleg Series) had the much rawer (and less poetic) verse:
If you're making love to her, kiss her for the kid
who always has respected her for doin' what she did
Oh, I know it had to be that way, it was written in the cards.
But the bitter taste still lingers on, it all came down so hard.
Then in 1976, as the divorce was becoming unavoidable, the song turned real vicious:
If you see her say hello, she might be in North Saigon
She left here in a hurry; I don't know what she was on
You might say that I'm in disarray and for me time's standing still
Oh I've never gotten over her, I don't think I ever will
A bright light from me I saw, a shattering of souls
Just one of them reckless situations, which nobody controls
Well, the menagerie of life rolls by, right before my eyes
And we all do the best we can, which should come as no surprise
If you're making love to her, watch it from the rear
You'll never know when I'll be back, or liable to appear
For it's natural to dream of peace as it is for rules to break
And right now I've got not much to lose, so you'd better stay awake
Sundown, silver moon, hitting on the days
My head can't understand no more, what my heart don't tolerate
Well I know she'll be back someday, of that there is no doubt
And when that moment comes - Lord, give me the strength to keep her out
In more recent versions the "either I'm too sensitive" line has become "Her hair was blue, her eyes were too, her voice was so sweet and soft" (which has GOT to be some sort of joke, unless Bob is dating the Golden Girls) and the final line "If she's passing back this way, and you know I hope she don't/Tell her she can look me up, I'll either be here or I won't".
This is one of those songs whose lyrics have changed around a lot as Dylan has re-examined his life. The above is the released version. The original demo (available on The Bootleg Series) had the much rawer (and less poetic) verse:
If you're making love to her, kiss her for the kid who always has respected her for doin' what she did Oh, I know it had to be that way, it was written in the cards. But the bitter taste still lingers on, it all came down so hard.
Then in 1976, as the divorce was becoming unavoidable, the song turned real vicious:
If you see her say hello, she might be in North Saigon She left here in a hurry; I don't know what she was on You might say that I'm in disarray and for me time's standing still Oh I've never gotten over her, I don't think I ever will
A bright light from me I saw, a shattering of souls Just one of them reckless situations, which nobody controls Well, the menagerie of life rolls by, right before my eyes And we all do the best we can, which should come as no surprise
If you're making love to her, watch it from the rear You'll never know when I'll be back, or liable to appear For it's natural to dream of peace as it is for rules to break And right now I've got not much to lose, so you'd better stay awake
Sundown, silver moon, hitting on the days My head can't understand no more, what my heart don't tolerate Well I know she'll be back someday, of that there is no doubt And when that moment comes - Lord, give me the strength to keep her out
In more recent versions the "either I'm too sensitive" line has become "Her hair was blue, her eyes were too, her voice was so sweet and soft" (which has GOT to be some sort of joke, unless Bob is dating the Golden Girls) and the final line "If she's passing back this way, and you know I hope she don't/Tell her she can look me up, I'll either be here or I won't".