Tell Ol' Bill
(by Dylan, new unpublished lyrics - used in the movie North Country - but as transcribed by someone with better ears than I have. I think this extraordinary folk-country tune can be found on i-tunes, but not certain.)
The river whispers in my ear
I've hardly a penny to my name
The heavens they never seemed so near
All of my body glows with flame
The tempest struggles in the air
And [or: Unto] to myself alone I sing
It could sink me then and there
I can hear the echoes ring
I try to find one smiling face
To drive the shadow from my head
I'm stranded in this nameless place
Lying restless in a heavy bed
Tell me straight out if you will
Why must you torture me within
Why must you come down from your high hill
Throw my fate to the clouds and wind
Far away in a silent land
Secret thoughts are hard to bear [or "bare" would make sense too]
Remember me, you'll understand
Emotions we can never share
You trampled on me as you passed
Left the coldest kiss upon my brow
All of my doubts and fears have gone at last
I've nothing more to tell you now
I walk by tranquil lakes and streams
As each new season's dawn awaits
I lay awake at night with troubled dreams
The enemy is at the gate
Beneath the thunder-blasted trees
The words are ringing off your tongue
The ground is hard at [and?] times like these
Stars are cold, the night is young
The rocks are bleak, the trees are bare
Iron clouds go floating by
Snowflakes falling in my hair
Beneath the gray and stormy [stony?] sky
The evening sun is sinking low
The woods are dark, the town is too
They'll drag you down, they run the show
Ain't no telling what they'll do
Tell ol' Bill when he comes home
Anything is worth a try
Tell him that I'm not alone
That the hour has come to do or die
All the world I would defy
Let me make it plain as day
I look at you now and I sigh
How could it be any other way?
