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Bob Dylan — Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands
Album: Blonde On Blonde
Avg rating:
5.6

Your rating:
Total ratings: 1052









Released: 1966
Length: 11:11
Plays (last 30 days): 0
With your mercury mouth in the missionary times
And your eyes like smoke and your prayers like rhymes
And your silver cross and your voice like chimes
Oh, who do they think could bury you?

With your pockets well-protected at last
And your streetcar visions which you place on the grass
And your flesh like silk and your face like glass
Who could they get to carry you?

Sad-eyed lady of the lowlands
Where the sad-eyed prophet says that no man comes
My warehouse eyes, my Arabian drums
Should I put them by your gate, or sad-eyed lady, should I wait?

With your sheets like metal and your belt like lace
And your deck of cards missing the jack and the ace
And your basement clothes and your hollow face
Who among them did think he could outguess you?

With your silhouette when the sunlight dims
Into your eyes where the moonlight swims
And your matchbook songs and your gypsy hymns
Who among them would try to impress you?

Sad-eyed lady of the lowlands
Where the sad-eyed prophet says that no man comes
My warehouse eyes, my Arabian drums
Should I put them by your gate, or sad-eyed lady, should I wait?

The kings of Tyrus, with their convict list
Are waiting in line for their geranium kiss
And you wouldn't know it would have happened like this
But who among them really wants just to kiss you?

With your childhood flames on your midnight rug
And your Spanish manners and your mother's drugs
And your cowboy mouth and your curfew plugs
Who among them do you think could resist you?

Sad-eyed lady of the lowlands
Where the sad-eyed prophet says that no man comes
My warehouse eyes, my Arabian drums
Should I put them by your gate, or sad-eyed lady, should I wait?

Oh, the farmers and the businessmen, they all did decide
To show you where the dead angels are that they used to hide
But why did they pick you to sympathize with their side?
How could they ever mistake you?

They wished you'd accepted the blame for the farm
But with the sea at your feet and the phony false alarm
And with the child of the hoodlum wrapped up in your arms
How could they ever have persuaded you?

Sad-eyed lady of the lowlands
Where the sad-eyed prophet says that no man's come
My warehouse eyes, my Arabian drums
Should I put them by your gate, or sad-eyed lady, should I wait?

With your sheet metal memory of Cannery Row
And your magazine husband who one day just had to go
And your gentleness now, which you just can't help but show
Who among them do you think would employ you?

Now you stand with your thief, you're on his parole
With your holy medallion in your fingertips now enfold
And your saintlike face and your ghostlike soul
Who among them could ever think he could destroy you?

Sad-eyed lady of the lowlands
Where the sad-eyed prophet says that no man comes
My warehouse eyes, my Arabian drums
Should I put them by your gate, or sad-eyed lady, should I wait?
Comments (67)add comment
About Joan Baez if you need context
You know even he thought his voice sucked in this one. 
 sajitjacob wrote:

This is not my cup of tea.




That is why there are many flavors of tea.
"Time is an enormous, long river, and I’m standing in it, just as you’re standing in it. My elders are the tributaries, and everything they thought and every struggle they went through and everything they gave their lives to, and every song they created, and every poem that they laid down flows down to me – and if I take the time to ask, and if I take the time to see, and if I take the time to reach out, I can build that bridge between my world and theirs. I can reach down into that river and take out what I need to get through this world." Utah Philips

And what I got from this 11 minutes was a strong need to get out of the river. Bob and Eddie Vedder can share lead vocals as they paddle away, please. Whew. You know, if there's room, tuck Carlos and Neil in there too, would ya?

Had to be there, indeed. 
radio Bob 😂
Oh my!

Thanks for playing this one.

This what you may hear at certain shows.

Lovey stuff. 
10 !
level up bar
 alexandersmcmillan wrote:


Who.........
 dickmahoon wrote:



Call me old fashioned but I just bumped it to a 9.  It's all about the words.


most all Dylan is about the words.
 spetrie wrote:

5.5?? Get with it listeners,... this is a sublimely beautiful piece of musical melancholy, not to mention lyrical perfection. Maybe it's just the nostalgic hit I get from being taken back to '67 when I was 10, and this was wafting through the airwaves from my transistor radio, making me dream of being older so I could enjoy the culture of the times more.




Call me old fashioned but I just bumped it to a 9.  It's all about the words.
5.5?? Get with it listeners,... this is a sublimely beautiful piece of musical melancholy, not to mention lyrical perfection. Maybe it's just the nostalgic hit I get from being taken back to '67 when I was 10, and this was wafting through the airwaves from my transistor radio, making me dream of being older so I could enjoy the culture of the times more.
RP's publishing of the libretto for songs written by B Dylan is elegant brilliance.; we get to savor the poetry as part of the whole. 
Thank you, RP 
I guess I just don't get it. 

Dylan?  PSD. 
Not a huge Dylan fan, but I don’t hate this.

i don’t recall ever hearing it before. Nice. Ty, RP! 🙏
Never ever stop playing this one, RP ! 
such beautiful lyrics. never tire of it.
The ancient Greeks had the oracle of Delphi. We got Dylan.  
Score!
The perfect waltz for love. One of the beautifulest song of the universe. Not less!
 blackmail wrote:
Thank You...




Well said. My thoughts exactly. These things are seared into our collective memories. 
A whole LP side for just one song… of all Dylan songs, this was my least expected to ever appear on RP! Thank you for that one.
 RobinRust wrote:

Please... Why do I have to endure this thing...


You don't. Just PSD ...
Please... Why do I have to endure this thing...
Thank You...


This is a perfect example of "you had to be there".  Dylan's Blonde on Blonde and The Beatles Revolver were both released in 1966, to wide critical and popular acclaim. It was the year I turned 15 and I loved both albums, by, still to this day, 55 years later, the two greatest geniuses in the history of rock 'n' roll and popular music in the 20th Century. I can understand why all of you listeners in my daughter's generation (she is 32, born in 1988) don't enjoy this song, partially because of the widely acknowledged much shorter attention spans of the internet generation. And partly because Dylan's music is an acquired taste, and if you were not alive in the 1960s and 1970s, and did not have the luxury of allowing Dylan's music to grow on you, especially while living through the turbulent 60s and 70s, you are not going to take the time required now for his music to be appreciated. But, really, is your patience and attention span that bad that there were enough of you normally very hip and knowledgeable RP listeners to fill up the "0" "Sucko-Barfo" rating?!! I have been listening to Radio Paradise regularly since it began in the year 2000, from all over the world, and I have never seen such a good song, or any song, fill up the red column at the beginning!!!


what a beautiful song

Nobel prize worthy
sit down, close your eyes, and breathe, and let this song transport you, like any transcendental art
This is not my cup of tea.
What a tasty word salad!
Clueless haters. 

An easy 10+
 rednred wrote:


This is a perfect example of "you had to be there".  Dylan's Blonde on Blonde and The Beatles Revolver were both released in 1966, to wide critical and popular acclaim. It was the year I turned 15 and I loved both albums, by, still to this day, 55 years later, the two greatest geniuses in the history of rock 'n' roll and popular music in the 20th Century. I can understand why all of you listeners in my daughter's generation (she is 32, born in 1988) don't enjoy this song, partially because of the widely acknowledged much shorter attention spans of the internet generation. And partly because Dylan's music is an acquired taste, and if you were not alive in the 1960s and 1970s, and did not have the luxury of allowing Dylan's music to grow on you, especially while living through the turbulent 60s and 70s, you are not going to take the time required now for his music to be appreciated. But, really, is your patience and attention span that bad that there were enough of you normally very hip and knowledgeable RP listeners to fill up the "0" "Sucko-Barfo" rating?!! I have been listening to Radio Paradise regularly since it began in the year 2000, from all over the world, and I have never seen such a good song, or any song, fill up the red column at the beginning!!!



The ability to understand the past is like the ability to empathize. Mature individuals can live while others judge. While this also means improvement, it is regression. This is a devastating example of change. It is a side effect of healing and change.
 rednred wrote:


This is a perfect example of "you had to be there".  Dylan's Blonde on Blonde and The Beatles Revolver were both released in 1966, to wide critical and popular acclaim. It was the year I turned 15 and I loved both albums, by, still to this day, 55 years later, the two greatest geniuses in the history of rock 'n' roll and popular music in the 20th Century. I can understand why all of you listeners in my daughter's generation (she is 32, born in 1988) don't enjoy this song, partially because of the widely acknowledged much shorter attention spans of the internet generation. And partly because Dylan's music is an acquired taste, and if you were not alive in the 1960s and 1970s, and did not have the luxury of allowing Dylan's music to grow on you, especially while living through the turbulent 60s and 70s, you are not going to take the time required now for his music to be appreciated. But, really, is your patience and attention span that bad that there were enough of you normally very hip and knowledgeable RP listeners to fill up the "0" "Sucko-Barfo" rating?!! I have been listening to Radio Paradise regularly since it began in the year 2000, from all over the world, and I have never seen such a good song, or any song, fill up the red column at the beginning!!!



Sorry man, the negative ratings aren't about a generational lack of patience and attention span, although "you had to be there" is accurate. The folkies (Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and others) ventured into an era of self indulgent, overly long, rambling, spoken word "songs" during the late sixties and early seventies, calling it being experimental. It doesn't translate to those who weren't part of the times.

That's no reason to insult an entire generation though.
They're annoyed because it has lyrics you can understand. 

rednred wrote:


This is a perfect example of "you had to be there".  Dylan's Blonde on Blonde and The Beatles Revolver were both released in 1966, to wide critical and popular acclaim. It was the year I turned 15 and I loved both albums, by, still to this day, 55 years later, the two greatest geniuses in the history of rock 'n' roll and popular music in the 20th Century. I can understand why all of you listeners in my daughter's generation (she is 32, born in 1988) don't enjoy this song, partially because of the widely acknowledged much shorter attention spans of the internet generation. And partly because Dylan's music is an acquired taste, and if you were not alive in the 1960s and 1970s, and did not have the luxury of allowing Dylan's music to grow on you, especially while living through the turbulent 60s and 70s, you are not going to take the time required now for his music to be appreciated. But, really, is your patience and attention span that bad that there were enough of you normally very hip and knowledgeable RP listeners to fill up the "0" "Sucko-Barfo" rating?!! I have been listening to Radio Paradise regularly since it began in the year 2000, from all over the world, and I have never seen such a good song, or any song, fill up the red column at the beginning!!!


Maybe swap out this one for "Sara," which includes the lyric, "Writin' Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands for you." 
 rednred wrote:


This is a perfect example of "you had to be there".  Dylan's Blonde on Blonde and The Beatles Revolver were both released in 1966, to wide critical and popular acclaim. It was the year I turned 15 and I loved both albums, by, still to this day, 55 years later, the two greatest geniuses in the history of rock 'n' roll and popular music in the 20th Century. I can understand why all of you listeners in my daughter's generation (she is 32, born in 1988) don't enjoy this song, partially because of the widely acknowledged much shorter attention spans of the internet generation. And partly because Dylan's music is an acquired taste, and if you were not alive in the 1960s and 1970s, and did not have the luxury of allowing Dylan's music to grow on you, especially while living through the turbulent 60s and 70s, you are not going to take the time required now for his music to be appreciated. But, really, is your patience and attention span that bad that there were enough of you normally very hip and knowledgeable RP listeners to fill up the "0" "Sucko-Barfo" rating?!! I have been listening to Radio Paradise regularly since it began in the year 2000, from all over the world, and I have never seen such a good song, or any song, fill up the red column at the beginning!!!


"I have been listening to Radio Paradise regularly since it began in the year 2000." Likewise, and your comments are astute and a bit worrying.
Wait, "Just Like a Woman" is also on this album, and its the same melody. 
I love how, despite the low ratings, Bill keeps playing Dylan songs. He knows their value. Keep doing it, Bill! 
 jersey_birdman wrote:
Wow...  not sure i have ever heard this one any kind of radio before: traditional or stream.

I am a Dylan fan but this is a bit of a reach.  i am sure it is hard for even "tuned in" listeners who get Dylan to enjoy.

That said, more Dylan is Better....  Bumper Stickers should be issued.

{#Clap}


This is a perfect example of "you had to be there".  Dylan's Blonde on Blonde and The Beatles Revolver were both released in 1966, to wide critical and popular acclaim. It was the year I turned 15 and I loved both albums, by, still to this day, 55 years later, the two greatest geniuses in the history of rock 'n' roll and popular music in the 20th Century. I can understand why all of you listeners in my daughter's generation (she is 32, born in 1988) don't enjoy this song, partially because of the widely acknowledged much shorter attention spans of the internet generation. And partly because Dylan's music is an acquired taste, and if you were not alive in the 1960s and 1970s, and did not have the luxury of allowing Dylan's music to grow on you, especially while living through the turbulent 60s and 70s, you are not going to take the time required now for his music to be appreciated. But, really, is your patience and attention span that bad that there were enough of you normally very hip and knowledgeable RP listeners to fill up the "0" "Sucko-Barfo" rating?!! I have been listening to Radio Paradise regularly since it began in the year 2000, from all over the world, and I have never seen such a good song, or any song, fill up the red column at the beginning!!!
 diggyduffy wrote:
Is it just me or does Bob Dylan - for the most part - write rhyming non-sensical drivel...but with pathos and conviction? 

On and on and on...
 
This is not the best rendition of this song

Joan Baez's "Any Day Now" album illustrates the difference between Dylan's mediocre vocal skills and his exceptional songwriting skills at this time
Is it just me or does Bob Dylan - for the most part - write rhyming non-sensical drivel...but with pathos and conviction? 

On and on and on...
Most excellent thank you RP.
I like and admire Bob Dylan, but this is something of an ordeal.
Alexa, mute this song.
 adavey wrote:
NOTHING is good about this. The older I get the more I dislike Dylan. 
 
Agreed. This may be an 'epic' song (as Bill puts it), but other epics are just as tiresome as this. I never did rate Dylan as a musician / performer anyway, and yet it gets worse the more I hear.
 mjvander wrote:
please for all that is good and true - MAKE IT STOP
 
But just look at that photo. That hair, that face. C'mon.  
A less played Dylan song, good choice!  How many other musicians have won the Pulitzer (and the Nobel prize and Presidential Medal of Freedom)??  The most recent artist to win the Pulitzer, look it up, should be played on RP (clean version) just to round out the eclectic mix.



please for all that is good and true - MAKE IT STOP
NOTHING is good about this. The older I get the more I dislike Dylan. 
Don't care what you all say O gave it a 9. Love Dylan.
Wow. Gave this an extremely rare 1 and quietly hit PSD where I got a long, tasty blast of SRV's Voodoo Chile. Then much to my surprise came back to the main stream here and guess what... this was still playing. Ouch.
With some artists I really like songs that don't seem to end (The War On Drugs for example) but with Bob Dylan this is simply not the case.

Please make it stop!
muted
sad
sounding
tuneless
poet
awww - love this one!
Just. Can't. Do it.  PSD'd.
I owned Blonde on Blonde soon after it came out and this was a "skip track".Still is.
 xtalman wrote:
Dylan is a great writer, so so singer, but this is neither well written and his singing is pretty bad even for him.
 

 
yup
Asdf
 black321 wrote:
Whether its a good/bad song I'll leave for the critics (i say good, ha), but it was an epic piece, taking up the whole side 4 of a double album in a time when songs usually didn't stray much from the 3 minute formula.

 

...it does go on a bit though!
Bob Dylan makes me feel like I'm drunk because he sings like he's drunk. And what's with the duck face on the album cover? These Dylan songs should be appreciated in an empty room without thousands of people listening.
This guy gets way too much credit for being first.
Maybe his lyrics work as poetry, but the majority of his music is repetetive, simplistic and uninteresting.
No one can argue he isn't inept as a singer.

This song helps me to nap and I don't mean that derogatorily.  Thanks for playing this!


Whether its a good/bad song I'll leave for the critics (i say good, ha), but it was an epic piece, taking up the whole side 4 of a double album in a time when songs usually didn't stray much from the 3 minute formula.

Sorry - have to mute this one.
Wow...  not sure i have ever heard this one any kind of radio before: traditional or stream.

I am a Dylan fan but this is a bit of a reach.  i am sure it is hard for even "tuned in" listeners who get Dylan to enjoy.

That said, more Dylan is Better....  Bumper Stickers should be issued.

{#Clap}
Make it stop... MAKE IT STOP!
Dylan is a great writer, so so singer, but this is neither well written and his singing is pretty bad even for him.