Music and Lyrics: Bob Dylan
Well the ragman draws circles, up and down the block
I'd ask him what's the matter, but I know that he don't talk
And the ladies treat me kindly, and they furnish me with tape
But deep inside my heart, I know I can't escape
Oh, mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
Well Shakespeare he's in the alley
With his pointed shoes and bell
Speaking with some French girl, who says she knows me well
And me, I'd send a message, to find out if she's talked
But the post office has been stolen, and the mailbox is locked
Oh, mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
Mona tried to warn me, stay away from the train line
She said that all the railroad men
Just drink up your blood like wine
And I said, oh I didn't know that
But then again there's only one I've met
He just smoked my eyelids, and he punched my cigarette
Oh, mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
Grandpa died last week, and they buried him in the rocks
Everyone still talks about how badly they are shocked
But me, I expected it to happen, I knew he'd lost control
When he built a fire on Main Street, and he shot it full of holes
Oh, mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
Now the senator, he came down here, showing everyone his gun
Handing out free tickets to the wedding of his son
And me, I nearly got busted, and wouldn't it be my luck
To get caught without a ticket and be discovered beneath a truck
Oh, mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
Now the preacher looks so baffled
When I asked him why he dressed
With twenty pounds of headlines stapled to his chest
But he cursed me when I proved it to him
Then I said, you see, not even you can hide
You see, you're just like me, and I hope you're satisfied
Oh, mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
Now the rainman gave me two cures, then he said jump right in
The first was Texas medicine, the second was just railroad gin
And like a fool I mixed them up, and it strangled up my mind
And now people just get uglier, and I've got no sense of time
Oh, mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
When Ruthie says come see her in her honky-tonk lagoon
Where I can watch her waltz for free, 'neath her Panamanian moon
And I said, oh come on now, you know about my debutante
And she says, your debutante knows just what you need
But I know what you want
Oh, mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
Now the bricks, they lay on Grand Street where the neon madmen climb
They all fall there so perfectly, it all seems so well timed
And here I sit so patiently, waiting to find out what price
You have to pay to get out of
Going through all of these things twice
Oh, mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
Oh, mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again