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Subterranean Homesick Blues
Bob Dylan Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning | Line by Line Meaning

Johnny's in the basement
Mixing up the medicine
I'm on the pavement
Thinking about the government
The man in the trench coat
Badge out, laid off
Says he's got a bad cough
Wants to get it paid off
Look out kid
It's somethin' you did
God knows when
But you're doing it again
You better duck down the alley way
Lookin' for a new friend
A man in the coonskin cap, in the pig pen
Wants eleven dollar bills, you only got ten

Maggie comes fleet foot
Face full of black soot
Talkin' that the heat put
Plants in the bed but
The phone's tapped anyway
Maggie says that many say
They must bust in early May
Orders from the D.A. Look out kid
Don't matter what you did
Walk on your tip toes
Don't tie no bows
Better stay away from those
That carry around a fire hose
Keep a clean nose
Watch the plain clothes
You don't need a weather man
To know which way the wind blows

Oh, get sick, get well
Hang around a ink well
Hang bail, hard to tell
If anything is goin' to sell
Try hard, get barred
Get back, write braille
Get jailed, jump bail
Join the army, if you fail
Look out kid
You're gonna get hit
But losers, cheaters
Six-time users
Hang around the theaters
Girl by the whirlpool
Lookin' for a new fool
Don't follow leaders, watch the parkin' meters

Oh, get born, keep warm
Short pants, romance
Learn to dance, get dressed, get blessed
Try to be a success
Please her, please him, buy gifts
Don't steal, don't lift
Twenty years of schoolin'
And they put you on the day shift
Look out kid
They keep it all hid
Better jump down a manhole
Light yourself a candle
Don't wear sandals
Try to avoid the scandals
Don't want to be a bum
You better chew gum
The pump don't work
'Cause the vandals took the handles

Overall Meaning

Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues” is a fast-paced and rhythmic song that effortlessly combines seemingly unrelated phrases and images to create a subversive critique of American society in the 1960s. The song starts with Johnny mixing “up the medicine” in the basement and the singer on the pavement, contemplating the government. A man in a trench coat approaches, claiming to be laid off, but wants to get paid to cough. Dylan is conveying the message that a corrupt system is leading people to do immoral things.


The song highlights the paranoia of the time with lines like “the phone’s tapped anyway,” and “orders from the D.A.,” showing the singer’s sense of being trapped in a panopticon, always being watched and monitored. Dylan warns the kid to stay away from those carrying fire hoses, a reference to the police using fire hoses on peaceful civil rights protestors. He also advises the kid to keep a “clean nose” and watch the “plain clothes,” referring to the police in plain clothes, emphasizing the idea that even seemingly innocent encounters with authority can be dangerous.


The song’s final message is clear: the times they are changing, and anyone who doesn’t change with them will be left behind. Dylan speaks of the need to be adaptable and flexible to survive. The final line, “the pump don’t work cause the vandals took the handles,” shows the futility of fighting against inevitable change, emphasizing that change will happen even if it means destroying the old structures.


Line by Line Meaning

Johnny's in the basement
Johnny is in the basement of a building


Mixing up the medicine
Johnny is mixing up some sort of medicine


I'm on the pavement
The speaker is on the ground outside


Thinking about the government
The speaker is thinking about the government


The man in the trench coat
There is a man wearing a trench coat nearby


Badge out, laid off
The man is no longer employed and has his badge to prove it


Says he's got a bad cough
The man claims to have a bad cough


Wants to get it paid off
The man wants to pay off his medical expenses


Look out kid
The speaker is warning someone to be careful


It's somethin' you did
The person being warned did something wrong


God knows when
Nobody knows when the person did something wrong


But you're doing it again
The person is doing something wrong again


You better duck down the alley way
The speaker advises the person to hide in an alley


Lookin' for a new friend
The person is trying to find a new friend


A man in the coonskin cap, in the pig pen
There is a man wearing a coonskin cap in a pig pen nearby


Wants eleven dollar bills, you only got ten
The man wants more money than the person has


Maggie comes fleet foot
A woman named Maggie arrives quickly


Face full of black soot
Maggie's face is covered in soot


Talkin' that the heat put
Maggie is talking about how the heat caused something


Plants in the bed but
There are plants in the bed


The phone's tapped anyway
The phone is being monitored


Maggie says that many say
Maggie claims that many people say


They must bust in early May
The police must take action in May


Orders from the D.A. Look out kid
The orders are from the district attorney and the speaker warns someone to be careful


Don't matter what you did
It doesn't matter what the person did


Walk on your tip toes
The speaker advises the person to walk carefully


Don't tie no bows
The person should not waste time with unnecessary things


Better stay away from those
The person should avoid a certain type of people


That carry around a fire hose
The people to avoid are firefighters


Keep a clean nose
The person should stay out of trouble


Watch the plain clothes
The person should be cautious around undercover cops


You don't need a weather man
There is no need for a weatherman


To know which way the wind blows
To know where things are headed


Oh, get sick, get well
Getting sick and getting better


Hang around a ink well
Spending time around an inkwell


Hang bail, hard to tell
It's difficult to know what will happen with bail


If anything is goin' to sell
If anything will be successful


Try hard, get barred
Trying hard but getting rejected


Get back, write braille
Taking a step back and trying again


Get jailed, jump bail
Going to jail and jumping bail


Join the army, if you fail
Joining the army as an option


Look out kid
WARNING: Be careful


You're gonna get hit
The person will get hurt


But losers, cheaters
People who lose and cheat


Six-time users
People who use drugs six times


Hang around the theaters
People who spend a lot of time at theaters


Girl by the whirlpool
There is a girl by the whirlpool


Lookin' for a new fool
The girl is looking for a new person to take advantage of


Don't follow leaders, watch the parkin' meters
Don't follow leaders, be independent and watch where you park and how long you park there


Oh, get born, keep warm
Being born and staying warm


Short pants, romance
Wearing shorts and having a romantic relationship


Learn to dance, get dressed, get blessed
Learning to dance, dressing well, and being blessed


Try to be a success
Trying to be successful


Please her, please him, buy gifts
Pleasing others by buying gifts


Don't steal, don't lift
Don't steal or shoplift


Twenty years of schoolin'
Having gone to school for twenty years


And they put you on the day shift
And now you work during the day


Look out kid
WARNING: Be careful


They keep it all hid
They keep everything hidden


Better jump down a manhole
It's better to hide in a manhole


Light yourself a candle
Light a candle to see in the dark


Don't wear sandals
Don't wear sandals in a dangerous situation


Try to avoid the scandals
Stay away from scandals


Don't want to be a bum
Don't want to be homeless


You better chew gum
Chew gum to avoid bad breath


The pump don't work
The pump is broken


'Cause the vandals took the handles
Because vandals removed the pump handles




Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Bob Dylan

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

비정한세상

Johnny's in the basement
Mixing up the medicine
I'm on the pavement
Thinking about the government
The man in the trench coat
Badge out, laid off
Says he's got a bad cough
Wants to get it paid off
Look out kid
It's somethin' you did
God knows when
But you're doing it again
You better duck down the alley way
Lookin' for a new friend
A man in the coonskin cap, in the pig pen
Wants eleven dollar bills, you only got ten
Maggie comes fleet foot
Face full of black soot
Talkin' that the heat put
Plants in the bed but
The phone's tapped anyway
Maggie says that many say
They must bust in early May
Orders from the D.A. Look out kid
Don't matter what you did
Walk on your tip toes
Don't tie no bows
Better stay away from those
That carry around a fire hose
Keep a clean nose
Watch the plain clothes
You don't need a weather man
To know which way the wind blows
Oh, get sick, get well
Hang around a ink well
Hang bail, hard to tell
If anything is goin' to sell
Try hard, get barred
Get back, write braille
Get jailed, jump bail
Join the army, if you fail
Look out kid
You're gonna get hit
But losers, cheaters
Six-time users
Hang around the theaters
Girl by the whirlpool
Lookin' for a new fool
Don't follow leaders, watch the parkin' meters
Oh, get born, keep warm
Short pants, romance
Learn to dance, get dressed, get blessed
Try to be a success
Please her, please him, buy gifts
Don't steal, don't lift
Twenty years of schoolin'
And they put you on the day shift
Look out kid
They keep it all hid
Better jump down a manhole
Light yourself a candle
Don't wear sandals
Try to avoid the scandals
Don't want to be a bum
You better chew gum
The pump don't work
'Cause the vandals took the handles



All comments from YouTube:

EnemyAce88

No matter how drunk I was in college, I could sing every word of this and not miss a beat.

yama penny

hihi....cool 🎶

pawkinmetaws

same

MyBoring PowerPoints

Same I bet we could duet today.

mr rational

@yama penny Uh uh...don' t believe it.

Janet Claire

Can you still do it?

MegaXman614

This is actually a crazy song when you interpret each lyric thoroughly. What makes this song more amazing was that before 1965, Dylan protested using Folk music. At this time he was protesting using Rock music. A complete change in sound without losing the “protest” attitude. Incredible.

Marco Evans

That's simply because it's the same chords just with newer tech

Jason dylan Sargent

Amazing boss

decaffeinated african

bro literally goes off on this song

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