The album is divided into an electric and an acoustic side. On side one of the original LP, Dylan is backed by an electric rock and roll band - a move that further alienated him from some of his former peers in the folk song community. Likewise, on the acoustic second side of the album, he distanced himself from the protest songs with which he had become closely identified (such as "Blowin' in the Wind" and "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall"), as his lyrics continued their trend toward the abstract and personal.
Bringing It All Back Home is often cited as the birth of folk rock, and one of the peak albums of Dylan's career.
The album reached #6 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart, the first of Dylan's LPs to break into the US top 10. It also topped the UK charts later that Spring. The lead-off track, "Subterranean Homesick Blues", became Dylan's first single to chart in the US, peaking at #39.
Subterranean Homesick Blues
Bob Dylan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning | Line by Line Meaning
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
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
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
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