As I Went out One Morning
Bob Dylan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To breathe the air around Tom Paine's
I spied the fairest damsel
That ever did walk in chains
I offer'd her my hand
She took me by the arm
I knew that very instant
She meant to do me harm
Depart from me this moment
I told her with my voice
Said she, but I don't wish to
Said I, But you have no choice
I beg you, sir, she pleaded
From the corners of her mouth
I will secretly accept you
And together we'll fly south
Just then Tom Paine, himself
Came running from across the field
Shouting at this lovely girl
And commanding her to yield
And as she was letting go her grip
Up Tom Paine did run
I'm sorry, sir, he said to me
I'm sorry for what she's done
The first two lines of the song evoke the spirit of the American Revolution - Tom Paine being one of its most famous revolutionary pamphleteers - and reflect Dylan's own fascination with social and political upheavals. As the singer goes out for a stroll, he comes across a woman in chains, and offers to help her, only to find that she has malicious intentions. At this point, the song shifts into a conversation between the two, with the woman cajoling and pleading with the singer to accompany her down to the South. The singer, however, is suspicious, and tries to shake her off. Just then, Tom Paine shows up, acting as a figure of authority, and interrogates the woman, who seems unwilling or unable to explain her motives.
One possible interpretation of "As I Went out One Morning" is that it is a cautionary tale about temptation, manipulation, and the dangers of submitting to one's impulses. The woman in chains could be seen as a metaphor for the temptations and vices that can bind or ensnare an individual, while Tom Paine represents a voice of reason, reminding the singer of the importance of self-discipline and clarity of thought. The song's cryptic final lines - "I'm sorry, sir, he said to me / I'm sorry for what she's done" - leave the listener with a sense of ambiguity and uncertainty about what exactly has transpired.
Line by Line Meaning
As I went out one morning
I left my house one morning
To breathe the air around Tom Paine's
I went to the area around Tom Paine's house for fresh air
I spied the fairest damsel
I saw a beautiful woman
That ever did walk in chains
She was walking in chains, indicating that she was a prisoner
I offer'd her my hand
I offered to help her
She took me by the arm
She held onto my arm
I knew that very instant
I immediately knew
She meant to do me harm
She intended to harm me
Depart from me this moment
I asked her to leave me alone
I told her with my voice
I spoke to her audibly
Said she, but I don't wish to
She replied, saying she did not want to leave
Said I, But you have no choice
I told her she had no other option
I beg you, sir, she pleaded
She begged me to reconsider
From the corners of her mouth
She was speaking in a pitiful way
I will secretly accept you
She said she would accept my help discreetly
And together we'll fly south
She suggested we both move away from that place
Just then Tom Paine, himself
At that moment, Tom Paine appeared
Came running from across the field
He ran towards us from a distant area
Shouting at this lovely girl
He yelled at the woman
And commanding her to yield
He ordered her to surrender
And as she was letting go her grip
She was releasing my arm at that time
Up Tom Paine did run
Tom Paine approached us quickly
I'm sorry, sir, he said to me
Tom Paine apologized to me
I'm sorry for what she's done
He apologized on behalf of the woman's actions
Lyrics Ā© Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BOB DYLAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Bryan Keisling
Lyrics:
[Verse 1]
As I went out one morning
To breathe the air around Tom Paineās
I spied the fairest damsel
That ever did walk in chains
I offered her my hand
She took me by the arm
I knew that very instant
She meant to do me harm
[Verse 2]
āDepart from me this momentā
I told her with my voice
Said she, āBut I donāt wish toā
Said I, āBut you have no choiceā
āI beg you, sir,ā she pleaded
From the corners of her mouth
āI will secretly accept you
And together weāll fly southā
[Verse 3]
Just then Tom Paine, himself
Came running from across the field
Shouting at this lovely girl
And commanding her to yield
And as she was letting go her grip
Up Tom Paine did run
āIām sorry, sir,ā he said to me
āIām sorry for what sheās doneā
Juan Camacho
As I went out one morning
To breathe the air around Tom Paine's
I spied the fairest damsel
That ever did walk in chains
I offered her my hand
She took me by the arm
I knew that very instant
She meant to do me harm
"Depart from me this moment"
I told her with my voice
Said she, "But I don't wish to"
Said I, "But you have no choice"
"I beg you, sir", she pleaded
From the corners of her mouth
"I will secretly accept you
And together we'll fly south"
Just then Tom Paine, himself
Came running from across the field
Shouting at this lovely girl
And commanding her to yield
And as she was letting go her grip
Up Tom Paine did run
"I'm sorry, sir", he said to me
"I'm sorry for what she's done"
Richie Rich
In 1968-69, many a night, Bob Dylan along with Pete Seegar visited my stepfather at our flat at 83rd and West end Avenue in Manhattan.
Bob sat on the edge of the bed/coach in the study where my step father typed/wrote his prose into novels, scripts & poems. Bob would sit w/ Pete & Millard jamming together. I just sat & listened/watched.Sometimes They sent me to my room. I was 8 years old.
Bob met my stepfather in the Village. The folk music generation was upon all of us then. Bobby, Joan Baez, Odetta, Will Geer, Richie Havens, Pete Seeger all liked Millard as he was a Black-listed writer & sang & was friends with Woddy Guthrie.
1966 Millard gained a Emmy Award & in his televised acceptance speech stated ..."Thank you & by the way I was black-listed.
Before that, he was part of the folk band that Woody Guthrie had formed. The Almanac Singers. They sang for and about lifes of the field workers unfair pay poor work conditions & abuse while making pennies a day. Woody was liked a lot by Bob. My stepfather always talked about the under dog never got any respect in America.
My mom was very poor brought up in West Virginia. She was a coal miners daughter along with her father jumping on the train to end up working down the line somewhere for pennies when the coal mines weren't available to work. I remember my mom showing me a receipt from Wrigley coal mine where my grandfather would get paid $43 a week for shoveling tons of coal. And he had to pay for his own tools to be sharpened. And they wouldn't pay him for the thick deep yards of slate that he had to dig up and get through in order to get the coal.
All of this was of interest to soulful cats that wanted to try and sing about Mankind from their heart. Folk music was a lot about this. They even tried to sing to form unions or support unions for these hard-working poor people.
About 5 years later we moved to a 16th century farmhouse in rural New Jersey. In my special days that I wasn't working cleaning weeding raking splitting wood painting shoveling snow or whipping the tall grass that grew in the marsh behind the house, doing my homework or cleaning the dishes I was able to listen to my stepfather's albums. I kept playing John Wesley Harding album over and over again. I don't know why it was just so capturing and it made me want to always know more of what inspired the lyrics & what it really really meant. It was one of my most favorite albums.
After my childhood I really embraced the band of all musicians a lot. Maybe more than I did Bobby until it got older. I married a Latin girl who knew no music from America and she just fell in love with Bobby and his voice and the songs and could not stop playing them over and over again. To this day she says like I'm sure many of them good woman would say I would marry that man over you in a New York Minute. Hahaha
Richard Siciliano
There's something so unique about this Dylan album that truly separates it from his other work. Mystical, spiritual, I'm not sure, but it really draws me in and gets me thinking.
whodatisme
I agree completely, it has such a timeless feel, like these songs could've come from hundreds of years ago
DonPeyote
It always associates with Jim Jarmusch's movie "Dead Man" for me somehow. The Western vibe maybe.
charles davenport
intellectual nonsense rhymes? like it though
David Watermeyer
ā@charles davenportWell in some ways you could argue art itself is nonsense. But people clearly like it or at least react to it and that's the point. Not trying to be difficult but just reflecting on the nature of art š
charles davenport
@David Watermeyer Warhol made a can of soup art
Marcos Henrique Silva
I think I canāt dislike any Dylanās song, but this one is amazing. I can only love it!
sh sk
One of the best songs of Bob Dylan, though not so popular. I bought this album in 1968 when I was 19 and it really changed my liking for popular music and music in general.
Thomas Dungl
It is quite the same for me ... thank you for your comment!
John Sandoval SONGS
Ditto!