The members of The Band first worked together as The Hawks, the backing band of rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins from 1959 until 1963. Shortly afterwards, Bob Dylan came to Toronto and recruited the quintet for his history-making 1965/1966 world tour. The Band also worked with Dylan on the initial Blonde on Blonde sessions which, bar two tracks, were ultimately abandoned in favour of versions recorded with Nashville session musicians.
After a motorcycle accident in mid-1966, Dylan retreated from the public eye to his country house near Woodstock, New York. He was joined by the Band for some informal jam sessions starting in the autumn of 1967, nearly all of which were recorded. After being heavily bootleged, Columbia Records finally released The Basement Tapes in 1975, a selection of the better tracks recorded during the sessions along with new recordings by The Band.
Bob Dylan and The Band were reunited in 1974, recording Planet Waves for Asylum Records, Dylan's first album recorded for a record label other than Columbia. Although the album was released under Dylan's name alone, The Band joined Dylan for his first tour in eight years in support of Planet Waves, with some of the material recorded and released on the 1975 concert record Before the Flood.
Columbia Records finally released The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete in November 2014, featuring every surving recording from the original sessions in Woodstock.
Clothes Line Saga
Bob Dylan and The Band Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nobody said very much
Just some old wild shirts and a couple pairs of pants
Which nobody wanted to touch
Mama come in and picked up a book
An' papa asked her what it was
Someone else asked,what do you care
Papa said well, just because
Hang 'em on the line
It was January the thirtieth
And everybody was feelin' fine
The next day, everybody got up
Seein' if the clothes were dry
The dogs were barking, a neighbor passed
Mama, of course, she said,hi
Have you heard the news he said with a grin
The vice president's gone mad
Where downtown when last night
Hmm, say, that's too bad
Well, there's nothing we can do about it,said the neighbor
It's just something we're gonna have to forget
Yes, I guess so said ma
Then she asked me if the clothes was still wet
I reached up, touched my shirt
And the neighbor said, are those clothes yours
I said, some of them, not all of them
He said,ya always help out around here with the chores
I said, sometimes, not all of the time
Then my neighbor blew his nose
Just as papa yelled outside
Mama wants you to come back in the house and bring them clothes
Well, I just do what I'm told so I did it, of course
I went back in the house and mama met me
And then I shut all the doors
The lyrics to Bob Dylan and The Band's song Clothesline Saga describe a seemingly mundane event, the hanging out of laundry, and turn it into a satirical commentary on the societal norms of the time. The opening lines, "After a while we took in the clothes, nobody said very much," set the tone for the song's commentary on the rigid, stifled norms of 1960s American society. Nobody spoke because there was nothing to say, just like there was nothing meaningful to do in a society controlled by conformity.
When Mama comes in and picks up a book and Papa asks her what it is, nobody seems to care about the answer. Papa defends his curiosity by saying "just because." The clothes are then hung on the line, and everyone feels fine. But the next day, when the clothes were supposed to be dry, people start to talk: the dogs bark, and the neighbor greets Mama to tell her the Vice President has gone insane. She dismisses the news, and instead of worrying about the world going crazy, asks her son if the clothes are dry.
These lyrics brilliantly satirize the mundane aspects of small-town life in the 1960s and expose the society's rules and expectations. Dylan is known for his ability to take ordinary experiences or items and turn them into something profound, and this song is no exception.
Line by Line Meaning
After a while we took in the clothes
Eventually, we gathered the clothes
Nobody said very much
No one spoke much
Just some old wild shirts and a couple pairs of pants
Only a few old, unusual shirts and a couple of pants
Which nobody wanted to touch
No one wanted to handle them
Mama come in and picked up a book
Mama entered and took a book
An' papa asked her what it was
Dad asked her about the book
Someone else asked,what do you care
Another person asked why he asked
Papa said well, just because
Dad replied that he asked because
Then they started to take back their clothes
Then they began to retrieve their clothes
Hang 'em on the line
To dry them, hang them outside
It was January the thirtieth
It was January 30th
And everybody was feelin' fine
Everyone was content
The next day, everybody got up
The next day, everyone woke up
Seein' if the clothes were dry
Checking to see if the clothes were dry
The dogs were barking, a neighbor passed
Dogs bark and a neighbor walked by
Mama, of course, she said,hi
Mama said hi, of course
Have you heard the news he said with a grin
The neighbor asked with a smile if you heard the news
The vice president's gone mad
The vice president is insane
Where downtown when last night
He was downtown last night
Hmm, say, that's too bad
That's unfortunate
Well, there's nothing we can do about it,said the neighbor
There's nothing to be done, said the neighbor
It's just something we're gonna have to forget
We just have to forget it
Yes, I guess so said ma
Yes, I suppose so, said Mama
Then she asked me if the clothes was still wet
Then she asked me if the clothes were still damp
I reached up, touched my shirt
I reached up and touched my shirt
And the neighbor said, are those clothes yours
The neighbor asked if the clothes were mine
I said, some of them, not all of them
I replied that some were, but not all
He said,ya always help out around here with the chores
He commented that you always help with the chores
I said, sometimes, not all of the time
I replied that sometimes I help, but not always
Then my neighbor blew his nose
Then my neighbor blew his nose
Just as papa yelled outside
Just as Dad yelled from outside
Mama wants you to come back in the house and bring them clothes
Mama wants you to come back inside and take the clothes
Well, I just do what I'm told so I did it, of course
I just do what I'm told, so I did it
I went back in the house and mama met me
I returned inside the house, and Mama came to see me
And then I shut all the doors
And then I closed all the doors
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BOB DYLAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@sophie-grace9143
I don't know if the washing is dry, but the humour certainly is.
@robotubetwob
I believe the word droll was invented for this song.
@davidcisco4036
“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it,” said the neighbor
“It’s just something we’re gonna have to forget”
@albertopick3585
Bob got the Nobel for this song!
@doncahooti
Now I understand !
@piavp
❤😂love forever
@Gardosunron
Thank you for this I've been searching for it every January the 30th for years!
@sallysimpson5096
and everybody was feeling fine.....
@monicatolipan3238
Great song with such a refined sense of humour!
@markrush5013
even tho it was a throw away song it's still amazing!