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.
Tears of Rage
Bob Dylan and The Band Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On Independence Day
And now you'd throw us all aside
And put us on our way
Oh, what dear daughter 'neath the sun
Would treat a father so
To wait upon him hand and foot
Yet always answer, "no?"
Why am I the one who must be the thief?
Come to me now, you know
We're so alone
And life is brief
It was all pointed out, the way to go
And scratched your name in sand
Though you just thought that it was nothing more
Than a place for you to stand
Now I want you to know that while you watched
Discovered that there was no one true
That I myself really thought
It was just a childish thing to do
Tears of rage, tears of grief
Why am I always the one who must be the thief?
Come to me now, you know
We're so alone
And life is brief
It was all very, very painless
When you ran out to receive
All that false instruction
Which we never could believe
And now the heart is filled with gold
As if it was a purse
But oh, what kind of love is this
Which goes from bad to worse?
Tears of rage, tears of grief
Why am I the always one who must be the thief?
Come to me now, you know
We're so alone
And life is brief
The lyrics of the song "Tears of Rage" by Bob Dylan and The Band are a lament for a parent who feels betrayed by their daughter. The singer recalls how they carried their daughter in their arms on Independence Day, showing fondness and love towards her. However, now the daughter has grown up and disregards her father, putting him aside and going her own way. The father cannot understand why his daughter would treat him so cruelly, always answering "no" to him despite his willingness to wait upon her. This causes the father to shed tears of rage and grief, questioning why he is being forced to be the thief in the relationship. The father realizes that life is brief, and expresses a wish for his daughter to come to him now, to be with him and ease his loneliness.
The song speaks to the experience of many parents who have invested their love and care into their children, only to have those children turn their backs on them. Ultimately, the songwriter shows that parents' love for their children can be unconditional, but the pain of betrayal can cause an outpouring of sadness.
Line by Line Meaning
We carried you in our arms
On Independence Day
And now you'd throw us all aside
And put us on our way
We welcomed you with open arms on the day our country gained independence. Now, you have abandoned us and are pushing us away.
Oh, what dear daughter 'neath the sun
Would treat a father so
To wait upon him hand and foot
Yet always answer, 'no?'
What kind of daughter would be disrespectful to her father who has always taken care of her, but never follows his advice?
Tears of rage, tears of grief
Why am I the one who must be the thief?
Come to me now, you know
We're so alone
And life is brief
The feeling of anger and sorrow is overwhelming, and the question asked is why he is always the one to steal the burden. He asks for help, because life is too short and the situation seems hopeless.
It was all pointed out, the way to go
And scratched your name in sand
Though you just thought that it was nothing more
Than a place for you to stand
Everything was clearly explained, and even carved your name in sand as a reminder. But you didn't think this was important and went on following your own opinions instead.
Now I want you to know that while you watched
Discovered that there was no one true
That I myself really thought
It was just a childish thing to do
I need you to realize that while you were busy searching for the truth, I have come to accept that there is no one truth. I used to think that your pursuits were immature.
It was all very, very painless
When you ran out to receive
All that false instruction
Which we never could believe
You were happy to receive all this misguided information that we couldn't stand behind, and it didn't cause you any pain.
And now the heart is filled with gold
As if it was a purse
But oh, what kind of love is this
Which goes from bad to worse?
Now your heart is filled with greed, as if it was a money purse. But what kind of love causes the situation to get increasingly worse?
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Richard Manuel, Bob Dylan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@johansterk354
How mature was this man at the mere age of 26?? Ancient blood singing ... The lyrics:
We carried you in our arms on Independence Day
And now you'd throw us all aside and put us all away
Oh, what dear daughter 'neath the sun could treat a father so?
To wait upon him hand and foot and always tell him "No"
Tears of rage, tears of grief, why must I always be the thief?
Come to me now, you know we're so alone and life is brief
It has all been pointed out the way to go and scratched your name in sand
Though you just thought it was nothing more than a place for you to stand
Now I want you to know that while we watched you discovered there was no one true
That I myself really thought it was just a childish thing to do
Tears of rage, tears of grief, why am I always the one who must be the thief?
Come to me now, you know we're so alone and life is brief
It was all very painless when you went out to receive
All that false instruction which we never could believe
And now the heart is filled with gold as if it was a purse
But, oh, what kind of love is this which goes from bad to worse?
Tears of rage, tears of grief, why must I always be the thief?
Come to me now, you know we're so alone and life is brief
@bryankeisling132
Lyrics:
We carried you in our arms on Independence Day
And now you'd throw us all aside and put us on our way
Oh, what dear daughter 'neath the sun would treat a father so
To wait upon him hand and foot, yet always answer no?
Tears of rage, tears of grief
Why am I always the one who must be the thief?
Come to me now, you know we're so alone
And life is brief
It was all pointed out the way to go and scratched your name in sand
Though you just thought that it was nothing more than a place for you to stand
Now I want you to know that while you were watched, discovered that there was no one true
That I myself really thought
It was just a childish thing to do
Tears of rage, tears of grief
Why am I always the one who must be the thief?
Come to me now, you know we're so alone
And life is brief
It was all very, very painless when you ran out to receive
All that false instruction which we never could believe
And now the heart is filled with gold as if it was a purse
Oh, but what kind of love is this which goes from bad to worse?
Tears of rage, tears of grief
Why am I always the one who must be the thief?
Come to me now, you know we're so alone
And life is brief
@Argotero
Fantastic song, and sublime singers... The Band and Bob Dylan is been the greatest gift to all of us...thanks so much.
@stephenglasse9756
Great great singer ❤️. Everyone goes on about his lyrics but as Jann Wenner said, Dylan's voice is God's greatest gift to him.
@monicatolipan3238
Another fantastic song carrying the intensity of great romantism. Loved it.
@JorgeLMarquezsM
Emocionalidad completa! Qué hermosa canción! Somos padres adoloridos, como los de la letra!
@Davidgeorgegerard
Somos es la verdad
@jonnijames
one of your best Bob, love it with my heart and soul!!
@DutchComedian
Credit to Dylan for creating this masterpiece (one of dozens in his catalog) but I think almost everyone can agree that The Band's version on "Big Pink" is a superior rendition.
@Everton176
What a song, I wouldnt be who i am today without the basement tapes.
@davejonsson3440
Bob and Richard, Macca, and Ray Davies knew how to write from a parent's perspective, and these songs were so compassionate and, in a way, revolutionary.
@mortimerzilch2608
in 1974 Bob touring with the Band played this solo back to back with Wheels on Fire....and I thought he was going to explode. people were freaking out crying and hugging each other...most amazing singinng I ever heard...way better than even this fantastic rendition. But that particular convert is nowhere around on YouTube, at least I can't find it.