Isis
Rolling Thunder Revue Lyrics

I married Isis on the fifth day of may
On the fifth day of May, I got married to a girl named Isis.

But I do not hold on to her very long
However, I did not keep my relationship with her for very long.

So I cut off my hair and I rode straight away
Therefore, I cut off my hair and I left for an unknown land where there would be no chance of going wrong.

For the wild unknown country where I could not go wrong
I was searching for a land where there would be no possibility of failure.

I came to a high place of darkness and light
Eventually, I reached a place where there was a division between darkness and light.

The dividing line ran through the center of town
The dividing line was passing through the heart of the town.

I hitched up my pony to a post on the right
I tied my horse to a post on my right side.

Went in to a laundry to wash my clothes down
I entered a laundry to wash my clothes.

A man in the corner approached me for a match
A man in the corner came towards me and asked me for a matchstick.

I knew right away he was not ordinary
I quickly sensed that he was not an ordinary man.

He said, are you lookin' for somethin' easy to catch?
He asked me if I was searching for something easy to catch.

I said, I got no money he said, that ain't necessary
I replied that I did not have any money, but he reassured me that I didn't need any.

We set out that night for the cold in the north
We started our journey towards the north that very night.

I gave him my blanket, he gave me his word
I gave him my blanket, and he promised me something in exchange.

I said, where are we goin' he said we'd be back by the fourth
I asked him where are we headed. He told me that we'd be back before the fourth day.

I said, that's the best news that I've ever heard
I exclaimed and said that this was the best news I had heard in a long time.

I was thinkin' about turquoise, I was thinkin' about gold
While travelling with him, I was thinking about precious gems like turquoise and gold.

I was thinkin' about diamonds and the world's biggest necklace
I fantasized about diamonds and the biggest necklace ever created.

As we rode through the canyons, through the devilish cold
We travelled through canyons, and our journey was fraught with extreme cold.

I was thinkin' about Isis, how she thought I was so reckless
While riding, I couldn't help but think about Isis and how she once thought that my behavior was reckless.

How she told me that one day we would meet up again,
I recalled that Isis told me once that one day we would meet again, and things would be different then.

And things would be different the next time we wed,
She believed that if we married again, things would be different between us.

If I only could hang on and just be her friend
Isis asked me if I could hold on and be her friend, and I wished I could.

I still can't remember all the best things she said
However, I couldn't remember every single great thing she said to me.

We came to the pyramids all embedded in ice
Finally, we reached the pyramids, but they were surrounded by ice.

He said, there's a body I'm tryin' to find
The man told me that he was searching for a dead body.

If I carry it out it'll bring a good price
He also shared that if he could find it and remove it, it would fetch him a good price.

'Cause then that I knew what he had on his mind
Right then, I figured out what was on his mind.

The wind it was howlin' and the snow was outrageous
The wind howled, and the snow was crazy.

We chopped through the night and we chopped through the dawn
We toiled and toiled all through the night and even as dawn broke.

When he died I was hopin' that it wasn't contagious
When he passed away, I prayed that whatever he had wasn't contagious.

But I made up my mind that I had to go on
However, I had to continue with the journey, and I was resolute about it.

I picked up his body and I dragged him inside,
I took his body and pulled it inside the place where we were at that moment.

Threw him down in the hole and I put back the cover
I lowered him into a hole, covering him up nicely.

I said a quick prayer and I felt satisfied
After the job was done, I said a short prayer, feeling content.

Then I went back to find Isis just to tell her I love her
I then left to meet Isis again to tell her just how much I love her.

She was there in the meadow where the creek used to rise
I found her in the meadow, which was where the creek used to overflow in the past.

Blinded by sleep and in need of a bed,
She was plagued by tiredness and needed a bed to rest upon.

I came in from the east with the sun in my eyes
I arrived from the east, and the sun was shining right into my eyes.

I cursed her one time then I rode on ahead
I cursed her once, then quickly left for the purpose of continuing my journey.

She said, where ya been, I said, no place special
She asked me where I had been, and I replied saying that it was nowhere special.

She said, you look different I said, well, yes
Isis noticed that I appeared different, and I responded in agreement with her observation.

She said, you been gone I said, that's only natural
She also pointed out that I had disappeared, and I replied stating that it was natural for our journeys to take us away at times.

She said, you gonna stay I said, if you want you me, yeah
Isis questioned if I would stay, and I responded positively, saying that I would stay if she wanted me to.

Isis, oh, Isis, you mystical child
At this moment, I addressed Isis, calling her a mystical child.

What drives me to you is what drives me insane
I also mentioned that whatever it is that drove me to her, was also what made me mad sometimes.

I still can remember the way that you smiled
However, I can still hold in memory the way she smiled and be happy about it.

On the fifth day of may in the drizzlin' rain
The day when we got wet in the drizzling rain was the fifth day of May.