Cold Irons Bound Lyrics
Well, I'm all used up and the fields have turned brown
I went to church on Sunday and she passed by
My love for her is taking such a long time to die
It's almost like, almost like I don't exist
I'm twenty miles out of town, in cold irons bound
Can't see over to the other side
It's such a sad thing to see beauty decay
It's sadder still, to feel your heart torn away
Like the universe has swallowed me whole
I'm twenty miles out of town in Cold irons bound
I thought some of 'm were friends of mine; I was wrong about 'm all
Well, the road is rocky and the hillside's mud
Up over my head nothing but clouds of blood
But your love just hasn't proved true
I'm twenty miles out of town in cold irons bound
Twenty miles out of town in cold irons bound
Reality has always had too many heads
Some things last longer than you think they will
There are some kind of things you can never kill
But you can't see in and it's hard lookin' out
I'm twenty miles out of town in cold irons bound
The whiskey's in the jar and the money's in the bank
I tried to love and protect you because I cared
I'm gonna remember forever the joy that we shared
You have no idea what you do to me
I'm twenty miles out of town in cold irons bound
Twenty miles out of town in cold irons bound
Go to youtube, you will find Dylan with a cowboy hat on, and in a cowboy cut suit, just like Hank Williams use to wear on stage. This song was done live on a movie set for Masked, and Anonymous. From the album, Time Out of Mind. There is, NO SHADOW of ANY DOUBT it's Dylan at his very best. The video is close, and tight. The band is on fire, and over the top. The lyrics are superb. I know cold irons bound, is slang for prison, but the lyrics go deeper. This is a little after his second marriage had gone south. So, the drift is just that, but still it goes deeper than anything that I have listened to from Dylan. My parents had Woody, and Hank, but my generation had the Bobcat. I'm a fortunate son to have seen Bob live, twice. We have All been fortunate to drink from is music.
No responses? This is one of Dylan's best!!! Anyway, I'm not too sure what it means, but I think it goes along with the themes of isolation and regret found elsewhere on "Time Out of Mind".
Although it's not often mentioned, it is important to note that much of "Time Out of Mind" (including the title itself) comes from phrases used in "The Pilgrim's Progress" by John Bunyan. The phrase "twenty miles out of town in cold irons bound" comes from the description of the prisoners in the castle of the Giant Despair. This incredible song seems to be a song about a man struggling with sin and pride and the frustration that his desires of his sinful nature trap him in despair and prevent him from getting closer to God.
By the way, don't miss the amazing live version of this song featured on the Masked and Anonymous soundtrack!
Thanks for that. Enlightening!
Thanks for that. Enlightening!
.......above is fine post "coldirons"
Or, think about this is how a man creates a hell for himself, then trying to escape, well there is no escape without cold irons bound when he has to return to his failure.
Anybody here read the Dark Tower series by King? It is like this song
thanks for the info about pilgrims progress i didn't know that. i must read it. i think dylan has always borrowed heavily from poetry, even his name. for me this song is about the loss of a powerful relationship in which the narrator thought he had discovered himself and which he thought would be everlasting, but it wasn't.
i think "cold irons bound" means he's on his way to jail; maybe he killed her. "Up over my head nothing but clouds of blood."
I think this song is really about Norma Jean Baker a.k.a. Marilyn Monroe and Dylans' childhood fantasies about her. Norma Jean was born in Harlan County, Ky. to poor parents who worked in the coal mines (COLDIRON, KY. MINE # 1) and made moonshine whiskey as a means of survival. When Dylan struck out on his own his means of travel was by Greyhound bus and one of his ventures was to visit the home town of Marilyn Monroe (NORMA JEAN BAKER) and the nearest town with a bus depot was Pineville Ky. which is 20 miles exactly from Cold Iron, Ky, thus cold iron bound!!!!
"...I'm going back to New York City; I do believe I've had enough...." "...I wish that for just one time, you could stand inside my shoes; You'd know what a drag it is to see you..." "....we're idiots, babe..."
....what i'm wondering is if there was a 'state of dylan' whether desolation row was a quick bus ride to cold irons bound, right past maggie's farm?