Nettie Moore Lyrics
Something's out of whack
Blues this mornin' fallin' down like hail
Gonna leave a greasy trail
Then come back and see you.
All I ever do is struggle and strive.
If I don't do anybody any harm, I might make it back home alive.
I'm in a cowboy band
Got a pile of sins to pay for and I ain't got time to hide
I'd walk through a blazing fire, baby, if I knew you was on the other side
And my happiness is o'r
Winter's gone, the river's on the rise
I loved you then, and ever shall
But there's no one left here to tell
The world has gone black before my eyes
Too much paperwork
Albert's in the graveyard, Frankie's raising hell
I'm beginning to believe what the scriptures tell
Get away from all these demagogues
And these bad luck women stick like glue
It's either one or the other or neither of the two
You could get wrecked in this dance."
They say whisky'll kill you, but I don't think it will
I'm ridin' with you to the top of the hill
And my happiness is o'r
Winter's gone, the river's on the rise
I loved you then, and ever shall
But there's no one left here to tell
The world has gone black before my eyes
Don't have to wonder no more
She been cooking all day, it gonna take me all night
I can't eat all that stuff in a single bite
Lift up your eyes
You can do what you please, you don't need my advice
'Fore you call me any dirty names, you better think twice
I think the rain has stopped
I'm gonna make you come to grips with fate
When I'm through with you, you'll learn to keep your business straight
And my happiness is o'r
Winter's gone, the river's on the rise
I loved you then, and ever shall
But there's no one left here to tell
The world has gone black before my eyes
Has dimmed my sights
When you're around me all my grief gives 'way
A life time with you is like some heavenly day
I'll be drifting along
The woman I'm loving she rules my heart
No knife could ever cut our love apart.
The voice of praise
The sun is strong, I'm standing in the light
I wish to God that it were night
And my happiness is o'r
Winter's gone, the river's on the rise
I loved you then, and ever shall
But there's no one here left to tell
The world has gone black before my eyes
I envision an old timer who has lost his love. Maybe sitting alone with his memories.Anticipating the end.
In a book and around in the web i found this:
Apparently Nettie Moore was a girl and a slave who was sold away. It seems that the first 2 lines of a poem or a song published in 1850 are the same as Dylan's Nettie Moore.
Some spiritual imagery from dylan:
Well, the world of research has gone berserk Too much paperwork Albert's in the graveyard, Frankie's raising hell I'm beginning to believe what the scriptures tell
Today I'll stand in faith and raise The voice of praise The sun is strong, I'm standing in the light I wish to God that it were night
the lyrics are difficult, but i sense the sadness. i just saw him playing this live, yesterday. my friend cried like a baby as i hold her and we both hummed this song as bob played.
"When you're around me all my grief gives 'way A life time with you is like some heavenly day " genius.
"I'm the oldest son of a crazy man" is possibly the best line in this song. The rest are great, but seem like many classic Dylan-blues lines. But the imagery and thought that this line provokes, to me, makes it the best in the song. Possibly is his dad was crazy, he would have to be responsibly for his youngers brothers, sisters, or maybe it means that he was affected by the craziness somehow. Whichever it is, it's a great line, and the song, to me, would be very lacking without it, but with it it might be one of the better songs on the track... but that whole buildup of tension through the song as the listener waits for the "I miss you Nettie Moore" chorus is also pretty great.
I think "the oldest son" thing is jesus singing about his father, Dylan narrating in the first person. I think Dylan does that often. Either that or he is the oldest son, either way he'd be narrating in the first person.
I think "the oldest son" thing is jesus singing about his father, Dylan narrating in the first person. I think Dylan does that often. Either that or he is the oldest son, either way he'd be narrating in the first person.
what a beautiful chorus. the line The world has gone black before my eyes, is, like a lot of lines from modern times, from peter green's translation of ovid, this time from amores book 3, poem 5 - a poem where ovid's daydream is explained to him as his fear of his mistress' adultery.
It seems like this song is about how the times are changing. no pun intended. It seems like this old timer is reflecting upon his life, and how things kept speeding up. So much to do but not enough time to do it. So he put off things that were important to him, trying to do it all. Before he knew it everything was gone. Flashed before his eyes, and now its black.
Thats just what I take from this song
Sorry, i'm not english. What does "o'r" mean?
It's an Irish and possibly British way of saying "over," often used in poetry
It's an Irish and possibly British way of saying "over," often used in poetry
Dylan is taking time to reflect on the natural occurrences around him. "Winter's gone, the river's on the rise" means the snowmelt has caused rivers to surge with their annual high levels of water. Dylan also talks about "the temperature dropped/ I think the rain has stopped." It really sounds like what frankbooth said, Dylan is some old-timer, probably in the country who is sitting around his cabin, noticing things in his backyard. This awareness is complementing the main theme of the song: insights into the world around him and his relationship with this woman who is a big source of love in his life. The song is like a collection of insights and epiphanies, and the observances of nature are like pauses that make the song seem like the natural train-of-thought wanderings of an old man.
At various moments throughout the song, Dylan is humbled, disappointed in himself, full of bravado, and hopeful about the future. Like frankbooth speculated, I think Nettie Moore is dead, and all the talk of her in the present tense may just be memories.
"I loved you then and always will, but now there's no one left to tell" --> all his friends might be dead, as well as Nettie, though his love for her is everlasting "The world has gone black before my eyes" --> he lost all his love, now he can only love his memories, which are just a shadow of his loves, that would explain the blackness in his vision
"Today I'll stand in faith and raise The voice of praise The sun is strong, I'm standing in the light I wish to God that it were night " He's sure he'll see her in heaven. The last sentence may be him wishing he was dead already. He's ready to go.
I noticed a Dante Reference or two.
He clearly references Dante when he says "I would walk through a blazing fire if I knew you were on the other side." In the Divine Comedy, Dante walks through the fire wall in purgatory before he meets Beatrice, a girl he met and fell in love with in his youth, but who died young (the girl Dylan is writing about also appears to be dead). Beatrice then guides Dante through heaven. This is why I think he might be referencing Dante/Beatrice again when he says "a life time with you is like some heavenly day."