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Tears of Rage 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
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.

We 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 discover there was no one true.
Most ev'rybody really thought
It was a childish thing to do.
Tears of rage, tears of grief,
Must I always be the thief?
Come to me now, you know
We're so low
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,
Must I always be the thief?
Come to me now, you know
We're so low
And life is brief.
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1 Meaning

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Cover art for Tears of Rage lyrics by Bob Dylan

The best song on the released version of 'The Basement Tapes', featuring possibly his greatest vocal performance ever. Wish they'd release the rest of the tapes. "Sign on the Cross" is incredible. And "I'm Not There" needs to be remastered so I can actually understand what he's saying.

My Opinion

Hey! You got your wish. Listening to the Basement Tapes Complete right now, and Dylan's version is breathtaking. Still not sure exactly what the lyrics are referring to, but it was obviously very emotionally meaningful to both Bob and Richard Manuel.