"Highway 61 Revisited" lyrics

"Highway 61 Revisited"

Oh God said to Abraham, "Kill me a son"
Abe says, "Man, you must be puttin' me on"
God say, "No." Abe say, "What?"
God say, "You can do what you want Abe, but
The next time you see me comin' you better run"
Well Abe says, "Where you want this killin' done?"
God says. "Out on Highway 61"

Well Georgia Sam he had a bloody nose
Welfare Department they wouldn't give him no clothes
He asked poor Howard where can I go
Howard said there's only one place I know
Sam said tell me quick man I got to run
Ol' Howard just pointed with his gun
And said that way down on Highway 61

Well Mack the finger said to Louie the King
I got forty red white and blue shoe strings
And a thousand telephones that don't ring
Do you know where I can get rid of these things
And Louie the King said let me think for a minute son
And he said yes I think it can be easily done
Just take everything down to Highway 61

Now the fifth daughter on the twelfth night
Told the first father that things weren't right
My complexion she said is much too white
He said come here and step into the light he says hmmm you're right
Let me tell second mother this has been done
But the second mother was with the seventh son
And they were both out on Highway 61

Now the rowin' gambler he was very bored
He was tryin' to create a next world war
He found a promoter who nearly fell off the floor
He said I never engaged in this kind of thing before
But yes I think it can be very easily done
We'll just put some bleachers out in the sun
And have it on Highway 61


Thanks to Paul Stam for correcting these lyrics.
Writer(s): Bob Dylan
Highway 61 is a road that runs from Bob Dylan's hometown in Minnesota to New Orleans, Louisiana. He said in his book "Chronicles", "Highway 61 begins about where I came from, Duluth, to be exact." He added, "I always felt like I'd started on it, always had been on it, and could go anywhere from it."
Al Kooper, who played piano and organ on this track, recalled in his memoir, "Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards", that he began to receive job offers as a session organ player after "Highway 61 Revisited" album had been released, because they wanted to get that "Dylan sound" of this song.
"Georgia Sam" is an nickname of one of Bob Dylan's favorite blues artists, Blind Willie McTell.
In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked this song number 373 on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".