Album: New Morning (1970)

License This Song 

• Oh, the benches were stained with tears and perspiration
  The birdies were flying from tree to tree
  There was little to say, there was no conversation
  As I stepped to the stage to pick up my degree
  And the locusts sang off in the distance
  Yeah, the locusts sang such a sweet melody
  Oh, the locusts sang off in the distance
  Yeah, the locusts sang and they were singing for me
  
  I glanced into the chamber where the judges were talking
  Darkness was everywhere, it smelled like a tomb
  I was ready to leave, I was already walkin'
  But the next time I looked there was light in the room
  And the locusts sang, yeah, it give me a chill
  Oh, the locusts sang such a sweet melody
  Oh, the locusts sang their high whining trill
  Yeah, the locusts sang and they were singing for me
  
  Outside of the gates the trucks were unloadin'
  The weather was hot, a-nearly ninety degrees
  The man standin' next to me, his head was exploding
  Well, I was prayin' the pieces wouldn't fall on me
  Yeah, the locusts sang off in the distance
  Yeah, the locusts sang such a sweet melody
  Oh, the locusts sang off in the distance
  And the locusts sang and they were singing for me
  
  I put down my robe, picked up my diploma
  Took hold of my sweetheart and away we did drive
  Straight for the hills, the black hills of Dakota
  Sure was glad to get out of there alive
  And the locusts sang, well, it give me a chill
  Yeah, the locusts sang such a sweet melody
  And the locusts sang with a high whinin' trill
  Yeah, the locusts sang and they was singing for me
  Singing for me, well, singing for me Writer/s: BOB DYLAN
  Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 11

• Crystal Joy Salas from Wattsburg PaCicadas are not locusts the are more closely related to flys they do not cause infestation as adults do not even eat they have no mouth parts. Real locusts are Grasshoppers and it's these that we're mentioned in the Bible as plaguing the Egyptians Locusts are herbivores and when in swarm mode can cause devastating results to surrounding plant life. So just a fact check here. Cicadas only come out every 17 years and are not locusts. Locusts are preset year around every year and they are Grasshoppers two completely different insects get your bugs straight guys.
• Richard G. Biever from Indianapolis, InThis is a great song. The line about the "head exploding" took on new meaning for me after reading Dylan's autobiography. I think it refers to the Princeton official who introduced Dylan with the cliche "spokesman of a generation" type stuff that Dylan was desperately trying to shed at that point, talked about in his autobiography. I think it means he was talking nonsense in Dylan's eyes and hoped the "pieces wouldn't fall on" him, referring to reigniting all the popular media's references to Dylan as this voice of the generation.
• Tahoe from Zephyr Cove, NvYou guys have some of it right -- but Tim Riley certainly does not !! A classmate and friend of mine was actually the host for Dylan on that day. David Crosby came to Princeton with Dylan. Dylan felt like backing out of the speech (he had just turned 30, and it was he who said 'do not trust anyone over 30 ). Crosby reminded Dylan that the reason he had decided to attend was that he could tell his mom that he finally got a degree. My friend who was their host played in a band with me, and was also a DJ at the campus radio station, which is how he came to be asked to write Dylan's manager and ask him to be the commencement speaker. Dylan did NOT do it just to
• Frank from Princeton, NjThe eastern half of the United States is home to a unique set of species, called periodical cicadas, whose members spend 13 or 17 years underground before suddenly emerging into a frenzied and noisy adulthood....During Brood X's 1970 emergence, Bob Dylan visited Princeton University in New Jersey, part of X's vast patch, to collect an honorary degree. Musical lore says he wasn't impressed with the university or the degree. But he added to the immortality of cicadas with a song he wrote about the occasion, "Day of the Locusts." This is the correct interpretation, though the specific topics he covers in the song can be whatever he wanted. I live in Princeton, and the roar of these creatures is deafening, all day, all night. The above quote is from the Washington Post, By Cameron W. Barr
  Washington Post Staff Writer
  Sunday, March 28, 2004; Page A01
  
  
  
  
• Scott from Ipswich, MaWhen Dylan wants to snub someone or something, he does so a lot more pointedly. See Masters of War, Positively Fourth Street, etc.
• Micah from Mansfield, IlIn Dylan's book, Chronicles, he describes this event with great detail. He describes his awkward feelings about having all of the people in the crowd stare at him, and then goes on to tell of how his friend who went along with him, David Crosby, called all of the people attending the event, a bunch of "d*ckheads".
• Tony from Liverpool, EnglandThe title is also a reference to the Nathanel West novel 'Day of The Locust', one of the first novels about the sleaze and cruelty of Hollywood (strangely enough, one of the main character's name is Homer Simpson. ?!?)
• Fergal from Dublin, IrelandThe line "the man sitting next to me, his head was exploding" refers to one of Dylan's friends who smoked a little bit too much on the trip up with Bobby and wife Sara. Brilliant!!!
• Barry from New York, NyRecorded in August 1970 for the final NEW MORNING sessions.
• Jacob from Brooklyn, NyYeah, the story goes that this was the last time (before last spring) when the Cicadas came out for their cyclical appearance. I was at Princeton last spring about this time when the Cicadas came out, and it's quite a scene- you can hear a constant droning buzz in the background, and the Cicadas are all over the place in the thousands.
• Baba from New York, NyThere was a story in the New York Times about Dylan being plauged by an actual storm of locusts while receiving this award and thus the song...did anyone else see this or know about it?

More Songfacts:

My GenerationThe Who

Roger Daltrey stutters the vocal on "My Generation" by The Who. The idea was to sound like a British kid on speed.

I Shot The SheriffBob Marley & the Wailers

Bob Marley's "I Shot The Sheriff" deals with police brutality in the Trenchtown section of Jamaica, where he grew up. He felt that police assumed young men in the area were all criminals.

The Rubberband ManThe Spinners

"The Rubberband Man" is a "short, fat guy" with rhythm and grace. Spinners producer Thom Bell wrote it to boost the self-esteem of his rotund son.

What Do You Mean?Justin Bieber

After 47 visits to the Hot 100, Justin Bieber topped the tally for the first time on September 17, 2015 with "What Do You Mean?"

Police Dog BluesHugh Laurie

Hugh Laurie, star of the TV show House, had a minor hit in 2011 with "Police Dog Blues," an old Blues song from 1929.

WonderwallOasis

Oasis didn't coin the term "Wonderwall." It's the title of a 1968 movie with a soundtrack by George Harrison. It was Harrison's soundtrack that got the band's attention.

Editor's Picks

Glen Phillips of Toad the Wet SprocketSongwriter Interviews

The "All I Want" singer went through a long depression, playing some shows when he didn't want to be alive.

Song Titles That Inspired MoviesSong Writing

Famous songs that lent their titles - and in some cases storylines - to movies.

SugarlandSongwriter Interviews

Meet the "sassy basket" with the biggest voice in country music.

British InvasionFact or Fiction

Go beyond The Beatles to see what you know about the British Invasion.

Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine BandSongwriter Interviews

Harry Wayne Casey tells the stories behind KC and The Sunshine Band hits like "Get Down Tonight," "That's The Way (I Like It)," and "Give It Up."

P.F. SloanSongwriter Interviews

P.F. was a teenager writing hits and playing on tracks for Jan & Dean when he wrote a #1 hit that got him blackballed.