Song To Woody

Album: Bob Dylan (1962)
Play Video
  • I'm out here a thousand miles from my home
    Walkin' a road other men have gone down
    I'm seein' your world of people and things
    Your paupers and peasants and princes and kings

    Hey, hey Woody Guthrie, I wrote you a song
    'Bout a funny ol' world that's a-comin' along
    Seems sick and it's hungry, it's tired and it's torn
    It looks like it's a-dyin' and it's hardly been born

    Hey, Woody Guthrie, but I know that you know
    All the things that I'm a-sayin' and a-many times more
    I'm a-singin' you the song, but I can't sing enough
    'Cause there's not many men that done the things that you've done

    Here's to Cisco and Sonny and Leadbelly too
    And to all the good people that traveled with you
    Here's to the hearts and the hands of the men
    That come with the dust and are gone with the wind

    I'm a-leaving' tomorrow, but I could leave today
    Somewhere down the road someday
    The very last thing that I'd want to do
    Is to say I've been hittin' some hard travelin' too Writer/s: Bob Dylan
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 6

  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn April 11th 1961, Bob Dylan made his New York City debut when he was the opening act for John Lee Hooker at Gerde's Folk City...
    He performed a five song set, of which two he had composed, "Song to Woody" and "Talkin' Hava Negeilah Blues"...
    And little over a month later on May 24th he would celebrate his 20th birthday, he was born on May 24th, 1941.
  • Kevin from Reading , PaPeople who like this should seek out Ramblin Jack Elliot's definitive version of "1913 Massacre." I saw Elliot perform "Massacre" live at a small folk club in Philadelphia, the Tin Angel, in the mid 90s. My buddy and I had to prompt Jack to sing it, and given his somewhat unsteady condition that night, we weren't sure he could pull it off - but sure enough, he did it without missing a beat, or, more precisely, a lyric -- of which there are many. Final anecdote: At the end of the show, I brought a copy of my "Woody Guthrie: A Life" book by Joe Klein and asked Jack to sign it. He obliged, but when I looked at the signature in the light, I saw that he signed "John Wayne."
  • Barry from New York, NyDylan's rendition of SONG FOR WOODY at the 1992 tribute show at the Garden was spectacular! Unfortunately it was never released on the 2-cd soundtrack album so many people have forgotten that he actually played it.
  • Andy from New York, NyThere was tribute concert for Bob a few years back and I asked my brother what he thought Dylan might play after all these revered musicians did covers and said nice things about him. He said, Bob'll deflect all this flattery and do Song to Woody...which he did right out of the gate...
  • Jesse from Peterborough, CanadaIn concert Dylan has taken the key down from the orignal Bb (capo III) to G (no capo).
  • Matt from Downey, CaThis song is so raw that if you listen really closely you can hear Bob flipping his notepad and he ends a verse..You can hear the paper rumblings.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Billy Gould of Faith No More

Billy Gould of Faith No MoreSongwriter Interviews

Faith No More's bassist, Billy Gould, chats to us about his two new experimental projects, The Talking Book and House of Hayduk, and also shares some stories from the FNM days.

Band Names

Band NamesFact or Fiction

Was "Pearl" Eddie Vedder's grandmother, and did she really make a hallucinogenic jam? Did Journey have a contest to name the group? And what does KISS stand for anyway?

Wherefore Art Thou Romeo Lyric

Wherefore Art Thou Romeo LyricMusic Quiz

In this quiz, spot the artist who put Romeo into a song lyric.

"Private Eyes" - The Story Behind the Song

"Private Eyes" - The Story Behind the SongSong Writing

How a goofy detective movie, a disenchanted director and an unlikely songwriter led to one of the biggest hits in pop history.

Second Wind Songs

Second Wind SongsSong Writing

Some songs get a second life when they find a new audience through a movie, commercial, TV show, or even the Internet.

Scott Gorham of Thin Lizzy and Black Star Riders

Scott Gorham of Thin Lizzy and Black Star RidersSongwriter Interviews

Writing with Phil Lynott, Scott saw their ill-fated frontman move to a darker place in his life and lyrics.