Album: Rattle And Hum (1988)

License This Song 

• There must be some way out of here
  Said the joker to the thief
  There's too much confusion here
  I can't get no relief
  Businessmen they drink my wine
  Plowmen dig my earth
  None of them know along the line
  What any of this is worth
  Yeah
  
  No reason to get excited
  The thief, he kindly spoke
  There are many here among us
  Who think that life is but a joke
  But you and I, we've been through that
  And that is not our fate
  So let us not talk falsely now
  Because the hour is getting late
  
  All along the watchtower
  And Princess kept the view
  While horsemen came and went
  Barefoot servants too
  
  All I got is a red guitar
  Three chords
  And the truth
  
  All I got is a red guitar
  The rest is up to you
  
  There's no reason to get excited
  The thief, he kindly spoke
  There are some among us here
  Say that life is just a joke
  You and I, we've been through that
  And that is not our fate (at least today)
  So let us not talk falsely now
  Because the hour is getting late
  Late
  
  Yeah
  Yeah, yeah
  Yeah ey-ey-ey
  Ahh, ahh, yeah-ey-ey-ey Writer/s: Bob Dylan
  Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 7

• Chad from IdahoHarlan Howard once said that “country music is three chords and the truth.” I wonder if Bono and the boys picked up this up somewhere across the South or Midwest portion of their tour.
• Beau from Phoenix, AzYes, Bono forgot the lyrics, but Dylan himself admitted during a guest appearance at a U2 show that year that he himself forgets his own lyrics all the time and can't be arsed to memorize things.
• David from Syracuse, NyThere must be some kind of way out of here...Bono was caught up in the moment, and even messed up the first line...OH WELL...The tone is good, and that is what it is all about.
• Mike from Nashville, TnThis rendition of the Bob Dylan classic sounds like the original, both in vocals and music, as opposed to the Hendrix version.
• Alina from Karlstad, Swedeni think they really made this song their own, making it sound very U2 (all to Edges guitar play). love hendix's version as well.
• Acrobat from Adelaide, AustraliaBono forgets the lyrics a lot... to their own songs too. He also forget the lyrics to BLowin' in the Wind (another Dylan song incidently) anmd he had been dragged up on stage to help sing it. He ad libbed... Dylan liked it and said it was better than the original. I am a singer/songwriter myself, you would be surprised how common it is to forget lyrcis of even your own songs. I have one song where the second verse has changed at least seven times.
• Shane from Kildare, IrelandBono forgot the lyrics at one stage, and just started making up lyrics to fit. Thats were "All I got is a red guitar, 3 chords and the truth" came from.

More Songfacts:

Take Me to ChurchHozier

Hozier's "Take Me to Church" drew inspiration from the atheist writer Christopher Hitchens. He called it "a bit of a losing your religion song."

RioDuran Duran

"Rio" by Duran Duran is a metaphor for America, where the band was trying to break through.

Sweetest ThingU2

Bono wrote U2's song "Sweetest Thing" for his wife to make up for working on her birthday. For the video, he staged an "apology parade," complete with Irish step dancers and an elephant.

She BangsRicky Martin

The Ricky Martin song "She Bangs" found new life when William Hung performed it so horribly on a 2004 episode of American Idol that it went viral.

Three Little BirdsBob Marley & the Wailers

Bob Marley's backup singers, The I Threes, claim they are the "Three Little Birds" in his famous song.

MargaritavilleJimmy Buffett

"Margaritaville" is a state of mind, but it's most associated with Key West, Florida, where Jimmy Buffett moved when he was 24.

Editor's Picks

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular MusicSong Writing

Starting in Virginia City, Nevada and rippling out to the Haight-Ashbury, LSD reshaped popular music.

Elton JohnFact or Fiction

Does he have beef with Gaga? Is he Sean Lennon's godfather? See if you can tell fact from fiction in the Elton John edition.

Ian Anderson of Jethro TullSongwriter Interviews

The flautist frontman talks about touring with Led Zeppelin, his contribution to "Hotel California", and how he may have done the first MTV Unplugged.

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New YorkSong Writing

Can you be married in one country but not another? Only if you're part of a gay couple. One of the first famous singers to come out as a lesbian, Janis wrote a song about it.

Mick Jones of ForeignerSongwriter Interviews

Foreigner's songwriter/guitarist tells the stories behind the songs "Juke Box Hero," "I Want To Know What Love Is," and many more.

Bible LyricsMusic Quiz

Rockers, rappers and pop stars have been known to quote the Bible in their songs. See if you match the artist to the biblical lyric.