There was a wicked messenger
From Eli he did come
With a mind that multiplied the smallest matter
When questioned who had sent for him
He answered with his thumb
For his tongue it could not speak, but only flatter
Roma Palaeur
Rome, Italy
3 October 1987
- Bob Dylan (vocal & guitar) with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.
- Tom Petty (guitar)
- Mike Campbell (guitar)
- Benmont Tench (keyboards)
- Howie Epstein (bass)
- Stan Lynch (drums)
- The Queens Of Rhythm: Carolyn Dennis, Queen Esther Marrow, Madelyn Quebec (backing vocals)
He stayed behind the assembly hall
It was there he made his bed
Oftentimes he could be seen returning
Until one day he just appeared
With a note in his hand which read
“The soles of my feet, I swear they’re burning”Oh, the leaves began to fallin’
And the seas began to part
And the people that confronted him were many
And he was told but these few words
Which opened up his heart
“If ye cannot bring good news, then don’t bring any”
Check out:
- Alldylan @ Facebook
- –
- Bob Dylan: Live 1980 – 1989 (Video & audio)
- Bob Dylan: 8 essential videos from the 80’s
- –
- Karl Erik’s expectingrain.com
- Olof’s “Still On The Road“
-Egil
Interesting version. See https://bobdylansonganalysis.wordpress.com/ for a literary analysis of this song. It’s usually interpreted as if the narrator is to be trusted in calling the messenger wicked. I suggest that in fact the messenger is anything but wicked and that it’s the narrator who is being devious.