Billy, they don't like you to be so free
Campin' out all night on the veranda
Dealin' cards till dawn in the hacienda
Up to Boot Hill they'd like to send ya
Billy, don't you turn your back on me
Playin' around with some sweet senorita
Into her dark hallway she will lead ya
To the shadows of the mesa she will greet ya
Billy, you're so far away from home
Finish with another instrumental verse with harmonica
There's guns across the river aimin' at ya
Lawman on your trail, he'd like to catch ya
Bounty hunters, too, they'd like to get ya
Billy, they don't like you to be so free
Campin' out all night on the veranda
Dealin' cards 'til dawn in the hacienda
Up to Boot Hill they'd like to send ya
Billy, don't you turn your back on me
There's mirrors inside the minds of crazy faces
Bullet holes and rifles in their cases
There's always one more notch and four more aces
Billy, and you're playin' all alone
Playin' around with some sweet senorita
Into her dark hallway she will lead ya
In the shadows of the mesa she will greet ya
Billy, you've been runnin' for so long
They say that Pat Garrett's got your number
So sleep with one eye open when you wonder
If every little sound just might be thunder
Thunder from the barrel of his gun
Gypsy queens will play your grand finale
Way down in some Tularosa alley
Maybe in the Rio Pecos valley
In the days when you were better known
The businessmen from Taos want you to go down
So they've hired Mister Garrett to force you to slow down
Billy, don't it make ya feel so low-down
To be hunted by the man who was your friend?
So hang on to your woman if you got one
Remember in El Paso, once, you shot one
Way up in Santa Fe she was a hot one
Billy, you been runnin' for so long
Gypsy queens will play your grand finale
Billy, you been so far from home
Billy, you're so far away from home
BD: "Was that any good?"
A
D/g
A
There's guns across the river, like to pound you
A
D/g
A
Lawman on your trail like to surround you
D
A
Bounty hunters dancin' all around you
E
A
Billy, they don't like you to be so free
Campin' out all night on the veranda
Walkin' the streets down by the hacienda
Up to Boot Hill they'd like to send ya
Billy, don't you turn your back on me
There's mirrors inside the minds of crazy faces
Bullet holes and rifles in their cases
There's always one more notch and four more aces
Billy, and you're playin' all alone
Playin' around with some sweet senorita
Into her dark chamber she will greet ya
In the shadows of the mesa she will lead ya
Billy, and you're goin' all alone
They say that Pat Garrett's got your number
So sleep with one eye open when you wonder
If every little sound just might be thunder
Thunder from the barrel of his gun
There's always another stranger sneakin' glances
Some trigger-happy fool willin' to take chances
And some old whore from San Pedro to make advances
Advances on your spirit and your soul
The businessmen from Taos want you to go down
So they've hired Mister Garrett to force you to slow down
Billy, don't it make ya feel so low-down
To be hunted by the man who was your friend?
So hang on to your woman if you got one
Remember in El Paso, once, you shot one
Up in Santa Fe you bought one
Billy, you been runnin' for so long
Gypsy queens will play your grand finale
Way down in some Tularosa alley
Maybe in the Rio Pecos valley
Billy, you're so far away from home
Billy, you're so far away from home
Billy, you're so far away from home
G
C/g
G
Spend the night with some sweet senorita
G
C/g
G
Into her dark hallway she will lead ya
C
G
In some lonesome shadow she might greet ya
D
G
Billy, you're so doggone far away from home
They say that Pat Garrett's got your number
Sleep with one eye open when you slumber
Every little sound just might be thunder
Thunder from the barrel of his gun
Maybe you will find yourself tomorrow
Drinkin' in some bar to hide your sorrow
Spendin' the time that you borrow
Figuring a way to get back home
Billy, they don't like you to be so free
Campin' out all night on the veranda
Dealin' cards till dawn in the hacienda
Up to Boot Hill they'd like to send ya
Billy, don't you turn your back on me
Playin' around with some sweet senorita
Into her dark hallway she will lead ya
To the shadows of the mesa she will greet ya
Billy, you're so far away from home
They say that Pat Garrett's got your number
Sleep with one eye open when you slumber
Every little sound just might be thunder
Thunder from the barrel of his gun
Maybe you will find yourself tomorrow
Drinkin' in some bar to hide your sorrow
Spendin' the time that you borrow
Figuring a way to get back home
Gypsy queens will play your grand finale
Way down in some Tularosa alley
Maybe in the Rio Pecos valley
Billy, you're so far away from home
|
Mama, take this badge off of me
I can't use it anymore
It's gettin' dark, too dark to see
I feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
Mama, put my guns in the ground
I can't shoot them anymore
That long black cloud is comin' down
I feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
Outtake from album sessions (Feb 1973)
Mama, put my guns in the ground
I don't need them anymore
Long black train is comin' round
I feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door
Mama, take this badge off of me
I don't need it anymore
It's gettin' dark, too dark to see
I feel I'm knockin' on heaven's door
Mama, put my guns in the ground
I can't shoot them anymore
That long black train is comin' round
I'm knockin' up on heaven's door
Live 1974 (Before the Flood)
Mama wipe the blood from my face
I'm sick and tired of the war
Got a lone black feelin', and it's hard to trace
Feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door
Mama take these bells out of my ears
I can't hear them anymore
They're bringin' me down and givin' me tears
Feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door
Boston 21-Nov-1975
Mama wipe the blood off of my face
I can't see through it anymore
I need someone to talk to, and a new hiding place
I feel like I'm knocking on heaven's door
Mama I can hear that thunder roar
Echoin' down from God's distant shore
I can hear 'em callin' for my soul
Feel I'm knockin' on heaven's door
Madison Square Garden, 08-Dec-1975
Mama take these tears out of my eyes
I can't see through them anymore
Just for once, I'd like to see the sunrise
Feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door
Earl's Court, London 28-Jun-1981
Mama tow my barge down to sea
Pull it down from shore to shore
Two brown eyes are lookin' at me
Feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door
Goin' down by that road
Feelin' down and more and more
Take the train by... ???
Feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door
Earl's Court, London 28-Jun-1981
??? ... on this scene
Fallin' down like to the floor
Two brown eyes are looking at me
Feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door
Drammen, Norway, 10-Jul-1981
Mama take me above all that misery
Let it fall down to the floor
Two brown eyes are looking at me
Feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door
Mama dig my guns in the ground
I can't fire them any more
While the bridge is falling down
Feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door
Avignon 25-Jul-1981
Mama take my boat out of the sea
Let it fall down to the floor
Two brown eyes are looking at me
Feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door
Mama take this [front part away]
I just don't want it anymore
Aah, when I get in front of something it's too much to pay
Yeah, Feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door
Bristol Connecticut, 04-Sep-1988
Mama wipe the blood from my face
I just can't see through it any more
Sometimes you feel so damn out of place
And I feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door
The sun is setting down
On this ill forgotten town
Two riders are coming down
Bury my heart in this ground
|
G
D
|
Am7
|
|
G
D
|
C
|
Mama, take this badge off of me
I can't use it anymore
It's gettin' dark, too dark to see
I feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
Mama, put my guns in the ground
I can't shoot them anymore
That long black cloud is comin' down
I feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
Mama wipe the blood from my face
I'm sick and tired of the war
Got a lone black feelin', and it's hard to trace
Feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door
Mama wipe the blood off of my face
I can't see through it anymore
I need someone to talk to, and a new hiding place
I feel like I'm knocking on heaven's door
Mama I can hear that thunder roar
Echoin' down from God's distant shore
I can hear 'em callin' for my soul
Feel I'm knockin' on heaven's door
Dance
I met him in a cell in New Orleans
I was down and out
He looked to me to be the eyes of age
As he spoke right out
He talked of life, he talked of life
Laughed and slapped his leg a step
He said the name Bojangles then he danced a lick
All across the cell
He grabbed his pants for a better stance
Oh he jumped so high and clicked his heels
He let go laugh, he let go laugh
Shook back his clothes all around
He danced for those at minstrel shows and county fairs
Throughout the south
Spoke with tears of fifteen years How his dog and him
Had just travelled all about
And his dog up and died, he up and died
And after twenty years he still grieves
He said I dance now at every chance in honky-tonks
For drinks and tips
But most of the time I spend behind these county bars
'Cause I drinks a bit
He shook his head, and then he shook his head
I heard someone ask him: "Please"
C
G
Am
/g
I knew a man Bojangles and he'd dance for you
F
G
In worn out shoes
C
G
Am
/g
The silver hair, a ragged shirt and baggy pants
F
G
That old soft shoe
F
Em
E
Am
/g
He'd jump so high, he'd jump so high
D7/f#
G
C/g
G7
Then he'd lightly touch down
I met him in a cell in New Orleans
I was down and out
He looked to me to be the eyes of age
As he spoke right out
He talked of life, he talked of life
Laughed and slapped his leg a step
Am
G
Mister Bojangles
Am
G
Mister Bojangles
C
/b
Am
/g
F
G
Dance...
He said the name Bojangles then he danced a lick
All across the cell
He grabbed his pants for a better stance
Oh he jumped so high and clicked his heels
He let go laugh, he let go laugh
Shook back his clothes all around
He said I dance now at every chance in honky-tonks
For drinks and tips
But most of the time I spend behind these county bars
'Cause I drinks a bit
He shook his head, and then he shook his head
I heard someone ask him: "Please"
Mister Bojangles
Mister Bojangles
Dance...
|
I've been to Hollywood, I've been to Redwood
I've crossed the ocean for a heart of gold
I've been in my mind, it's such a fine line
That keeps me searching for a heart of gold
And I'm getting old
Keeps me searching for a heart of gold
And I'm getting old
|
When first I came to Louisville, some pleasure there to find
Am
C
G
F
Am
A damsel there from Lexington was pleasing to my mind
F
G
Am
/g
Am
Her rosy cheeks, her ruby lips, like arrows pierced my breast
Am
C
G
F
Am
The name she bore was Flora, the Lily of the West
I courted lovely Flora, some pleasure for to find
But she turned unto another man, which sore distressed my mind
She robbed me of my liberty, deprived me of my rest
Then go, my lovely Flora, the Lily of the West
'Way down in yonder shady grove, a man of high degree
Conversing with my Flora there, which seemed so strange to me
And the answer that she gave to him, it sore did me oppress
I was betrayed by Flora, the Lily of the West
I stepped up to my rival, dagger in my hand
I seized him by the collar, and boldly made him stand
Being mad by desperation, I pierced him through the breast
All this for lovely Flora, the Lily of the West
I had to stand my trial, I had to make my plea
They placed me in the witness box, and then commenced on me
Although she swore my life away, deprived me of my rest
Still I love my faithless Flora, the Lily of the West
Still I love my faithless Flora, the Lily of the West
|
La-la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la
La-la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la
La-la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la
G
I've got a wife and five little children
G
I'm gonna take a trip on the big McMillan
Em
Bm
Am
With Sarah Jane (Sarah Jane!) Sarah Jane
C
G
G
/f#
Em
/d
Ain't nothin' to do but to sit down and sing
C
D
G
And rock about my Sarah Jane
La-la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la
La-la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la
The boiler busted and the whistle squalls
Captain gone through the hole-in-the-wall
Oh Sarah Jane (Sarah Jane!) Sarah Jane
Ain't nothin' to do but to set down and sing
And rock about my Sarah Jane
La-la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la
La-la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la
Yankee built boats to shoot them Rebels
My gun's steady gonna hold it level
Sarah Jane (Sarah Jane!) Sarah Jane
Ain't nothin' to do but to set down and sing
And rock about my Sarah Jane
La-la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la
La-la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la
I've got a wife and five little children
I'm gonna take a trip on the big McMillan
Sarah Jane (Sarah Jane!) Sarah Jane
Ain't nothin' to do but to set down and sing
And rock about my Sarah Jane
La-la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la
La-la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la
|
On the nights that I would ride
She would listen for my spurs
Throw that big door open wide
G
Bm
D
C
G
Raise those laughing eyes of hers
Oh, how the night would go a-flyin'
All too soon I would hear her sighin'
In her sweet and quiet tone
Mi amor, mi corazon
Haven't seen her since that night
I can't cross the line, you know
They want me for a gambling fight
Like as not, it's better so
Still I've always kind of missed her
Since that last sad night I kissed her
I left her heart, I broke my own
Adios, mi corazon
|
G
|
Bm
|
D
|
G
|
This is Bob's solo acoustic performace.
G
C
Spanish is the loving tongue
G
D
C
Soft as music, light as spray
G
C
'Twas a girl I learned it from
G
Am7
G
C/g
G
Living down Sonora way
G
D
C
G
C/g
G
I don't look much like a lover
G
Bm
Am7
Still I hear those loved words over
G
D
Am7
Mostly when I'm all alone!
G
Bm
Am7
G
Mi amor, Mi corazon
On the nights that I would ride
She would listen for my spurs
Throw that big door open wide
G
Bm
Am7
G
Raise those laughing eyes of hers
Oh, how the hours would go a-flyin'
All too soon I'd hear her sighin'
G
Bm
Am7
In her sweet and quiet tone
"Mi amor, mi corazon"
But I had to fly one time
All 'cause of a stupid gamblin' fight
And so we said a swift goodbye
On that dark, unlucky night
How oftentimes to me she's clingin'
And in my ears the hoofbeats ringin'
As I galloped north alone
"Adios, mi corazon"
G
Bm
Am7
Haven't seen her since that night
I can't cross the line, you know
G
Bm
Am7
She was Mex and I was white
Like as not it's better so
G
D
Am7
G
C/g
G
Still I've always kind of missed her
Since that last wild night I kissed her
G
Bm
Am7
I broke her heart, lost my own
"Adios, mi corazon"
San Diego, 2025-May-05 (omitting Ricky's ooh's and la's)
/a
/b
/c#
|
D
/c#
/b
/a
|
D
/b
G
/a
|
Ooh... ooh... ooh....................
D
/a
G
D
/a
G
I went to a garden party to reminisce with my old friends
D
/c#
/b
/a
G
A
D
A chance to share old memories and play our songs again
D
/a
G
D
/a
G
When I got to the garden party, they all knew my name
D
/c#
/b
/a
G
A
D
But no one recognized me, I didn't look the same
G
A
D
/b
But it's all right now
G
A
D
/a
I learned my lesson well
G
D
You see you, can't please everyone
G
A
D
So you got to please yourself
People came from miles around, everyone was there
Yoko brought her walrus, there was magic in the air
And over in the corner, much to my surprise
Mr Hughes hid in Dylan's shoes wearing his disguise
But it's all right now
I learned my lesson well
You see you, can't please everyone
So you got to please yourself (or try to!)
G
A
D
G
A
D
|
G
D
|
G
A
|
D
La-da-da, la-n-da-da-da
I played them all the old songs, I thought that's why they came
No one heard the music, we didn't look the same
I said hello to "Mary Lou", she belongs to me
When I sang a song about a honky-tonk, it was time to leave
But it's all right now
I learned my lesson well
You see you, can't please everyone
So you got to please yourself
Someone opened up the closet door and out stepped Johnny B. Goode
Playing guitar like a ringin' a bell and lookin' like he should
If you gotta play at garden parties, I wish you a lotta luck
But if memories were all I sang, I'd rather drive a truck
But it's all right now
I learned my lesson well
You see you, can't please everyone
So you got to please yourself