University of Michigan Cellular and Molecular Biology graduate student

A-Slammin’ and Bangin’

10 Jun 2003

I was listening to recording of Jack Johnson at the El Rey Theater and I remembered that “Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie” was a Bob Dylan poem. He performed the poem live but never made a song out of it. Jack “covered” the poem by putting it to music and switching up the lyrics a little bit. It’s an awesome song and I hope he releases his version on CD one day.

Without further adue, I give you…

Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie

When yer head gets twisted and yer mind grows numb
When you think you’re too old, too young, too smart or too dumb
When yer laggin’ behind an’ losin’ yer pace
In a slow-motion crawl of life’s busy race
No matter what yer doing if you start givin’ up
If the wine don’t come to the top of yer cup
If the wind’s got you sideways with with one hand holdin’ on
And the other starts slipping and the feeling is gone
And yer train engine fire needs a new spark to catch it
And the wood’s easy findin’ but yer lazy to fetch it
And yer sidewalk starts curlin’ and the street gets too long
And you start walkin’ backwards though you know its wrong
And lonesome comes up as down goes the day
And tomorrow’s mornin’ seems so far away
And you feel the reins from yer pony are slippin’
And yer rope is a-slidin’ ’cause yer hands are a-drippin’
And yer sun-decked desert and evergreen valleys
Turn to broken down slums and trash-can alleys
And yer sky cries water and yer drain pipe’s a-pourin’
And the lightnin’s a-flashing and the thunder’s a-crashin’
And the windows are rattlin’ and breakin’ and the roof tops a-shakin’
And yer whole world’s a-slammin’ and bangin’

Bob Dylan

Mmm…what a fitting song for finals week. Well, back to studying.