Album: Highway 61 Revisited (1965)

License This Song 

• Oh, God said to Abraham, "Kill me a son"
  Abe said, "Man, you must be puttin' me on"
  God said, "No" Abe say, "What?"
  God say, "You can do what you want, Abe, but
  The next time you see me comin', you better run"
  Well, Abe said, "Where d'you want this killin' done?"
  God said, "Out on Highway 61"
  
  Well, Georgia Sam, he had a bloody nose
  Welfare department, they wouldn't give him no clothes
  He asked poor Howard, "Where can I go?"
  Howard said, "There's only one place I know"
  Sam said, "Tell me quick, man, I got to run"
  Oh, Howard just pointed with his gun
  And said, "That way, down Highway 61"
  
  Well, Mack the Finger said to Louie the King
  "I got forty red-white-and-blue shoestrings
  And a thousand telephones that don't ring
  Do you know where I can get rid of these things?"
  And Louie the King said, "Let me think for a minute, son"
  Then he said, "Yes, I think it can be easily done
  Just take everything down to Highway 61"
  
  Now, the fifth daughter on the twelfth night
  Told the first father that things weren't right
  "My complexion," she says, "is much too white"
  He said, "Come here and step into the light"
  He said, "Hmm, you're right, let me tell the second mother this has been done"
  But the second mother was with the seventh son
  And they were both out on Highway 61
  
  Now, the roving gambler he was very bored
  Trying to create a next world war
  He found a promoter who nearly fell off the floor
  He said, "I never engaged in this kind of thing before
  But yes, I think it can be very easily done
  We'll just put some bleachers out in the sun
  And have it on Highway 61" Writer/s: Bob Dylan
  Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 36

• Brian from White Bear Lake, MnRus right through my town... There also used to be a railroad that paralleled it from northern Duluth. Used to be a great highway, and still is, but too bad it was replaced by the Interstate systems.
• Jim from Central OhioWould love to know some thoughts about possible significance of these lyrics or what may have inspired them
• Dabrack from TxIt is true that The crossroads of Highway 61 and Highway 49 is where Blues legend Robert Johnson reportedly sold his soul to the devil to become a renown musician. But that is not the crossroads of the song. Johnson sang about the crossroads of Riverside and Rosedale in SE Fort Worth which was the center of the blues clubs.
• Hinesdawg from Philadelphia, PaLet me express this is just my opinion, and that I think everyone is entitled to their own. I wouldn’t think to dismiss anyone else, I think Dylan would state music is meant to invoke passion in others. Its not for us or even HIMSELF to dictate meaning. I wasn’t around in the 60s, but even if I was I don’t think I would’ve gotten close enough to ask him directly. I would probably just have subscribed to whatever narrative developed within the influencers of the prevailing zeitgeist. Baby Boomers and Hippies are the original Millenials. All you have to do is read what their parents said about them…its eerily familiar and almost tragic that humans repeat that cycle of fear. That said, here’s what I think may have been going on in his head.
  
  Dylan was always interested with the idea of truth and authenticity. He believed in devotion to the search, for truth. Also, the unavoidable hypocrisy that comes from those who claim to have the answers. On one hand he was devout, and on the other he saw the hypocrisy of any institution. He seethed at those who claimed to have the answers. Those who ask for blind faith, and those follow blindly. Ironically, he saw himself becoming one of these idols and it despised the idea. Like he said, “You can serve the Devil or you can serve the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody.” Yet he also said, “A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night and in between he does what he wants to do.” He was always conflicted about this idea of ideologues chained to a line of thinking. I remember lyrics about the only constant is change. Also, that people that knowingly act in their own interest, then repent for straying after doing whatever they want. He saw that as a constant cycle of hypocrisy. I can only imagine he saw that there was never any intention to adhere to the guidelines they preached. He was romantic, and like most romantics believed all the beauty and creation was behind him and ahead was just bastardization and pretenders. That’s where I’m at with this song.
  
  There’s the OT reference OF Abraham and Isaac, much like Robert Johnson’s Crossroads as someone mentioned. Its the idea of sacrifice and commitment and the willingness to sacrifice that which is most valuable for greatness. He now goes down this highway once again and it is loaded with jokers and pretenders. I think the shoestrings are telephone lines, how most people don’t commit earnestly to struggle down that road, they take a shortcut. I also think he highlights hypocrisy of morality with the incest/child abuse imagery.
  Romantically, this road was once something you travailed. Not specifically to anywhere, just away from somewhere you know is untrue to your being. Simply the path unto which you could find yourself. It was(like his trip from MN to the MS Delta) about a path of enlightenment. The JOURNEY not the DESTINATION. Honestly transporting yourself through SACRIFICE(Abraham & RJohnson).
  In his mind Robert Johnson was as righteous, if not more so than Abraham. For he was transparent and true to his nature, and was willing to do anything. Its about committing yourself so completely to what you desire that nothing will stand in your way. And in that moment when…you’ve given up everything along your journey… you have obtained that which you saught, eg the love of God or being the greatest guitar player of all-time.
  Now revisted, HWY61 is flooded with all of these charlatans and sinners. On someone else’s path(i.e. Blind)to the meaning. Men who say the words without meaning, act without thought or commitment to truth.He hears sirens of police, who have gladly taken all the freedoms which we have blindly relinquished. It’s a veiled slap to the listener(Classic Dylan), a scathing portrait of what American Life has become. A cheap and unearned appropriation of a bygone(overly romanticized) moment in time, sold back to us as a vacation.
  
  And of course the drug references. Much like Robert Johnson sold his soul to “devil”, Dylan was always a staunch believer in the need to expand your mind. He switched Lennon and McCartney on with a briefcase of marijuana in NYC, which was the stepping stone to experimentation with LSD. That which guided them to unlock the varying nature of perception and some the greatest art ever made. Though he never hesitated to explain that there is a cost to substance. Most often that road can lead to harder drugs(devil), again that there is sacrifice and pain associated with eventual enlightenment. This is not to say the only pathway, but it was the one he took…again referencing hypocrisy…people using drugs for no purpose but to get high. Imitating superficially, without soul or design.
  
  Overall, classic snarky Dylan. Personally I see genius in his work, but he can at times be a bit condescending for my liking. Surely I’m not of the Jobs-ian belief that all other music is garbage. I mean if we’re being honest even he would say he appropriated much of that Delta Blues before he ever found his true form…ironically, most of his “fans” don’t want that music anyway. They want his early to mid stuff. To which you have to just smile, as it completes the cycle of hypocrisy.
• Josh from CanadaI feel like what Bob means by "sold his soul to the devil" is that he started creating meaningless music that sounded lucid and poetic to capture a wider audience of people, rather than write in way that communicates his message clearly. This might have been what pissed off the audience at his 15 min set, as it would have marked his departure from their definition of folks music, which probably didn't do well in the mainstream. I am basing off of his song highway 61- I haven't listened to much of Bob's stuff, but the way people go on I was expecting more. It would seem MSM would do something like defend Bob from his detractors by blaming the journalism of the time, rather the true quality of his character and music- which has really left me unimpressed. I wrote this after listening to that one bob dylan song and I couple other I can't name, and then reading this article. This was me sniffing around the bs questioning why people listen to Dylan or claim he is some sort of god like poet. When really he seems to just write nice sounding things that sound deep, but are really stupid so you can excuse yourself from thinking about it too much. But then people say, "oh well you just don't get it" there is nothing to get- I can not find an individual that explains in way that makes sense the meaning to this song, that would justify this seemingly propped up stature.
• Bert Bernard Prouty from WisconsinI lived near hwy 61, and traveled it for much of my youth, in North Branch/Stacy mn area. Nothing good happens on this road. Parts of it are lonely and cold. Will do everything to go around it. And will hold my breath if I have to go over it, east to west. Dillon knows this road well. In his soul. It invokes difficult and confusing memories of all types.
• Blues Rebel Bob from On Highway 61 Hollandale, Mississippi Attended Memphis concert Auditorium half accouistic half electric
• Ken from Duluth MnHighway 61 also runs north along the shores of Lake Superior to the Canada border. It is consider one of the most beautiful drives in the US. It passes thru a number of state parks, the Superior National Forest, and is a jumping off point for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. I have to believe that Dylan also had this in mind when he wrote the song. At least this is something I like to believe anytime I'm on any of that piece of road.
• Gary Latendresse from Ottawa, OntarioHighway 61 started in Ontario... Thunder Bay. A lot of native indian women from the reserve would disappear and turn up dead when they hitchhiked this highway hoping for a better life I guess in the USA!
• Mike from Berkeley, CaIn the fourth verse, incest and/or polygamy are alluded to. When the father says: "...let me tell the second mother this has been done", what does he mean by "this"? It seems to me to be a pregnancy. (Maybe that daughter is pale because of an illness like hemophilia or a drug dependency, but a simpler explanation is morning sickness.) But the father can't find the second mother, because she's run off either with her own son or her stepson. The punchline is a threefold scandal: a couple elopes, a husband is cuckolded, and a mother and (step?) son have a 'family affair'.
• Robert from Snellville, GaMy take. Highway 61 represents the crossroads (49 and 61) where Robert Johnson is said to sell his soul to the Devil in return for his prowess on the guitar. So, the crossroads is where one makes the most critical decision in life... whether to follow Satan or to follow Jesus. All of the verses present these situations -- will you follow Jesus or Satan?
• Fred from Laurel, MdAbraham's son was Isaac, and there's a Leonard Cohen song, "Story of Isaac," based on this biblical tale, as told by Isaac in the song. Judy Collins did a terrific job of it on her album, "Who Knows Where the Time Goes" (1968). The song has 4 verses, but she left out the 2nd one, which goes, *** The trees they grew much smaller / the lake, a lady's mirror / we stopped to drink some wine // Then he threw the bottle over / it broke a minute later / and he put his hand on mine // And I thought I saw an eagle / but it might have been a vulture / I never could decide // Then my father built an altar / he looked once over his shoulder / he knew I would not hide. *** 2009 Jun 07
• Ilia from Sydney,Can someone explain the third verse for me please, regarding the shoestring-and-telephones problem. The wiki article for this song says it is about "gang torture". I don't understand. Thanks.
• Tom from Chester, United KingdomYes its track seven on "Highway 61 Revisited" strangely!
  
  I think the album as a whole refers to the freedom that the Highway gave Dylan. It allowed him to move away from the town he was brought up in and allowed him to see an area of America rich in Blues music and culture.
  
  Much of the album seems to focus on just making a racket being aggressive and showing a whole lot of attitude. Lyrically I need to look at it more but that's the overall impression that I get :)
• Thomas from Somerville, AlI'm with you on this one, George. I remember an interview with Bob on an old radio show I used to play in the late 70's called Innerview. He was asked about this song in particular and he said something to effect of Hey, I don't know man, there was a lots of drugs going around in those days and a lots of lyrics were just about the dope, you know?..I remember that specifically because it was one of my favorite Dylan songs.
• Ian from Paddock Lake, WiObviously the invoking of the biblical reference is a veiled reference to the pent-up anger he had over his father.
• Martin from Chichester, United Kingdomi only know Bruce Springsteens version... which is rather good!
• Henry from Baltimore, MdAlthough the album says police car, he really played a slide whistle. That's classic Dylan for ya!
• Joshua from La Crosse, WiIronically the stretch of US Highway 61 north of Duluth doesn't exist anymore, at least as it was when Dylan wrote about it. It still carries the number 61, but is now a Minnesota state, rather than a US, highway. Nowadays US Highway 61 only goes as far north as Wyoming, MN (a town about 30 miles north of St. Paul), ending when it meets I-35 just outside of town.
• Ryan from Mankato, MnBob Dylan wrote this song just north of Winona, Minnesota. Story goes He was hitchhiking north.
• George from Holiday, FlWow, is everybody off the mark on this one! I'm old enough to have been a working musician in NYC during the '60s and it was common knowledge that this album was loaded with drug references, especially heroin. Here's a quick lesson in some underground terminology from that time: the "Highway" was a reference to "mainline" or hitting a good vein when "shooting up" with your "gun" or needle. The song begins by clearly pointing out that this is a risky deadly game but then goes on to say that it is also an easy means of escape from lifes' most bizarre problems. Further evidenced references are "Georgia Sam's bloody nose" and "Louie the King" as the drug dealer. If there is any judgement at all it is in the frivolous atmosphere of the music juxtaposed to the dark lyrics; picture Lemmings running toward the cliff.
  There are many more such references in the Highway 61 Revisited Album: Like a Rolling Stone, Tombstone Blues, Queen Jane,...the list goes on. Relisten to these songs and I think you will find that I am correct.
• Lauren from WrexhamI agree with Richard and Daan. Dylan wrote a type of story in the album booklet and it says near the end, "the songs on this record are not so much songs but rather exercises in tonal breath control?. the basic subject matter ? tho meaningless as it is ? has something to do with the beautiful strangers?. the beautiful strangers, Vivaldi?s green jacket & the holy slow train".
• Ed from Lake Bluff, IlObvious reference to Old Testament and highway running from the Bob's home town in northern Minnesota to the Mississippi Delta- is it significant that Dylan's father was named Abraham?
• Lester from New York City, NyAbe said "Where you want this killin' done?", and the Lord said "Down on Highway 61".
• Cassi from Norman, OkI think Highway 61 refers to the Highway 61 that runs through Memphis to New Orleans. This highway is refered to as the "blues highway" and was also part of the crossroads where Robert Johnson famously sold his soul to the devil. Although, it does run through Duluth, I would bet my money that God wanted Abraham to kill his son down on the blues highway area of 61. I think the "Revisited" part of the song could be a reference to the great bluesmen of the past as well. This is not based on facts, but looking at Dylan's heavy influences, this is what I take from the song.
• Daan from Tegelen, NetherlandsFurthermore, agreeing with Richard from Canada, I believe many songs by Dylan consist of simple word association. Yes indeed, I have the guts to pose the statement that Highway 61, but Tombstone Blues and even Subterranean Homesick Blues actually don't mean anything. This must be nuanced though, word association of course does come from subconscial links with a certain meaning.
• Daan from Tegelen, NetherlandsHang on, Joe from San Diego there is nothing in Highway 61 about killing Jesus.
  What Dylan refers to is the biblical story about God requesting from Abraham that he sacrifices his only son. he did this to test Abraham's belief. First Abraham was (of course) reluctant, but eventually he gave in and went up the mountain God commanded him to do the sacrificing on. When Abraham was about to kill his son and set him on fire God spoke to him that he had given enough proof of his faith and could keep his son.
  So it's Abraham's son that is requested to be killed, not God's son.
  Dylan's affection towards religion is an obvious indicator for you to have thought of such yourself.
• Richard from Ottawa, CanadaToo many Dylan fans look way too hard into the meaning and inspirational background from where he recieves his lyrics. He simply writes down names, events, and other pieces of information in which he has been influenced by or has encountered in his life time. furthermore, he injects all of these words into an organizational scheme, hence the solids lyrics, poetry and stories in which he uses in his songs. The complex words and rhymes, are just avaiable during the time he is smoking weed, in which he puts them into what we all call another masterpiece of dylan. However if you were ever to ask dylan about some of these things he writes about, he will tell you that it makes sense at the time and it is up to the listener to decide what the meaning truly is... Cheers
• Joe from San Diego, CaI remember reading Chronicles, and reading Dylan mention Highway 61 around where he grew up as the launching point of something. The more he explains it in the book, the Highway takes on a negative connotation. By the time he finishes his explanation I remember Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness and how the river through Congo and Dylan's perspective of Highway 61 compare to each other. The killing of Jesus, the next World War are also indicators that this Highway may be an avenue to some source of evil and darkness.
• Joanie from Bowling Green, KyI used to live in Bob's old home town of Duluth and actually on Highway 61 (in the city limits it was London Road), and the funny thing was you seemed to constantly hear sirens on that road. I always thought that was why he had the siren sound in the song.
• Emily from Philadelphia, PaThe inspiration behind HIghway 61 may come from a song by blues musician Fred Mcdowell called "61 Highway"; Dylan, like many musicians from that era, was influenced by blues.
• Chad from Reading, PaThere is a portion of US 61 north of Duluth, MN (where Dylan was born) that borders Lake Superior. The road travels on high cliffs and executes sharp turns in places, and the worst part is the lack of a guardrail. Many people have died on that stretch over the years and I think this song may be about that stretch of highway. God tells Abraham to kill his son there, Howard seems like he may be telling Georgia Sam to kill himself, Louis the King tells Mack the finger to get rid of his stuff there, maybe the fifth daughter got a feeling that the second mother and seventh son were killed on that stretch of highway and that is what made her pale. But what do I know, that's just a thought on what the meaning of the song may be.
• Stefanie from Rock Hill, ScThe reason I love this song is because of the arrangement, and the fact that the lyrics don't seem to fit together. It's a fun song! Isn't there a song called "Highway 61." I think I've heard of it, but anyway, who recorded if there is such a song.
• Micah from Mansfield, IlYes, there is a song called Highway 61 revisited. It contain's the famous dylan lyric about a conversation between Abraham and God. The goofy noise at the beginning of the song was produced by a siren whistle, which Dylan took from one of the studio musicians guitar cases. If I remember correctly he took it and put it in his harmonica rack.
• Andy from Arlington, VaWhat is that weird instrument in the background making the goofy noise? Sounds like a New Year's party favor.
• Fergal from Dublin, IrelandIs there a Dylan song called Highway 61 Revisited?

More Songfacts:

Street Fighting ManThe Rolling Stones

Keith Richards did some studio alchemy on "Street Fighting Man," which is all acoustic except the bass.

All Through The NightCyndi Lauper

Cyndi Lauper's hit "All Through The Night" was written and originally recorded by Jules Shear, who also wrote "If She Knew What She Wants" by the Bangles.

Cult of PersonalityLiving Colour

"Cult of Personality" by Living Colour incorporates speeches by John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Love Won't WaitGary Barlow

Madonna wrote a song called "Love Won't Wait" that she didn't want, but became a UK #1 hit for Gary Barlow.

Poker FaceLady Gaga

Lady Gaga says that "Poker Face" is about her personal experience with bisexuality; being with a man but thinking about a woman.

Rhythm Of My HeartRod Stewart

"Rhythm Of My Heart" by Rod Stewart is about a soldier at war - his heart is beating like a drum because he's in battle.

Editor's Picks

Benny MardonesSongwriter Interviews

His song "Into The Night" is one of the most-played of all time. For Benny, it took him to hell and back.

Bob DaisleySongwriter Interviews

Bob was the bass player and lyricist for the first two Ozzy Osbourne albums. Here's how he wrote songs like "Crazy Train" and "Mr. Crowley" with Ozzy and Randy Rhoads.

Peter LordSongwriter Interviews

You may not recognize his name, but you will certainly recognize Peter Lord's songs. He wrote the bevy of hits from Paula Abdul's second album, Spellbound.

Gavin Rossdale On Lyric Inspirations and Bush's Album The KingdomSongwriter Interviews

The Bush frontman on where he finds inspiration for lyrics, if his "machine head" is a guitar tuner, and the stories behind songs from the album The Kingdom.

Spot The Real Red Hot Chili Peppers Song TitlesMusic Quiz

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have some rather unusual song titles - see if you can spot the real ones.

HardySongwriter Interviews

The country hitmaker talks about his debut album, A Rock, and how a nursery rhyme inspired his hit single "One Beer."