Maggie's Farm

Album: Bringing It All Back Home (1965)
Charted: 22
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  • I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more
    No, I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more
    Well, I wake in the morning
    Fold my hands and pray for rain
    I got a head full of ideas
    That are drivin' me insane
    It's a shame the way she makes me scrub the floor
    I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more

    I ain't gonna work for Maggie's brother no more
    No, I ain't gonna work for Maggie's brother no more
    Well, he hands you a nickel
    He hands you a dime
    He asks you with a grin
    If you're havin' a good time
    Then he fines you every time you slam the door
    I ain't gonna work for Maggie's brother no more

    I ain't gonna work for Maggie's pa no more
    No, I ain't gonna work for Maggie's pa no more
    Well, he puts his cigar
    Out in your face just for kicks
    His bedroom window
    It is made out of bricks
    The National Guard stands around his door
    Ah, I ain't gonna work for Maggie's pa no more

    I ain't gonna work for Maggie's ma no more
    No, I ain't gonna work for Maggie's ma no more
    Well, she talks to all the servants
    About man and God and law
    Everybody says
    She's the brains behind Pa
    She's sixty eight, but she says she's fifty four
    I ain't gonna work for Maggie's ma no more

    I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more
    No, I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more
    Well, I try my best
    To be just like I am
    But everybody wants you
    To be just like them
    They sing while you slave and I just get bored
    I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more Writer/s: Bob Dylan
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 27

  • Doug from CincyWhenever I start listening to the electric version of this song on my way to work. It's only a matter of time before i quit or get fired.
  • Ohnesorg from NevadaFor what it's worth, Maggie ALSO
    appears in Subterranean Homesick Blues: "Maggie comes fleet foot, face full of black soot...Maggie says the many say They must bust in early May Orders from the D.A.
  • Jk from CaliforniaAlways loved this song when the Grateful Dead covered it, each singer trading off verses. Song evokes a feeling of fleeing the all-oppressive “Combine” to something better, similar to “American Woman,” by the Guess Who or even “Hotel California.” But most of the ideas in this board are really creative and fun.
  • Louis from Calhoun, GaThis is (one of) Dylan's classic songs depicting his emancipation from the extremely dreadful and overly restrictive Folk Music Industry of his day, and how all of those restrictions were so fabulously being contrasted and counteracted by the wonderful new freedom he finally experienced as a true "Rock and Roll" Musician.
  • Chuck from Joppa, Md, MdThis is how I read the lyrics:

    Maggie's brother is corporate power/the "boss" in the workplace. He determines your pay and has the power to punish you for meaningless infractions
    Maggie's pa is police power/military force. They can bully you/"put a cigar out in your face" and there's nothing you can do about it. The brick wall and National Guard imagery buttresses this.
    Maggie's ma is the government/politicians. Lectures common folk about "Man and God and law", and is in fact the brains behind "pa"/police power and the military. Prone to serial lying (and so firmly entrenched in their "bubble" of a reality re-written to suit them) she has no problem saying she's 24, despite being 64.

    The last verse is Dylan's frustration with the common populous, who expect you to be just like them (and if you're not, you're a dumb/wrong/an enemy/an "other"), and expect you to "sing while you slave" i.e. be gainfully employed and proud in your work.

    Brief but brilliant song, some of Bob's best (and most timeless) lyrics and imagery.
  • Budoshi from Sandnessjøen, NorwayI just love this song.. Hail the master who recently turned 70..:D
  • Podge from Philadelphia, PaIn addition to David from Youngstown pointing out that U2 did a great version of this during their '86 tour, I am pretty sure U2 co-opted the meaning of the song to stand for Ireland's long-standing struggle with the UK and used it to refer to Margaret ("Maggie") Thatcher, prime minister of Britain at the time.
  • Cody from St Joe, Momy girl friend and i are huge rage fans and bob dylan fans. we always credit it to bob. infact, the first time i heard it my girl friend said "wanna know how badass bob dylan is?" and she showed me the rage version which i'd never heard.
  • Ben from Pittsburgh, PaMaggie's Farm- I have always imagined that Maggie's family were representative of different elements of human organization- or any situation where power is concentrated and inevitably mis-wielded.

    Specifically-
    Her brother is the economy-(he keeps you subservient by establishing your pay scale and manipulating your cost of living)
    Her father is the government-(his power is physical, and represents law. Also he is unaccountable, untouchable)
    Her mother is the press-(It's her job to frame reality day by day in such a way that the servants don't revolt)
    Maggie herself doesn't really do anything tangible like this- She is more like an idea. She's the mythos that allows you to justify being a cog in the wheel of someone else's wealth or power- She's the American Dream, or perhaps your faith.
    These roles are transposable to any human organization.
  • Kyle from George Town, Cayman IslandsRATM (Rage Against The Machine) did a good remix of this song i no it was bob dylan song this gu is one of the kings of rock like chuck berry
  • Fitz from Trenton, GaMy best buds and I believe that this song may be one of the many Bob Dylan songs that contains androgynous marijuana references. I first came to this conclusion while drunkenly singing the lyrics to "Subterrainian [sp] Homesick Blues" namely "Maggie says... they must bust in early May, orders from the D.A." But my friend once said, "He hands you a nickel, he hands you a dime," can possibly be construed as marijuana slang for increments of the product sold for five and ten dollars respectively. Also, "Asks you with a grin if you're having a good time" [how good is the latest crop?]. Then, "He puts his cigar out in your face just for kicks" [blowing a 'shotgun' with a blunt] "His bedroom window is made out of bricks, the National Guard stands around his door." [What the hell is Maggie's Pa doing back there?] This is of course one interpretation, but remember what happens when you multiply 12 and 35. "Everybody must get stoned..."
  • Hunter from Cincinnati, Ohit sounds to me like the amancimation promclamtion was just released and he was a sleve who no longer has to work on maggies farm
  • Kyle from George, Cayman Islandsthis is a ratm song bobby dylan song
  • Nathan from Austin, TxI love those old, gritty Bob Dylan blues songs. Maggie's Farm, Hwy 61, Subterranean Homesick Blues, Tombstone Blues, they're great. For the supposed revolutionaries they were, the members of the old folk movement were a pretty closed-minded, self-righteous bunch.
  • Chad from Reading, PaThe best version of this song is probably from the boot, Hold the Fort (for What it's Worth). The second Rolling Thunder Revue was such an amazing tour, I prefer it over the first RTR.
  • Tom from Newark, DeLucas, I believe your question is: doesn't someone have to get the rights to cover a song from another writer. The answer is that a writer can decide who records a song first. After it has been recorded once, anyone has the right to cover it - they have to pay royalties to the writer, but they do not need permision to record it after it has been recorded once.
  • Eileen from Redmond, OrThe Specials did a pretty good cover of this song. Awesome song.
  • David from Youngstown, OhThis song was part of U2's concert set in 1986, and they played it during the Amnesty International music festival that summer at Giants Stadium. A decent job done by the band on this classic.
  • Stefanie from Rock Hill, ScI think the one played at the New P;ort folk festival is also on the No Direction Home sound track. That's the Bob Dylan documentary that was released last year (2005). It' great!! I listen to this particular version If I were you! I like it better than the studio one.
  • Barry from New York, NyThe controversial version of "Maggie's Farm" performed at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival can be seen in the great film FESTIVAL (1967) directed by Murray Lerner. This movie has been released on dvd
  • Elies from Surrey, CanadaAbout your question Lucas, on the Renegades album they never credited the songs to their original songwriters, but Rage never credited themselves as the songwriters. On the official Rage website, www.ratm.com, they credit all the songs to their original songwriters. Anyways, this song is kick ass. My favorite Bob Dylan song.
  • Tim from Charlotte, NcAfter watching Martin Scorcese's documentary "No Direction Home", I was convinced that Dylan was using Maggie's Farm as a metaphor for the Folk Singer Industry. He wasn't going to work for the Flok Factory anymore...he was going to go electric and cover new ground.
  • Mark from Hereford, EnglandI sang this in a pub session the day after Margaret (Maggie) Thatcher was ousted by her party. For those of us who lived through her uncaring and manipulative regime it was unbridled joy. Didn't even learn the chords very well, but knew the verses off by heart, ripped through it and got a real ovation. It just seemed such an appropriate song for that time.
  • Barry from Wellington, New ZealandThe Residents covered this song on their first album, The Warner Bros Album.
  • Lucas from Hermosa Beach, CaDid Bob Dylan give Rage permission to do this song? He has to right if they want to do a cover...doesn't he?

    Great Song. Love Bringing it all back home...LOVE IT
  • Blind Boy Grunt from Anywhere, LaYeah dude, it pisses me off to that people think Rage wrote it. I was browsing a lyrics page once and they attributed the song to Rage. It seems as if Bob never gets credit for the songs he wrote. For example, Knockin On Heavens Door, All Along the Watchtower, etc. So many people think that others wrote his masterpieces, it's sad. Back to Maggie's Farm...One of my favorite quotes of all time is in this song: "I try my best to be just like I am but everybody wants you to be just like them." I saw Dylan and Willie Nelson play back in August of 2004 (10 ft out center stage HELL YEAH)and when Bob took his turn on stage he opened with this song. It was kick ass!
  • Jefferson from Nekoosa, WiThis is an excellent song, and its a shame that most people assume Rage Against the Machine wrote it, although their cover is extremely good too..
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