Bob Dylan
Idiot Wind (9/19/74, Take 4, Remake)
[Verse 1]
Someone’s got it in for me
They’re planting stories in the press
Whoever it is I wish they’d cut it
But when they will I can only guess
They say I shot a man named Gray
And took his wife to Italy
She inherited a million bucks
And when she died it came to me
I can’t help it if I’m lucky

[Verse 2]
People see me all the time
And they just can’t remember how to act
Their minds are filled with big ideas
Images and distorted facts
Even you, yesterday
You had to ask me where it was at
I couldn’t believe after all these years
You didn’t know me any better than that
Sweet lady

[Chorus]
Idiot wind blowing every time you move your mouth
Going down the backroads heading south
Idiot wind blowing every time you move your teeth
You’re an idiot, babe, it’s a wonder that you still know how to breathe
[Verse 3]
I threw the I-Ching yesterday
It said there'd be some thunder at the well
I haven't tasted peace and quiet
For so long it seems like living Hell
There’s a lone soldier on the hill
Watching falling raindrops pour
You'd never know it to look at him
At the final shot he won the war
After losing every battle

[Verse 4]
I woke up on the roadside
Daydreaming about the way things sometimes are
Hoofbeats pounding in my head
At break-neck speed and making me see stars
You hurt the ones that I love best
And cover up the truth with lies
One day you’ll be in the ditch
Flies buzzing around your eyes
Blood on your saddle

[Chorus]
Idiot wind, blowing through the flowers on your tomb
Blowing through the curtains in your room
Idiot wind, blowing every time you move your teeth
You’re an idiot, babe, it’s a wonder that you still know how to breathe
[Verse 5]
It was gravity which pulled us in
And destiny which broke us apart
You tamed the lion in my cage
But it just wasn’t enough to change my heart
Now everything’s a little upside down
As a matter of fact the wheels have stopped
What’s good is bad, what’s bad is good
You’ll find out when you reach the top
You’re on the bottom

[Verse 6]
I noticed at the ceremony
That you left your bags behind
The driver came in after you left
He gave them all to me and then he resigned
The priest wore black on the seventh day
And waltzed around while the building burned
You didn't trust me for a minute babe
I've never known the Spring to turn so quickly into Autumn

[Chorus]
Idiot wind blowing every time you move your jaw
From the Grand Coulee Dam to the Mardi Gras
Idiot wind blowing every time you move your teeth
You’re an idiot, babe, it’s a wonder that you still know how to breathe
[Verse 7]
We pushed each other a little too far
And one day it just turned into a raging storm
The hound dog bayed beyond your trees
As I was packing up my uniform
Well, I figured I’d lost you anyway
Why go on? What’s the use?
In order to get in a word with you
I’d have had to come up with some excuse
And it just struck me kind of funny

[Verse 8]
I've been double-crossed too much
At times I think I've almost lost my mind
Ladykillers load dice on me
Behind my back, while imitators steal me blind
You close your eyes and pout your lip
And slip your fingers from your glove
You can have the best there is
But it's going to cost you all your love
You won't get it for money

[Chorus]
Idiot wind blowing through the buttons of our coats
Blowing through the letters that we wrote
Idiot wind blowing through the dust upon our shelves
We’re idiots, babe, it’s a wonder we can even feed ourselves