Bob Dylan - Tell Ol' Bill (alternate version) Lyrics

The river whispers in my ear
I've hardly a penny to my name
The heavens have never seemed so near
All of my body glows with flame
The tempest struggles in the air
And to myself alone I sing
It could sink me then and there
I can hear the echoes ring

I tried to find one smiling face
To drive the shadow from my head
I'm stranded in this nameless place
Lying restless in a heavy bed

Tell me straight out if you will
Why must you torture me within?
Why must you come down off of your high hill?
Throw my fate to the clouds and wind

Far away in a silent land
Secret thoughts are hard to bear
Remember me, you'll understand
Emotions we can never share

You trampled on me as you passed
Left the coldest kiss upon my brow
All of my doubts and fears have gone at last
I've nothing more to tell you now

I walk by tranquil lakes and streams
As each new season's dawn awaits
I lay awake at night with troubled dreams
The enemy is at the gate

Beneath the thunder blasted trees
The words are ringin' off your tongue
The ground is hard in times like these
Stars are cold, the night is young

The rocks are bleak, the trees are bare
Iron clouds go floating by
Snowflakes fallin' in my hair
Beneath the gray and stormy sky

The evenin' sun is sinkin' low
The woods are dark, the town isn't new
They[ll drag you down, they'll run the showAin't no telling what they'll doTell ol' Bill when he comes homeAnything is worth a tryTell him that I'm not aloneThat the hour has come to do or dieAll the world I would defyLet me make it plain as dayI look at you now and I sighHow could it be any other way?]