High Water

“High Water (for Charley Patton)”
Bob Dylan


High water risin', risin' night and day,
All the gold and silver are being stolen away
Big Joe Turner lookin' East and West
From the dark room of his mind
He made it to Kansas City
Twelfth Street and Vine
Nothing standing there
High water everywhere

High water risin', the shacks are slidin' down
Folks lose their possessions and folks
are leaving town
Bertha Mason shook it, broke it,
then she hung it on a wall,
says, "You're dancin' with who they tell you to, or you don't dance at all.”
It's tough out there
High water everywhere