Expecting Rain

all the early roman kings
in their sharkskin suits
bowties and buttons
hightop boots
drivin' the spikes in
raisin' the rails
nailin' the coffins
in top hats and tails

fly away over
fly away flap your wings
fly by night
like the early roman kings

all the early roman kings
in the early early morn
comin' down the mountain
distributing the corn
speeding through the forest
racin' down the track
you try to get away
they drag you back
tomorrow is ?
we'll see what it brings
everybodys talkin'
about the early roman kings

there's peddlers and theres meddlers
they buy and they sell
they'll destroy your city
they'll destroy you as well
their lecherous and trechurous
hell-bent for leather
each of 'em bigger
than all them put together
sluggers and muggers
wearin' fancy gold rings
all the women goin' crazy
for the early roman kings

i can dress up your wounds
with a blood clotted rag
i ain't afraid to make love
?
if you see me comin'
and your standin' there
wave your hankerchief
in the air
i ain't dead yet
my bell still rings
i keep my fingers crossed
like the early roman kings

i can strip you of life
strip you of breath
ship you down
to the house of death
one day
you will ask for me
they'll be no one else
that you'll wanna see
bring down my fiddle
tune up my strings
i'm gonna break it wide open
like the early roman kings

i was up on black mountain
the day detroit fell
they killed 'em all off
and they sent 'em to hell
ding dong daddy
you're comin' up short
gonna put you on trial
in a cicilian court
i had my fun
i had my flings
gonna shake 'em on down
like the early roman kings

All the early Roman kings
In their sharkskin suits
Bow ties and buttons
High top boots
Drivin’ the spikes in
Blazin’ the rails
Nailed in their coffins
In top hats and tails
Fly away, little bird
Fly away, flap your wings
Fly by night
Like the early Roman kings

all the early roman kings
in the early early morn
coming down the mountain
distributing the corn
speeding through the forest
racing down the track
you try to get away
they drag you back
Tomorrow is friday
we’ll see what it brings
everybody’s talking
bout the early roman kings

They’re peddlers and they’re meddlers
They buy and they sell
They destroyed your city
They’ll destroy you as well
They’re lecherous and treacherous
Hell-bent for leather
Each of ‘em bigger
than all them put together
Sluggers and muggers
Wearing fancy gold rings
All the women goin’ crazy
For the early Roman kings

I can dress up your wounds
with a blood-clotted rag
I aint afraid to make love
to a bitch or a hag
if you see me comin’
and you’re standing there
wave your handkerchief
in the air
I ain’t dead yet
my bell still rings
I keep my fingers crossed
like them early roman kings

i can strip you of life
strip you of breath
ship you down
to the house of death
one day
you will ask for me
there’ll be no one else
that you’ll wanna see
bring down my fiddle
tune up my strings
I’m gonna break it wide open
like the early roman kings

i was up on black mountain
the day Detroit fell
they killed ‘em all off
and they sent ‘em to hell
ding dong daddy
you’re coming up short
gonna put you on trial
in a sicilian court
i’ve had my fun
i’ve had my flings
gonna shake em all down
like the early roman kings

I think that's correct, I went through and corrected some of the phrasing errors and a spelling error.

Thank you, goodnight and by the way, good night.

Jesus H Christ, how much better is this dude when he's not getting dragged down by Robert Hunter?

oath, mumbles, oath. This Dream of You was stunning

http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/early+roman+kings
This link works everywhere; for those who haven't
heard the track yet..

Ding dong daddy?!

Well the bawdiness & double entendre continue in the same vein as the previous 3 albums. There's a lot of "recycling the same old thoughts" .... I mean, how many variations of "all the women... " doing something can there be! Dragging down to hell too... There's not a whole lot of writing skill in this lyric at all, but it's fun. Does anyone else think it doesn't sound like TTL? Let's hope this is a minor song and that somewhere on this album there'll be something of the grandeur of Mississippi or Nettie Moore or even Forgetful Heart. The titles sounded interesting and Early Roman Kings is just not as interesting as its title!

turns about to be dealing with the myth
and culture of masculinity, both in terms of
violence and virility. the roman kings
are referenced and compared with leaders
of organized crime in america as well as with
the narrator and his own private conquests

sex:
Sluggers and muggers
Wearing fancy gold rings
All the women goin’ crazy
For the early Roman kings

I aint afraid to make love
to a bitch or a hag
if you see me comin’
and you’re standing there
wave your handkerchief
in the air
I ain’t dead yet
my bell still rings

ding dong daddy
you’re coming up short
i’ve had my fun
i’ve had my flings

And violence:
you try to get away
they drag you back

They destroyed your city
They’ll destroy you as well
They’re lecherous and treacherous
Hell-bent for leather

i can strip you of life
strip you of breath
ship you down
to the house of death

i was up on black mountain
the day Detroit fell
they killed ‘em all off
and they sent ‘em to hell
ding dong daddy
you’re coming up short
gonna put you on trail
in a sicilian court

Guessing the smiley face indicates irony? I'd be shocked if Dylan did any more than consult a few old notebooks for this and cobble together a few verses. Writing about violence and masculinity, gang culture and organised crime can be done artfully, with wit and serious intent e.g. Morrissey, Joni Mitchell & Cohen. This just comes across as horny old geezer. Cosmo Smallpiece for the noughties.

yea, well...when the writer thinks of the conquering masculine prototype,
he comes up with a reference in the distant past. that's possibly a de facto autobiographical touch. it's an ok lyric. the verses released on the 2 minute trailer, to me, are the best of the song.

Check this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S99Fokasa2Y

In it's true form it sounds better than what was revealed in the TV trailer. The voice is strong and a few one liners will be memorable. A boost in confidence for me.

Dirt Road Blues was the early single from TOOM and that was no indicator of the greatness there, Someday Baby - Modern Times, Honest With Me - Love and Theft, etc.

Dont worry folks this album will be just fine

One listen and I'm convinced this is a KILLER song. The arc of the lyrics goes something like this:

Verse 1: Roman Kings were an early gang, probably in New York, tough S.O.B.'s who ruled the place. Don't mess with them.
Verse 2: The actual Early Roman Kings, and the Romans in general, took care of business. They even put a pretty major dude to death on a Friday.
Verse 3: Continuation of the second verse, but more of a mythical combination of ancient and modern. They're legendary, these dudes.
Verse 4: Classic blues singer bragging. Don't mess with me baby, I'm like an Early Roman King, and I'm tricky.
Verse 5: Oh, by the way, when I said "I," I was talking about myself, the devil. Satan. Beelzebub. Death. Whatever it is you fear, that's me. I'm evil.
Verse 6: The apocalypse is coming, and I'm going to enjoy it. You people, all of you, are going down, and I'm going to enjoy it.

So the song progresses from a juxtaposition of two historical eras (early American immigrant gangs/early Roman rulers & their conquests) to a modern, ego-centered boastfulness (a blues tradition), to an Apocalyptic/religious vision of a harrowing future. And all of it is set to what you THINK is the most basic blues riff you've ever heard, until you realize, wait a minute, that's an accordion, not a guitar. It's a very Mexican sound, coming from the Barrio instead of Bourbon Street. Bob's got his fingers crossed -- he's playing with your expectations. You think I'm talking about this? Maybe I am, maybe I'm not.

Effing brilliant in my opinion. And his voice works perfectly for this track. Wow.

"I aint afraid to make love to a bitch or a hag"

Thats some line eh?

I find it rather unpalatable myself. How does it strike you?

HOT

How so?

I had a strange experience of listening to that after reading about this:

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/07/30/2 ... cused.html

It bothered me until I heard the verse from the devil perspective. If he's taking the guise of a demon, of course he'd make love to a hag.

I must have missed that - whats the deal with being the devil? Its certainly not clear to me - and indeed, I'd like to start a discussion elsehwere at another time about the increasing violence of Dylan's narrators and the implications of that.

The entire 5th verse references the devil or a Hades-like figure. The fiddle, sending you to the house of death, "you will ask for me" -- all of it. It's only makes sense in that context. Obviously no human is doing this stuff.

I see the whole narrative voice as too big & too evil to just be a bragging Dylan. He's playing a role here, and I think it's an apocalyptic one.

I think the early Roman Kings could send a person to death...and Nero played fiddle while Rome burned...who knows, but



is an intriguing idea. It certainly occured to me when listening to this that Dylan is continuing what seems to be an ever escalating penchant over the last decade for violence in his songs...one of the reviews mentions lots of blood spilt on this album, almost sounding more like Nick Cave's bag than Dylan's.

Esp when ending the album with a tribute to someone who found violent death.

That fits most early roman kings' attitude toward women to a t, I'd say.

(Wait I've never written that expression - fits to a t. Is it "t", "tee", "tea", "ti"....?)