Tears of Rage

by Bob Dylan & The Band

From the album: The Basement Tapes

Track 12 of 24 on The Basement Tapes (1975).

Duration: 4:16

The Basement Tapes cover art

Lyrics for Tears of Rage

We carried you in our arms on Independence Day And now you'd throw us all aside and put us all away Oh, what dear daughter 'neath the sun could treat a father so? To wait upon him hand and foot and always tell him "No" Tears of rage, tears of grief Why must I always be the thief? Come to me now, you know we're so alone And life is brief It was all very painless When you went out to receive All that false instruction Which we never could believe And now the heart is filled with gold As if it was a purse But, oh, what kind of love is this Which goes from bad to worse? Tears of rage, tears of grief Why must I always be the thief? Come to me now, you know we're so alone And life is brief We pointed you the way to go And scratched your name in sand Though you just thought it was nothing more Than a place for you to stand I want you to know that while we watched You discovered no one would be true That I myself was among The ones who thought It was just a childish thing to do Tears of rage, tears of grief Why must I always be the thief? Come to me now, you know we're so alone And life is brief

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More from The Basement Tapes

  1. Odds and Ends
  2. Orange Juice Blues
  3. Million Dollar Bash
  4. Yazoo Street Scandal
  5. Goin' to Acapulco
  6. Katie's Been Gone
  7. Lo and Behold!
  8. Bessie Smith
  9. Clothes Line Saga
  10. Apple Suckling Tree
  11. Please, Mrs. Henry
  12. Tears of Rage
  13. Too Much of Nothing
  14. Yea! Heavy And A Bottle Of Bread
  15. Ain't No More Cane
  16. Crash on the Levee
  17. Ruben Remus
  18. Tiny Montgomery
  19. You Ain't Goin' Nowhere
  20. Don't Ya Tell Henry
  21. Nothing Was Delivered
  22. Open the Door, Homer
  23. Long Distance Operator
  24. This Wheel's On Fire