Yazoo Street Scandal

by Bob Dylan & The Band

From the album: The Basement Tapes

Track 4 of 24 on The Basement Tapes (1975).

Duration: 3:29

The Basement Tapes cover art

Lyrics for Yazoo Street Scandal

Standin' out in the night Delilah took me down To see the widow give Rain to the town It's against the law To be a tonic man But the widow know She's got the upper hand So I went on in Feelin' kinda wheezy You know she soothed my mind, boys She rocked me kinda slow and easy All day and all night "Pick a card before you go It's a long trip to Mexico" 'Lilah waited by the door "I can't stay here anymore, no, no" Then she took a pill She washed her feet in the mud She said, "Look out son You know, I just started a flood For forty days and forty nights" Then I got my shoes And 'Lilah called my name She said it looked to her Like it's gonna rain Then the Cotton King He came in chokin' And the widow laughed and said "I ain't jokin'" Can't run the wall She said, "Now don't ya tease me I just fell in love, boy So rock me kinda slow and kinda easy All day and all night" Sweet William said With a drunken head "If I had a boat I'd help y'all float" Delilah stood there watching William in a trance Had the widow seized by the St. Vitus dance But just then an old man With a boat named "Breezy" Said, "You can ride with Clyde, boys If you rock it kinda slow and easy All day and all night"

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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