Radio Paradise (mobile)

The festival was over, the boys were all plannin' for a fall,
The cabaret was quiet except for the drillin' in the wall.
The curfew had been lifted and the gamblin' wheel shut down,
Anyone who had any sense had already left town.
He was standin' in the doorway lookin' like the Jack of Hearts.
He moved across the mirrored room, "Set it up for everyone," he said,
Then everyone commenced to do what they were doin' before he turned their heads.
Then he walked up to a stranger and he asked him with a grin,
"Could you kindly tell me, friend, what time the show begins?"
Then he moved into the corner, face down like the Jack of Hearts.
Backstage the girls were playin' five-card stud by the stairs,
Lily had two queens, she was hopin' for a third to match her pair.
Outside the streets were fillin' up, the window was open wide,
A gentle breeze was blowin', you could feel it from inside.
Lily called another bet and drew up the Jack of Hearts.
Big Jim was no one's fool, he owned the town's only diamond mine,
He made his usual entrance lookin' so dandy and so fine.
With his bodyguards and silver cane and every hair in place,
He took whatever he wanted to and he laid it all to waste.
But his bodyguards and silver cane were no match for the Jack of Hearts.
Rosemary combed her hair and took a carriage into town,
She slipped in through the side door lookin' like a queen without a crown.
She fluttered her false eyelashes and whispered in his ear,
"Sorry, darlin', that I'm late," but he didn't seem to hear.
He was starin' into space over at the Jack of Hearts.
"I know I've seen that face somewhere," Big Jim was thinkin' to himself,
"Maybe down in Mexico or a picture up on somebody's shelf."
But then the crowd began to stamp their feet and the house lights did dim
And in the darkness of the room there was only Jim and him,
Starin' at the butterfly who just drew the Jack of Hearts.
Lily was a princess, she was fair-skinned and precious as a child,
She did whatever she had to do, she had that certain flash every time she smiled.
She had come away from a broken home, had lots of strange affairs
With men in every walk of life which took her everywhere.
But she'd never met anyone quite like the Jack of Hearts.
The hangin' judge came in unnoticed and was being wined and dined,
The drillin' in the wall kept up but no one seemed to pay it any mind.
It was known all around that Lily had Jim's ring
And nothing would ever come between Lily and the king.
No, nothin' ever would except maybe the Jack of Hearts.
Rosemary started drinkin' hard and seein' her reflection in the knife,
She was tired of the attention, tired of playin' the role of Big Jim's wife.
She had done a lot of bad things, even once tried suicide,
Was lookin' to do just one good deed before she died.
She was gazin' to the future, riding on the Jack of Hearts.
Lily took her dress off and buried it away.
"Has your luck run out?" she laughed at him, "Well, I guess you must
have known it would someday.
Be careful not to touch the wall, there's a brand-new coat of paint,
I'm glad to see you're still alive, you're lookin' like a saint."
Down the hallway footsteps were comin' for the Jack of Hearts.
The backstage manager was pacing all around by his chair.
"There's something funny going on," he said, "I can just feel it in the air."
He went to get the hangin' judge, but the hangin' judge was drunk,
As the leading actor hurried by in the costume of a monk.
There was no actor anywhere better than the Jack of Hearts.
No one knew the circumstance but they say that it happened pretty quick,
The door to the dressing room burst open and a Colt revolver clicked.
And Big Jim was standin' there, ya couldn't say surprised,
Rosemary right beside him, steady in her eyes.
She was with Big Jim but she was leanin' to the Jack of Hearts.
Two doors down the boys finally made it through the wall
And cleaned out the bank safe, it's said they got off with quite a haul.
In the darkness by the riverbed they waited on the ground
For one more member who had business back in town.
But they couldn't go no further without the Jack of Hearts.
The next day was hangin' day, the sky was overcast and black,
Big Jim lay covered up, killed by a penknife in the back.
And Rosemary on the gallows, she didn't even blink,
The hangin' judge was sober, he hadn't had a drink.
The only person on the scene missin' was the Jack of Hearts.
The cabaret was empty now, a sign said, "Closed for repair,"
Lily had already taken all of the dye out of her hair.
She was thinkin' 'bout her father, who she very rarely saw,
Thinkin' 'bout Rosemary and thinkin' about the law.
But, most of all she was thinkin' 'bout the Jack of Hearts.

ScottN Dec 27, 2012 - 08:13	Least impressive song on a Classic Album. [ Reply ]
V-bro Oct 17, 2011 - 02:11	Sucking hillbilly crap!! [ Reply ]
jameshay Sep 15, 2011 - 12:51	Poacher wrote: I muted. Went and painted a room, did some paperwork, called the tax office, restored a car, came back and it was still playing! Shakes fist at Bob gvan wrote: Oh yeah, I painted a complete reproduction of the the Sistine Chapel fresco in my living room, created paper from wood pulp, rewrote the entire tax code, and built a car from old washer/dryer parts and this song was still playing! Two fists at Bob Do you two live in Yorkshire, by any chance? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe1a1wHxTyo [ Reply ]
sans Sep 15, 2011 - 12:40	Great deep track. [ Reply ]
shoes Sep 15, 2011 - 12:39	handyrae wrote: Please......Make......It.........STOP! it sure does go on (and on), doesn't it. [ Reply ]
pomalley Sep 15, 2011 - 12:37	Like motopscho nitemare off of "another side of Bob Dylan". That's my fav Dylan story song. [ Reply ]
drewd Sep 15, 2011 - 12:36	anotherlistener wrote: This really needs to be made into a movie. It would need to be a trilogy............ [ Reply ]
Tesseract Sep 15, 2011 - 12:32	One of my all-time favorites. Thanks, B. [ Reply ]
johnjconn Sep 15, 2011 - 12:32	The original title for this song was "Fred, Ethel and the Fat of Ralph" The record company thought better [ Reply ]
Sasha2001 Jul 14, 2011 - 18:44	Love his phrasing and lyrics on this. Its ok to tell a story in a song. Not every song must be a 3-minute movie, some songs can be 9-minute novels. [ Reply ]
SweTex May 12, 2011 - 15:20	"Be careful not to touch the wall there's a brand new coat of paint I'm glad to see you're still alive you're looking like a saint" Always liked how that flows. [ Reply ]
stackarukk May 12, 2011 - 12:08	I think Bill passed out and hit the off button... [ Reply ]
Hn May 12, 2011 - 12:06	This must be the radio edit version, only 9 minutes. [ Reply ]
handyrae May 12, 2011 - 12:04	Please......Make......It.........STOP! [ Reply ]
Bleyfusz May 12, 2011 - 12:01	On_The_Beach wrote: Saying that this song is too long is this century's equivalent of saying Mozart used too many notes. Excellent! [ Reply ]
On_The_Beach Mar 10, 2011 - 12:18	gvan wrote: Well, at least your comment wasn't too long. I was being iconoclastic... or sarcastic... I don't know, I was just making a joke at the expense of someone whose place in the pantheon is secure. Why not? Besides, looks like I made you care for a minute or two. It's all good. Cheers, gvan. : ) [ Reply ]
gvan Mar 10, 2011 - 10:07	On_The_Beach wrote: Saying that this song is too long is this century's equivalent of saying Mozart used too many notes. Whine on whiners; nobody cares! Well, at least your comment wasn't too long. I was being iconoclastic... or sarcastic... I don't know, I was just making a joke at the expense of someone whose place in the pantheon is secure. Why not? Besides, looks like I made you care for a minute or two. [ Reply ]
On_The_Beach Mar 10, 2011 - 09:27	Saying that this song is too long is this century's equivalent of saying Mozart used too many notes. Whine on whiners; nobody cares! [ Reply ]
gvan Mar 10, 2011 - 09:23	Poacher wrote: I muted. Went and painted a room, did some paperwork, called the tax office, restored a car, came back and it was still playing! Shakes fist at Bob Oh yeah, I painted a complete reproduction of the the Sistine Chapel fresco in my living room, created paper from wood pulp, rewrote the entire tax code, and built a car from old washer/dryer parts and this song was still playing! Two fists at Bob [ Reply ]
fredriley Mar 10, 2011 - 09:21	Poacher wrote: I muted. Went and painted a room, did some paperwork, called the tax office, restored a car, came back and it was still playing! Shakes fist at Bob Yep, you surely get good value from yer man Dylan, right enough. I've played two iTunes tracks during this effort and will have to do another one. Great songwriter, astounding poet, crap singer. IMO naturally. [ Reply ]