Subterranean Homesick Blues Lyrics

How to Format Lyrics:

  • Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
  • Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
  • Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc.
  • Use italics (<i>lyric</i>) and bold (<b>lyric</b>) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part
  • If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?]

To learn more, check out our transcription guide or visit our transcribers forum

About

Genius Annotation

“Subterranean Homesick Blues” epitomizes Dylan’s purpose in penning the album Bringing It All Back Home; to revitalize the protest rock of the ‘50s. At the time of this song’s creation in the '60s, rock music had become docile. Dylan’s earlier work in the folk genre was an intentional antithesis to the less poignant mainstream rock of the era. Similarly, the song’s syllabic meter was inspired by '50s rock; specifically Chuck Berry’s “Too Much Monkey Business”.

The title for the song refers to a nostalgia for the Beat generation. In 1958, Jack Kerouac wrote The Subterraneans—a semiautobiographical work documenting the lives of urban youth in the Beat generation. For this, the contemporaneous Beat poet Allen Ginsberg referred to the beat poets as “Subterraneans” to highlight the underground nature of their illicit activities. The documentary about Dylan’s 1965 England Tour, Don’t Look Back, opens with the music video for the song where Allen Ginsberg can be seen standing in the background.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did Bob Dylan say about "Subterranean Homesick Blues"?
Genius Answer

In a Rolling Stone article about the top 500 greatest songs, Dylan is quoted as saying:

It’s from Chuck Berry, a bit of ‘Too Much Monkey Business’ and some of the scat songs of the Forties

How have other artists reacted to this song?
Genius Answer

According to a Rolling Stone article about the top 500 songs of all time, John Lennon once said that the track was so captivating it made him wonder how he could ever compete.

Who is in the background of the music video?
Genius Answer

According to a Rolling Stone article about the music video, the people in the background are American folk singer Bob Neuwirth and the American poet Allen Ginsberg.

Comments