Early Roman Kings

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This song describes group of American gangsters called the Early Roman Kings, alluding also to decadence and criminality of the kings of the Roman era in ancient Europe. Of… Read More

Sep. 10, 20121 viewer18.5K views

Early Roman Kings Lyrics

[Verse 1]
All the early Roman Kings in their sharkskin suits
Bowties and buttons, high top boots
Driving the spikes in, blazing the rails
Nailed in their coffins in top hats and tails

[Chorus 1]
Fly away, little bird
Fly away, flap your wings
Fly by night
Like the early Roman kings

[Verse 2]
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

[Chorus 2]
Tomorrow is Friday
We’ll see what it brings
Everybody’s talking
‘Bout the early Roman kings

[Verse 3]
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 them bigger than all men put together

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[Chorus 3]
Sluggers and muggers
Wearing fancy gold rings
All the women going crazy
For the early Roman kings

[Verse 4]
I'll dress up your wounds with a blood clotted rag
I ain’t afraid to make love to a bitch or a hag
If you see me coming and you’re standing there
Wave your handkerchief in the air

[Chorus 4]
I ain’t dead yet
My bell still rings
I keep my fingers crossed
Like the early Roman kings

[Verse 5]
I'll 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 want to see

[Chorus 5]
Bring down my fiddle
Tune up my strings
Gonna break it wide open
Like the early Roman kings

[Verse 6]
I was up on black mountain the day Detroit fell
They killed them all off and they sent them to hell
Ding Dong Daddy, you’re coming up short
Gonna put you on trial in a Sicilian court

[Chorus 6]
I’ve had my fun
I’ve had my flings
Gonna shake ‘em all down
Like the early Roman kings

About

This song describes group of American gangsters called the Early Roman Kings, alluding also to decadence and criminality of the kings of the Roman era in ancient Europe. Of the release “Tempest”, “The Early Roman Kings” is one of the songs Bob Dylan most often plays live. The music is a blues in the style of Muddy Water’s “Mannish Boy”, with an accordion mimicking the harmonica. The lyrics are wry and relish in wrong-doing, drawing on the folk tradition of bad man ballads such as “Stagger Lee”.