Know something about this song or lyrics?
Add it to our wiki.
Shadows are falling and I've been here all day
It's too hot to sleep time is running away
Feel like my soul has turned into steel
I've still got the scars that the sun didn't heal
There's not even room enough to be anywhere
It's not dark yet, but it's getting there
Well my sense of humanity has gone down the drain
Behind every beautiful thing there's been some kind of pain
She wrote me a letter and she wrote it so kind
She put down in writing what was in her mind
I just don't see why I should even care
It's not dark yet, but it's getting there
Well, I've been to London and I've been to 'gay Paris'
I've followed the river and I got to the sea
I've been down on the bottom of a world full of lies
I ain't looking for nothing in anyone's eyes
Sometimes my burden seems more than I can bear
It's not dark yet, but it's getting there
I was born here and I'll die here against my will
I know it looks like I'm moving, but I'm standing still
Every nerve in my body is so vacant and numb
I can't even remember what it was I came here to get away from
Don't even hear a murmur of a prayer
It's not dark yet, but it's getting there.
It's too hot to sleep time is running away
Feel like my soul has turned into steel
I've still got the scars that the sun didn't heal
There's not even room enough to be anywhere
It's not dark yet, but it's getting there
Well my sense of humanity has gone down the drain
Behind every beautiful thing there's been some kind of pain
She wrote me a letter and she wrote it so kind
She put down in writing what was in her mind
I just don't see why I should even care
It's not dark yet, but it's getting there
Well, I've been to London and I've been to 'gay Paris'
I've followed the river and I got to the sea
I've been down on the bottom of a world full of lies
I ain't looking for nothing in anyone's eyes
Sometimes my burden seems more than I can bear
It's not dark yet, but it's getting there
I was born here and I'll die here against my will
I know it looks like I'm moving, but I'm standing still
Every nerve in my body is so vacant and numb
I can't even remember what it was I came here to get away from
Don't even hear a murmur of a prayer
It's not dark yet, but it's getting there.
Lyrics submitted by roger wilco
Track duration: 06:28
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
I´ve never thought that this could be a song about his ex-wife, but once i´ve read it here kind a makes sense. Maybe this sounds worn-out but i think without love , there are few things in life left, it could be any kind of love, not necessarily the love of a couple, maybe he has lost an inner feeling, the hability to love anything.
I've always taken Dylan at his word; that he never viewed himself as only a folk singer, or as a writer of protest songs or even, as he has been referred to ad-nausium as the, "voice of a generation" It wasn't more than a few months ago that the crowd who likes to think of themselves as intellectuals went ballistic that Dylan dared to not only perform in China, but to accept money from the Chinese for performing - which is after all his chosen livelihood and how he makes his living. The attitude of this group was best typified in a NY Times piece written by Maureen Dowd. She was outraged and when on and on about how his accepting money from the Chinese was akin to him selling out everything he ever preached and stood for. Basically, she was disgusted. Whereas everything she claimed Dylan was selling out and every ideal she accused him of betraying were all the very same things Dylan spent his life telling everyone that he wanted no part of. He said he wrote songs, not protest songs, and that he wasn't out to change the world.
So if Ms. Dowd and her ilk had had their way, Mr. Dylan would never have performed in China. But Dylan obviously knew that introducing his music to a younger generation of Chinese people, perhaps for the first time would cause them to stumble upon the songs and lyrics of "blowin' in the wind" and so many others and maybe this would inspire them and spur their quest for more freedom.
The reason I wrote so much about the recent controversy over his performance in China is that I think it ties into the major theme of "Not Dark Yet". That Dylan now found himself with scars that won't heal, a soul made of steel, and not even caring about the words the female mentioned in the song went to such great pains to write to him. And in my opinion, the cause of many of these pains he now suffers from were the direct result of all the abuse and ridicule he has taken throughout his career from the likes of Ms. Dowd and others who never bothered to listen to what he said and who would have been able to stifle his message even further had he not possessed the character to ignore them and their dictates as to who he should and shouldn't play for or write about.
god didn't heal all his scars. Possibly Dylan is bitter about that-not sure. Great song anyway, it really adds to the movie Wonderboys.
"i followed the river and i got to the sea" is another line that i like. i'm not sure how to explain it-i just see it in my head, but hopefully you get the picture. the penulitimate line "i don't even hear the murmur of a prayer" suggests that he has no hope for his fame/talent/etc to continue to blossom. he know it's getting "dark" and i think he is trying to come to terms with it.
hm okay i could be completely off (we all could) but i think that's an okay stab at it :)
"Behind every beautiful thing, there's been some kind of pain"
"There's not even room enough to be anywhere"
"I just don't see why I should even care"
"I know it looks like I'm moving, but I'm standing still"
"Every nerve in my body is so vacant and numb"
It's all about hopelessness... the essence of the blues.
Bob was always a blues musician, even in his folk, rock, and gospel periods--these genres were just puppets, the blues was the puppeteer