I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Well, the neighborhood bully, he's just one man
His enemies say he's on their land
They got him outnumbered about a million to one
He got no place to escape to, no place to run
He's the neighborhood bully.
The neighborhood bully he just lives to survive
He's criticized and condemned for being alive
He's not supposed to fight back, he's supposed to have thick skin
He's supposed to lay down and die when his door is kicked in
He's the neighborhood bully.
The neighborhood bully been driven out of every land
He's wandered the earth an exiled man
Seen his family scattered, his people hounded and torn
He's always on trial for just being born
He's the neighborhood bully.
Well, he knocked out a lynch mob, he was criticized
Old women condemned him, said he should apologize
Then he destroyed a bomb factory, nobody was glad
The bombs were meant for him. He was supposed to feel bad
He's the neighborhood bully.
Well, the chances are against it, and the odds are slim
That he'll live by the rules that the world makes for him
'Cause there's a noose at his neck and a gun at his back
And a license to kill him is given out to every maniac
He's the neighborhood bully.
Well, he got no allies to really speak of
What he gets he must pay for, he don't get it out of love
He buys obsolete weapons and he won't be denied
But no one sends flesh and blood to fight by his side
He's the neighborhood bully.
Well, he's surrounded by pacifists who all want peace
They pray for it nightly that the bloodshed must cease
Now, they wouldn't hurt a fly. To hurt one they would weep
They lay and they wait for this bully to fall asleep
He's the neighborhood bully.
Every empire that's enslaved him is gone
Egypt and Rome, even the great Babylon
He's made a garden of paradise in the desert sand
In bed with nobody, under no one's command
He's the neighborhood bully.
Now his holiest books have been trampled upon
No contract that he signed was worth that what it was written on
He took the crumbs of the world and he turned it into wealth
Took sickness and disease and he turned it into health
He's the neighborhood bully.
What's anybody indebted to him for?
Nothing, they say. He just likes to cause war
Pride and prejudice and superstition indeed
They wait for this bully like a dog waits for feed
He's the neighborhood bully.
What has he done to wear so many scars?
Does he change the course of rivers? Does he pollute the moon and stars?
Neighborhood bully, standing on the hill
Running out the clock, time standing still
Neighborhood bully.
His enemies say he's on their land
They got him outnumbered about a million to one
He got no place to escape to, no place to run
He's the neighborhood bully.
The neighborhood bully he just lives to survive
He's criticized and condemned for being alive
He's not supposed to fight back, he's supposed to have thick skin
He's supposed to lay down and die when his door is kicked in
He's the neighborhood bully.
The neighborhood bully been driven out of every land
He's wandered the earth an exiled man
Seen his family scattered, his people hounded and torn
He's always on trial for just being born
He's the neighborhood bully.
Well, he knocked out a lynch mob, he was criticized
Old women condemned him, said he should apologize
Then he destroyed a bomb factory, nobody was glad
The bombs were meant for him. He was supposed to feel bad
He's the neighborhood bully.
Well, the chances are against it, and the odds are slim
That he'll live by the rules that the world makes for him
'Cause there's a noose at his neck and a gun at his back
And a license to kill him is given out to every maniac
He's the neighborhood bully.
Well, he got no allies to really speak of
What he gets he must pay for, he don't get it out of love
He buys obsolete weapons and he won't be denied
But no one sends flesh and blood to fight by his side
He's the neighborhood bully.
Well, he's surrounded by pacifists who all want peace
They pray for it nightly that the bloodshed must cease
Now, they wouldn't hurt a fly. To hurt one they would weep
They lay and they wait for this bully to fall asleep
He's the neighborhood bully.
Every empire that's enslaved him is gone
Egypt and Rome, even the great Babylon
He's made a garden of paradise in the desert sand
In bed with nobody, under no one's command
He's the neighborhood bully.
Now his holiest books have been trampled upon
No contract that he signed was worth that what it was written on
He took the crumbs of the world and he turned it into wealth
Took sickness and disease and he turned it into health
He's the neighborhood bully.
What's anybody indebted to him for?
Nothing, they say. He just likes to cause war
Pride and prejudice and superstition indeed
They wait for this bully like a dog waits for feed
He's the neighborhood bully.
What has he done to wear so many scars?
Does he change the course of rivers? Does he pollute the moon and stars?
Neighborhood bully, standing on the hill
Running out the clock, time standing still
Neighborhood bully.
Lyrics submitted by Philadelphia Eagles
Neighborhood Bully Lyrics as written by Bob Dylan
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Excelent song. One of Bob Dylans' most astute political songs. It speaks eloquently about the racist demonization of Israel so fashionable. As some of the comments here reveal, people are hostile to a proud Jew. Well done robert Zimmerman!
Yes he transcends all stereotypical categories which we mediocre humans love to put people in. Love this intractableness!!
Beautiful. This song is about Jews, and Israel; always being hated for being different than everybody else, with all societies they were part of projecting their own hate and violence on them (hateful people would describe Israel as the neighborhood bully, while it's actually a peaceful victim in almost every situation...)
The people that contributed most to world culture, science, art, medicine (Dylan himself is Jewish; the cell phones and computer processors you are using were engineered by Israelis), and are being hated and demonized for racial and cultural reasons - scapegoating at its best.
This song depicts it very well. Everybody else take their anger out on him, and he's considered a bully...
No, this song is not about Israel or Jews. When he wrote this song, he was referring to Moammar Gadhafi and all the glamour and crap swirling around him at the time. He wasn't praising Gadhafi, per se; he was being ironic, condemning, sarcastic, and, in an oblique way, admiring. I remember when I heard this song for the first time, I was instantly transported to the Middle East and have come to believe there will NEVER be peace in the Middle East. This song from the INFIDELS album is really my all time very most favorite Dylan.
um, no. The song is a quite transparent apologia for Israel. Dylan's nutty Semitic chauvinism is at its peak here. As distasteful as I find that, I must say this song really rocks.
I just read that. What a lame lyric. I'm not criticizing his one-sided point of view, I'm criticizing his complete lack of ...wit...depth...originality...it doesn't seem a song written by the genious of Dylan. We could be talking about his worst lyrics here - well, maybe God gave name to all the animals is even worse
@cavern it may have taken me 16 years to reply, but for all future readers - what a load of rubbish. Man gave name to all the animals is a true dylan brilliance. Sometimes you have to listen to the subtext... with Dylan, it's a must.<br /> Btw, Townes Van Zandt's cover is a gem (for those who are interested).
@cavern You don't like it because it's meaning is unquestionable and you are just another hater. The fact that you made this comment says to me that all is not lost, maybe you are unaware of your epigenetic leanings. Have another listen, soften your glare, we all choke on the truth.
Yeah... neighborhood bully= the state of Israel. Say whatever you will, the music and words are incredibly powerful.
To me, it brings back days of being a political college student in the days of Reaganomics... young, liberal, & full of idealism. (Hey, wait a minute... I'm still in school [grad... getting my MSW], I'm still verrrry liberal, and STILL filled with idealistic hope & plans... but I now have a daughter almost as old as I was when this album was a big part of my life. And Israel & Palestine are still in the same positions they were 20 years ago. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
It is about Israel, the lyrics are ironic.
Not just the state of Israel but Israel meaning the Jews as well..
cavern, some of the lyrics are a bit forced, but compared to "Property of Jesus"? or "Wiggle Wiggle"? Let's not be too hard on him here!
How are these lyrics showing lack of wit or depth?
They do just the opposite.
Disagree with the opinions, but the lyrics show plenty of wit.
I think the response to his lyrics here showed just how right they were.
May I remind you all that Bob Dylan is Jewish
Yes, and he turned Born Again Christian in the late 70's... So, what were you saying?