Well, your railroad gate
You know I just can't jump it
Sometimes it gets so hard, you see
I'm just sitting here beating on my trumpet
With all these promises you left for me
But where are you tonight, sweet Marie?

Well, I waited for you when I was half sick
Yes, I waited for you when you hated me
Well, I waited for you inside of the frozen traffic
When you knew I had some other place to be
Now, where are you tonight, sweet Marie?

Well, anybody can be just like me, obviously
But then, now again, not too many can be like you, fortunately

Well, six white horses that you did promise
Were fin'lly delivered down to the penitentiary
But to live outside the law, you must be honest
I know you always say that you agree
Alright so where are you tonight, sweet Marie?

Well, I don't know how it happened, but the
Riverboat captain, he knows my fate
But ev'rybody else, even yourself
They're just gonna have to wait

Well, I got the fever down in my pockets
The Persian drunkard, he follows me
Yes, I can take him to your house but I can't unlock it
You see, you forgot to leave me with the key
Oh, where are you tonight, sweet Marie?

Well now, I been in jail when all my mail showed
That a man can't give his address out to bad company
And now I stand here lookin' at your yellow railroad
In the ruins of your balcony
Wond'ring where you are tonight, sweet Marie


Lyrics submitted by oofus, edited by jazztrot

Absolutely Sweet Marie Lyrics as written by Bob Dylan

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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Absolutely Sweet Marie song meanings
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25 Comments

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  • +2
    General Comment

    "Well, your railroad gate, you know I just can't jump it Sometimes it gets so hard, you see I'm just sitting here beating on my trumpet"

    Sounds like she shuts him out (physically?), so he's forced to take care of his own, uh, "needs".

    Beating on my trumpet?

    Seems fairly obvoius to me. ;-)

    Mr. Blue Skyon October 28, 2005   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    He's longing after a woman that has stood him up / rejected him.

    So he's thinking of her, sitting here "beating on his trumpet"

    originlon August 28, 2009   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    he wanted to sleep with her but she shot him down so he had to take care of it himself

    yourtongueinhisteethon August 30, 2010   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    I'm just sitting here beating on my trumpet With all these promises you left for me - been there... really great lines.

    I love it when Bob is that obvious and just sits there and laughs at everyone who's trying to make something more of the song.

    OnlyAPawnInTheirGameon November 29, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Bob rocks

    impossibledreameron April 16, 2003   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    "Well I wait, Edie, for you, inside the frozen traffic, Edie / When you knew I had some other place to be" listen closely...this is about Sedgwick.

    elephant_rangeon March 19, 2005   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    it's about a girl who doesn't keep promises. "I can take him to your house but I can't unlock it; you see, you forgot to leave me with the key." This means she might have said it but she can't come through and actually do it. "..looking at your yellow railroad/in the ruins of your balcony." The ruins of the balcony represent BROKEN promises. "I'm just sitting here, beating on my trumpet/with all these promises you left for me." This one's obvious.

    Marie can't keep her word, that's really all I got from it. And this song really started making sense to me after my girlfriend broke all her promises...hmm.

    FUCKINGBULLSHITon June 12, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    he's trying to be patient and wants to get inside her pants but she won't let him.

    what bob said according to wiki:

    "That's about as complete as you can be. Every single letter in that line. It's all true. On a literal and on an escapist level.... Getting back to the yellow railroad, that could be from looking someplace. Being a performer, you travel the world. You're not just looking out of the same window everyday. You're not just walking down the same old street. So you must make yourself observe whatever. But most of the time it hits you. You don't have to observe. It hits you. Like, "yellow railroad" could have been a blinding day when the sun was so bright on a railroad someplace and it stayed on my mind.... These aren't contrived images. These are images which are just in there and have got to come out."

    jasssson December 16, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    it's about me..only messing..but he's fucked up over some girl

    thefreewheelingirlon February 19, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I think it's about FRUSTRATION

    pickupereron December 06, 2012   Link

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