Music and Lyrics: Bob Dylan Well the ragman draws circles, up and down the block I'd ask him what's the matter, but I know that he don't talk And the ladies treat me kindly, and they furnish me with tape But deep inside my heart, I know I can't escape Oh, mama, can this really be the end To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again Well Shakespeare he's in the alley With his pointed shoes and bell Speaking with some French girl, who says she knows me well And me, I'd send a message, to find out if she's talked But the post office has been stolen, and the mailbox is locked Oh, mama, can this really be the end To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again Mona tried to warn me, stay away from the train line She said that all the railroad men Just drink up your blood like wine And I said, oh I didn't know that But then again there's only one I've met He just smoked my eyelids, and he punched my cigarette Oh, mama, can this really be the end To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again Grandpa died last week, and they buried him in the rocks Everyone still talks about how badly they are shocked But me, I expected it to happen, I knew he'd lost control When he built a fire on Main Street, and he shot it full of holes Oh, mama, can this really be the end To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again Now the senator, he came down here, showing everyone his gun Handing out free tickets to the wedding of his son And me, I nearly got busted, and wouldn't it be my luck To get caught without a ticket and be discovered beneath a truck Oh, mama, can this really be the end To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again Now the preacher looks so baffled When I asked him why he dressed With twenty pounds of headlines stapled to his chest But he cursed me when I proved it to him Then I said, you see, not even you can hide You see, you're just like me, and I hope you're satisfied Oh, mama, can this really be the end To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again Now the rainman gave me two cures, then he said jump right in The first was Texas medicine, the second was just railroad gin And like a fool I mixed them up, and it strangled up my mind And now people just get uglier, and I've got no sense of time Oh, mama, can this really be the end To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again When Ruthie says come see her in her honky-tonk lagoon Where I can watch her waltz for free, 'neath her Panamanian moon And I said, oh come on now, you know about my debutante And she says, your debutante knows just what you need But I know what you want Oh, mama, can this really be the end To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again Now the bricks, they lay on Grand Street where the neon madmen climb They all fall there so perfectly, it all seems so well timed And here I sit so patiently, waiting to find out what price You have to pay to get out of Going through all of these things twice Oh, mama, can this really be the end To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again Oh, mama, can this really be the end To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again