Roll On, John - Bob Dylan

From Folksinger's Choice with Cynthia Gooding (1962)

Roll. roll on John,
Don't you roll so slow
How can I roll when the wheels won't roll?

I asked that girl, won't you be my wife?
She fell on her knees,she began to cry.

The more she cried, the worse I felt
Till I thought my heart would melt.

I looked at the sun was a-sinking low.
I looked at my baby, she was a-walkin' down the road.

I looked at the sun was a-turning red.
I looked at my baby, but she bowed her head.

Don't the sun look lonesome, oh lord lord lord, on the graveyard fence?
Don't my baby look lonesome when her head is bent?

Roll on John, don't you roll so slow.
How can I roll when the wheels won't roll.

Roll on John, don't you roll so slow.
How can I roll when the wheels won't roll.

• Category

  Music

[villan195]

Is it rolling, Bob?

[DerekGoodspeed]

don't a man look lonesome, on a sunday afternoon

with his woman gone, no sun, no moon

and with a fixed stare, and a clogged up mind

he rolls on down the road, one last time

[akolade]

This song is way superior than the new one with the same title.

[humbumhumbuim]

all of these uploads from the Cynthia Gooding recordings are swell.

[thehyperactivesloth]

this was an old folk song often called Long John, different than the other "Long John" songs you'll find... it was probably Appalachian or similar... I'd always imagined Rabbit Brown singing it... has a very similar feel to my ear as James Alley Blues as Dylan plays them...

[prodevus]

That's because THIS SONG ISN'T ABOUT LENNON BUT THE NEW ONE IS.

I repeat, this one ISN'T the new one IS.

Do you hear him talking about the Quarrymen in this video? No.

[Derrick Vanier]

If you look up lyrics for Bob Dylan Roll On John on Google he talks about the Quarrymen and mentions lyrics from Come Together and A Day in the Life.

[prodevus]

No, it's based on the original -- Roll On John was an old blues classic before he touched it. The new one is about John Lennon by the way, this one ain't.

[prodevus]

The song isn't about Lennon.

[Derrick Vanier]

He didn't even know John in 1961 The Beatles weren't even famous in America yet.