About the Song

Track: Mississippi

Length: 3:54

Album: Love and Theft (2001)

Artist: Bob Dylan

Songwriter: Bob Dylan

Favorite line: 

“Walking through the leaves, falling from the trees / Feeling like a stranger nobody sees”

Favorite verse: 

“Well, my ship’s been split to splinters and it’s sinking fast

I’m drownin’ in the poison, got no future, got no past

But my heart is not weary, it’s light and it’s free

I’ve got nothin’ but affection for all those who’ve sailed with me

Everybody movin’ if they ain’t already there

Everybody got to move somewhere

Stick with me baby, stick with me anyhow

Things should start to get interesting right about now”

© Special Rider Music

℗ Sony Music Entertainment

Here’s Why I Love It

Torture is defined as the infliction of severe pain. Yup, sounds about right. That’s exactly what it was like trying to pick just one favorite line or verse from this song. It’s really not fair, though. The song is a poetic masterpiece. Each line will leave you jaw-dropped. You can read the lyrics alone, which, according to Dylan’s website, are just three long verses (which is odd, but that’s Dylan.) I get it, some of you might choose ONLY to read the lyrics because you don’t like Dylan’s gravely tone. For me, that’s part of the charm of Dylan. I mean, that is Dylan. I’ve heard covers of the song that don’t do it any justice because without that gruffness, the song loses an essential element for me—pain.

I can dissect every line, but that would take forever. So I’ll let you do that, and you should! It’ll be the best fifteen minutes of your day. I promise. Maybe week. But there is one line he repeats three times: “Only one thing I did wrong / Stayed in Mississippi a day too long.” It’s the chorus I guess. The line takes on a slightly different meaning each time, as evidenced by the different lines that precede it. Ultimately, it leads you to understand that the song is about a man grappling with and drifting through life, and the only thing he really regrets is not doing “it” sooner. It sounds like it’s about lost love. Perhaps the woman he should have acted on sooner, or wishes he had acted on in the first place. It’s about the passing of time, and how nothing can replace being “there” in a physical sense with her. You get the sense he finally shows up. Maybe it’s the first time he’s shown up, or maybe it’s the tenth time he’s come back, but in any case, he wants to hang on this time. Nonetheless, the man made his decisions, and now has to live with them. If you’ve ever questioned Dylan’s genius, the man who changed music forever with his words, then this song should stifle you. 

Listen to song and read the lyrics for full effect.

You can now listen to the Lyrics I Love playlist on Spotify. A new song is added with each edition!

*This was the best version I could find that combines the lyrics and song (it’s a LIVE version.) The studio version sounds quite a bit different.

**This article is part of the ongoing Lyrics I Love series: short interpretations of the meaning and story behind one song with lyrics that move me.