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Credits
PERFORMING ARTISTS
Bob Dylan
Vocals
Mick Taylor
Guitar
Mark Knopfler
Guitar
Sly Dunbar
Drums
Robbie Shakespear
Bass
Alan Clark
Keyboards
COMPOSITION & LYRICS
Bob Dylan
Songwriter
PRODUCTION & ENGINEERING
Bob Dylan
Producer
Mark Knopfler
Producer
Josh Abbey
Engineer
Frank Dickinson
Recording Engineer
Bill Kipper
Mastering Engineer
Neil Dorfsman
Engineer
Ian Taylor
Mixing Engineer
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Well the neighborhood bully, he's just one man
His enemies say he's on their land
They've got him outnumbered about a million to one
He's got no place to escape to, no place to run
He's the neighborhood bully
[Verse 2]
Neighborhood bully, he just lives to survive
He's criticized and condemned for bein' alive
Not supposed to fight back and have thick skin
Supposed to lay down and die when his door is kicked in
He's the neighborhood bully
[Verse 3]
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 bein' born
He's the neighborhood bully
[Verse 4]
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
[Verse 5]
Well the chances are against him and the odds are slim
That he'll live by the rules that the world makes for him
There's a noose at his neck and a gun at his back
And a license to kill him given out to every maniac
He's the neighborhood bully
[Verse 6]
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
[Verse 7]
Well he's surrounded by pacifists who all want peace
They pray for it nightly that the bloodshed will cease
And 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
[Verse 8]
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
[Verse 9]
Now his holiest books have been trampled upon
No contract he signed was worth 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
[Verse 10]
What's anybody indebted to him for?
"Nothin'" they say, he just like to cause war
His pride and prejudice, his superstition indeed
They wait for this bully like a dog waits to feed
Neighborhood bully
[Verse 11]
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, standin' on the hill
Runnin' out the clock, time standin' still
Neighborhood bully
Written by: Bob Dylan