My transcription from this recording at YouTube. According to my ear, the "official" transcription on the Bob Dylan website contains mondegreens: "across the river" for "across Rampart" and "frightening look" for "fist-fightin' look"--as well as some less important substitutions. According to Wikipedia, Dylan recorded this 4 times in 1963 but it was never included in an album. I don't know how it ended up on YouTube.


BOB DYLAN'S NEW ORLEANS RAG
Words and Music by Bob Dylan

I was sittin' on a stump down in New Orleans.
I was feelin' kind o' low-down, dirty, an' mean.

Along come a fella an' he didn't even ask.
He says: "I know of a woman who can fix you up fast."

I didn't think twice; I said like I should:
"Let's go find this lady who can do me some good."

We walked across Rampart on a sailin' spree
An' we come to a door called One-Oh-Three.

[harmonica interlude]

I's just about ready to give 'em a little knock
When out comes a fella who couldn't even walk.

He's linkin' an' a-slinkin', couldn't stand on his feet,
An' he moaned an' he groaned an' he shuffled down the street.

Well, out o' the door there come another man.
He wiggled an' he wobbled; he couldn't hardly stand.

He had his fist-fightin' look in his eye
Like he just fought a bear an' he was ready to die.

Well, I peeked through the key crack; comin' down the hall
Was a long-legged man who couldn't hardly crawl.

He muttered an' he uttered in broken French
An' he looked like he'd been through a monkey wrench.

[harmonica interlude]

Well, by this time I was a-scared to knock.
I was a-scared to move; I's in a state o' shock.

I hummed a little tune an' I shuffled my feet
An' I started walkin' backwards down Rampart Street.

Well, I got to the corner; I tried my best to smile.
I turned around the corner an' I run a bloody mile.

Man, I wasn't runnin' 'cause I was sick.
I just a-runnin' to get out o' there quick.

[harmonica interlude]

Well, I tripped it along; I'm wheezin' in my chest.
I must 'a' run a mile in a minute or less.

I walked on a log an' I tripped on a stump.
I caught a fast freight with a one-armed jump.

So, if you're travelin' down Louisiana way,
An' you feel kind o' lonesome an' you need a place to stay,

Man, you're better off in your misery
Than to tackle that lady at One-Oh-Three.

Copyright © 1970 by Warner Bros. Inc.; renewed 1998 by Special Rider Music