the groom's still waiting at the altar

Singer:bob dylan

prayed in the ghetto with my face in the cement

heard the last moan of a boxer

seen the massacre of the innocent

felt around for the light switch

became nauseated. she was walking down the hallway while the walls deteriorated. east of the jordan

hard as the rock of gibraltar

i see the burning of the page

curtain risin' on a new age

see the groom still waitin' at the altar. try to be pure at heart

they arrest you for robbery

mistake your shyness for aloofness

your silence for snobbery

got the message this morning

the one that was sent to me

about the madness of becomin' what one was never meant to be. west of the jordan

east of the rock of gibraltar

i see the burning of the stage

curtain risin' on a new age

see the groom still waitin' at the altar. don't know what i can say about claudette that wouldn't come back to haunt me

finally had to give her up 'bout the time she began to want me. but i know god has mercy on them who are slandered and humiliated. i'd a-done anything for that woman if she didn't make me feel so obligated. west of the jordan

west of the rock of gibraltar

i see the burning of the cage

curtain risin' on a new stage

see the groom still waitin' at the altar. put your hand on my head

baby

do i have a temperature?

i see people who are supposed to know better standin' around like furniture. there's a wall between you and what you want and you got to leap it

tonight you got the power to take it

tomorrow you won't have the power to

keep it. west of the jordan

east of the rock of gibraltar

i see the burning of the stage

curtain risin' on a new age

see the groom still waitin' at the altar. cities on fire

phones out of order

they're killing nuns and soldiers

there's fighting on the border. what can i say about claudette?

ain't seen her since january

she could be respectably married or running a whorehouse in buenos aires. west of the jordan

west of the rock of gibraltar

i see the burning of the stage

curtain risin' on a new age

see the groom still waitin' at the altar.

Lyric Context: the groom's still waiting at the altar - bob dylan