“Not Dark Yet” is the signature track on 1997’s Time Out of Mind.
The double album is considered to be a comeback after a seven year period during which Dylan released no new material, preceded by his struggles defining himself in the 80’s.
Regarding his older albums like 1983’s Infidels and those...
[Verse 1]
Shadows are fallin' and I've been here all day
It's too hot to sleep and time is runnin' away
Feel like my soul has turned into steel
I've still got the scars that the sun didn't heal
[Chorus]
There's not even room enough to be anywhere
It's not dark yet, but it's gettin' there
[Verse 2]
Well, my sense of humanity has gone down the drain
Behind every beautiful thing there's been some kind of pain
She wrote me a letter and she wrote it so kind
She put down in writin' what was in her mind
[Chorus]
I just don't see why I should even care
It's not dark yet, but it's gettin' there
[Verse 3]
Well, I've been to London and I've been to gay Paris
I've followed the river and I got to the sea
I've been down on the bottom of a world full of lies
I ain't lookin' for nothin' in anyone’s eyes
[Chorus]
Sometimes my burden is more than I can bear
It's not dark yet, but it's gettin' there
[Instrumental Break 03:23-04:27]
[Verse 4]
I was born here and I'll die here against my will
I know it looks like I'm movin', but I'm standin' still
Every nerve in my body is so vacant and numb
I can’t even remember what it was I came here to get away from
[Refrain]
Don't even hear a murmur of a prayer
It's not dark yet, but it's gettin' there
[Instrumental Outro]
Not Dark Yet was written by Bob Dylan.
Not Dark Yet was produced by Daniel Lanois.
Bob Dylan released Not Dark Yet on Mon Aug 25 1997.
A lot of the songs [on Time Out of Mind] were written after the sun went down … This one phrase was going through my head:
Work while the day lasts, because the night of death cometh when no man can work
It wouldn’t let me go. I was, like, what does that phrase mean? … It was at the forefront of my...