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Talkin' Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues 1 Bob Dylan © 1962, renewed 1990 Music Corp. of America (Official lyrics @ www.bobdylan.com)

6 Sep 1961 THE MINNEAPOLIS HOTEL TAPE & THE GASLIGHT CAFE MONTREAL 1962 NEW YORK 1961 (T-103) HISTORICAL ARCHIVES Vol. 1 (vinyl bootleg) PORTRAIT (vinyl bootleg)

First Gaslight tape, Gaslight Café, NYC - September 1961 Little kids fell off the boat and the boat was sinkin' down in the water with so many people Um..., policemen come, firemen come, for rescueing all these women floatin' around in the water Old women, long women, little kids, dogs, cats And all they want to do is just take a trip up to Bear Mountain and have a picnic. I call this one "Talkin' Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Disaster Blues." I saw it advertised one day Bear Mountain picnic was comin' my way "Come along with us 'n' take a trip, We'll transport you up there on a ship. Bring the wife an' kids Fun for all. Yippee!" Well, i run right down 'n' bought a ticket To this here thing called the Bear Mountain picnic Little did i realize, i was in for an unpleasant surprise Had nothin' to do with pinics Didn't come close to a mountain An' i'm scared of bears. Took the wife 'n' kids down to the pier Six thousand people there Everybody had a ticket for the trip "Oh well'', i said, "it's a pretty big ship Besides, the more the merrier.'' Well, we all got on an' what do you think That big old boat started to sink More people kept a-pilin' on That old ship was a-goin' down Hey, this ain't no way to start a picnic. Well, i soon lost track of m' kids 'n' wife Saw many people i never saw in my life That old ship sinkin' down in the water Six thousand people fightin' each other. Dogs a-barkin', kids a-squallin' Women a-cryin', fists a-flyin'. Maybe we just better call off the picnic. I got shoved down 'n' pushed around All i could hear was a moanin' sound Don't remember any more Got knocked out an' woke up on the shore My arms was busted, feet were cracked Couldn't walk, couldn't see, couldn't talk, couldn't feel Lucky to be alive though! Feelin' like i climbed outta my casket I grabbed back hold of my picnic basket Took the wife 'n' kids 'n' started home Wishin' i'd never got up that morn'. Cursin' picnics. I don't care just what you do If you wanna have a picnic, that's up to you Don't tell me about it, i don't wanna hear it See i lost all my picnic spirit Stay in my kitchen, have 'm picnics in my bathroom. Well it don't seem to me quite so funny What some of these people are gonna do for money There's a brand new gimmick every day Just to take somebody's money away. Think we oughta take all these people, put 'em on a boat Send 'em up to Bear Mountain for a picnic.

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Talkin' Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues 2

Feb 1962 THE WITMARK DEMOS:     THE BOOTLEG SERIES Vol. 9 / 1962-1964 THE BOOTLEG (T-286) IN THE PINES (T-645)

Leeds Music demo, NYC - february 1962 I saw (cough!) it advertised one day Bear Mountain Picnic was comin' my way "Come along and take a trip, We'll bring you up there on a ship Bring the wife and kids Bring the whole family." Yippee! Well I run right down and bought a ticket To this Bear Mountain Picnic. But little did I realize i was in for a picnic suprise Had nothing to do with mountains I didn't even come close to a bear. Took the wife and the kids down to the pier Six thousand people there Everybody had a ticket for the trip. Oh well, I said, it's a pretty big ship. Besides anyway, the more the merrier. Well we all got on and what do you think That big old boat started to sink. More people kept a-pilin' on That old ship was a-slowly goin' down. May be we just better call off the picnic. No the words there, is uh, instead of "May be we just better call off the picnic" It's uh, "Funny way to start a picnic" Well I soon lost track of my kids and wife Saw many people I never saw in my life. That old ship sinkin' down in the water Six thousand people tryin' to kill each other. Dogs a-barkin', cats a-meowin' Women a-screamin', fists a-flying, babies cryin' Cops a-comin', me a-runnin' Maybe we just better call off the picnic. I got shoved down an' pushed around All I could hear there was a screamin sound Don't remember one thing more Just remember wakin' up on the shore. Head busted, stomach cracked, feet splintered I was bald, naked. Quite lucky to be alive though! Feeling like I climbed out of my casket I grabbed back hold of my picnic basket Took the wife and kids and started home Wishing I'd never get up that morn'. Well I don't care just what you do If you wanna have a picnic, that's up to you Don't tell me about it, I don't wanna hear it You see I just lost all my picnic spirit. Stay in my kitchen, have my own picnics there in the bedroom, in my bathroom. It don't seem to me quite so funny What some people are gonna do for money There's a brand new gimmick every day Just to take somebody's money away. I think we ought to take some of these people 'n' put them on a boat, Send them up to Bear Mountain for a picnic.

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Talkin' Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues 3

25 Apr 1962 the bootleg series volumes 1-3 [rare and unreleased] 1961-1991 TALKING BEAR MOUNTAIN PICNIC BLUES (vinyl bootleg)

The Freewhelin' Bob Dylan session 2, Columbia Studio A, NYC - 25.apr.1962, take 3 Well i saw it advertised one day That the Bear Mountain picnic was comin' my way "Come along 'n' take a trip, We'll bring you up there on a ship. Bring the wife an' family Bring the whole kids.'' Yippee! Well, i run right down 'n' bought a ticket To this thing called the Bear Mountain picnic Little did i realize, i was in for an unpleasant funny surprise It had nothin' to do with picnic Didn't come close to a moutain. An' i hate bears. Took the wife 'n' kids down to the pier There was six thousand people there Everybody had a ticket for the trip "Oh well'', i said, "it's a pretty big ship Besides, anyhow the more the merrier.'' Well, we all got on an' what do you think That big old boat started to sink More people kept a-pilin' on That old ship was a-goin' down. Funny way to start a picnic. Well, i soon lost track of m' kids 'n' wife Saw many people i never saw in my life That old ship was sinkin' down in the water There was six thousand people tryin' to kill each other. Dogs a-barkin', cats a-screamin' Women a-yellin', men a-flyin' Fists a-flyin', paper flyin', Cops a-comin', me a-runnin' Maybe we just better call off the picnic. I got shoved down, got pushed around All i remember there was a moanin' sound Don't remember one thing more All i remember is wakin' up on a shore. My arms and legs were broken My feet were splintered, my head was cracked I couldn't walk, couldn't talk, smell, feel, couldn't see I didn't know where i was, i was bald Quite lucky to be alive though. Well feelin' like i climbed outta my casket I grabbed back hold of my picnic basket Took the wife 'n' kids 'n' started home Wishin' i'd never got up that mornin'. Well i don't care just what you do If you wanna have a picnic, that's up to you But don't tell me about it, i don't wanna hear it You see i just lost all my picnic spirit. Stay in my kitchen, have m' picnic in my bathroom. Well it don't seem to me quite so funny What some people are gonna do for money There's a brand new gimmick every day Just to take somebody's money away. I think we oughta take some o' these people, put 'em on a boat Send 'em up to Bear Mountain for a picnic.