Written by: Bob Dylan

Well, the neighborhood bully, he’s just one manHis enemies say he’s on their landThey got him outnumbered about a million to oneHe got no place to escape to, no place to runHe’s the neighborhood bullyThe neighborhood bully just lives to surviveHe’s criticized and condemned for being aliveHe’s not supposed to fight back, he’s supposed to have thick skinHe’s supposed to lay down and die when his door is kicked inHe’s the neighborhood bullyThe neighborhood bully been driven out of every landHe’s wandered the earth an exiled manSeen his family scattered, his people hounded and tornHe’s always on trial for just being bornHe’s the neighborhood bullyWell, he knocked out a lynch mob, he was criticizedOld women condemned him, said he should apologize.Then he destroyed a bomb factory, nobody was gladThe bombs were meant for him. He was supposed to feel badHe’s the neighborhood bullyWell, the chances are against it and the odds are slimThat he’ll live by the rules that the world makes for him’Cause there’s a noose at his neck and a gun at his backAnd a license to kill him is given out to every maniacHe’s the neighborhood bullyHe got no allies to really speak ofWhat he gets he must pay for, he don’t get it out of loveHe buys obsolete weapons and he won’t be deniedBut no one sends flesh and blood to fight by his sideHe’s the neighborhood bullyWell, he’s surrounded by pacifists who all want peaceThey pray for it nightly that the bloodshed must ceaseNow, they wouldn’t hurt a fly. To hurt one they would weepThey lay and they wait for this bully to fall asleepHe’s the neighborhood bullyEvery empire that’s enslaved him is goneEgypt and Rome, even the great BabylonHe’s made a garden of paradise in the desert sandIn bed with nobody, under no one’s commandHe’s the neighborhood bullyNow his holiest books have been trampled uponNo contract he signed was worth what it was written onHe took the crumbs of the world and he turned it into wealthTook sickness and disease and he turned it into healthHe’s the neighborhood bullyWhat’s anybody indebted to him for?Nothin’, they say. He just likes to cause warPride and prejudice and superstition indeedThey wait for this bully like a dog waits to feedHe’s the neighborhood bullyWhat has he done to wear so many scars?Does he change the course of rivers? Does he pollute the moon and stars?Neighborhood bully, standing on the hillRunning out the clock, time standing stillNeighborhood bully

Copyright © 1983 by Special Rider Music