Sign On The Cross is an unreleased song from the sessions that produced The Basement Tapes. A recorded version circulates, of-course, and it provides a sterling example of the beguiling combination of bacchanalian humor, demented Americana and inexpressible heartbreak that fuels the best tracks from The Basement Tapes.

The song is officially published and available in the official Dylan lyrics books, but the published lyric differs somewhat from the one in the recorded version that I know. Some of that lyric, or a take on it, is here (h/t to Dylan Chords):

[spoken] Well, it seems to be the sign on the cross. Ev’ry day, ev’ry night, see the sign on the cross just layin’ up on top of the hill. Yes, we thought it might have disappeared long ago, but I’m here to tell you, friends, that I’m afraid it’s lyin’ there still. Yes, just a little time is all you need, you might say, but I don’t know ’bout that any more, because later on you might find the door, you might want to enter it, but, of course, the door might be closed. And I just would like to tell you one time, if I don’t see you again, that the thing is, that that sign on the cross is the thing you might need the most.

[...]

Oh, when your, when your days are numbered
And your nights are long,
You might think you’re weak
But I mean to say you’re strong.
Yes you are, if that sign on the cross,
If it begins to worry you.

...................
Share this!

Posts which might be related to this one based on a mysterious algorithm:

• It worries me
• A critic’s choice
• City of Gold