G Bm Am Bm Am G
Go 'way from my window leave at your own chosen speed
G Bm Am Bm Am G
I'm not the one you want, Babe, I'm not the one you need.
Bm Am Bm Am
You say you're looking for someone never weak but always strong
Bm Am Bm Am
To protect you and defend you whether you are right or wrong
C D
Someone to open each and every door
G
But it ain't me, Babe,
C D G
No, no, no, it ain't me, Babe,
C D G
It ain't me you're looking for, Babe.
[Harp] G Bm Am C D G
G Bm Am Bm Am G
Go lightly from the ledge, Babe, go lightly on the ground,
G Bm Am Bm Am G
I'm not the one you want, Babe, I will only let you down.
Bm Am Bm Am
You say you're looking for someone who will promise never to part
Bm Am Bm Am
Someone to close his eyes for you, someone to close his heart
C D
Someone who will die for you and more
[Chorus] But it ain't me, Babe...
G Bm Am Bm Am G
Go melt back in the night, everything inside is made of stone,
G Bm Am Bm Am G
There's nothing in here moving and anyway I'm not alone
Bm Am
You say you're looking for someone
Bm Am
Who'll pick you up each time you fall,
Bm Am
To gather flowers constantly
Bm Am
and to come each time you call
C D
A lover for your life and nothing more
[Chorus] But it ain't me, Babe... x2
******************************************
\"It Ain't Me Babe\" is a song by Bob Dylan that originally appeared on his fourth album Another Side of Bob Dylan, which was released in 1964 by Columbia Records. According to music critic Oliver Trager, this song, along with others on the album, marked a departure for Dylan as he began to explore the possibilities of language and deeper levels of the human experience. Within a year of its release, the song was picked up as a single by folk rock act the Turtles and country artist Johnny Cash (who sang it as a duet with his future wife June Carter).
Influences
Dylan's biographers generally agree that the song owes its inspiration to his former girlfriend Suze Rotolo. He reportedly began writing the song during his visit to Italy in 1963 while searching for Rotolo, who was studying there.
Clinton Heylin reports that a Times reporter at a May 1964 Royal Festival Hall concert where Dylan first played \"It Ain't Me\" took the chorus \"no, no, no\" as a parody of the Beatles' \"yeah, yeah, yeah\" in \"She Loves You\".
Renditions
Dylan and Johnny Cash were admirers of each other's work. Cash recorded the song with June Carter. The song was released on Cash's 1965 album, Orange Blossom Special, and became a hit. This song was also featured in the 2005 film about Cash's life, Walk the Line, and was performed by Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon on the film's soundtrack.
In 1965, The Turtles also had a breakthrough hit single of the song, which reached #8 in the U.S. and was then featured on their debut album of the same name.
