Lyrics to No Time To Think

This version of No Time To Think was released by Bob Dylan in 1978.

Our About Bob Dylan page at Decade Lyrics includes the lyrics for No Time To Think from 1978 as well as all of the other lyrics from Bob Dylan that we have in our lyrics database.

Here's more interesting things in songs and lyrics tied to Bob Dylan or about the 1970s in general.

In death you face life with a child and a wife
Who sleep-walks through your dreams into walls
You’re soldier of mercy, you’re cold and you curse
He who cannot be trusted must fall.

Loneliness, tenderness, high society, notoriety
You fight for the throne and you travel alone
Unknown as you slowly sink
And there’s no time to think.

In the Federal City you been blown and shown pity
For secret, for pieces of change
The empress attracts you but oppression distracts you
And it makes you feel violent and strange.

Memory, ecstasy, tyranny, hypocrisy
Betrayed by a kiss on a cool night of bliss
In the valley of the missing link
And you have no time to think.

Judges will haunt you, the country priestess will want you
Her worst is better than best
I’ve seen all these decoys through a set of deep turquoise eyes
And I feel so depressed.

China doll, alcohol, duality, mortality
Mercury rules you and destiny fools you
Like the plague, with a dangerous wink
And there’s no time to think.

Your conscience betrayed you when some tyrant waylaid you
Where the lion lies down with the lamb
I’d have paid off the traitor and killed him much later
But that’s just the way that I am.

Paradise, sacrifice, mortality, reality
But the magician is quicker and his game
Is much thicker than blood and blacker than ink
And there’s no time to think.

Anger and jealousy’s all that he sells us
He’s content when you’re under his thumb
Madmen oppose him, but your kindness throws him
To survive it you play deaf and dumb.
Equality, liberty, humility, simplicity
You glance through the mirror and there’s eyes starring clear
At the back of you head as you drink
And there’s no time to think.

Warlords of sorrow and queens of tomorrow
Will offer their heads for a prayer
You can’t find no salvation, you have no expectations
Anytime, anyplace, anywhere.

Mercury, gravity, nobility, humility
You know you can’t keep her and the water gets deeper
That is leading your onto the brink
But there’s no time to think.

You’ve murdered your vanity, buried your sanity
For pleasure you must now resist
Lovers obey you but they cannot sway you
They’re not even sure you exist.

Socialism, hypnotism, patriotism, materialism
Fools making laws for the breaking of jaws
And the sound of the keys as they clink
But there’s no time to think.

The bridge that you travel on goes to the Babylon
With the rose in her hair
Starlight in the East you’re finally released
You’re stranded but with nothing to share.

Loyality, unity, epitome, rigidity
You turn around for one real last glimpse of Camille
‘Neath the moon shining bloody and pink
And there’s no time to think.

About Lyrics and No Time To Think by Bob Dylan

The lyrics to No Time To Think are just the words, phrases, verses and chorus that Bob Dylan used when the song was created in 1978. The lyrics to No Time To Think have both easy-to-spot meanings and hidden metaphors that have been discussed by the music press and fans, but only Bob Dylan and any collaborators know all of the inspirations for the song.

If you like etymology or breaking apart phrases and words, it is easy to understand the lyrics to No Time To Think by Bob Dylan. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to No Time To Think" means the words set to the music of No Time To Think, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Bob Dylan. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to No Time To Think and the lyrics to No Time To Think are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Bob Dylan who came here looking just for the lyrics to No Time To Think, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.