this kind of thing before

Bob Dylan's song, "Highway 61 Revisited" begins with this verse:

Oh God said to Abraham, "Kill me a son,"
Abe says, "Man, you must be puttin' me on"
God say, "No", Abe say, "What?"
God say, "You can do what you want Abe, but
The next time you see me comin' you better run"
Well Abe says, "Where you want this killin'
done?"
God says, "Out on Highway 61."

-----------------
My favorite two verses of the song:

Well Mack the finger said to Louie the King
I got forty red white and blue shoe strings
And a thousand telephones that don't ring
Do you know where I can get rid of these things
And Louie the King said let me think for a minute,
son
And he said yes I think it can be easily done
Just take everything down to Highway 61.

{verse in between}, then --

Now the rovin' gambler he was very bored
Tryin' to create a next world war
He found a promoter who nearly fell off the floor
He said I never engaged in this kind of thing
before
But yes I think it can be very easily done
We'll just put some bleachers out in the sun
And have it on Highway 61.

["Highway 61 Revisited," from the album / same
title, Bob Dylan. August, 1965. Columbia
Records.]
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I did not hear this music when it came out. I was too young. I first heard this album early in my freshman year at B.U. A friend had it. (It was, like, "old" music -- from "back in the 60s" ...) The first time I heard it, I felt an impact -- as if I recognized the music -- except that I'd never heard it before. It was an unusual experience; you couldn't compare it to anything. It was strange and new (to me), and yet familiar.

The line, "He said I never engaged in this kind of thing before" really stood out, to me.

When I hear that line, and that part of the song, it makes me think of Vietnam, and Watergate. But when Dylan wrote the song, Watergate hadn't happened yet.

"He said, I never engaged in this kind of thing before
but yes I think it could be very easily done ..."

-30-