Mason, Dave - All Along The Watchtower Lyrics






"There must be some way out of here", said the joker to the thief
"There's too much confusion, I can't get no relief
Businessmen, they drink my wine, plowmen dig my earth
None of them along the line know what any of it is worth"

"No reason to get excited," the thief, he kindly spoke
"There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke
But you and I, we've been through that, and this is not our fate
So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late"

All along the watchtower, princes kept the view
While all the women came and went, barefoot servants, too

Outside in the distance a wildcat did growl
Two riders were approaching, the wind began to howl





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Mason, Dave All Along The Watchtower Comments
  1. K.... R....

    I remember this Day on Green Oakland Coliseum 1975 ish..

  2. R.... B....

    excellent

  3. J.... R....

    Saw him do this a few times at Boston's Orpheum Theater and the Music Hall, way, way back in 1974-75 fantastic guitar player.

  4. B.... ....

    I had forgotten just how good this was, er ah, is.

  5. F.... t....

    Dont forget that Dave played the acoustic guitar--on Hendrix's 1968; studio version!

  6. s.... ....

    Dave on the Gibson Firebird!

  7. D.... H....

    Masons is the best version.

  8. C.... S....

    It's funny how everybody has their own opinions about the versions of the song I think Dave Mason covers it the best.

  9. A.... B....

    I remember me in the 70 with the music in Radio Concierto ..grettings from Chile

  10. f.... ....

    Dylan, Hendrix and Mason shows what you can do with the same song
    with different interruptions. I like them all, each is right for my moods
    and then my mood changes.

  11. C.... ....

    Still get chills when I hear this song. Bless you, Dave Mason.

  12. R.... S....

    An excellent version. My favorite is Neil Young and Crazy Horse at Farm Aid in 1994.

  13. J.... M....

    What a tremendous take on this song
    Better than Hendrix Dylan etc

  14. M.... C....

    Saw him in Central Park and Passaic.

    M.... C....

    Martin Carman Schaeffer music festival!??

    M.... C....

    @James Mack I guess. That sounds familiar, early 70's.

    M.... C....

    In the 70's it was called Shaefer(sp?)music(from Shaefer beer,piss water)I saw J Geils,Foghat etc ....cheap tickets to

  15. J.... P....

    Masons version nails the coffin shut big time! Fantastic!

  16. J.... ....

    Not bad, but it certainly doesn't have the transcendent, multi-dimensional, "cinematic" quality of Jimi's version. . . which is Dave's version as well, I guess, seeing as he played acoustic on it.

    J.... ....

    Jimi's version had the 12 string guitar which added a timeless vibe to it. This version is good, but it sounds dated. Pure 1974, which is a good thing.
    Mason does a great acoustic version with Jim Kruger. You can watch it here on YouTube. I think it's some of the best guitar work I've ever heard.

  17. E.... B....

    The Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush version is my favorite,hands down.. excuse me...Frank "Melt your face off with my guitar solo" Mario

  18. B.... ....

    Love Jimi, but I prefer Dave’s version much more.

  19. l.... d....

    Mason, Winwood, Hendrix is a good thread to follow

  20. P.... F....

    EXCELLENT GUITAR PLAYER

    P.... F....

    PRESTON FRIEDMAN best song i learned on guitar

  21. J.... S....

    COLORADO...1974. 8 TRACK TAPE IN A FIAT W/ HEADPHONES....OUTRAGEOUS.

  22. d.... g....

    Best studio and live versions done by DM

    d.... g....

    I'm with you Dan. Love all the versions, but Dave's studio and live version just hits my ear and soul the best.

  23. G.... c....

    Great set of guitars, the acoustics and lead by Dave and the electric rhythm by Kruger, man saw him a bunch of times back in the 70's and early 80's at the top of his career and wow what a thrill it was! Great singer songwriter and guitarist ''extraordinaire'' thanks for the upload : )

  24. M.... H....

    Dave played 12-string acoustic on Jimi Hendrix's popular version of this. This version is great too. I like the backup singing, and the guitar bits are fab.

  25. s.... ....

    Not a bad Hippie Jam but not on the same level as Master Jimi's version. Still a cool cover though.

    s.... ....

    No one can be Jimi............Clapton said he is the best ever!!!

  26. C.... H....

    Damn this brings back memories,great song and rendition or one the great songs of all times, If this doesn't get you going nothing will.

  27. C.... B....

    How awesome is Dave

  28. l.... ....

    I just love the sound of Dave Mason's guitar, especially on this song. He and Carlos Santana just created beautiful tone and when they kicked it into high gear during that era, the best words I can use to describe it is- musical orgasm.

  29. m.... ....

    simply the best sounding guitar version of this song. windows down, volume up, driving around. boones farm & some weed. life was better back then !

    m.... ....

    Myself, Ohhhh How much better Life was back then.

    m.... ....

    Boones Farm???. . .That's as low as Thunderbird!!!

  30. S.... o....

    A song from days past and  a different place.

  31. e.... c....

    The band rehearsed for this album and shot the cover photo at S.I.R Rehearsal Studios Hollywood when they were located on Santa Monica Blvd. I was fortunate to work there at the same time and got to listen this great music in person and fraternize with the band members. Rick Jaeger, drums, helped direct my musical path with patterns and exercises to practice, even inviting me to attend the recording of this album. This really brings those memories out. Thank you.

    e.... c....

    eye2i ceesall very cool some seriously good musicians playing including the drummer you named,Carl Radle on Bass and others stellar stellar musicians

    e.... c....

    one lucky s o b

    e.... c....

    Someone Needs to help you with your subscriptions!. . You actually have Late night with Seth Meyers and the Steven Colbert show...They are nothing but two(2) Looney leftist Anti American Socialist Globalist and are suffering from a very severe case of 💥TDS💥which is a mental affliction and Disorder and unfortunately there's no known cure!!!

  32. P.... ....

    My brother, 3 friends and I saw the Dave Mason Band live at the Spectrum in Philadelphia in '76. They played this song, jamming it out for about 10 minutes.
    They were awesome. I remember the lead band was Mountain ( Mississippi Queen).

    P.... ....

    Peter Right On Brother I was there too lived in Philly for the past 40 years!

    P.... ....

    Awesome man!!!

    P.... ....

    @Brett Bass
    How do you like living in an illegal Sanctuary city with a Looney leftist Mayor and a George Soros payed for District Attorney who lets Violent criminals go free. . .I was born and raised and grew up in Philly and happy I left before it turned into another democrat Shithole!!!

  33. s.... m....

    whenever this song came on the radio in san jose california in 1974 I was always so happy every time and i still love it so much and now I get to listen to it on an amazing stereo all you people who commented here I wish I knew you all I wish you all are my friends!

    s.... m....

    +stephen mulherin Same here Stephen. Same here.

    s.... m....

    In 1974 my wife and I lived in Mountain View, newly married and loved this version, played the crap out of it. Play this version in my current band.

    s.... m....

    on KSJO rockin

    s.... m....

    Hi listing 12/21/19 in Mississippi, California transplant

  34. l.... ....

    Dave and his stellar band surely made Dylan proud.

    l.... ....

    +lostnfound777 Amen! Arguably the best cover of Watchtower, ever...at least imho even better than Hendrix.
    I was/am a huge Traffic fan and when Mason left and came out with "Alone Together" album, I wore that shit out. Saw him most recently a few years ago in Stuart, Fla....He's still killing it!!!

  35. K.... A....

    Los clasicos de estudio.     David Thomas "Dave" Mason (nacido el 10 de mayo 1946) es un cantante, compositor y guitarrista Inglés de Worcester , el primero que encontró la fama con la banda de rock  Traffic.  En su larga carrera, Mason ha tocado y grabado con muchos de los más notables músicos de pop y rock de la época, entre ellos Paul McCartney , George Harrison , los Rolling Stones , Jimi Hendrix , Eric Clapton , Michael Jackson , David Crosby , Graham Nash , Steve Winwood , Fleetwood Mac , Delaney Bramlett , y Cass Elliot . Una de las canciones más conocidas de Mason es " Feelin 'Alright ", registrado por Traffic en 1968 y después por muchos otros artistas, entre ellos Joe Cocker , que tuvo un gran éxito con la canción en 1969. Para Tráffic, también escribió " Hole in My Shoe ", una canción pop psicodélico que se convirtió en un éxito en su propio derecho. " Nos Sólo Disagree ", de Mason 1977 solista estadounidense Hit escrito por Jim Krueger, se ha convertido en un elemento básico de US Classic Hits y contemporánea para adultos listas de radio.

  36. m.... ....

    Yeah.. Mad Dad wore this track out
    on the white album.

  37. p.... b....

    Lead and Bass are really good on this From Bob Dylan to Hendrix (amazing) and now this cover. This number is really catchy and has movement. 

  38. j.... e....

    the best version without a doubt!

    j.... e....

    I Agree!!!!!!

    j.... e....

    hendrix is better

    j.... e....

    @Gene Roswell you do know that Mason played 12 string guitar on Hendrix's version right?

    j.... e....

    No one is better than Hendrix, no one...

    j.... e....

    @Fred Ivy you are correct, Hendrix can't be denied, but it's nice to have variety (a little spice in life) and enjoy the music of other's.

  39. O.... F....

    Goooooooood

  40. E.... ....

    Saw him at Univ. of Georgia 1978.  Truck bringing his equipment from Memphis, TN broke an axel.  We waited 2 hours before set up began.  They cancelled a local lead in band and Bob Welch came out.  Gave a great performance for about 5 songs and then Dave and the band came out.  Played half a song and then announced that the amp on the bass player had gone out and his was working sporadically.  He said, I'm not going to try to sing louder to compensate and blow my voice.  Fix this mess!  and walked off.  We waited another 45 minutes and he came back out.  One of the best concerts I have seen.  He played til the wee hours of the morning, about 3 am it ended.  Much longer than I expected him to play.  Think he was rewarding us for patiently waiting so long.

    E.... ....

    That's quite a story. Quite the opposite of an experience I had in Tucson in '74 with Steely Dan. Back then we saw great concerts at our big arena there for maybe $7-10 bucks. But Steely Dan was a huge favorite of mine and a bunch of my buddies. The concert tickets were $17 bucks IN ADVANCE. Wow. That blew everybody's mind. I mean, seriously....this was really talked up around town...how dare they try and grab seventeen bucks per seat! Well, we all wanted to see 'em so we plunked down the $17. With great anticipation, we filed into our assigned seats and eagerly awaited them. We waited and waited and waited.....finally they came out and began playing. Everybody was digging it, and without warning they ended a song and just walked off the stage...after only 45 minutes. Whaaaat? There was no announcement over the loudspeakers as to why (we were used to 2 hr. shows) and amidst a zillion boos and threats....everybody walked out. I never did find out what the deal was. The ONLY thing I can think of is that perhaps whoever bankrolled the concert locally might have screwed the band's management somehow. I would LOVE to find out, but of course never will. I can tell you this.....for years, people here talked about that gig and stayed pissed off about it. Hell....who knows what went awry. In that world (concerts and promoters), in those days....it could have been anything.

    E.... ....

    There are lots of good stories behind this tune. The song itself it's a cultural gift, a immortal benefit for us all.

    E.... ....

    Cool story! Those were the days, for sure. So thankful I was born when I was....where I was....so I could relate to stories like yours. Saw oh-so-many big arena rock shows beginning around '70, myself. Yeah, it sounds like Dave Mason WAS rewarding all of you for being so patient. That's stand up of them for doing so.

  41. m.... ....

    Wore the vinyl out .... Thanks to Bob and then Jimmy but saw Dave live for this version. Twice in the 70's. Kinda stuck with me.

  42. T.... ....

    One of the most covered song in the history of rock music.Dylan wrote it.Jimi made it a Masterpiece,Grateful Dead sang it at most shows..etc..But I like this version the best....

  43. l.... ....

    Such a great song that three classic versions can be made...Dylan's,Jimi's and this.

  44. L.... R....

    Got this version as a gift from a record salesman only in the 80s. Treasurers sometimes come unexpectedly. I think it is the best version the DAVE MASON version. Had and am still having great times listening to it.

  45. R.... p....

    great version for sure

  46. C.... N....

    Actually it's a great version of a classic Dylan song, one of his best. Give it a listen.

  47. G.... A....

    The best version of a classic Jimi Hendrix song. I have listened to this song by Dave Mason at least 500 times, and I am still Amazed at how timeless this rendition is. Jimi would have loved the Soul and technical skill of one of the Masters of rock guitar - Dave Mason