The Hold Up

This song is not well known maybe to the audience so time to pay some attention to it.

The song is the direct result of a dinner at Al Aronowitz, a famous journalist who had interviewed George about All Things Must Pass and is even featured on "Out Of The Blue". Al was David Bromberg's manager.

At some point, David saw a guitar and started playing a vaguely Hispanic guitar pattern. George could'nt resist getting involved and within 30 minutes the song just came out.

They wrote the lyrics together which were linked to "Taxman" and the great analist Simon Leng in his book Bromberg tells how he does not really remember who wrote what part but did say that "getting the nose wet' is very English and that it was very George to say "I'll put a bullit right through your best liver"

Bromberg tells "He was a very thoughtful player. I never saw him do any improvisation at all. In our interactions with me, he worked in a way I'd never seen anyone else work. He worked on the slide solo in the studio, he sat in the control booth, plugged the guitar into the board, and he had the tape played over and over. He worked out exactly what he was going to play and laid it down.

Bromberg and George met during Bob Dylan's Self Portrait sessions. By that time George already knew about David's work from Bob. David is probably also the one who inspired George to pick up the dobro.

Bromberg: "I met him at Columbia Studios and he sang me a song I wrote and told me that Bob had taught it to him. It floored me"



Here is the lyrics and sorry for the big ones


STICK UP YOUR HANDS, YOU MUST STAND AND DELIVER,
MY STOMACH'S EMPTY, MY CLOTHES ARE ALL THORN.
OPEN YOUR HEARTS TO THE JOYS OF THE GIVER,
ALL OF YOUR POCKETS ARE TERRIBLY WORN.

THIS IS A HOLDUP, NO WAY TO MISTAKE IT,
WE'RE MEN OF VIOLENCE SO DON'T FOOL AROUND.
IF YOU HAVE MONEY, WE'RE GOING TO TAKE IT,
YOU'LL TRY AND STOP US, YOU'LL END UNDERGROUND.

WHEN WE HAVE YOUR MONEY, WE'LL RIDE TOWARDS THE SUNSET.
AT ROSA'S CANTEEN WE'LL STOP AT THE DOOR.
WE'LL SPEND ALL YOUR MONEY JUST GETTING THE NOSE WET,
TOMORROW EVENING WE'LL BE BACK FOR MORE.

SO HAND US THE MONEY, DON'T STAND THERE AND SHIVER,
TAX TIME IS COMING, GIVE ALMS TO THE POOR.
OR I´LL PUT A BULLET RIGHT THROUGH YOUR BEST LIVER,
WEALTH IS DISEASE AND I AM THE CURE.

WHEN WE HAVE YOUR MONEY, WE'LL RIDE TOWARDS THE SUNSET.
AT ROSA'S CANTEEN WE'LL STOP AT THE DOOR.
WE'LL SPEND ALL YOUR MONEY JUST GETTING THE NOSE WET,
TOMORROW EVENING WE'LL BE BACK FOR MORE.

SO HAND US THE MONEY, DON'T STAND THERE AND SHIVER,
TAX TIME IS COMING, GIVE ALMS TO THE POOR.
OR I´LL PUT A BULLET RIGHT THROUGH YOUR BEST LIVER,
WEALTH IS DISEASE AND I AM THE CURE,
I AM THE CURE,
I AM THE CURE,
I AM THE....