Lyrics: Robert Hunter
Music: Robert Hunter
In his journal for 27 May 1998, Robert Hunter says:
Several starter songs begun, two of which seem to be getting serious: working titles "Shake the Wind" and "Back to the Somme". ... "Shake the Wind" began when the cat went out the front door and the dog came in. "In came the dog and out went the cat" I thought. Nice rhythm, leading to "In came the lady with the heart attack". I wrote about a dozen such couplets before a chorus suggested itself. It was the kind of chorus I don't stumble on every day - so even if the verses change completely, the refrain is a keeper.There's no record of the song ever being developed further or played by Hunter. Thanks to Jesse Jarnow for pointing me to this.