Neighborhood Bully

The titular subject of this song is fairly clearly Israel (though I think Dylan has denied it in interviews). The designation is ironic, for the song clearly decries the oppression and abuse that the so-called "Bully" undergoes.

Then he destroyed a bomb factory, nobody was glad. The bombs were meant for him; he was supposed to feel bad.

Not Dark Yet

I was born here and I'll die here against my will.

This is paraphrased from the collection of ancient law known as the Talmud. It is from the section written in Hebrew known as the Mishna, the tractate known as Pirkei Avot (chapters, or ethics, of the fathers), 4:29. "And let not your evil inclination promise you that the grave will be an escape for you, for against your will you were created; against your will you were born; against your will you live; against your will you die, and against your will you are destined to give an account before the King." The Talmud was compiled around 100-200 AD.

On the Road Again

Your daddy walks in wearin' a Napoleon Bonaparte mask.

Napoleon (1768-1821) was a French military commander who conquered much of western Europe and made himself Emperor. In 1795 he saved the revolutionary government by dispersing a mob. After that, his power grew in the vacuum left in the wake of the Revolution's chaos. From 1796 to 1810, his armies conquered Italy, Egypt, Spain, Austria, Prussia and Portugal. With all Europe united against him and his wars against Russia and England faltering, his final defeat came at Waterloo in 1815. He died in exile.

I ask who's in the fireplace, and you tell me Santa Claus.

For the benefit of Dylan fans not of Anglo-Saxon cultures (who live under rocks), Santa Claus, a.k.a. Father Christmas in Britain, is the personification of Christmas. He visits and leaves toys for all the children of the world on Christmas by going down the chimneys.

Only a Pawn In Their Game

A bullet from the back of a bush took Medgar Evers' blood.

Medgar Evers was a black civil rights leader, assassinated near his home in Jackson, Mississippi by a white supremacist, Byron De La Beckwith, in 1964. Two all-white juries deadlocked in his trials; he was only recently convicted of the murder.

Outlaw Blues

Ain't gonna hang no picture, ain't gonna hang no picture frame. I might look like Robert Ford, but I feel just like Jesse James.

The outlaw Jesse James (1847-1882) was shot in the back by one of his own men, Robert Ford, while hanging a picture in his hideout.

Oxford Town

He went down to Oxford Town, guns and clubs followed him down, all because his face was brown.

In 1962 Oxford, Mississippi, the site of the University of Mississippi, saw civil unrest when James Meredith became the first black student to enroll. Many people were injured in the subsequent riots.

Po' Boy

Othello told Desdemona, "I'm cold, cover me with a blanket. By the way, what happened to that poison wine?" She says, "I gave it to you, you drank it."

This is a reference to the play "Othello" by William Shakespeare. Written around 1603, it is based on an Italian tale that dates to at least the mid-sixteenth century. In the drama, Othello, a great Moorish (Muslim African) general, is married to a Venetian lady named Desdemona. A soldier in Othello's service, Iago, hates Othello, ostensibly because Iago has been passed over for a promotion. Accordingly, he plants seeds of suspicion in the general that Desdemona has been unfaithful to him. Othello is persuaded and smothers Desdemona to death; after realizing he has been tricked, he stabs himself to death.

There is no poisoned wine in this play, thought it is a device used by Shakespeare. For example, in "Hamlet," poisoned wine is meant to kill Hamlet. (However, his mother Gertrude unknowingly drinks it herself, much to the consternation of Claudius, Hamlet's uncle, who loves her and meant to kill Hamlet.) Obviously, then, here Dylan is using the Shakesperean characters for his own purposes, perhaps rewriting their fates to one he feels might be more just (Othello dying as a result of his own murderous jealousy).

Time and love has branded me with its claws. Had to go to Florida, dodgin' them Georgia laws.

Florida is a state in the southeast United States; Georgia is the state that borders it to the north. It's hard to say what specific "Georgian laws" the narrator might be dodging by going to Florida; it may be a general case of avoiding local law by slipping over any state border.

My mother was a daughter of a wealthy farmer. My father was a traveling salesman, I never met him.

This line is apparently lifted from the book Confessions Of a Yakuza, an oral history of Japanese gangsters by Dr. Junichi Saga, published in Japan in the late 1980s. In the English edition, translated by John Bester, can be found the passage "My mother...was the daughter of a wealthy farmer...[she] died when I was 11...My father was a traveling salesman...I never met him."

Poor boy, pickin' up sticks. Build ya a house out of mortar and bricks.

Hearing this line, it's hard to avoid thinking of the folk tale "The Three Little Pigs" (odd as it may seem in this context). This story dates back to at least the 18th century, and in some older versions the characters are kid goats rather than pigs. In any case, the tale concerns three pig (usually brothers) who each build a house. The lazier two pigs build theirs out of straw and sticks respectively. Their flimsy houses are thus destroyed when the Big Bad Wolf blows them down (at which point the pigs either run away to the next brother pig's house, or are eaten, depending on the telling). The third pig works hard at building his house out of bricks, and is rewarded when the wolf cannot blow it down.

Precious Angel

Can they imagine the darkness that will fall from on high when men will beg God to kill them and they won't be able to die?

This is likely drawn from the book of Revelations, which describes the coming of the end of the world as a violent, chaotic time of warfare. "And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them" (Revelations 9:6).

You were telling him about Buddha, you were telling him about Mohammed in the same breath. You never mentioned one time the Man who came and died a criminal's death.

Buddha was a fifth-century BC Indian mystic and founder of the major world religion of Buddhism. Born Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha is actually a title meaning "enlightened one"), he renounced materialism and even family an quest for truth. His philosophy was that all life is suffering, but individuals can transcend that suffering through meditation which leads to enlightenment.

Mohammed, or Muhammad, was a seventh-century Arab born in Mecca. He founded the major world religion of Islam, preaching strict monotheism and social reform, emphasizing a Final Judgement. His teachings, which he claimed came from Allah, or God, became the Koran. He taught that Jesus, while a great phrophet, was only a prophet in a long line of others, and not God's Son.

Speaking of whom, "the Man who came and died a criminal's death" is Jesus Christ. As related throughout the New Testament, Jesus was God reborn as a human teacher, who died on a cross to redeem all of mankind's sins.

But there's violence in the eyes, girl, so let us not be enticed on the way out of Egypt, through Ethiopia, to the judgment hall of Christ.

A description of the events chronicled in the Biblical book of Exodus. It was Moses' task to lead his people, the Jews, out of slavery in Egypt into the promised land, which would become Israel.

Pressing On

Well I'm pressing on to the higher calling of my Lord.

In his letter to the Philippians (3:13-14), the apostle Paul writes: "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended [knowing Christ fully]: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (This from the King James version; the attribution is more readily apparent when we consult the New Revised Standard Version, in which Paul says "I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call...")

Many try to stop me, shake me up in my mind, say, "Prove to me that He is Lord, show me a sign."

This refers to the several times in the Gospels that the church elders demanded that Jesus prove His power: "The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven" (Matthew 16:1).

What kind of sign they need when it all come from within, when what's lost has been found...

"Lost" and "found" are common euphemisms in the modern Christian world for people who have not accepted God in their lives and who have, respectively.

In Luke, the parable of the prodigal son, who spends the money his father gives him and returns hoping for charity, uses these terms. The father rejoices, and far from treating his son shabbily, welcomes him with open arms: "For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found" (15:24). This parable is meant to be an allegory for all those who, no matter what their past actions, are welcomed warmly by the Lord when they turn to Him.

The terms are also used in the hymn "Amazing Grace," a story of redemption by the ex-slaver turned minister John Newton, in the late 1700s: "I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now can see."

...what's to come has already been?

This is taken from the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes. "That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past" (3:15).

Shake the dust off of your feet...

This comes from the teachings of Jesus in Mark 6:11. "And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them." (I guess you can only try to preach to the unwilling for so long.)

...don't look back.

D.A. Pennebaker's 1967 documentary of Dylan's England tour, and the line from "She Belongs To Me," may leap immediately to mind. However, as this is from Dylan's most explicit religious period, it's nearly certain that he was thinking of lines that Jesus spoke in the Gospel of Luke: "And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God" (9:62). In other words, if you are going to follow Him, you must do it wholeheartedly, with no worldly attachments holding you back.

Nothing now can hold you down, nothing that you lack.

This comes from some of Jesus' final teachings to His disciples. "And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip [a shepherd's bag for food], and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing" (Luke 22:35). In other words, Jesus had instructed His followers to forsake house and home, to travel lightly, and not to be "held down" by worldly concerns as they preached. They agree that although they did not have these material possessions, still they lacked nothing. Jesus goes on to warn, however, that after His death, this might change, and that the disciples should prepare for trouble. In fact, He counsels them to go out and buy swords.

Temptation's not an easy thing; Adam given the devil reign. Because he sinned I got no choice, it runs in my vein.

This refers to the Christian doctrine of Original Sin. This states that because, according to the account in Genesis, the first humans Adam and Eve were tempted into disobeying God and thus sinning, all of their descendants are born into sin. That is, one must be saved by the grace of God; no one is born pure.

[Thanks yet again to the prodigious Dan M., who directed me toward most of the Biblical allusions! He's a marvel.]

Property Of Jesus

You got something better. You've got a heart of stone.

As this song is an indictment of those who scorn Christians, the first part of this line is clearly ironic. "Heart of stone" is pejorative, not a compliment. It has at least three Biblical sources.

The least likely is from Job 41:24, "His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone." It's not very likely to be applicable to this song. Here God is speaking to Job, reprimanding him for questioning his Lord. God asks Job if he can do the things God can, including taming "the leviathan," a monster who is described at some length, including having, as above, a firm heart.

Another reference, perhaps also not too likely, is found in Paul's second letter to the Corinthians (3:3). "Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart." That is, Paul is comparing faithful Christians to letters written by Christ himself, decalaring the Gospels to all who are willing to read (or hear) the message. Each believer is in this sense a message from God, not engraved in stone (as the Ten Commandments were) but crafted in flesh. So, Dylan could be saying that mockers of the faith, having stone hearts, are not letters from Christ made flesh.

The most applicable line is Zechariah 7:12, "Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts." Again, God is speaking, this time to his prophet. he reminds Zechariah of God's wrath against the Israelites for their sins of old, warning the faithful to maintain the law and be kindly toward the oppressed. This is the most likely reference, as both the prophet and Dylan are speaking of those who wilfully ignore God's message.

You can laugh at salvation, you can play Olympic games.

The Olympic Games originally began in what we call ancient Greece, possibly in the 8th century B.C. Open only to young men of Hellenic origin, the "Games" originally consisted only of a single race. As time passed, other events were added, such as chariot racing, wrestling, chariot races, the discus and javelin throws, and so on. The Games were in part festivals to the ancient gods, especially Zeus; therefore, as the Greek world became Christianized, the Games became frowned upon. The emperor Theodosius I abolished the games in 393 A.D. (This may be this line's link to the song's theme of criticizing a mocker of the faith.)

Of course, the Olympic Games were revived in modern times. Held every four years beginning in 1896, the Games now include athletes from all countries and principalities, and hundreds of sports including basketball and softball. The Olympics are meant to represent a spirit of international goodwill, sportsmanship and (to a lesser extent) nationalistic pride. Perhaps Dylan is referring to these secular concerns when he dismisses the Olympics.

Ring Them Bells

Ring them bells, Saint Peter, where the four winds blow.

Saint Peter, born Simon, was one of Jesus Christ's apostles in the New Testament; indeed, he is foremost among them and given favored status by Jesus. Peter is the apostle most often adressed by Jesus, and Peter often responds for all twelve. Peter is also called upon to demonstrate his faith, as when Jesus asks him to walk upon the water; and it is Peter who is given a message after the Resurrection. Most importantly (Matthew 16:18) Jesus names Peter and makes him the first Pope: "That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

"The four winds" refers to the entirety of the earth; the phrase is used in Revelation 7:1. "And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree."

Oh, it's rush hour now on the wheel and the plow and the sun is going down upon the sacred cow.

The wheel and plow represent Christianity. Why this is specifically, I am not sure. Perhaps it is because the original missionaries and monks went forth to foreign lands with their faith and labor to bring "the light of civilization and religion" to the poor benighted pagans. The phrase "the cross and plow" is used in early Christian tracts to describe this proselytizing.

The sacred cow, on the other hand, represents Hinduism, though Dylan possibly intended it as a broader euphemism for "pagan" religions in general. In Hindusim, cows are considered quite holy, and they roam the cities and fields of India, accorded as much dignity and respect as any human citizen.

Or, this line might refer to the golden calf formed and worshipped by the Israelites when they felt Moses had been away too long, as described in Exodus 32. [Thanks to Rob Gilbreath]

Ring them bells, Saint Catherine, from the top of the room.

Here, Dylan is exhorting a cathedral, St. Catherine's, to ring its bells. There is a St. Catherine's cathedral in Bethlehem, just outside Jerusalem. This cathedral was built in 1882. There is also a famous St. Catherine located in Mt. Sinai, Edypt. This cathedral, constructed in the early 6th century, is said to be located on the site where Moses met the woman who would become his wife, Zipporah, as well as the site of the "burning bush" where God spoke to Moses (see Exodus, chapter 3). The Greek orthodox monks that reside there today maintain the roots of this plant, as well as relics from St. Catherine. [Thanks to Linda B.]

Historically, there are at least six Saint Catherines. The best known, and the one whose name was taken for the cathedral, is the fourth-century Saint Catherine of Alexandria, who was persecuted by the Roman Emperor Maxentius. She was sentenced to die on the wheel, but, according to legend, the wheel was destroyed at her touch. This miracle merely delayed the inevitable, for she was therefore immediately beheaded.

Romance In Durango

Durango is a state in north central Mexico, as well as the name of its capital city. The song, one assumes, takes place in that state.

No llores, mi querida, Dios nos vigila, soon the horse will take us to Durango. Agarrame, mi vida...

Spanish for "Don't cry my darling; God watches over / protects us... Hold me tight, my life..."

Sad-Eyed Lady Of the Lowlands

According to the song "Sara" (directly below), this song was written for Dylan's then-wife, Sara Lowndes.

The kings of Tyrus with their convict list...

Tyrus, or Tyre, was the most important city of ancient Phoenicia. It is mentioned frequently throughout the Bible as a target of God's wrath. It is now destroyed, but its site is located in present-day Lebanon.

Sara

This object of this song is Dylan's then-wife, Sara Lowndes.

Stayin' up for days in the Chelsea Hotel...

The Chelsea Hotel has a rich musical history. Bob Dylan got married during his three-year stay in the Chelsea Hotel from 1961-64, and his first child Jesse was born there. The singer and poet Leonard Cohen wrote a song simply titled "Chelsea Hotel" about a romance he had there (with Janis Joplin, they say). Joni Mitchell had "Chelsea Morning," BonJovi had a song called "Midnight In Chelsea," and Nico and Andy Warhol had their Chelsea Girls. These last included Viva and Edie Sedgewick.

...writin' "Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" for you.

Saved

By His grace I have been touched.

Although the line reads "touched" and not "saved," the title of the song (not to mention the subsequent lines) make it overwhelmingly obvious that the "Him" in question is Jesus Christ. A standard tenet of Christianity is that humankind is saved from sin by the grace of God, and there are several pssages in the Bible that convey it. To take just one example, Paul's letter to the Ephesians 2:8 says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God."

In Matthew, Jesus is approched by a Roman centurion, who wishes Him to heal his servant, who is sick with palsy at his house. Jesus says He will come to heal the man, but the centurion replies, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed" (8:8). Jesus is pleased with the Roman's faith, and indeed his servant is healed.

By His spirit I've been sealed..

Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians, warning them to stay away from sin, "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." In other words, when you are the Property of Jesus, your misdeeds hurt Him.

I've been saved by the blood of the lamb.

The Lamb is a metaphor for Jesus in the Bible, because he is used as a sacrifice in place of the old animal sacrifices. The lamb has also traditionally been a symbol of innocence. In John 1:29, the appellation is explicit: "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."

The phrase "saved by the lamb," however, comes from the Biblical book of Peter. The apostle Peter writes to various churches to fear God's judgement: "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed [saved] with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Peter 1:18-19).

He bought me with a price..

The "price" refers to Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross to save all mankind from sin, according to the Christian Gospel. The famous sentence from John 3:16 neatly sums up the essence of this faith: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

...freed me from the pit full of emptiness and wrath, and the fire that burns in it.

"The pit" is used often in the Bible to refer to Hell (thus "the fire that burns in it"), as a meteaphor for death without grace, or sometimes (and more simply) for a life on earth without knowing God. "He [the Lord] brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings" (Psalm 40:2, for just one example). Psalms 30:9 asks, "What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?" The mention of dust here implies that "the pit" is an earthly grave, not a fiery hell (though the verse also implies there is something much better than such an earthly grave without God's grace). But in the third chapter of the same verse, the phrase "the pit" implies an eternal place, one for the soul: "O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit."

[Thanks for (nearly) all of this entry to Dan M. (though I alone am to be blamed for any erroneous exegesis).]

Saving Grace

Well, the death of life, then come the resurrection.

A Christian tenet. In the New Testament, "death" is very often used to mean not just the death of the body, but the absence of salvation by God's grace. Likewise, "eternal life" is used not to mean the eternal life of the body with no death, but rather the soul's saved life after corporal death. For example, "And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation" (John 5:29).

The wicked know no peace and you just can't fake it.

Isaiah, the longest prophetic book of the Bible, is the source for this line. Isaiah 48:22 ends a declaration of Israel's pact with God with the line "There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked." And Isaiah 57:21 ends a discourse on God's protection of the righteous with the similar line "There is no peace, saith my God, to [that is, for] the wicked."

There's only one road and it leads to Calvary.

Calvary is the Latin version of the Hebrew name Golgotha; both place-names are derived from words meaning "skull." Calvary was the place where Christ was crucified. The location of Calvary is not known, but it is traditionally held to be within the Church of the Sepulcher in what is now Jerusalem.

Seeing the Real You At Last

Well, I thought that the rain would cool things down, but it looks like it don't.

This line is likely paraphrased from the 1948 John Huston film noir Key Largo, starring Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall and Edward G. Robinson. Robinson speaks this line, mostly to himself, as a hurricane begins to blow.

Alternatively, this line could be taken from Alfred Hitchcock's classic thriller, Rear Window. This 1954 gem starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly has a great script by John Michael Hayes, adapted from a story by pulp writer Cornell Woolrich. In this film, the maid, Stella, says, "I thought the rain would cool things down — all it did was make the heat wet." [Thanks to Daniel L.]

Well, didn't I risk my neck for you? Didn't I take chances?

Again from Key Largo, again spoken by Robinson. Playing a gangster boss, Robinson chastises another gangster for not wanting to brave the storm to meet him: "Didn't I take chances?" he asks on the telephone, and says something about risking his neck as well.

Well, I have had some rotten nights, didn't think that they would pass.

This line is paraphrased from the 1941 John Huston film The Maltese Falcon. Detective Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) says this to his client Brigid O'Shaughnessey (Mary Astor). In this scene, he is explaining to her why he feels obligated to turn her into the police for her crimes, despite what romantic feelings he may have for her. "I'll have some rotten nights after I've sent you over," he muses, "but that'll pass." It is only at this final scene that Spade sees the real Brigit — a dangerous user of people — at last.

Well, I sailed through the storm strapped to the mast.

At first brush, this line recalls a famous moment in Homer's Odyssey. In Book 12, sailing past the dangerous sirens, whose song calls sailors to their death, Odysseus (in Latin, Ulysses) has himself strapped to his ship's mast so that he may hear their song without jumping overboard, while the crew prefers to pass the dangers by using the less melodramatic precaution of stopping their ears up with wax.

However, the line does not explicitly refer to Homer, and there are many historical and literary sources in which people undergo a literal storm while strapped to ship's mast. For example, this is commonly said of the painter Joseph Turner (so he could paint a ship in a storm more realistically).

You could ride like Annie Oakley, you could shoot like Belle Starr.

Annie Oakley (Phoebe Moses, 1860-1926), aka "Little Miss Sure Shot," was an expert sharp shooter who participated in many exhibitions, coming to fame with Buffalo Bill and his travelling Wild West Side Show.

Belle Starr (Myra Belle Shirley, 1848-1889) was an outlaw based in Oklahoma.

Well, I don't mind a reasonable amount of trouble...

This line is also taken from the 1941 John Huston film The Maltese Falcon. Again, Bogart is speaking to his client, after she apologizes for putting him through trouble on her account.

Senor (Tales Of Yankee Power)

Senor, senor, can you tell me where we headin', Lincoln County Road or Armageddon?

Although there are many "Lincoln County Roads" that Dylan could be referring to, I am willing to go out on a limb and point to something else. The Lincioln County War took place in the 1870s in what was the New Mexico Territory (before it was a state). It was a very complex affair; here is a stripped-down synopsis of it. One James J. Dolan, a corrupt marketeer, sold goods to farmers at exorbitant prices and bought their crops at low cost. He also sold poor-quality goods to the US Government. He had the support of the local court, the sherrif and even the US District Magistrate. He was challenged by an Englishman who wanted to start a business in New Mexico, John Tunstall, and a local lawyer, Alexander McSween. Both of the latter were shot down in cold blood by hired killers. McSween's men (among whom was Billy the Kid) tried to avenge both Tunstall and McSween, and did kill the corrupt sherrif. It is a story of a losing battle against corruption and greed up to the highest levels of what were supposed to be representatives of law and order. The "road" in this case would then be a metaphorical one leading to conflict.

Armageddon is the end of the world as phrophesied in the book of Revelations of the New Testament.

Shelter From the Storm

'Twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood.

On May 10, 1940, Winston Churchill became Prime Minister of England. When he met his Cabinet on May 13, he stated, referring to the Second World War that had recently been declared against the Nazi menace, that "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat." (Of course few would claim that this probably personal and semi-autobiographical song is set in an era before Dylan was born, but the quotation is worth mentioning, at least. It may well be a deliberate reference to evoke a tone.)

She walked up to me so gracefully and took my crown of thorns.

"Crown of thorns" refers to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. In addition flaying Him and nailing Him to the cross, "they had platted a crown of thorns, [and] they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!" (Matthew 27:29).

In a little hilltop village, they gambled for my clothes; I bargained for salvation and she gave me a lethal dose. I offered up my innocence and got repaid with scorn.

As outlined in Matthew 27:35 and other passages, Christ was crucified on the hilltop of Golgotha, and the Roman soldiers gambled for His clothes. The rest of the lines of the verse could conceivably be Christ's words (as Christ offered His innocence to save the world), or at least a Christ-like figure's words.

Shot Of Love

Doctor, can you hear me? I need some Medicaid.

Medicaid is a government-run insurance program for the poor in the United States. It was created on July 30, 1965. and is funded by both state and federal budgets.

...mocked my God, humiliated my friends.

This refers to the torment of Jesus (the Passion of Christ) documented in the Gospels. "And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again" (Matthew 10:34). There are other instances in the Bible of man mocking God (for example Job 13:7-9, "Will ye speak wickedly for God? and talk deceitfully for him? Will ye accept his person? will ye contend for God? Is it good that he should search you out? or as one man mocketh another, do ye so mock him?"), but the Gospel reference seems most likely.

Sign Language

Link Wray was playin' on a jukebox.

Link Wray is a blistering rock & roll guitarist best known for his hits "Jack the Ripper" and "Rumble" (1958). He helped pioneer the distorted, menacing, crunchy guitar sound of early rockabilly / rock & roll.

Solid Rock

Well, I'm hangin' on to a solid rock...

The rock is a religious allegory. It could stand for the teachings of Christ in general. In Matthew 7:24, Jesus says during his Sermon on the Mount, "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock."

It could also represent the church founded by Jesus, which by tradition is the direct antecedent of the Catholic Church. In Matthew 16:17-18, Jesus renames his disciple Simon "Peter," meaning "rock," proclaiming him the first representative of Jesus. "And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." The Catholic Church, taking this to mean that Peter was the first Pope, thus claims a direct line of succession of authority from Jesus to the present day.

Finally, the rock could be, more simply, a metaphor for faith in God. "Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved" (Psalms 62:1-2).

...made before the foundation of the world.

This implies that the rock is Christ or His teachings. "Who [Christ] verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you" (1 Peter 1:20).

For me He was chastised...

In Isaiah, a description of the Messiah to come foretells that such a one will be punished and chastised for mankind’s sins. "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed" (53:5).

...for me He was hated.

The "He" in question is obviously Jesus, hated, scorned and killed on behalf of the sins of all. Jesus says in John 15:18, "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you." Also 15:24-25, "If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.”

For me He was rejected by a world that He created.

Again, all these qualities are the necessary ones for the Messiah according to both Jewish and Christian law. "He is [that is, will be] despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not” (Isaiah 53:3). Jesus also told His disciples "that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again" (Mark 8:31).

Nations are angry, cursed are some.

In the book of Revelation, twenty-four elders (representing angels, or the church on earth), address God, praising Him and predicting the last days, saying, "And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth" (11:18). So the "some" that are (or will be) cursed would be those who do not worship and fear God.

People are expecting a false peace to come.

Someone's Got a Hold Of My Heart

They say "Eat, drink and be merry, take the bull by the horns."

From Luke 12:19. "And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, [and] be merry." This is what a rich man who plans on living a life on hedonism says to himself in one of Jesus' parables. The chronicle goes on (12:20) to record God's reply to the man: "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?" The moral of the story is, Jesus explains, "Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment." (12:22-23)

I keep seeing visions of you, a lily among thorns.

This is taken from the Boblical book of the Song Of Solomon, a secular series of love poems. "As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters" (2:2).

I can hear that hot-blooded singer on the bandstand croon, "Poison Love," "Red Roses For a Blue Lady" and "Memphis in June."

"Poison Love" is a song written in 1950 by Elmer Laird, performed by (among others) bluegrass legends Bill Monroe, Ralph Stanley and Johnnie & Jack, as well as rock pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis. Dylan is an acknowledged fan of at least the first three artists, having performed their songs in concerts, as well as lending his talents to a Ralph Stanley album.

"Red Roses For a Blue Lady" is a song written around 1948 by Roy C. Bennett (apparently, a.k.a. Roy Brodsky) and Sid Tepper. It was recorded by Guy Lombardo, Wayne Newton, Elvis Presley, and Frank Sinatra, among others.

"Memphis In June" was written by Hoagy Carmichael and Paul Francis Webster in 1945. It was performed by Carmichael himself, and later covered by Nina Simone and others. Dylan likes the oldies but goodies.

I been to Babylon...

Babylon is the ancient city-state of Mesopotamia, situated on the Euphrates River. It flourished around 3000 BC. Its gardens were considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Under the king Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon made war on Jerusalem and enslaved the ancient Hebrews. The city became a watchword for sensual, hedonistic living among the ancient Jews, and the name continues to be used today, especially among fundamentalist Christians, for any perceived den of ininquity (for example, Hollywood, the modern Babylon).

I can still hear that voice crying in the wilderness.

This is from John 1:23. When "priests and Levites" stop John the apostle and ask if he is the Messiah, he replies that he is not the Christ, but "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,' as said the prophet Esaias." John is likening the world he inhabits to a wilderness (of sin? of ignorance?), with a lone voice calling for order and redemption.

Song To Woody

Hey hey, Woody Guthrie, I wrote you a song...

The title figure is, of course, Woody Guthrie (1912-1967), folksinger, songwriter and poet, who is widely considered as (and admitted to be by Dylan) Dylan's first hero and earliest musical influence. His poem "Last Thoughts On Woody Guthrie" goes so far as to liken Guthrie's art with the beauty God created in the Grand Canyon.

Here's to Cisco and Sonny and Leadbelly too...

Leadbelly (Huddie Ledbetter, 1885-1949) was a black blues and folk singer-songwriter.

Cisco Houston was a traveling companion and harmony vocalist for Woody Guthrie. He recorded several albums' worth of folk tunes, railroad ballads and Guthrie songs. He died of cancer in 1961.

Sonny Terry (1911-1986) was a traditional "field-blues" musician most famous for his work with Brownie McGhee.

The very last thing that I'd want to do is to say I've been hittin' some hard travelin' too.

"Hard Travelin'" is the title of a song by Woody Guthrie. Narrated by a poor working man, it tells of a life of nothing but blistering labor and little reward ("I been a-workin' that red-hot slag, way down the road. I been a-blastin', I been a-firin', I been a-duckin' red-hot iron, I been a-havin' some hard travelin', Lord").

Stuck Inside Of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again

Mobile is a city in Alabama, while Memphis is a city in Tennessee. At the time of the song's writing, the two cities possibly evoked most emphatically issues of segregation and civil rights, and the birth of rock and roll (home of Elvis Presley and Sun Studios), respectively.

Well, Shakespeare, he's in the alley with his pointed shoes and his bells...

William Shakespeare (1564-1616), the English dramatist / poet / actor born in Stratford-on-Avon, of course. He is considered the greatest playwright who ever lived, having "Hamlet," "Romeo And Juliet," "Macbeth," "Othello" and many others to his credit. The "pointed shoes and bells" refer to a jester's costume of the Elizabethan period; Shakespeare, while not a jester, was an entertainer, so perhaps that is what Dylan alludes to.

Summer Days

She says, "You can't repeat the past." I say, "You can't? What do you mean, you can't? Of course you can."

This is lifted from F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel, The Great Gatsby. In chapter six, the narrator, Nick Carraway, says to the confident extrovert Jay Gatsby, "'You can't repeat the past.' 'Can't repeat the past?' he cried incredulously. 'Why of course you can!'"

Sweetheart Like You

They say in your father's house there's many mansions...

John 14:1-2 says "...believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house [in the broad sense, meaning property or estate] are many mansions [or, in some translations, rooms]."

T.V. Talkin' Song

Sometimes you got to do like Elvis did and blow the damn thing out.

In an infamous incident, Elvis Presley (1935-77), the rock & roll singer, did indeed shoot his television. He didn't like the performer on at the time.

Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues

The John Birch Society, whose extreme right wing tenets this song unmercifully lampoons, was founded in 1958 by one Robert Welch, a candy maker. (John Birch was a missionary in China who became an intellgence agent for the U.S.) The Society saw the dire threat of collectivist thought everywhere, and spent its time trying to ferret out Communism in anything that hinted of liberalism, including the highest reaches of the U.S. government.

Now Eisenhower, he's a Russian spy...

Dwight David Eisenhower was thirty-fourth president of the USA, 1953-1961. He presided over the signing of the truce ending the Korean War, and tried to broaden relations with Russia in the name of understanding and peace. He also spearheaded desegregation of public schools and the U.S. Army. What a pinko!

To my knowledge there's just one man who's really and truly American: George Lincoln Rockwell. I know for a fact he hates Commies, 'cause he picketed the movie "Exodus"!

George Lincoln Rockwell was the founder and leader of the American Nazi Party in the '60s. The less press given to this racist scumhole, the better, I feel.

Exodus is a 1960 film directed by Otto Preminger. Starring Paul Newman, it recounts the story of Israel's formation and the wars with neighboring Arab states that followed.

Talking New York

I landed up on the downtown side, Greenwich Village.

Greenwich Village is a residential section of the borough of Manhattan, New York City, between West 14th Street on the north, Broadway on the east, Houston Street and the Hudson River. Around 1910 or so, Greenwich Village began to attract artists, writers, actors, and political theorists from all around the U.S.

Now, a very great man once said that some people rob you with a fountain pen.

In his song "Pretty Boy Floyd" (which was covered brilliantly by Dylan on Columbia Records' Folkways: A Vision Shared), Woody Guthrie sings: "Yes it's through this world I've wandered, I've seen lots of funny men. Some will rob you with a six-gun and some with a fountain pen."

Howdy, East Orange.

East Orange is a residential suburb of Newark, New Jersey.

Talking World War III Blues

Some time ago a crazy dream came to me. I dreamt I was walkin' into World War Three.

World War III was not an historical event. However, it was a very real possibility to those brought up, as Dylan was, during the Cold War (tensions between the U.S. and the no-longer-extant Soviet Union). At the time of the song's release, 1963, the possibility of a devastating nuclear war between those two superpowers was at least a consideration in American foreign policy, and the idea permeated the American culture --- and, for all I know, the Soviet culture as well, but I can't speak for that. For example, American schoolchildren were taught to "duck and cover" under their desks in the event of a warning siren. Yes, this would not protect them at all.

Well, I spied a girl and before she could leave, I said "Let's go and play Adam and Eve."

This refers to the creation story recounted in the Biblical book of Genesis: Adam and Eve are the first man and woman, respectively, on Earth. In Genesis 1:27, "God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." In Genesis 2:21-25, however, we are told that God created the first woman later, after Adam has named all the animals: "And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof. And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." Genesis 3:20 names her: "And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living."

Thus, the narrator is suggesting that he, the (nearly) last man, and she, the (possibly) last woman on Earth after this devestating war, should repopulate the now empty planet.

Well, I remember seein' some ad, so I turned on my Conelrad. But I didn't pay my Con Ed bill so the radio didn't work so well.

Conelrad, standing for CONtrol of ELectromagnetic RADiation, was an alternate radio system devised during or after World War II by Civil Defense authorities, designed to prevent enemy planes from zeroing in on radio frequencies.

Con Ed, or Consolidated Edison, is an electric company.

Half of the people can be part right all of the time. Some of the people can be all right part of the time. But all the people can't be all right all the time. I think Abraham Lincoln said that.

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) was the sixtenth president of the United States, most widely known for signing the Emancipation Proclamation whcih freed the slaves, presiding over the Civil War, and being assassinated.

According to Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, the remark usually attributed to him (without solid textual evidence) is: "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time."

Tangled Up In Blue

I lived with them on Montague Street...

Montague Street is a primary commercial street in Brooklyn Heights, a lovely tree-lined area along the water across from Manhattan with cafes, apartments, etc.; as a stretch, one might draw a parallel to Greenwich Village or San Fransisco's Haight Ashbury in the '60s. [Thanks to DRW, from whom I took this info verbatim]

Also, since "Tangled" is the tale of star-crossed lovers, it makes sense to mention William Shakespeare's "Romeo And Juliet." In this play, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet are the original thwarted lovers, unable to proclaim their love openly because their families are in a feud. [Thanks to Anonymous]

She opened up a book of poems and handed it to me, written by an Italian poet from the thirteenth century.

A lot of people seem to disagree with the following, but until I'm convinced otherwise, this refers to Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), author of The Divine Comedy.

The book of poems in question, however, is likely not that epic work, but the lesser-known La Vita Nuova ("The New Life"). This is a collection of love poems Dante published before his exile and before the Divine Comedy. The collection primarily concerns Dante's constant muse Beatrice, whom he loved from afar (she is also Dante's object of adoration, goal and savior in The Divine Comedy). The beginning poems speak of the virtues and wonders of his muse and of love, but by the end they reflect the grief he feels for her death. He and Beatrice both married others, and her subsequent death at a young age removed any chance at love. Her presence, naturally enough, can be felt through the all of Dante's work. So, Dylan references a book about star crossed lovers in a song about star crossed lovers. Pretty neat, eh? [Much thanks to Russell J., from whom I got this info and even most of the wording!]

Temporary Like Achilles

Achilles is the tremendously skilled, almost invulnerable warrior of Greek mythology. The phrase "temporary like Achilles", then, contains a startling juxtaposition, although Achilles did in fact turn out to be as temporary as the rest of his fellow soldiers, killed by a divinely guided arrow from his enemy Paris.

Achilles is in your alleyway... And he's hungry, like a man in drag.

The "in drag" line could refer to the myth (cited in Robert Graves' The Greek Myths, chapter 160) that Achilles' mother, trying to keep him from the Trojan War, made him (despite his own feelings on the matter) dress as a woman and hide in a convent. Could "hungry" mean here, given that reading, "hungry for battle"?

Things Have Changed

I've been walking forty miles of bad road.

"Forty Miles Of Bad Road" is a twangy instrumental performed by guitar legend Duane Eddy (and co-written by him with Al Casey). It was a Top ten hit in 1959.

Tight Connection To My Heart

Madame Butterfly, she lulled me to sleep in a town without pity where still waters run deep.

Madame Butterfly is an opera by Giacomo Puccini, based on a play of the same name by John Luther Long. Originally produced in 1904, the opera tells the story of an American lieutenant named Pinkerton who marries a young geisha girl in Japan. Pinkerton doesn't take the marriage very seriously, and when he leaves Japan it's to settle down with an American girl, leaving poor Butterfly with his child and her shame. She kills herself at the end.

The Times They Are A-Changin'

The order is rapidly fadin', and the first one now will later be last.

This is from the Gospel of Mark, 10:31. "But many that are first shall be last; and the last first." Jesus is instructing his disciples that riches in this life mean nothing in the kingdom of Heaven, while those that give up family and lands will be rewarded "an hundredfold" and "come to eternal life."

Tombstone Blues

The city fathers they are trying to endorse the reincarnation of Paul Revere's horse, but the town has no need to be nervous.

Paul Revere was, of course, the American militiaman and silversmith known for running from Boston to Concord on April 18, 1775, in order to warn the colonials that "The British are coming." The ride was celebrated and exaggerated in Henry Wordsworth Longfellow's poem "Paul Revere's Ride." It seems fairly clear, then, that "the city fathers" are trying to spook the people, though there's no real reason for them to worry.

The ghost of Belle Starr, she hands down her wits...

Belle Starr (Myra Belle Shirley, 1848-1889) was an outlaw based in Oklahoma.

...to Jezebel the nun she violently knits...

In the Bible there are two Jezebels. One, whose story is in 1 Kings, was a Tyrian princess who was an opponent of the prophet Elijah. She was responsible for the murder of a citizen and introduced the worship of foreign gods and was thus despised by the Jews. The other Jezebel is mentioned in Revelations 2:20 as a corrupting prophetess. Neither Jezebel could be called a nun without irony.

...a bald wig for Jack the Ripper who sits at the head of Chamber of Commerce.

Jack the Ripper was a serial killer who murdered at least seven protstitutes in London during the 19th century. He was never caught and his true identity never revealed.

Well, John the Baptist after torturing a thief...

John the Baptist was the precursor to Jesus Christ, who preached His coming. He is introduced in Matthew 3 and Mark 1, among others. He proclaimed that he was not good enough to carry Jesus' sandals and protested when Jesus asked him to baptize Him.

The King of the Philistines, his soldiers to save, puts jawbones on their tombstones....

The Philistines were a tribe of Palestine that may have originated in Crete. They warred with the kings of Israel until David defeated them, and they lived under Solomon's rule. See, for example, the book of I Samuel. Goliath was a Philistine.

The word "jawbones" refers to an incident told in Judges 15:15-16, wherein Samson slays a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of an ass. See the Samson reference below.

...puts the Pied Pipers in prison...

"The Pied Piper of Hamelin" is a poem/tale by Robert Browning based on an old legend in which a stranger literally pipes, with a flute, all the rats out of the German town of Hamelin. When the people cannot or do not pay him, the Piper takes his revenge by piping out all the children of the town, to be lost forever. The legend has its basis in the rat plague of 1284 in Hamelin, or Hameln.

...with a fantastic collection of stamps to win friends and influence his uncle.

The last line of this verse is a sly reference to the 1936 book How To Win Friends And Influence People, by Dale Carnegie (1888-1955), which was an enormous best-seller. I personally have always thought that by "his Uncle" Dylan means Uncle Sam.

The geometry of innocent flesh on the bone causes Galileo's math book to get thrown...

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was primarily a physicist (he discovered the law of falling bodies) and astronomer (he pioneered the use of the telescope and discovered sunspots), but he was, in 1589, a math professor at Pisa.

...at Delilah who sits worthlessly alone, but the tears on her cheeks are from laughter.

Delilah was the mistress of Samson as outlined in the book of Judges. It was she who beguiled Samson into revealing the secret for his strength, then betrayed him to the Phillistines.

I wish I could give Brother Bill his great thrill; I would set him in chains at the top of the hill, then send out for some pillars and Cecil B. DeMille — he could die happily ever after.

A reference to the movie Samson and Delilah (1949), directed by Cecil DeMille, based on the Biblical account of same from Judges. At the climax of the movie, the blinded & bound Samson topples the pillars of the temple he is in, killing himself and everyone around him.

As for what Brother Bill's "thrill" is in this context, I'm not sure. "Brother Bill" is the title of a traditional gospel number recorded by the Golden Gate Quartet and a few other World War II-era vocal groups. It is also the title of Louis Armstrong song. [Thanks much to Rafael]

Where Ma Rainey and Beethoven once unwrapped their bed roll...

Ma Rainey (1886-1939) was one of the most famous of early women blues singers.

Ludwig von Beethoven (1770-1827) was, of course, the German composer, considered by many to be one of the most brilliant musical minds in history.

...Tryin' to get to heaven before they close the door.

See Luke 13:23-25. When Jesus is asked a question on the difficulties of being saved, he replies, "Many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in [Heaven], and shall not be able." Jesus then goes on to compare Heaven for the unworthy to a household that has been locked up for the night: "When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not."

When I was in Missouri, they would not let me be. I had to get out of there in a hurry; I only saw what they let me see.

Missouri is a midwestern state in the United States of America. It was admitted to the Union in 1821. Historically, it was known as "a gateway to the west," because slaves fleeing the south often travelled through Missouri to the north and freedom. During the Civil War, Missouri was split between Confederates and loyalists.

Considering the lines about "seeing what they let me see," it might be of help to know that the state's nickname is the "Show-Me State." This nickname is said to refer to Missourans' reputation as a skeptical people who rely only on proof, not the words of outsiders, to consider something.

People on the platforms waiting for the trains; I can hear their hearts a-beatin', like pendulums swinging on chains.

Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum

Tweedledum and Tweedledee (in the original spelling) are best known as characters in Through the Looking Glass (the sequel to Alice's Adventures In Wonderland), by Lewis Carroll. They are described as "two [identical] little fat men" looking like "a couple of great schoolboys." In Chapter IV, Alice meets the two in a dark wood, and after the usual Carrollian puns, nonsense and non sequiturs, Tweedledee recites to her the humorous poem "The Walrus And the Carpenter." They then tell Alice she is only a dream of the Red King, and if he wakes up, she'll "go out like a candle." Afterwards, they argue over a broken rattle and are about to come to blows over the matter when they are both scared off by a crow. They are, in short, rather childish, contentious, stubborn and cowardly.

It may be noted that Tweedledum and Tweedledee are originally characters in an old nursery rhyme, not inventions of Carroll's. He quotes the nursery rhyme in Chapter IV. The two characters first appeared in print in a 17th century poem by one John Byrom (not Byron). From the first, they were meant to lampoon two contrary parties.

Living in the Land of Nod...

The land of Nod is from Genesis (4:16). After Cain slew his brother Abel, jealous of God having favored the latter, the murderer was expelled from Eden, the Garden of Paradise. "And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden." In this context, "land of Nod" is usually translated as "the place of wandering, or exile." (Note the similarity in the imagery: two sets of feuding brothers.)

The English satirist Jonathan Swift used "the land of Nod" as a pun to mean "sleep" (since we "nod" off to sleep. Though the phrase is commonly used this way today, I think the original meaning has more weight here.

They're taking a streetcar named Desire.

"A Streetcar Named Desire" is a 1947 play by American playwright Tennessee Williams. In it, Blanche, a faded Southern belle down on her luck, comes to live in New Orleans with her sister Stella and Stella's brutish husband, Stanley. Already slightly unhinged, Blanche is driven insane by Stanley's loutish ways and New Orleans' more permissive atmosphere.

Some say that the streetcar was named "Desire" because in New Orleans, streetcars had French names, and Blanche is misreading the French name Desiré (pronounced with a long A sound at the end) for the English word. Regardless, the streetcar is heavy with symbolism: Blanche must stay with desire only a short time (the ride is brief) and she may not return to what she desires, as she has no way to obtain a return ticket.

"His Master's voice is calling me," says Tweedley-Dum to Tweedley-Dee.

"His Master's Voice" is a longtime trademark of the record company RCA. Based on an 1898 painting titled "Dog looking at and listening to phonograph," the logo depicts exactly that: a small brown and white dog peering, bemused, into the large horn of a phonograph. The Gramophone Company (later named HMV, after "His Master's Voice") originally owned the picture and caption; they were later inherited by the recording companies Victor and RCA.

Presumably, the point of the logo and caption, other than simply being a cute picture of a phonograph, was that the sound quality was so authentic, even a dog could be fooled into thinking he was hearing his master's voice.

They're like babies sittin' on a woman's knee...

I have already referred to the earlier mention in Through the Looking Glass of the two twins looking like "great schoolboys." Clearly, T & T are meant to be jeuvenile.

A possible conection is further on in Looking Glass In Chapter VI, Alice comes upon a Duchess who is nursing a baby on her lap. The baby cries and sneezes constantly (due, it must be said, to very rough treatment by the Duchess), and when Alice is tossed the baby to hold, it turns into a pig and runs off. If Dylan means for T & T to be objects of derision, this imagery might apply.

Tweeter And the Monkey Man

This song is part good natured parody, part sly homage to rock singer Bruce Springsteen's work, especially from the 1982 Nebraska album. Among the Springsteen song titles dropped and referred to in this comedic tale of outlaw adventure are: "Monkey Man," "Stolen Car," "Highway 99" (not a song title, but refers to the song "Johnny 99"), "Mansion On the Hill," "Thunder Road," "Jersey Girl" (actually written by Tom Waits, but performed by Springsteen), and "State Trooper."

2 x 2

Two by two, into the foggy dew.

"The Foggy Dew" is the name of several songs, at least three of which are Celtic in origin. One version was written around 1919 by one Charles O'Neill, a priest. Its lyrics commemorate the 1916 Easter Uprising and look with pride at Irish rebels who fight on Irish soil rather than in wars for the English. Another song with the name "Foggy Dew" is the tale of a man reunited with his love. This is a standard from at least the 18th century. A third, completely different "Foggy Dew" is a simple tale of a man who meets a maid with jet-black hair and marries her ("Oh, in my arms, all of her charms / Were casted in the foggy dew").

Two by two, they stepped into the ark...

This refers to the account of the flood in Genesis, in which Noah is instructed by God to build an ark for himself and all the beatss of the earth. They shelter inside it while everything else is washed away. Genesis 7:8-9 says "Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, there went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah."

Under the Red Sky

There was a little boy and there was a little girl and they lived in an alley under the red sky.

The "red sky" image comes from the Gospel of Matthew. "The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired [Jesus] that he would shew them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?" (16:1-3). Jesus is using the color of the sky, a meteorological clue, as an analogy; the redness here doesn't necessarily foretell anything apocalyptic or spiritual.

This is the key to the kingdom and this is the town.

This is also from Matthew. When Jesus renames his disciple (formerly known as Simon) Peter and tells him he is the bedrock upon which Jesus will found His church, he adds, "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." In other words, Jesus is investing Peter with direct authority from God. This passage is used by Catholics as evidence for the Pope's infallibility as human representative of God on Earth.

This is the blind horse that leads you around.

This is possibly a reference to a line in the Biblical book of Zechariah, 12:4. "In that day [when Jerusalem conquers her enemies, specifically Judah], saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness."

Under Your Spell

Maybe next time I'll let the dead bury the dead.

Matthew 8:21-22. "And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead." (The same line is also in Luke.)

Up To Me

It was like a revelation when you betrayed me with your touch.

In John 22:48 (and others), the disciple Judas betrays Christ with a kiss.

Walls Of Red Wing

Although based on a real jeuvenile detention center in Minnesota, the "walls" of Red Wing are purely metaphorical. Apparently there are no walls, no barbed wire, and no electric fence.

Some of us'll end up in St. Cloud Prison...

St. Cloud is a city in Minnesota.

Went To See the Gypsy

This song (released in 1970), ostensibly about a brief glimpse of a "gypsy" in a hotel, is said to refer to Dylan's brief (or perhaps only attempted) meeting with the hugley influential rock and roll singer Elvis Presley (1935-1977). A few lyrical clues lend this interpretation weight.

Went to see the gypsy, stayin' in a big hotel.

If the gypsy is indeed Presley, he would be at a big hotel because he is on tour.

Go on back to see the gypsy. He can move you from the rear...

I might be reaching a bit here, but again, if this is meant to describe Elvis, it might be a reference to his catchy, danceable songs. He was known as "Elvis the Pelvis" for his then-daring style of dancing which involved gyrating the hips and legs. So he would be moving his listeners to dance.

He did it in Las Vegas and he can do it here.

Las Vegas, largest city in the state of Nevada (immediate population 520,000), is a booming tourist town, known primarily for its gambling industry (it's pretty much only casinos and houses for the casino workers). It's also well-known for the great numbers of musical and other entertainment acts who perform there regularly.

Elvis made his big 1969 comeback at what was then known as the International Hotel (it is now the Las Vegas Hilton). When he was on tour in Vegas, of course, Elvis would live at a "big hotel."

So I watched that sun come rising from that little Minnesota town.

Minnesota is a central U.S. state that borders Canada. Bob Dylan was born in Hibbing, Minnesota, but it is impossible to say with any certainty which "little" town is meant here, if one is at all. It is also difficult, in my opinion, to say whether the narrator is in Las Vegas, watching the sun come rising from the east and imagining it is rising from (his roots in?) Minnesota; or if he is in the town itself and watching the sun rise there. It seems to be that if it were the latter, the narrator would say the sun was rising in the town rather than from it. I also think it not too likely that the gypsy, whoever he is, would be staying at a "big hotel" in a "little Minnesota town." Still, as with so many of Dylan's writings, it would be hard to nail this down.

This project's scope does not normally include figurative readings, as their variety is infinite. But the following is so lyrically apt that it bears thinking about. Perhaps the "sun" rising out of a little Minnesota town is Dylan himself, coming out of Hibbing to superstardom. Perhaps Dylan is eclipsiing Presley's own star; this interpolation is given weight by the preceding line "The gypsy's door was open wide but the gypsy was gone." (The objection to this interpretation is that Presley's star was by no means diminished in 1970; as mentioned above, he had just made a big comeback special. Still, it's an interesting possibility.) [Thanks to Chris McC.]

What Can I Do For You?

Pulled me out of bondage...

This likely refers to the Jewish escape from slavery in Egypt under the guidance and direction of God, as detailed in the book of Exodus.

Opened up a door no man can shut and You opened it up so wide...

This likely is derived from the well-known line in Matthew 7:7-8, which is part of Jesus' sermon on the mount: "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."

And You've chosen me to be among the few.

This is another oft-quoted line from Matthew (22:14): "For many are called, but few are chosen." Here, Jesus concludes a parable the moral of which is that a place in heaven must be earned through obedience to God's laws: just as, if you scoff at an invitation to a party, you will not share in the feast, so will you be denied heaven if you do not heed God's call.

You have laid down Your life for me.

This is clearly addressed to Jesus, God's Son in Earth, who died for man's sins, as recounted in all four Gospels. As John 3:16 famously puts it, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (This is therefore also the source for the "Who would deliver him from the death he's bound to die?" a few lines later in the song.)

Soon as a man is born, you know the sparks begin to fly. He gets wise in his own eyes and he's made to believe a lie.

Proverbs 3:7 warns, "Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil."

Got to hurry on back to my hotel room where I've got me a date with Botticelli's niece.

Sandro Botticelli (born Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi, c. 1444-1510) was a Renaissance painter from Florence. Supported by the wealthy Medici family as well as Pope Sixtus IV, he helped decorate the Sistine Chapel, illustrated Dante's Divine Comedy and painted a series of mythological scenes with celebrate human rationality and beauty. He was celebrated especially for his vibrant use of color.

Oh, the hours I've spent inside the Coliseum, dodging lions and wastin' time.

The Coliseum, or Colosseum, is the modern name for the Flavian Amphitheater in Rome. It was built around 75-80 AD. It's the site of many gladiatorial battles and Christians and other slaves being thrown to the lions to be devoured.

I left Rome and landed in Brussels...

Brussels is the capital of Belgium. It is known for its beer and mussels. Which is why the line...

Clergymen in uniform and young girls pullin' mussels...

...Is about girls preparing seafood rather than injuring themselves ("pulling muscles"). At least I say so.

When the Ship Comes In

And like Pharoah's tribe they'll be drownded in the tide...

In Exodus 14:21-29, God allows Moses to raise his hand to move the sea back so he and his people can cross it to flee the army of the Egyptian Pharoah, their former master. When the Egyptian army tries to cross as well, God has Moses drive the water back again, flooding the entire host.

...and like Goliath, they'll be conquered.

In I Samuel 17, the Israelite David, then a shepherd and later king, defeats the Philistines' champion, the giant Goliath. Armed only with a simple singstone (and God's mandate), he kills the great warrior.

Where Are You Tonight? (Journey Through Dark Heat)

There's a neon light ablaze in this green smoky haze, laughter down on Elizabeth Street.

I don't think there's enough textual evidence in the song to determine what Elizabeth Street Dylan means here.

A full-blooded Cherokee, he predicted to me the time and the place that we'd part.

The Cherokee are the largest Native American population in the United States (with an estimated population of about 350,000). They formerly occupied the southeast states: what is now the Carolinas, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia. They were a powerful force that warred frequently with the Iroquois Indians, but Eurpean smallpox and American military harassment (their lands were rich in gold) cut their numbers and power. Many Cherokee now live in Oklahoma, their ancestors having been forcibly moved there by the U.S. government.

I left town at dawn with Marcel and St. John, strong men belittled by doubt.

This line is obscure to me. I believe that the narrator is leaving with books --- possibly the Gospel of St. John, one of the books of the Bible's New Testament, and possibly something written by the French author Marcel Proust (1871-1922). The Proust link is the strongest, as his best-known work, A la recherche du temps perdu (Rememberance Of Things Past), is a semi-autobiographical cycle whose themes include human suffering through desire, and the subjugation of human will to time and memory. The Gospel of John is a tougher sell, as, if anything, it is Peter and Thomas who are tormented by doubt, not John, the "most beloved" of Jesus' disciples. However, commentators have used the words of the Gospel of John as a comfort against doubt (see, for example, especially the beginning of John 14).

She could feel my despair as I climbed up her hair and discovered her invisible self.

This is a reference to the fairy tale of Rapunzel, known best to us through the Grimm brothers (19th-century German folklorists), but dating back to 17th century French legends or earlier. In this tale, a witch, or an overly-protective father, locks up the beautiful Rapunzel in a high, narrow tower. She, however, grows her hair extremely long, and when a rider comes to the tower and is smitten with her, he is able to climb up her hair to her. (How do they both get down afterwards?)

Where Teardrops Fall

We banged the drum slowly and played the fife lowly — you know the song in my heart.

This line is from an old traditional tune, "(The Streets Of) Laredo," in which a cowboy, shot and mortally wounded, outlines his funeral plans to another passing cowboy. The song often contains the lines "Beat the drum slowly and play the fife lowly / Play the dead march as you carry me along" and "Beat the drum slowly and play the fife lowly / For I'm a young cowboy, I know I've done wrong." So the song in Dylan's heart that he refers to may well be this one.

The Wicked Messenger

There was a wicked messenger, from Eli he did come...

This probably refers to 1 Samuel 1:4. Eli was a high priest and judge. He was the educator of Samuel. His sons, however, were wicked. 1 Samuel 2:12 says "Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the Lord."

It is worth noting, possibly, that the phrase "wicked messenger" can be found in the Bible, Proverbs 13:17. "A wicked messenger falleth into mischief: but a faithful ambassador is health."

It is also worth noting, possibly, that Ely is a tourist and logging town in northeastern Minnesota (Dylan's home state). However, the approximately 3,800 residents pronounce the name of their town to rhyme with "steely," so it's hardly likely that Ely MN is what Dylan had in mind as a locale. On the other hand, you never know. [Thanks to Matt P.]

Now the leaves began to falling and the seas began to part...

The mention of seas parting can lead nowhere but to Exodus chapter 14, wherein Moses leads the Israelites out of Egypt across the Red Sea, pursued by the Pharoah's men. God allows Moses to cause the sea to be parted so the Israelites can cross, but closes the water again upon the following Egyptians.

With God On Our Side

Oh the Spanish-American War had its day...

The Spanish-American War (April-July 1898) was sparked by the sinking of the USS Maine, docked in Havana. There is controvery over how the ship was sunk, but the U.S. plunged into war, with the result that Spain's previous control in the America's was sharply decreased. The US gained several new possessions in the Caribbean and the Pacific, including Cuba (which it later "lost" again).

...and the Civil War too was soon laid away.

The American Civil War, or The War Between the States (1861-1865), was the bloodiest in U.S. history in terms of total American casualties. It was set off by the Southern states' rejection of the abolition of slavery, and the newsly formed Confederate States of America declared war on the United Sates.

The First World War, boys, it came and it went. The reason for fighting I never did get.

Word War I (1914-1918) was the first true global war (though America did not join until late 1916). It was caused in part by the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand by a Serbian anarchist.

When the Second World War came to an end...

World War Two, another global conflict, lasted from 1939, when Germany invaded Poland, prompting England and France to declare war on Germany, to 1945, when the Japanese surrendered to the U.S. after two atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Though they [the Germans] murdered six million, in the ovens they fried...

During World War II, the Nazi Party undertook a massive attempt at genocide of the Jewish people. In this campaign, called the Final Solution and later the Holocaust, an estimated 6,000,000 Jews were killed, many burned alive in ovens. Others were gassed, buried alive, or simply starved. It should be pointed out, however, that many more than six million were killed by "the Germans" during the war, both on the battlefield and in other camps: for example, twenty million Soviet soldiers, a few million Gypsys.

I've learned to hate Russians all through my whole life...

Dylan grew up and performed in the throes of the Cold War, when the U.S. and the nuclear-armed USSR were at their most adversarial. Though the two countries fought almost entirely with ideologies (excepting sending troops to back other conflicts, as in the Korean War), the threat of nuclear annihilation was an undercurrent of life in the '50s and '60s. From 1945 to 1987 or so, for most Americans, the Russians were The Big Enemy.

Through many a dark hour I've been thinkin' about this, that Jesus Christ was betrayed by a kiss. But I can't think for you; you'll have to decide whether Judas Iscariot had God on his side.

In John 22:48 (and others), the disciple Judas Iscariot betrays Christ with a kiss. Further, he did it with Christ's full foreknowledge. Therefore, the question posed here, in reminding us that the Crucifixion was part of God's plan, also makes it clear that Judas, though villified by history, was in fact crucial to the completion of the Passion — that is, to the main tenet of Christianity itself, the Ressurection.

Ye Shall be Changed

In the twinkling of an eye, when the last trumpet blows, the dead will arise and burst out of your clothes and ye shall be changed.

From I Corinthians 15:51-52. "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."

You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go

Dragon clouds so high above; I've only known careless love.