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Bob Dylan's influence on popular music is incalculable. As a songwriter, he pioneered several different schools of pop songwriting, from confessional singer/songwriter to winding, hallucinatory, stream-of-conscious narratives. As a vocalist, he broke down the notions that in order to perform, a singer had to have a conventionally good voice, thereby redefining the role of vocalist in popular music. As a musician, he sparked several genres of pop music, including electrified folk-rock and country-rock. And that just touches on the tip of his achievements. Dylan's force was evident during his height of popularity in the '60s — the Beatles' shift toward introspective songwriting in the mid-'60s never would have happened without him — but his influence echoed througho More... (Submit New Bob Dylan Lyrics) (Submit New Bob Dylan Lyrics) Review about Bob Dylan Classic Dylan | Reviewer: Jim ------ About the song Where Are You Tonight? performed by Bob Dylan Actually the album "Slow Train Coming" was Dylans first Christian Album not "Street Legal" This is another of Dylans songs about a woman and being separated from her. Unlike for instance "Tangled up in blue" or "Isis he does not meet up again with her" I think the line about "taking dead center aim" while she was "putting flowers on the shelf" is a vague reference to the song about Jesse James where Robert Ford shoots James while he's straightening a picture. The rest seems to be sort of a commentary on late 70's decadence and Dylan surviving the 70's. It's not about Jesus | Reviewer: Pauline Barraza ------ About the song The Weight performed by Bob Dylan I can't remember where, but I recently saw an old interview with one of the members of The Band. They said it was about how people in these small towns (in Canada, I think), have you pass along chores: oh, you're going to there, well take this to this person, and I'll stay here and do this for you. Kind of like paying it forward. Pulse of the 60's | Reviewer: Dick Turman ------ About the song Eve of Destruction performed by Bob Dylan This song was real feelings in the 60's and it still has so much truth today. We were so close to nuclear war is the Cuban missle crisis.It's by God's grace half our world isn't gone by now. How about North Korea and the middle east? There will never be peace on this earth as we will experience above. The Whole Enchilada | Reviewer: Matthew Palmer ------ About the song Desolation Row performed by Bob Dylan The following is my interpretation of Desolation Row by Bob Dylan. I view this song to be Bob Dylan’s crowning achievement in songwriting. The question could be asked ‘Why should Desolation Row should be given special consideration among the many classics that Dylan composed?’ The answer to this question is that Desolation Row moves beyond the poetic folk anthem (which it certainly is) in becoming an apocalyptic epic poem in the tradition of the modernist literary movement. Although many of Dylan’s best songs are poetic, few contain the depth of metaphor, and none contain the carefully structured depth and allusions of Desolation Row. Both through its lyrics and through its structure it resembles the writings of the epic poems of the modernism movement, and it is no coincidence that both T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound are alluded to during the course of the song. T.S. Eliot once wrote: “Poems should communicate before they are understood.” This is precisely what Bob Dylan does in Desolation Row. Desolation Row perhaps most closely resembles T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land. In this poem, Eliot comments on what he sees to be a world in social and cultural decline in response to the horrors of World War I. The structure of Eliot’s masterpiece is broken into five highly metaphorical segments, each portraying a different scene. Eliot, working in the modernist tradition, requires the reader to interpret the text that is laced with metaphors and strewn with cultural and literary allusions. Eliot expected the reader to struggle with making sense of the piece, and counted on fact that a meaningful interpretation of the poem required immersion of hundreds of the classic texts of western culture. Although Dylan does not seem to share Eliot’s elitist vision for poetry and the arts, he was highly educated, he clearly read Eliot and Pound, he uses metaphoric allusion in Desolation Row, and he was reacting against what he saw to be a troubled society mirroring Eliot’s own reaction against his society. Like Eliot in The Waste Land, Dylan tells of a world in confusion. Dylan portrays the world through metaphors, and reacts against the flawed philosophies in the world that are held out as panaceas (i.e. materialism, religion, and science), and calls for a new enlightenment or awareness, through the use of a number of unrelated scenes that each reinforce his central theme. I believe the ‘Desolation Row’ that Dylan refers to in the song is actually a metaphor for an enlightened state of mind or awareness of the world as it is, not as it is presented through the false lenses of religion or science. ‘Desolation Row’ is clearly represented as a place that some characters are at, “peeking into”, “trying to escape to”, or are “punished for going to.” However, this place should be seen as more than a physical place, and seen as a new state of mind, or way of thinking. It also should be clear that this state of mind, while enlightening, carries burdens with it. For Dylan, it appears that seeing the truth is not necessarily a ticket to happiness. In fact, the truth is often highly troubling. Dylan suggests that seeing reality as it really is, or reaching ‘Desolation Row’, is necessary to avoid impending disaster, but that it can be depressing because it involves the realization that many of the things that we have believed in or sought after are actually not the panaceas they appeared to be. This can be seen in the first verse by Cinderella’s cynical response to the speaker saying “it takes one to know one.” Clearly Cinderella is no longer waiting for Prince Charming, but instead is taking matters in her own hands. She flirts rather than remaining passive and waiting for Prince Charming. The romantic conception of Cinderella is somehow perverted, and she has a new awareness of the world as she is left “sweeping up on Desolation Row’. The ideal image of romance is defeated, and there will be no storybook ending, but life goes on as she sweeps up the mess. Romeo enters and again is challenged by a speaker. Romeo, like Cinderella, also is in the wrong place because he also represents ideal notions of romance. Rather than speaking sweetly in verse he moans and chases Cinderella, rather than Juliet as he should. Things are not as they should be according to ideals. Conventions are being upset. ‘Desolation Row’ is not place where conventional endings are brought off, instead it is a place where there are recognitions of harsh realities. Romeo either cannot understand this or cannot accept this. He promptly takes the speakers advice and leaves by committing suicide, hence the sound of the ambulances. Romeo is an example of how there are painful realizations that come with the enlightenment found at ‘Desolation Row’. The third verse gives a clear warning of what is to come if society continues on its current path. The “moon is almost hidden” and “the stars are beginning to hide.” This foreshadows a storm, which is a metaphor for the problems the world will encounter on its present course. “The fortune telling lady has even taken all her things inside” because she recognizes the pending storm/disaster. Those who are paying attention are taking precautions and shielding themselves from the coming problems. Cain and Able are not because they are too busy being involved in conflict to notice. This is brother against brother. It also may allude to war or conflict generally. Everyone else is “making love, or else expecting rain” because they are either too involved in their lives “making love” (or seeking personal gratification) to notice or see the storm brewing or “else expecting rain”, i.e. the fortune telling lady, and they are running from the coming storm. “The Good Samaritan” from the Biblical parable who represents the good, wise, and just person who is generally spat upon by society is getting ready for the carnival that he is going to attend on Desolation Row. The Good Samaritan is going to go into the approaching storm and deal with it in some way. Perhaps this suggests we should too, if we are doing the right thing. Rather than not realizing the problem, or running from it, we should acknowledge it and deal with it in some way. The fourth verse tells us about Ophelia, Hamlet’s lover in Hamlet. Ophelia hopes that Hamlet will marry her, but it is not going to happen. Ophelia’s peeking into Desolation reveals that marriage to Hamlet is impossible and she contemplates suicide. It also may suggest that her religious beliefs do not provide the answers she always believed. The “iron vest” she wears symbolizes enclosure, as well as her fate; she drowns herself in a river in Hamlet. Ophelia clings to hope symbolized through “Noah’s great rainbow” that represented God’s promise to man that he would not bring another great flood. It may symbolize hope through Hamlet’s promise to marry Ophelia, as well symbolize the hope of her religious beliefs. The problem for Ophelia is that the promises don’t add up with reality as she sees it when she peeks into true reality on Desolation Row. This verse also develops a theme of sin and dealing with sin. Ophelia breaks God’s law by having premarital sex with Hamlet. This guilt weighs heavy on her throughout Hamlet. This problem is subtly suggested by the phrase “her profession’s her religion, her sin is her lifelessness.” Ophelia’s only profession prostituting herself to Hamlet. The verse hints at the church’s inability to successfully address man’s problems in reality, a topic that will be revisited later. Things don’t look good for Ophelia, she contemplates her fate, while we know what will happen to her. Ophelia is another example of how Desolation Row can be destructive as well as enlightening. The fifth verse brings in a discussion of the failings of modern science to resolve society’s problems. “Einsten disguised as Robin Hood” symbolizes modern science’s attempt or tendency to be hailed as the answer in our times. Robin Hood is the classic hero, while in addition, it is not insignificant to note that he ‘stole from the rich and gave to the poor.’ His friend the “jealous monk” symbolizes religion, Christianity, or perhaps more specifically Catholicism. Religion is jealous of science. Science has gradually replaced religion as the relied upon source for explaining the world’s problems. In the metaphor, science gets to play the hero, while religion merely tags along trying to keep up. The “memories in a trunk” may represent the past scientific tradition where science actually contributed to man’s enlightenment. However, now these times are in the past. Today, science “looks immaculately frightful” suggesting the potential dangers that science offers the world. The ‘He’ in this verse, goes off acting like a bum, rather than a hero, by “bumming cigarettes”, “sniffing drainpipes”, and stating its dogmatic findings in “reciting the alphabet.” It is unclear whether the ‘he’ is referring to “Einstein disguised as Robin Hood” or the “jealous monk”, but in either case the speaker suggests that he sees the flaws of science or religion, not the idealic image that they would like us to see. The speaker comments “you would not think to look at him that he was famous long ago, for playing the electric violin on Desolation Row.” This suggests that you would not by looking at science or religion today that once it did a great deal in contributing to man’s enlightenment. The music of the electric violin on Desolation Row is a metaphor for something contributing to enlightenment. This verse clearly leaves us with the impression that science and religion will not resolve all of society’s problems. The sixth verse is a fairly nebulous verse. Dr. Filth is a reference to an actual holocaust official who cut off the genitals of patients and put them in a pouch made of skin. Presumably, ‘the world’ inside the cup represents the perverted worldview of Dr. Filth. The victims are trying to blow it up in order to defeat a morally bankrupt reality, but of course they will fail because they do not have the power to do it. “The nurse, some local loser” represents the common average person who collaborates with something that is wrong, rather than standing up to it. The nurse aids Dr. Filth, rather than standing up to what is wrong. The nurse “keeps the cards that read ‘have mercy on your soul’”, rather than playing them. The nurse has the ability to take a stand, to ease pain, but chooses not to out of self-interest. The verse ends with another reference to Desolation Row as a place of awareness, suggested that you can hear the music ‘if you lean your head out far enough on Desolation Row’ The seventh verse talks about “the agents” and the “superhuman crew”, probably references to agents of the establishment and religious leaders, “rounding up everyone that knows more than they do” and punishing them. The instruments of punishment are “brought down from the castles” which seems almost like feudal imagery, the establishment attempting to control the masses. The insurance men, are those making sure that “no one is escaping to Desolation Row”. This suggests once again, that Desolation Row is a place (or more precisely a state of mind) where people learn the truth about the world, which is dangerous to the establishment that benefits from people buying into the status quo. The eighth verse gives us the images of unpredictability and impeding doom on our present course. Nero was the insane Roman Emporer. Neptune was the changeable god of the sea. The Titanic, the ship destined to sink, is sailing on these unpredictable waters. The people on the Titanic (society today), are too busy worried about their position on the sinking vessel to take notice of the bigger picture, until it is too late. Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot were two modernist poets who wrestled with the problems of their time and tried metaphorically through their poetry to call for the enlightenment of the masses to address the problems of a harsh reality. Desolation Row in many ways mirrors key works of T.S. Eliot or Ezra Pound, especially T.S. Eliot’s The Wasteland. These visionary poets (who may or may not have all the answers) are fighting for control of the sinking vessel, while everyone else is oblivious to the situation. While Dylan mirrors the style of Eliot or Pound in this poem, he does not have the elitist bent of them. He may, in fact, be taking a jab at these poets by suggesting they are on the Titanic and too busy fighting over which elitist apocalyptic metaphor for society is correct to be helpful in finding a solution. Regardless, what is clear is that nobody is thinking about going to Desolation Row (or gaining true awareness) because they are too distracted by what is going on in their lives. In the final verse, the speaker addresses an unnamed person saying that he received a letter from the person yesterday, “about the time the door knob broke”. The door knob represents the way out of Desolation Row, they way back to the conventional way of thinking, the way not concerned with the new awareness of reality. Now that the door knob broke, there is no going back to the conventional way of thinking. “When you asked me how I was doing, was that some kind of joke?” shows a general disdain for the conventional unenlightened way of thinking. The speaker is not interested in how he is doing according to the conventional way of thinking. The speaker is struggling with all of the problems of the world, and likely isn’t feeling too good about things, but above all else, he is uninterested in how he is doing in the conventional way of defining well-being. “And all these people that you mention, yes I know them they’re quite lame” also refers to this change in the speaker’s priorities. The speaker does not care how people are doing in the conventional way of thinking (whether they bought a new car or house, or are happy according to the conventional way of thinking, etc.). “I had to rearrange their faces, and give them all another name” may be a veiled reference to including them in the ideas found in the song. “Right now, I can’t read too good, don’t send me no more letters, no” refers to the fact that the speaker doesn’t want to hear any more about the concerns of the conventional way of thinking about life. He’s not interested, his perspective has changed, it’s no longer relevant to him. “Not unless you mail them from Desolation Row” means that the speaker is only listening to the enlightened perspective or awareness found in the state of mind of Desolation Row. It suggests that the writer has the ability to go to Desolation Row himself if he wants to. It hints at the spiritual journey that the speaker thinks people need to take to get to Desolation Row. mediation on the duality between good and evil | Reviewer: steve borrow ------ About the song Jokerman performed by Bob Dylan It is a mediation on the duality between good and evil. Bob forcefuly implies these works of man on display vain and make fools or Jokermen) of those who fail to grasp the eternal truth that awaits us all at the end of this short material sojourn. See Ecclesiastes 1:2: "Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labor which he taketh under the sun?" From that perspective the complex symbolism becomes easier to grasp what is this song about | Reviewer: Anonymous ------ About the song Where Are You Tonight? performed by Bob Dylan Street legal was Dylan´s coming out as a born again Christian, something which was confirmed with his next two albums: Saved! and Slow Train Coming. This song is about his search for Jesus and his newfound discovery of Mary, the references are peppered throughout. Regardless of one´s beliefs the intensity of the lyrics is spellbinding as is the continual buildup and cadence of the music which just as in Like A Rolling Stone lacks a chorus (who needs one?). A great song. So many years | Reviewer: Don ------ About the song Copper Kettle performed by Bob Dylan I have known this song all my life. My mother used to sing it as part of her folk song set. I love it. But her version was from the first person not the third. She said it was a song from the prohibition era but I've never been able to find out its history. Impressions | Reviewer: Marius van Blerck ------ About the song Mr. Tambourine Man performed by Bob Dylan Impressionism is best known in the visual arts, but Bob Dylan is the master of spoken (or sung) impressionism In many of his lyrics he puts together seemingly-random imagery, and forges an impression in the mind of the listener or reader. This impression will invariably differ from person to person - that's the beauty of Dylan - whatever your perspective, he can have a special meaning for you. It's a mistake to try pin these meanings down. Rather enjoy them in your own mind. A boxing who dunit | Reviewer: steve borrow ------ About the song Who Killed Davey Moore? performed by Bob Dylan This was inspired by the death of Davey Moore, a world class boxing contender killed in the ring. There have been a few over the years. Bob invites us to consider to whom we should apportion blame. None of the likely candidates mentioned in the song is prepared to accept any responsibility for the death of this healthy young athlete. There are referees and coaches, managers and gambler, writers and spectators who quizzically respond to the repeated question by saying, we didn’t make him fall; why are you asking us? Well, we know they all have blood on their hands. They are participants in an industry that turns healthy young hopefuls into corpses for their profit or entertainment. Davey was just collateral damage. War is complex, truth even more so. | Reviewer: Lofoten ------ About the song Masters of War performed by Bob Dylan This song is poetry of it's time. It voices the feelings of the young with right and justice in their hearts. Fine sentiments and vision but ultimately naive. We may protest about war, reasons, the way it is committed, outcomes and errors, hard and long but it changes nothing. As long as there is man there will be war. Good wars, bad wars. All justification for one's beliefs and prejudices. Dying is part of living. Dying that we may live is the ultimate sacrifice. Past, present and the future. This song is like the mayfly, living only fleetingly and yet forever. New generations, new wars, new truths. It will be ever so. Bob tells it like it is | Reviewer: Steve Borrow ------ About the song Masters of War performed by Bob Dylan This is one of the angriest songs Bob Dylan ever composed. He wrote and performed it when the US commitment to the War in Vietnam had peaked and public opinion was turning in favour of the Anti-war movement. Young conscriptees were being brought back in body bags, and that bought the stark reality of the war into sharp focus. Bob directs his rage against those who profited from the killing industry and who remain anonymous as others, young men, like himself do the dying for them. He implies that, although Jesus forgave Judas for his betrayal, he would never forgive the commanders of the military industrial complex, who, with their political spinmeisters dupe the public into accepting the inevitability of conflict in order to profit from the sale of weaponry. Bob delivers a fatal curse, knowing that these Masters of War can never be granted salvation for so heinous a crime. Bob may be a silver haired sage now, but this song still rocks. bob was right | Reviewer: dst ------ About the song Masters of War performed by Bob Dylan in response to the comment below by 'sqtfon' no-one has any problem with going to war in order to fight for freedom what this song is about is when wars are manufactured by govts in order to make money for a bunch of fat f@cks in the arms industry - wars in which millions die and suffer needlessly and nothing is accomplished. Hmmm | Reviewer: sgtfon ------ About the song Masters of War performed by Bob Dylan you mean he was not talking about my ex-wife? war is fun folks, its only those of you that are to timid or to ingnorant of the world that find the "Power" in this song. the reason you can write these comments, on a pc that you own, in your own house is because we have gone to war to fight. remember all of your rights and freedoms were won by the grunt on the ground with a musket, M1 grand or M16 in his hand. Positivly 4th street | Reviewer: Anonymous ------ About the song Positively 4th Street performed by Bob Dylan The song Positivly 4th street is so true to life Bob Dylan can only say it best. Time after time I have seen this in my own life with people who said they were your friends then turn around behind you back and (screw you over) I never had any friends in school and if I did I got stabbed in the back time after time. I was a big fan of the time in 1965 I had the 45 rpm and played it over and over again. From the dark side of separation | Reviewer: Steve Borrow ------ About the song Don't Think Twice, It's All Right performed by Bob Dylan The early Bob Dylan often used the metaphor of the highway or the open road (for Mark Twain it was the river), to convey the sense of one experientially moving through time. The narrator is letting us in on a conversation he imagines he is having with a woman he loved but is compelled to leave under cover of darkness as he makes his way down that road. Here, the psychic break has occurred and the narrator, metaphorically speaking, has moved into the dark phase of separation and reached a state of acceptance. He realizes that there is no point trying to salvage a relationship that has run its course. He wishes there was, but they have failed to communicate in the past and it’s just a tad too late now. He has felt neglected (I never saw the light and you never called my name) and the affair is finally over. Yes, he tried, but she wanted more than he was capable of giving, perhaps because she was a little immature and made unreasonable emotional demands notwithstanding his commitment to her. Although he is disappointed with her, he realizes that she wasn’t unkind to him and, so, doesn’t apportion blame. There is no bitterness, just indifference. The worst he can say as he leaves her is that the whole affair was a just waste of time, but don’t think twice, its alright. asfd | Reviewer: Anonymous ------ About the song Sara performed by Bob Dylan something about the simplicity of lines like, "i laid on the dune, i looked at the sky when the children were babies..." its like it captures something of the way i feel about, ya know, how do people know the factual beauty of life. like minor experiences like that how you know this is all something amazing and beautiful, but your heart cries out because maybe noone can recognize it but you? or maybe because you cant hold it? i dunno. Desolation Row | Reviewer: JC ------ About the song Desolation Row performed by Bob Dylan I have thought long and hard about the meaning of this song - is Desolation Row a place where you want to be, or is it somewhere you would like to avoid? Thanks to Steve Borrow for the long review and a few insights I was unaware of. The answer, I think, is that Desolation Row is a place that conventional wisdom and common sense tell you you should be (hence the name of the place), but everything Dylan says about it makes it more attractive that the reality presented. For example, the insurance men who prevent you from leaving, and Cinderella, who sweeps up at the end of the song. I'm still not sure what it means. I am sure, however, that Dylan will never tell us. And, to shadowboxer, the best lyrics ever written, I think, are in another Dylan song...Visions of Johanna. not bout drugs.... | Reviewer: sid ------ About the song Mr. Tambourine Man performed by Bob Dylan Dylan always denied the song is about drugs, and although he was using marijuana at the time the song was written, he was not introduced to LSD until a few months later. Alternatively, the song has been interpreted as a call to the singer's sprirt or muse, or the singer's search for trancendence. The singer is praying to his muse for inspiration; ironically the song itself is evidence that the muse has already provided the sought-after inspiration. Another interpretation is that the song is a reflection of the audiences demands of the singer, in which case Dylan himself is symbolized by Mr. Tambourine Man. Mr. Tambourine Man has also been interpreted as a symbol for Jesus Christ and for the Pied Piper of Hamelin. The song may also reference gospel music, with Mr. Tambourine Man being the bringer of religious salvation. courtesy wikipedia.org Maybe, possibly,honestly! | Reviewer: Lauredo ------ About the song Mr. Tambourine Man performed by Bob Dylan Did anyone ever just figure it was a lullaby? It makes sense, doesn't it? I mean lullabies are vague too. It couldn't be about drugs because a dealer (the tambourine man) wouldn't play music for a strung out junkie. Even if it was in "Dangerous Minds" doesn't mean the movies are right. I also don't think it's about shamanic travels. It could just be about a soul trapped in limbo or somebody awaiting their death after losing their loved ones. Can we all just agree to disagree? Just think... | Reviewer: Katie ------ About the song Masters of War performed by Bob Dylan This song is very powerful. I agree with everyword. People who critisise this, fair enough, an opinion is an opinion. But for a moment, just think, your children, your kids, have fear to come into the world, because of these guns, these guns supplied by the goverment! There not worth their blood, that runs in their veins. You could review the artist/band Bob Dylan in Biography page You could review Bob Dylan album by visiting Albums page and selecting an album You could review Bob Dylan song by clicking the song which you like  Download "Bob Dylan" Music | |
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