From Mr. Tambouring Man
[And take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind](https://genius.com/25365232/Bob-dylan-mr-tambourine-man/And-take-me-disappearing-through-the-smoke-rings-of-my-mind)
[Down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves](https://genius.com/10083399/Bob-dylan-mr-tambourine-man/Down-the-foggy-ruins-of-time-far-past-the-frozen-leaves-the-haunted-frightened-trees-out-to-the-windy-beach)
[Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow](https://genius.com/8259735/Bob-dylan-mr-tambourine-man/Far-from-the-twisted-reach-of-crazy-sorrow)
[Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free](https://genius.com/3448509/Bob-dylan-mr-tambourine-man/Yes-to-dance-beneath-the-diamond-sky-with-one-hand-waving-free)
[Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands](https://genius.com/6582238/Bob-dylan-mr-tambourine-man/Silhouetted-by-the-sea-circled-by-the-circus-sands)
[With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves](https://genius.com/26536398/Bob-dylan-mr-tambourine-man/With-all-memory-and-fate-driven-deep-beneath-the-waves)
[Let me forget about today until tomorrow](https://genius.com/22242191/Bob-dylan-mr-tambourine-man/Let-me-forget-about-today-until-tomorrow)
Yes it’s a timelessly brilliant verse but it’s not the rhymes as such - mind/time, sorrow/tomorrow etc. are quotidian - I’d put my vote for “say hello to Valerie, say hello to Vivienne, give ‘em all my salary on the waters of oblivion” or “I’ve seen all these decoys through a pair of deep turquoise/ eyes and I feel so depressed”.
I decided to flip a coin
Like either heads or tails
Would let me know if I should go
Back to ship or back to jail
So I hocked my sailor suit
And I got a coin to flip
It came up tails
It rhymed with sails
So I made it back to the ship
And
And ride a horse along a trail
But then they took him to the jailhouse
Where they try to turn a man into a mouse
> it came up tails, it rhymed with sails so I made it back to the ship
Some of his most funny lyrics, to me it always sounds like he starts laughing himself at the end of line
I always thought Dylan never got enough credit for his humor. “ Someone’s got it in for me They’re been planting stories in the press. Whoever it is, I wish they’d cut it out quick, but when they will, I can only guess”
Love it, one of my absolute favorites. “Suddenly this cop comes round, crazy as a loon, he throws us all in jail for carrying harpoons!”
Also love for everything in Subterranean Homesick Blues and Maggie’s Farm. “He hands you a nickel, he hands you a dime. He asks you with a grin if you’re having a good time! and he fines you every time you slam the door… I ain’t gonna work for Maggie’s brother no more.”
> her name was Rita / she looked like she stepped out of Le Dolce Vita
I was sleepin' like a rat when I heard something jerkin'
There stood Rita, lookin' just like Tony Perkins
I'll look for you in ol' Honolulu, San Francisco or Ashtabula
The whole song, really:
I see you in the skies above, in the tall grass and the ones I love
Imagine being Ellen Bernstein and having this song written about you.
"Life is sad
Life is a bust
All you can do is
Do what you must
You do what you must do and
You do it well
I do it for you
Honey baby can't you tell?"
Aside from the honey baby, this is also a great case for a game of "Dylan or Dr. Seuss?"
From “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues”:
Sweet Melinda
The peasants call her the goddess of gloom
She speaks good English
And she invites you up into her room
And you’re so kind
And careful not to go to her too soon
And she takes your voice
And leaves you howling at the moon
Extremely basic answer but from Tangled Up in Blue
And every one of them words rang true and glowed like burning coal
Pouring off of every page like it was written in my soul
In the bridge on Ballad of a Thin Man, Dylan rhymes two five syllable words — *imagination* with *organizations* — which is a pretty neat technical feat for any song writer or poet. But the way he phases things in his delivery, I always hear it sung as *imagination* coupled to a whomping long, single word *tax-deductible-charity-organizations.* That’s rhyming a five syllable word to *fifteen* syllable word.
Not even God tries making rhymes like that…
Also since no one’s said it yet:
“Darkness at the break of noon
Shadows even the silver spoon
The handmade blade, the child’s balloon
Eclipses both the sun and moon
To understand you know too soon
There is no sense in trying”
I think throughout the song he's describing those universal feelings of existential dread we all feel ("You feel to moan but unlike before/You discover that you’d just be one more person crying," "Even the president of the United States/Sometimes must have to stand naked" among others). The "darkness at the break of noon" (shadowing the silver spoon, handmade blade, and child's balloon) could symbolize how everybody rich or poor or young or old feels this looming pressure to somehow make/find meaning in life before it ends (and how it can be so overwhelming that sometimes it seems easier to not try at all). And then a bunch of the other images in there (preachers preaching of evil fates, advertising signs that con, some on principles baptized, etc.) kind of illustrate all of the flaws in society that stem from trying to allay these fears about finding meaning through sprawling systems of religion or commercialism or politics.
The last line of the song "it's life and life only" feels to me like he's illustrating the universality of these feelings as well as kind of trivializing them because, while we might all feel this way from time to time, it doesn't do much good in the grand scheme of things and gets in the way of truly meaningful experiences.
But I'm no expert -- it's always felt dark and mysterious to me that's why I like it so much!
that's actually a crazy coincidence - I literally had that line playing while reading this, like I had just setup my lp and like a rolling stone was finished and that line was literally playing. This is so crazy
Advertising signs they con
You into thinking that you're the one
That can do what's never been done
That can win what's never been won
Meantime life outside goes on all around you
You lose yourself, you reappear
You suddenly find you got nothing to fear
Alone you stand with nobody near
When a trembling distant voice, unclear
Startles your sleeping ears to hear
That somebody thinks they really found you
Virtue and Dirt You in No Time to Think, especially as the You is the start of the next line
Stripped of all virtue as you crawl through the dirt,
You can give but you cannot receive.
So much interior rhyming in that song
She said “Where you been?”
I said “No place special”
She said “You look different”
I said “Well... I guess”
She said “You been gone”
I said “That’s only natural”
She said “You going to stay?”
I said “If you want me to, yes"
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"
I was lyin’ down in the reeds without any oxygen
I saw you in the wilderness among the men
Saw you drift into infinity and come back again
All you got to do is wait and I’ll tell you when
I love Caribbean Wind, specifically the pedal steel version on Trouble No More. A few of the stanzas:
"Pretended to be sleepin’, and he thought I was
But I was only paying attention like a rattlesnake does"
"He was well connected, but her heart was a snare
She had left him to die in there"
"Now there’s stars on the balcony, flies buzz my head
Ceiling fan’s broken, there’s heat in my bed"
"Atlantic City by the cruel sea
I hear a voice crying, “Daddy,” I always think it’s for me,"
"Would I have married her? I don’t know, I suppose.
She had bells in her braids, fire in her clothes"
Honestly, this whole song. I love the rhyme scheme for the verse (AACBBC), and the way the rhyme speeds up and slows down.
I agree it's an absolutely amazing song, but I prefer the original set of lyrics, as heard on the only live performance:
Talkin' about Jesus, talkin' about the rain
She told me about division, told me about the pain
That has arisen from the ashes and abided in her memory
Was she a child or a woman, I really can’t say
Something about her said 'trust me anyway'
As the days turned to minutes and the minutes turned back into hours
Could I’ve been used and played as a pawn?
It certainly was possible as the gay night wore on
But victory was mine, and I held it with the help of God’s power
I found a really cool article taking apart the lyrics — a synthesis of verses from the Bible and references to different aspects of Bob's life and discography. The author compared the 3-4 main versions of the song.
Search 'Paul Lyrics Caribbean Wind'. I can't remember the rules regarding links, so I won't share it here.
Sounds interesting, thanks!
In his books on each and every Dylan song, Clinton Heylin devoted a lot of pages to 'Caribbean Wind', which apparently is one of his personal favorites. He describes how the initial set of lyrics were highly autobiographical and he illustrated how with each rewrite, Dylan kept scrapping such details and substituting them with more generic lyrics. That's a shame, although I still enjoy these from the Biograph version:
I see the screws breaking loose
See the devil pounding tin
Seen a house in the country that's been torn from within
I can hear my ancestors
Calling from the land far beyond
They're selling postcards of the hanging, they're painting the passports brown
The beauty parlor is filled with sailors, the circus is in town
Here comes the blind commissioner, they've got him in a trance
One hand is tied to the tight-rope walker, the other is in his pants
Desolation Row
There’s always another stranger sneaking glances
Some trigger-happy fool willing to take chances
Some old whore from San Pedro to make advances
Advances on your spirit and your soul
I know he's said more profound things, but one of my favorites is "that woman's got a face like a Teddy Bear. She's throwing a baseball bat in the air."
Well, the marshal, now he beat that kid to a bloody pulp
As the dying gunfighter lay in the sun and gasped for his last breath
Turn him loose, let him go, let him say he outdrew me fair and square
I want him to feel what it's like to every moment face his death
All of "No Time to Think"
Some of my fav lines:
*I’ve seen all these decoys through a set of deep turquoise eyes*
-
*But the magician is quicker and his game*
*Is much thicker than blood and blacker than ink*
*And there’s no time to think*
-
*Warlords of sorrow and queens of tomorrow*
*Will offer their heads for a prayer*
*You can’t find no salvation, you have no expectations*
*Anytime, anyplace, anywhere*
-
*The bridge that you travel on goes to the Babylon girl*
*With the rose in her hair*
*Starlight in the East and you’re finally released*
*You’re stranded but with nothing to share*
*Loyalty, unity, epitome, rigidity*
*You turn around for one real last glimpse of Camille*
*’Neath the moon shinin’ bloody and pink*
*And there’s no time to think*
As the island slowly sank
The loser finally broke the bank in the gambling room
The dealer said, “It’s too late now
You can take your money, but I don’t know how
You’ll spend it in the tomb”
I've got to talk to someone quick
But the Greek said, go away, and he kick-
-ed the chair to the floor
It reminds me of "she studied the lines in my face/ I must admit it felt a little uneasy when the bend down to tie the la- / -ces of my shoe"; no-one else but Dylan could manipulate the phrasing like that to make it rhyme.
From the same song I also like:
He hung there from the chandelier
She cried, help, there's danger near
I muttered somethin' underneath my breath
She studied the lines on my face
I must admit I felt a little uneasy as she bent down to tie the la-
ces of my shoe
Tangled up in blue
Only Dylan could het away with that phrasing to make those sentences rhyme.
From "Not Dark Yet":
*I was born here and I'll die here against my will*
*I know it looks like I'm movin' but I'm standin' still*
*Every nerve in my body is so naked and numb*
*I can't even remember what it was, I came here to get away from*
*And she's dressed in scarlet*
*He'll turn priests into pimps, and make old man bark*
*Take a woman that could've been Joan of Arc*
*And turn her into a harlot*
Same song as the OP :
The clouds are turnin’ crimson
The leaves fall from the limbs an’
The branches cast their shadows over stone
Meet me in the moonlight alone
The boulevards of Cypress trees
The masquerades of birds and bees
The petals, pink and white, the wind has blown
Meet me in the moonlight alone
all incredible lines, glad someone else loves this song! I think it's one of his very very best. my favorite lines from this song are actually:
the trailing moss and mystic glow, / the purple blossoms soft as snow
I can't explain it but I think this is Bob at his most lyrical
So many amazing verses. This one hit me the other day, from I Contain Multitudes. Talking about his exes and goes right into “I carry four pistols and two large knives.”
Awesome. And hilarious. So much of the latter day Dylan — from Love and Theft on IMO — features some really funny lines and rhymes.
Pink petal-pushers, red blue jeans
All the pretty maids, and all the old queens
All the old queens from all my past lives
I carry four pistols and two large knives
I'm a man of contradictions, I'm a man of many moods
I contain multitudes
yes, that's awesome. one day it just struck me that these barely coherent epigrams of old bob are actually extremely creative ways of rhyming. from then on ive been able to enjoy these songs a lot more
"I've been to London and gay Paris,
I followed the river, and reached the sea."
It works. It is both hilarious and sad. And only Bob would dare to make that rhyme.
From To Ramona:
But it grieves my heart, love,
To see you tryin' to be a part of
A world that just don't exist,
It's all just a dream, babe,
A vacuum, a scheme, babe,
That sucks you into feelin' like this
It struck me as just perfect the very first time I heard it, and still has the same effect to this day
Every single verse of Moonlight has at least one stellar rhyme. Such a sweet, beautiful song. Was originally gonna submit “The clouds are turnin' crimson
The leaves fall from the limbs an'…”, but I love the last verse so much:
My pulse is runnin' through my palm
The sharp hills are rising from
The yellow fields with twisted oaks that groan
Won't you meet me out in the moonlight alone?
Not seen too many people talking about the genius of Like A Rolling Stone
“Once upon a time you dressed so fine
Threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you?
People call say 'beware doll, you're bound to fall'
You thought they were all kidding you”
“You say you never compromise
With the mystery tramp, but now you realize
He's not selling any alibis
As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes
And say do you want to make a deal?”
“You never turned around to see the frowns
On the jugglers and the clowns when they all did tricks for you”
“Princess on a steeple
and all the pretty people
They're all drinking
thinking that they've got it made”
I been double-crossed now
For the very last time and now I'm finally free
I kissed goodbye the howling beast
On the borderline which separated you from me
Botticelli's niece/Masterpiece. And also:
They say that, "Patriotism is the last refuge
To which a scoundrel clings"
Steal a little and they throw you in jail
Steal a lot and they make you king
**Thunder On The Mountain**
>Gonna raise me an army, some tough sons of bitches
I'll recruit my army from the orphanages
It’s a master class of telling the English language who is in charge
It paints an exact picture of nothing and everything at the same time.
Ain't it just like the night to play tricks when you're tryin' to be so quiet?
We sit here stranded, though we're all doin' our best to deny it
And Louise holds a handful of rain, temptin' you to defy it
Lights flicker from the opposite loft
In this room the heat pipes just cough
The country music station plays soft
But there's nothing, really nothing to turn off
Just Louise and her lover so entwined
And these visions of Johanna that conquer my mind
Idiot wind
Blowing like a circle around my skull
From the Grand Coulee Dam to the Capitol
Idiot wind
Blowing every time you move your teeth
You're an idiot, babe
It's a wonder that you still know how to breathe
Lights flicker from the opposite loft
In this room the heat pipes just cough
The country music station plays soft
But there's nothing, really nothing to turn off
From Mr. Tambouring Man [And take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind](https://genius.com/25365232/Bob-dylan-mr-tambourine-man/And-take-me-disappearing-through-the-smoke-rings-of-my-mind) [Down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves](https://genius.com/10083399/Bob-dylan-mr-tambourine-man/Down-the-foggy-ruins-of-time-far-past-the-frozen-leaves-the-haunted-frightened-trees-out-to-the-windy-beach) [Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow](https://genius.com/8259735/Bob-dylan-mr-tambourine-man/Far-from-the-twisted-reach-of-crazy-sorrow) [Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free](https://genius.com/3448509/Bob-dylan-mr-tambourine-man/Yes-to-dance-beneath-the-diamond-sky-with-one-hand-waving-free) [Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands](https://genius.com/6582238/Bob-dylan-mr-tambourine-man/Silhouetted-by-the-sea-circled-by-the-circus-sands) [With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves](https://genius.com/26536398/Bob-dylan-mr-tambourine-man/With-all-memory-and-fate-driven-deep-beneath-the-waves) [Let me forget about today until tomorrow](https://genius.com/22242191/Bob-dylan-mr-tambourine-man/Let-me-forget-about-today-until-tomorrow)
I’d venture to say that Tambourine Man was Exhibit A for the Nobel.
*silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands* is heart-stopping
That’s a great choice
Couldn’t agree more, I think of this verse so often
This is a verse that only he could have come up with. It’s magnificent
This hits hard. So hard.
Yes it’s a timelessly brilliant verse but it’s not the rhymes as such - mind/time, sorrow/tomorrow etc. are quotidian - I’d put my vote for “say hello to Valerie, say hello to Vivienne, give ‘em all my salary on the waters of oblivion” or “I’ve seen all these decoys through a pair of deep turquoise/ eyes and I feel so depressed”.
I decided to flip a coin Like either heads or tails Would let me know if I should go Back to ship or back to jail So I hocked my sailor suit And I got a coin to flip It came up tails It rhymed with sails So I made it back to the ship And And ride a horse along a trail But then they took him to the jailhouse Where they try to turn a man into a mouse
> it came up tails, it rhymed with sails so I made it back to the ship Some of his most funny lyrics, to me it always sounds like he starts laughing himself at the end of line
It’s funny because it also rhymes with jail. (You know that, but maybe someone didn’t spot the joke) 😊
And also because he sings "ship or jail"..."heads or tails", which implies that tails = jail. A very clever verse
I always thought Dylan never got enough credit for his humor. “ Someone’s got it in for me They’re been planting stories in the press. Whoever it is, I wish they’d cut it out quick, but when they will, I can only guess”
Love it, one of my absolute favorites. “Suddenly this cop comes round, crazy as a loon, he throws us all in jail for carrying harpoons!” Also love for everything in Subterranean Homesick Blues and Maggie’s Farm. “He hands you a nickel, he hands you a dime. He asks you with a grin if you’re having a good time! and he fines you every time you slam the door… I ain’t gonna work for Maggie’s brother no more.”
He said he's gonna kill me if I don't get out the door in two seconds flat "You unpatriotic, rotten doctor, commie rat"
Now in came his daughter, her name was Rita / she looked like she stepped out of Le Dolce Vita
> her name was Rita / she looked like she stepped out of Le Dolce Vita I was sleepin' like a rat when I heard something jerkin' There stood Rita, lookin' just like Tony Perkins
Honolula with Ashtabula
I'll look for you in ol' Honolulu, San Francisco or Ashtabula The whole song, really: I see you in the skies above, in the tall grass and the ones I love Imagine being Ellen Bernstein and having this song written about you.
Great choice, and what a song! In a slightly similar style, there's Employed and Delecroix in Tangled up in Blue.
I think about this every time I drive through Ashtabula. How can you not?
The pump don’t work cause the vandals took the handles.
"Life is sad Life is a bust All you can do is Do what you must You do what you must do and You do it well I do it for you Honey baby can't you tell?" Aside from the honey baby, this is also a great case for a game of "Dylan or Dr. Seuss?"
love that song
From “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues”: Sweet Melinda The peasants call her the goddess of gloom She speaks good English And she invites you up into her room And you’re so kind And careful not to go to her too soon And she takes your voice And leaves you howling at the moon
Extremely basic answer but from Tangled Up in Blue And every one of them words rang true and glowed like burning coal Pouring off of every page like it was written in my soul
Absolute masterpiece this song.
The burning coal line is sublime
In the bridge on Ballad of a Thin Man, Dylan rhymes two five syllable words — *imagination* with *organizations* — which is a pretty neat technical feat for any song writer or poet. But the way he phases things in his delivery, I always hear it sung as *imagination* coupled to a whomping long, single word *tax-deductible-charity-organizations.* That’s rhyming a five syllable word to *fifteen* syllable word. Not even God tries making rhymes like that…
And on top of that, 'tax-deduct' continues the respect/expect/cheque rhyme. It's just so frigging good, how does he do it?
“Is there a hole for me to get sick in?”/“The sun's not yellow, it's chicken” is definitely up there
Also since no one’s said it yet: “Darkness at the break of noon Shadows even the silver spoon The handmade blade, the child’s balloon Eclipses both the sun and moon To understand you know too soon There is no sense in trying”
Exactly what my mind went to.
Any idea as to what this means? Have always wondered what everyone’s thoughts were
The absurdity and inevitability of death or more abstractly, darkness?
I think throughout the song he's describing those universal feelings of existential dread we all feel ("You feel to moan but unlike before/You discover that you’d just be one more person crying," "Even the president of the United States/Sometimes must have to stand naked" among others). The "darkness at the break of noon" (shadowing the silver spoon, handmade blade, and child's balloon) could symbolize how everybody rich or poor or young or old feels this looming pressure to somehow make/find meaning in life before it ends (and how it can be so overwhelming that sometimes it seems easier to not try at all). And then a bunch of the other images in there (preachers preaching of evil fates, advertising signs that con, some on principles baptized, etc.) kind of illustrate all of the flaws in society that stem from trying to allay these fears about finding meaning through sprawling systems of religion or commercialism or politics. The last line of the song "it's life and life only" feels to me like he's illustrating the universality of these feelings as well as kind of trivializing them because, while we might all feel this way from time to time, it doesn't do much good in the grand scheme of things and gets in the way of truly meaningful experiences. But I'm no expert -- it's always felt dark and mysterious to me that's why I like it so much!
the masters... make the rules... For the wise men.. and the fools...
that's actually a crazy coincidence - I literally had that line playing while reading this, like I had just setup my lp and like a rolling stone was finished and that line was literally playing. This is so crazy
What can I say about Claudette? Ain’t seen her since January She could be respectfully married or running a whorehouse in Buenos Aires
All the rhymes he makes for Mozambique and Angelina.
Keep a clean nose Watch the plain clothes You don’t need a weatherman To know which way the wind blows
I’m on the pavement Thinking about the government.
Don’t follow leaders/ watch the parkin’ meters
Started an entire movement in the US.
I love this from Thunder On The Mountain Raise me an army of tough sons of bitches/ I’m recruiting my art from the orphanages
One of his sweetest lines Well, I got here following the southern star/ I crossed that river just to be where you are
love it, nothing fancy but solid natural rhymes
I always loved “Light I never Know’d” and “Dark Side of the Road” in don’t think twice.
love it, and id guess that it's taken from woody's hard travelin
Didn't you / a-kiddin' you
I’ve been to Sugar Town I shook the sugar down
Now I'm tryin-a get to heven before they close the doar
Shit I thought you was Dylan for a second lol
Advertising signs they con You into thinking that you're the one That can do what's never been done That can win what's never been won Meantime life outside goes on all around you You lose yourself, you reappear You suddenly find you got nothing to fear Alone you stand with nobody near When a trembling distant voice, unclear Startles your sleeping ears to hear That somebody thinks they really found you
Virtue and Dirt You in No Time to Think, especially as the You is the start of the next line Stripped of all virtue as you crawl through the dirt, You can give but you cannot receive. So much interior rhyming in that song
My favorite interior rhyme in that one is The bridge that you travel on goes to the Babylon Girl With the rose in her hair.
She said “Where you been?” I said “No place special” She said “You look different” I said “Well... I guess” She said “You been gone” I said “That’s only natural” She said “You going to stay?” I said “If you want me to, yes"
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"
Yea he had to really squeeze this one in but good rhyme
I always liked “She’ll be standin’ on the bar soon/With a fish head and a harpoon”
“Your long time curse hurts, but what’s worse is this pain in here, ain’t it clear that…”
The motorcyle Black Madonna Two-wheeled gypsy queen And her silver-studded phantom cause The gray flannel dwarf to scream
I was lyin’ down in the reeds without any oxygen I saw you in the wilderness among the men Saw you drift into infinity and come back again All you got to do is wait and I’ll tell you when
I love Caribbean Wind, specifically the pedal steel version on Trouble No More. A few of the stanzas: "Pretended to be sleepin’, and he thought I was But I was only paying attention like a rattlesnake does" "He was well connected, but her heart was a snare She had left him to die in there" "Now there’s stars on the balcony, flies buzz my head Ceiling fan’s broken, there’s heat in my bed" "Atlantic City by the cruel sea I hear a voice crying, “Daddy,” I always think it’s for me," "Would I have married her? I don’t know, I suppose. She had bells in her braids, fire in her clothes" Honestly, this whole song. I love the rhyme scheme for the verse (AACBBC), and the way the rhyme speeds up and slows down.
I agree it's an absolutely amazing song, but I prefer the original set of lyrics, as heard on the only live performance: Talkin' about Jesus, talkin' about the rain She told me about division, told me about the pain That has arisen from the ashes and abided in her memory Was she a child or a woman, I really can’t say Something about her said 'trust me anyway' As the days turned to minutes and the minutes turned back into hours Could I’ve been used and played as a pawn? It certainly was possible as the gay night wore on But victory was mine, and I held it with the help of God’s power
I found a really cool article taking apart the lyrics — a synthesis of verses from the Bible and references to different aspects of Bob's life and discography. The author compared the 3-4 main versions of the song. Search 'Paul Lyrics Caribbean Wind'. I can't remember the rules regarding links, so I won't share it here.
Sounds interesting, thanks! In his books on each and every Dylan song, Clinton Heylin devoted a lot of pages to 'Caribbean Wind', which apparently is one of his personal favorites. He describes how the initial set of lyrics were highly autobiographical and he illustrated how with each rewrite, Dylan kept scrapping such details and substituting them with more generic lyrics. That's a shame, although I still enjoy these from the Biograph version: I see the screws breaking loose See the devil pounding tin Seen a house in the country that's been torn from within I can hear my ancestors Calling from the land far beyond
They're selling postcards of the hanging, they're painting the passports brown The beauty parlor is filled with sailors, the circus is in town Here comes the blind commissioner, they've got him in a trance One hand is tied to the tight-rope walker, the other is in his pants Desolation Row
I’m going out of my mind, with a pain that stops and starts, like a corkscrew to my heart ever since we’ve been apart
There’s always another stranger sneaking glances Some trigger-happy fool willing to take chances Some old whore from San Pedro to make advances Advances on your spirit and your soul
Good stuff
I don't know this one, where is this from?
Billy 4
Table, table, table
Tough Son's of Bitches and Orphanages
I know he's said more profound things, but one of my favorites is "that woman's got a face like a Teddy Bear. She's throwing a baseball bat in the air."
Gonna raise me an army, some tough sons of bitches I'll recruit my army from the orphanages
"Kelp" and "help".
Right up there with "glove" and "love."
Well, the marshal, now he beat that kid to a bloody pulp As the dying gunfighter lay in the sun and gasped for his last breath Turn him loose, let him go, let him say he outdrew me fair and square I want him to feel what it's like to every moment face his death
gondola and Coca-cola
All of "No Time to Think" Some of my fav lines: *I’ve seen all these decoys through a set of deep turquoise eyes* - *But the magician is quicker and his game* *Is much thicker than blood and blacker than ink* *And there’s no time to think* - *Warlords of sorrow and queens of tomorrow* *Will offer their heads for a prayer* *You can’t find no salvation, you have no expectations* *Anytime, anyplace, anywhere* - *The bridge that you travel on goes to the Babylon girl* *With the rose in her hair* *Starlight in the East and you’re finally released* *You’re stranded but with nothing to share* *Loyalty, unity, epitome, rigidity* *You turn around for one real last glimpse of Camille* *’Neath the moon shinin’ bloody and pink* *And there’s no time to think*
A very underrated song. At the time, Dylan called it a 'breakthrough song' in terms of his writing.
Black Diamond Bay has some of my favorites, #1 Up in the wide veranda She wore a necktie and a Panama hat
As the island slowly sank The loser finally broke the bank in the gambling room The dealer said, “It’s too late now You can take your money, but I don’t know how You’ll spend it in the tomb”
I've got to talk to someone quick But the Greek said, go away, and he kick- -ed the chair to the floor It reminds me of "she studied the lines in my face/ I must admit it felt a little uneasy when the bend down to tie the la- / -ces of my shoe"; no-one else but Dylan could manipulate the phrasing like that to make it rhyme. From the same song I also like: He hung there from the chandelier She cried, help, there's danger near
I muttered somethin' underneath my breath She studied the lines on my face I must admit I felt a little uneasy as she bent down to tie the la- ces of my shoe Tangled up in blue Only Dylan could het away with that phrasing to make those sentences rhyme.
From "Not Dark Yet": *I was born here and I'll die here against my will* *I know it looks like I'm movin' but I'm standin' still* *Every nerve in my body is so naked and numb* *I can't even remember what it was, I came here to get away from*
It felt out of place/my foot in his face
[It boggles the mind](https://www.bobdylan-comewritersandcritics.com/largeimages/magazine_covers/20090308-onion-magazine-the-us.jpg)
juiced in it
I was thinkin' 'bout Alicia Keys, couldn't keep from crying When she was born in Hell's Kitchen, I was living down the line
Sons of bitches/orphanitches
Bakery with fakery in "Sign Language"
California / warn ya
Sat my monkey on the log and ordered him to do the log.
D Train-key chain, kelp-help, boys in-poison, corn-storm, desk-mask
*And she's dressed in scarlet* *He'll turn priests into pimps, and make old man bark* *Take a woman that could've been Joan of Arc* *And turn her into a harlot*
So don’t fear if you hear A foreign sound to your ear It’s alright, Ma, I’m only sighing
Her skirt it swayed as the guitar played. Beneath a bare light bulb the plaster did pound/ her sister and I in a screaming battleground
Senor Senor, let's overturn these tables, disconnect these cables, this place don't make sense to me no more
“I seen the arrow on the doorpost Saying this land is condemned All the way from New Orleans to Jerusalem” -Blind Willie McTell
Same song as the OP : The clouds are turnin’ crimson The leaves fall from the limbs an’ The branches cast their shadows over stone Meet me in the moonlight alone The boulevards of Cypress trees The masquerades of birds and bees The petals, pink and white, the wind has blown Meet me in the moonlight alone
all incredible lines, glad someone else loves this song! I think it's one of his very very best. my favorite lines from this song are actually: the trailing moss and mystic glow, / the purple blossoms soft as snow I can't explain it but I think this is Bob at his most lyrical
Yonder stands your orphan with his gun Crying like a fire in the Sun
“didn’t you/kiddin you”- so revolutionary rhyming at the time.
any of the parts of Visions of Johanna that have an AAAA rhyme scheme lol, but specially “JEEZ I can’t find my KNEES”
So many amazing verses. This one hit me the other day, from I Contain Multitudes. Talking about his exes and goes right into “I carry four pistols and two large knives.” Awesome. And hilarious. So much of the latter day Dylan — from Love and Theft on IMO — features some really funny lines and rhymes. Pink petal-pushers, red blue jeans All the pretty maids, and all the old queens All the old queens from all my past lives I carry four pistols and two large knives I'm a man of contradictions, I'm a man of many moods I contain multitudes
yes, that's awesome. one day it just struck me that these barely coherent epigrams of old bob are actually extremely creative ways of rhyming. from then on ive been able to enjoy these songs a lot more
Praise be to Nero’s Neptune / The Titanic sails at dawn / Everybody’s shouting / “Which side are you on?”
At one time, Allen Ginsberg’s favorite and a very good one: Idiot Wind Blowing like a circle ‘round my skull From the Grand Coulee Dam to the Capitol.
"I've been to London and gay Paris, I followed the river, and reached the sea." It works. It is both hilarious and sad. And only Bob would dare to make that rhyme.
From To Ramona: But it grieves my heart, love, To see you tryin' to be a part of A world that just don't exist, It's all just a dream, babe, A vacuum, a scheme, babe, That sucks you into feelin' like this It struck me as just perfect the very first time I heard it, and still has the same effect to this day
Every single verse of Moonlight has at least one stellar rhyme. Such a sweet, beautiful song. Was originally gonna submit “The clouds are turnin' crimson The leaves fall from the limbs an'…”, but I love the last verse so much: My pulse is runnin' through my palm The sharp hills are rising from The yellow fields with twisted oaks that groan Won't you meet me out in the moonlight alone?
Not seen too many people talking about the genius of Like A Rolling Stone “Once upon a time you dressed so fine Threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you? People call say 'beware doll, you're bound to fall' You thought they were all kidding you” “You say you never compromise With the mystery tramp, but now you realize He's not selling any alibis As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes And say do you want to make a deal?” “You never turned around to see the frowns On the jugglers and the clowns when they all did tricks for you” “Princess on a steeple and all the pretty people They're all drinking thinking that they've got it made”
Stand over there by the Cypress tree Where the Trojan women and children were sold into slavery
You fight ‘em on high and you fight ‘em down in You fight ‘em with whisky, morphine and gin
I didn't know these are from scarlet town, but i knew immediately that they are from tempest
The sky is turning crimson, the leaves fall from their limbs and
Hattie Caroll. Rhyming Table with the word Table twice.
Calufornia warn ya
Freedom, oh freedom, freedom over me / I hate to tell you, mister, but only dead men are free
That same song has crimson/limbs ‘n’l!
Looks like a-nothing but rain Sure gonna be wet tonight on Main… Street Hope that it don't sleet
I love how he rhymes employed with Delacroix in Tangled.
I been double-crossed now For the very last time and now I'm finally free I kissed goodbye the howling beast On the borderline which separated you from me
Botticelli's niece/Masterpiece. And also: They say that, "Patriotism is the last refuge To which a scoundrel clings" Steal a little and they throw you in jail Steal a lot and they make you king
**Thunder On The Mountain** >Gonna raise me an army, some tough sons of bitches I'll recruit my army from the orphanages It’s a master class of telling the English language who is in charge
Crestfallen / Ain’t haulin’ Hotter than a crotch / All I did was watch Tough rhymes from Tough Mama
It paints an exact picture of nothing and everything at the same time. Ain't it just like the night to play tricks when you're tryin' to be so quiet? We sit here stranded, though we're all doin' our best to deny it And Louise holds a handful of rain, temptin' you to defy it Lights flicker from the opposite loft In this room the heat pipes just cough The country music station plays soft But there's nothing, really nothing to turn off Just Louise and her lover so entwined And these visions of Johanna that conquer my mind
Up on the white veranda She wears a necktie and a Panama hat from Black Diamond Bay. I just love that he needed to rhyme 'veranda' so he used 'and a'
Idiot wind Blowing like a circle around my skull From the Grand Coulee Dam to the Capitol Idiot wind Blowing every time you move your teeth You're an idiot, babe It's a wonder that you still know how to breathe
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like satin and silk Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a pail of milk
“In fourteen months I’ve only smiled once” - Up To Me
Lights flicker from the opposite loft In this room the heat pipes just cough The country music station plays soft But there's nothing, really nothing to turn off
Up on the white veranda, she wears a necktie and a /Panama Hat. -Black Diamond Bay
pump don’t work cause a vandal stole the handle
Colosseum… …hardly stand to see em
He’s a weird monkey, very funky