Lyrics

[Guitar55]

Dylan is an impressionist and he follow no one else's rules. His stories don't necessarily conform to the listener's concepts of time, place and character. The cool thing is that this approach allows him to write something that might (or might not)have a specific maening for him, but frees the listener to find their own interpretation.

 

One of my favorites of his is "Ballad of a Thin Man". The lyric is a bit obtuse and for years its meaning eluded me. Then I read an article about how Dylan had played a festival (I forget which one) and Time magazine sent a reporter named Jones to cover it. Dylan knew that the reporter, the magazine and society in general were clueless to the cultural changes that were happening right in front of their eyes:

 

You walk into the room

With your pencil in your hand

You see somebody naked

And you say, "Who is that man?"

You try so hard

But you don't understand

Just what you'll say

When you get home

 

Because something is happening here

But you don't know what it is

Do you, Mister Jones?

 

You raise up your head

And you ask, "Is this where it is?"

And somebody points to you and says

"It's his"

And you say, "What's mine?"

And somebody else says, "Where what is?"

And you say, "Oh my God

Am I here all alone?"

 

Because something is happening here

But you don't know what it is

Do you, Mister Jones?

 

You hand in your ticket

And you go watch the geek

Who immediately walks up to you

When he hears you speak

And says, "How does it feel

To be such a freak?"

And you say, "Impossible"

As he hands you a bone

 

Because something is happening here

But you don't know what it is

Do you, Mister Jones?

 

You have many contacts

Among the lumberjacks

To get you facts

When someone attacks your imagination

But nobody has any respect

Anyway they already expect you

To just give a check

To tax-deductible charity organizations

 

You've been with the professors

And they've all liked your looks

With great lawyers you have

Discussed lepers and crooks

You've been through all of

F. Scott Fitzgerald's books

You're very well read

It's well known

 

Because something is happening here

But you don't know what it is

Do you, Mister Jones?

 

Well, the sword swallower, he comes up to you

And then he kneels

He crosses himself

And then he clicks his high heels

And without further notice

He asks you how it feels

And he says, "Here is your throat back

Thanks for the loan"

 

Because something is happening here

But you don't know what it is

Do you, Mister Jones?

 

Now you see this one-eyed midget

Shouting the word "NOW"

And you say, "For what reason?"

And he says, "How?"

And you say, "What does this mean?"

And he screams back, "You're a cow

Give me some milk

Or else go home"

 

Because something is happening here

But you don't know what it is

Do you, Mister Jones?

 

Well, you walk into the room

Like a camel and then you frown

You put your eyes in your pocket

And your nose on the ground

There ought to be a law

Against you comin' around

You should be made

To wear earphones

 

Because something is happening here

But you don't know what it is

Do you, Mister Jones?

[A String]

Originally posted by Sasquatch51:

Hmm....sometimes there is no hidden, deep, or prophetic meaning. Sometimes the songwriter was just writing a song and there is no profound life's story hidden in there....sometimes he was just filling space on an album and trying to find words that rhyme....

 

except for Monster Mash. Now THERE'S a deep, meaningful song.

Well of course. Monster Mash is a prolific compilation of observances, which envelop the very soul of the human species. There is deep meaning within the deep meaning and a explanation for who we are, that is so naked, it leaves you feeling exposed.

 

And, It Was A Grave Yard Smash.

[S. Yeti Bigfoot, Esq.]

Originally posted by A String:

Originally posted by Sasquatch51:

Hmm....sometimes there is no hidden, deep, or prophetic meaning. Sometimes the songwriter was just writing a song and there is no profound life's story hidden in there....sometimes he was just filling space on an album and trying to find words that rhyme....

 

except for Monster Mash. Now THERE'S a deep, meaningful song.

Well of course. Monster Mash is a prolific compilation of observances, which envelop the very soul of the human species. There is deep meaning within the deep meaning and a explanation for who we are, that is so naked, it leaves you feeling exposed.

 

And, It Was A Grave Yard Smash.

WHAT?!?!?! Monster Mash was written for....for....HUMANS? How DEVASTATING!!!!! What next? I guess now you're going to tell me that Harry and the Hendersons was just a made-up story and not a documentary.....

[Kramer Ferrington III.]

Originally posted by Sasquatch51:

except for Monster Mash. Now THERE'S a deep, meaningful song.

Bloody intellectuals...

[S. Yeti Bigfoot, Esq.]

Originally posted by Kramer Ferrington III.:

Originally posted by Sasquatch51:

except for Monster Mash. Now THERE'S a deep, meaningful song.

Bloody intellectuals...

Intellectual? I hope you're not talking about me!!!!! I'm a Catholic, I'm not an Intellectual! I don't know what religion has to do with it anyway!

[Kramer Ferrington III.]

I quite like the song "Heroes".

 

And the funniest thing is that I'm not particularly interested in learning the lyrics. I've never bothered to google them up. I suppose I have a vague idea of what it's about, redemption and all that, but it's never really mattered to me. It really needs Bowie to really make it come alive and I guess that I'm responding to the sound of the guy's voice as well as the words themselves.

 

And that's the trick, of course. In order to be a lyric, it needs someone to actually sing the bloody thing, otherwise let's forget about lyrics and talk about poetry instead. Which means that, IMHO, it doesn't make much sense to talk about lyrics outside the context of the song they're in. Stuff that on paper looks like "ooooh" and "aaaaah" can be quite sublime when put into their own context.

 

I suppose that if I had to talk about lyrics outside their musical context, I probably prefer ballads in their original sense of "story songs" because they manage to involve the listener in a way that almost bypasses then singer. The singer becomes a sort of conduit, a window through which we can watch the story unfold.

 

In that sense, my favourite ballads would probably be "Sonora's Death Row", "Black Veil" and maybe something like "John Riley" or that sort of thing. Or maybe something a tad more modern like "Streets Of Baltimore" or whatever. I'm not sure anyone outside Country does a good narrative these days. Perhaps the rock idiom frowns on such things?

 

 

Mescal is free in Amanda's saloon for the boys from the old broken 'O' Saturday nights in the town of Sonora are the best in all Mexico.

They've got guitars and trumpets and sweet senoritas who won't want to let you go. You'd never believe such a happy town had a street called "Sonora's Death Row"

 

Inside Amanda's we were all dancin' with six of Amanda's gals. I won some silver at seven card stud so I was out doin' my ? But the whiskey and mescal and peso cigars drove me outside for some air. Somebody whispered "Your life or your money!", I reached but my gun wasn't there.

 

I woke up face down in Amanda's back alley aware of the fool I had been. Rushed to a saddle, grabbed someone's rifle and entered Amanda's again. Where I saw my partners twirling my pistols and throwing my money around.

 

Blinded by anger, I jacked the lever and one of them fell to the ground.

 

Amanda's got silent like night in the desert, my friends stared in pure disbelief. Amanda was kneeling beside the dead cowboy plainly expressing her grief.

 

And as I bowed my head a tremble shot through me, my pistol was still at my side! I felt my pockets and there was my money, I fell to my knees and I cried.

 

A nightmare on mescal was all that it was, no one had robbed me at all. I wish I was dreaming the sound of the gallows they're testing just outside the wall.

 

And the mescal's still free at Amanda's saloon for the boys from the old Broken O

I'd payransom to drink there today and be free of Sonora's death row.

[Xplorer]

Some of mine:

 

Alice In Chains:

"I'm the dog who get's beat, shove my nose in shit"

 

Pantera: (about racism)

"If one man

Had one home

In one world

Held live alone without variety

Full of anxiety

No one to point at, question

Or even talk to -- in his private grave

No matter what color

He wouldn't be saved from hell

He dwells

A closed mind playing the part of prison cells"

[fantasticsound]

Oh, and let's not forget Eric Clapton's Tears In Heaven. What would that song be without the lyrics (and the common knowledge it was written in memory of the tragic death of his young child.)

 

Tears In Heaven - Eric Clapton

 

Would you know my name,

if I saw you in heaven?

Would it be the same,

if I saw you in heaven?

 

I must be strong,

and carry on.

'Cause I know.. I don't belong,

here in heaven.

 

Would you hold my hand

if I saw you in heaven?

Would you help me stand

if I saw you in heaven?

 

I'll find my way,

somehow, someday.

'Cause I know I just can't stay,

here in heaven.

 

Time can bring you down,

Time can bend your knees.

Time can break your heart,

have you begging please.. begging please...

 

Beyond the door,

there's peace I'm sure.

And I know.. there'l be no more,

tears in heaven.

 

Would you know my name,

if I saw you in heaven?

Would it be the same,

if I saw you in heaven?

 

Would you know my name,

if I saw you in heaven?

Would it be the same,

if I saw you in heaven?

 

I must be strong,

and carry on.

'Cause I know.. I don't belong,

here in heaven.

 

'Cause I know.. I don't belong,

here in heaven.