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nate writes:
> All along the watchtower
> princes kept the view
> while all the women came and went
> barefoot servants too
> outside in the distance
> a wild cat did growl
> t[w]o riders were aproaching
> the wind began to howl
i've always thought the two riders _were_ the joker & the thief. and, apoclyptically, nothing is going to be the same for the princes, women and servants who hoped their watchtower would be enough of a defense.
and also that the joker & the thief are both dylan, as most of these songs on JWH are about the old dylan and the new dylan....old water under the bridge in this group, but not available to newer readers.
- nate
Matthew Zuckerman wrote:
I agree that it get's to be a bit of a hard slog to us collectors, and I also tend to skip over the 3rd song. But have you seen him live when he's done it? Did you feel that way then? I caought three shows in Tokyo back in 1994, and each night that was one of the highpoints. Absolutely charged performances that set the mood for the whole show each time.
Kees de Graaf wrote:
Hi Matthew, Kees de Graaf here, Yes I tend to agree. On CD w've grown tired but live is a different story. However, he has such a large opus that we would all be very glad seeing it replaced by something else. To go back to the original query. What is the meaning of this song? Does that 'justify' the 1000th rendition this year?
Heylin - a very controversial person on the List here I noticed- wrote in 'Behind the Shades': 'All along the Watchtower features perhaps the most overt allusions to the Bible (of the album JWH) The song's setting seems to be largely based on the section of Isaiah (21:5 and following) which deals with the fall of Babylon. Yet when the 'thief cries that the 'hour is getting late' it seems apparent that this is the thief in the night as foretold in Revelation, that is Jesus Christ come again, for he is the One who says in Revelation: I will come as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee' (Rev 16:15)
I agree. In combination with the other statuary song played at nr 6 'Silvio' I have the following theory:
1. The message from the watchtower has remained the same over the years: be careful judgement follows.
2. My time (Dylan's life time) might be nearly up and I continue to sing this song as I will go down the valley. (to go down the valley might mean: I will die soon) The echo will decide whether I was right or wrong. Dont worry time will reveal everything. 'All secrets will come out in time'...........
Regards
Kees de Graaf
unknown wrote:
Joker = Jesus
Thief = One of the robbers crucified next to him
(Confusion)Here - within the Church
Businessmen and Plowmen = peolple who could possibly fall into the category of Christians
My blood = Jesus' blood aka wine at communion
My earth = Jesus' substance or body aka bread at communion
None of them along the line = all of the Christians in line for communion
Basically what I think dylan was trying to say was that Christianity is in a state of mass confusion. Most christians were just going through the motions when it came to religous practices, they really didn't know or care "what any of this is worth."
Just thought I'd display my interpretation, I would like to know what other people think of the song.
Bill Parr wrote:
EDLIS Dylan & Christianity Agency
(See question in email appended at end for motivation for reposting this material from the Slow Train Coming Home Page.)
It is frequently commented that All Along the Watchtower is strongly related to Isaiah 21:1 - 10. For reference purposes, I provide the relevant material from Isaiah for the curious, and some additional citations.
Bill Parr EDLIS Dylan & Christianity Agency [email protected]
ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER - Biblical references ============================================== The Book of the Prophet Isaiah Chapter 21 1 The burden of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through; so it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land. 2 A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease. 3 Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it. 4 My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me. 5 Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield. 6 For thus hath the LORD said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth. 7 And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with much heed: 8 And he cried, A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights: 9 And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground. 10 O my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that which I have heard of the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you. ----- [DUTIES OF THE WATCHMAN] The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 33 1 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: 3 If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; 4 Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. 6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. 7 So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. 8 When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. 9 Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. 10 Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live? 11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? ----- [THE WILDCAT DID GROWL] The First Epistle of Peter Chapter 5 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: ----- The Revelation of St. John the Devine Chapter 6 2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. ----- The Revelation of St. John the Devine Chapter 19 11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. ----- [AND THE WIND BEGAN TO HOWL] The Revelation of St. John the Devine Chapter 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. ======================================= Jenny Leeden (Prophecy in the Christian Era, a book focusing on Dylan's early work in relation to Dante), says: All Along the Watchtower begins with a conversation between two men - the "joker" and the "thief" - who are within a walled city; and it concludes with the singer's remarks about what is going on outside the city while the conversation is taking place. The joker complains about the world; but the thief warns him that the world is coming to an end. Their exchange resembles a conversation recorded in the Bible, between the two men who were crucified with Jesus; because in that story one man scoffed at Jesus, but the other recognized Jesus as the Messiah and humbly begged for life. Bill Parr EDLIS Christianity and Dylan Agency [email protected] My home page: http://funnelweb.utcc.utk.edu/~wparr Slow Train Coming page: http://funnelweb.utcc.utk.edu/~wparr/SlowTrain.html
following a discussion of what the logic order of the verses should be, as opposed to the published/sung order,
Matthew & Mieko Zuckerman wrote:
Dylan [said], in an interview with John Cohen and Happy Traum (Sing Out! Oct-Nov 1968): "... the song "All Along the Watchtower," which opens up in a slightly different way, in a stranger way, for here we have a cycle of events working in a rather reverse order."
Richard wrote:
Bob discussed this song in a discussion published in Sing Out in 68. That song and its Sing Out references have been discussed here in the past. In general, Bob noted that on that record (JWH) the songs differed from some of his earlier work in that he was not in them, and that unlike the traditional ballad form, the listener has to bring part of himself to the song to complete it, to paraphrase him very loosely.
Zoner13 wrote:
Watchtower is a very simple "loop."
The last verse is really the "first" -- sequentially, anyway.
So when he says, "There must be someway out of here" -- he's referring to the fact they've lived in this world forever.
The last line, where the two riders are approaching (again) -- shows that, no, there apparently isn't any way "outta here."
Paul Williams, the greatest Dylan writer, nailed this on the head back when the record came out, and he was barely 20. (Consult Watching the River Flow, the book.)
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