Thanks so much for your great comment, Tom! Hahaha, I agree 100% about the need to perform ALL of the 10 stanzas of Desolation Row. I've seen some otherwise very good cover versions that decided to drop a few stanzas and.....well, it just doesn't seem right to me. Each stanza has so much to say about the overall ideas of the state of mind represented by "desolation row". I would have enjoyed seeing your tribute concert. Bravo to you for doing it. And thanks again for your kind and encouraging comment - I really appreciate it! Cheers. Jeff

@@CalicoSilver Dylan tended to drop verses of long songs later n performance in his career. He did so with thisone on MTV Unplugged (time constraints?), concert for Bangladesh, (Tambourine Man) It's All Right Ma, and many versions of Stuck inside of Mobile.

My favourite song well explained 👏

Dylan & Lou Reed were living in Greenwich village (NYC) about the same time. (Early to mid '60s). D wrote 'Like a Rolling Stone' about Edie Sedgwick, supposedly. She was part of Andy warhol's 'factory'. Around the same time, Lou Reed and his band ,Velvet Underground, had their 1st album sponsored by Warhol. He also did the cover, a banana. There are more connections between the two.

Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed the video. I most certainly enjoyed making it, even if I have no idea what the song is actually about. Haha! Cheers. Jeff

Hi Calvin. The only Gorky I've read, and it was back in the '70s, was his "The Life Of A Useless Man", which I enjoyed. Now I will put his "A Rolling Stone" on the top of my reading list, thanks!! Loved your story of your "Desolation Row" in West Yellowstone, MT (a place I've been to several times).....fits so well with what I think this song is all about! thank for sharing it. Jeff

I just ordered Gorky's "A Rolling Stone", Calvin. Looking forward to reading it ASAP. Thanks again. Jeff

Thanks, Ricardo. Yes I agree 100% that Dylan's vocal performance (here and elsewhere) is never given the credit it deserves, and is often vacuously derided by dull minded critics. Oh well, what can we say? Thanks again for your kind and encouraging words! Jeff

I agree. His vocal style here, as opposed to in concert, is slower, more rhythmic, like a flowing stream. The rasp, with full throated feeling, is perfect and Charlie McCoy's guitar is spellbinding. Dylan seemed to have an intuition for best performances. "It takes a lot to laugh, it takes a train to cry" was changed last minute to be a much slower bluesy song which amplified its feeling and power enormously.

Thank you very much, Frank, for your encouraging comment. I really appreciate it. Jeff

Hi Glen. Great song, indeed. Like another commenter said, Desolation Row is a state of mind, a state of freedom and independence of thought, at least IMHO. Thanks for the comment as always. Jeff

Thank you, Jakob. Jeff

Thanks Caroline. So glad to be of any assistance. I really enjoy “interpreting” Dylan’s writing, even while acknowledging just how absurd might be the result, haha!! Anyway, thanks again for your kind comment, and I hope your thesis is met with enthusiastic success!! Cheers. Jeff

@@CalicoSilver It's true! Dylan is the chaotic type, but somehow we enjoy it hahah Cheers from Brazil, thanks for all the enlighment! You sure to be credited :)

Thanks, Spencer!! I appreciate it! Jeff

Thanks Jo. I appreciate your kind comment. Cheers. Jeff

Thank you for your kind comments.

Thanks!

Thank you for your kind and encouraging comment, Alma. And thanks for the info regarding Silber's letter to Dylan - I was not aware of that letter (well, I'm sure I read about it years ago but forgot), but it very well may have had a role in Dylan's intention for that stanza of this great song. Thanks again, and cheers! Jeff

@@CalicoSilver Hi Jeff, There is a full copy of the letter on Google, I tried to attach a link to it on my original post but KZfaq prevented me from posting, I assume because of the link.

Thanks, Anthony! I heard the Hwy61 album in the car today during a road trip and I am still amazed at how great it is. My favorite Dylan album, I think.....at least today! Haha.

Most serious rock critics agree with Calico that Desolation Row is a sanctuary from societal madness.

Thank you for your kind comment, Charlie. I really appreciate it. Jeff

Thanks!

Thank you very much. I really appreciate it.

Also I never knew about Einstein's friend the monk. I always thought "his friend a jealous monk" was a reference to the constant disagreements between the religious and the scientific communities

Thanks, Chameshi. I enjoyed making this video, and want to remind everyone who sees it that I could be completely wrong about everything I said in it! Hahaha. But yes, I love this song and very much enjoyed talking about it. Thanks again. Jeff

@@chameshiperera3248 That is what I always thought too, Chameshi. I thought it was referencing a conflict between faith and science.....but I recently had read about Einstein's priest friend and fellow scientist who was relatively underappreciated compared to Einstein, and thought of this song. So...I just thought it would be an interesting thing to talk about here. Cheers. Jeff

Thanks.

Thanks for your comment - I appreciate it.

Wow, what a GREAT song to be introduced (more than just Blowing in the Wind or Don't Think Twice, as good as they were) to Dylan's songwriting genius. It took me a while to get into this song because at first it just seemed so impenetrable lyrics-wise. Still does! Haha. Thanks for your great comment, Keith. Jeff

Timeless art, indeed. Nothing “pop” or merely “fashionable”…..well, almost nothing anyway.

Thanks, Mick. Keep in mind that I am only reading into this song what my own feeble brain is capable of deriving from it. Someone recently told me that my Dylan interpretations are too prosaic, which is perhaps somewhat true, but I do try to view them from a poetic standpoint. Also, I just enjoy the challenge of a good interpretive endeavor. I do see a lot of consistency in the lyrics of Dylan that makes me think I am at least on to something.....even if that "something" might be totally wrong....ha!

Exactly! Your comment is perfect. Thanks!

@@CalicoSilver could you do a video like this about Bob Dylan's song "It's all right ma I'm only bleeding" please. I think that song is even deeper than this one.

@@superfinevids I have already done a lyrical analysis of It’s Alright Ma. You can find it if go to my channel homepage and click on “Playlists” and then click on the playlist of Bob Dylan videos. Scroll through them and you should see it, as well as all the other Dylan videos I have made. In fact let me try to locate the link for you and send it in a separate response here…..

Here is the link, Ken: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/hsp5nsmWr7jOg3U.htmlsi=seIX1eNQThA5LGzB

kzfaq.info/get/bejne/hsp5nsmWr7jOg3U.htmlsi=seIX1eNQThA5LGzB

Wow, thanks so much for your amazing comments, Ken!! I've been enjoying reading and re-reading them. I've learned a lot from you, thanks. You seem to have a real passion and sense for the depth of Dylan's art, and I appreciate your sharing it with me. Cheers! Jeff

His lyrics always take me on mental journeys.....probably to places he never intended, haha! But fun and rewarding nonetheless. Thanks, Jeffrey

You might very well be right. Those agents and superhumans could be any self-important people, true. Thanks for your comment.

I think these people represent archetypes of "normal society" who round up everyone who "knows more than they do". The kerosene is brought by "**insurance agents** who prevent anyone from "escaping to Desolation Row).This harkens back to these two verses (or more) in "It's All Right Ma (I'm Only Bleeding. ) Advertisements (consumption society )wants us to think we are "superhuman" for buying their products "Advertising signs that con you Into thinking 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." And a more direct correlation with that verse in DR :"While one who sings with his tongue on fire Gargles in the rat race choir Bent out of shape from society's pliers Cares not to come up any higher But rather get you down in the hole That he's in." Hope this helps

It's hard to beat this one, lyrically, that's for sure. I am sometimes torn between whether I value these long epic lyrics over those rare songs with just one verse that can be amazingly profound as well. Haha!

Thanks Paulie! Jeff

Thanks Rocky. I enjoy thinking and talking about poetry and great lyrics. Glad a few folks don’t mind humoring my enthusiasm. Haha! Thanks again for your kind and encouraging comments. Jeff

@@CalicoSilver i would like to go one step further in humoring your enthusiasm...i would be honored to send you a copy of my album...it's only available on vinyl and i believe you once told me that you don't own a record player anymore...nevertheless....it is my own spoken word poetry (many of which are actually song lyrics)...it has been compared to dylan, kerouac and the like, so you might dig it (it's on discogs, amazon, etc. if you want to check it out), and like i said...it would simply be an honor knowing you have a copy...just let me know where it would go and i'll be happy to send it to you...peace always my friend...rocky

@@rocky-o Rocky, I appreciate your kind offer and I would love to read and/or hear your poetry. If you have a digital (mp3 or CD or streaming) format of your album I will be able to happily hear it. If you have your poetry written and can send me a Word or PDF file of it, I will be able to happily read it. But if you send me an LP, it will never be heard by me (no one I know has a turntable), so there is no point in your sending it to me. Sorry to be blunt, but I'm just being honest. But thanks again. Jeff

Thanks. I enjoyed overthinking the heck out of this song, haha! But seriously, it is just one of those great songs of Dylan's that brings to mind so many things from history and culture. He is like a sponge, absorbing so much, even at this early age. Amazing.

@@CalicoSilver that's great that you explained all that here:-) I mostly perceived his songs intuitively and always loved most long ones 😅 (the other day was thinking to sing again the Gates of Eden) .. now I think I'm so lucky I had great interest in all that in the past so now I can dive into the mening of it even deeper

@@anoccasionaldream Gates of Eden! Another brilliant one. A 23-year-old guy wrote that song, can you believe it?

@@CalicoSilver That's really hard to believe! I've just realized that I didn't always think of the songs in that chronological way, I think because I had many albums at once in access and could choose which one it resonated to explore ~ in Russia we had series of CDs with all albums in mp3 of various musicians (I don't think it was some legal stuff but it was widely spread on the market) which also included all lyrics of the songs in text files! So I was exploring a lot. Not much of interesting stuff was available as licensed CDs, mostly it was pirated. There were also special shops for rich educated kids to buy real albums brought from abroad ~ very expensive! I was not rich, but I was saving up money to have some as special treasure ~ so I had Infidels for my favourite Jokerman and 'I and I' and also big beautiful box with booklet of bootleg series 1-3 which they were selling with discount ~ I think I had it for my Birthday as present to myself in 2005:-) I was kind of weird girl living surrounded by piles of printed lyrics from official Dylan's web-site and chords from wherever I could find them, learning that all by heart, singing those long songs while walking with workmates to dining room in nearby school and waiting for cheap portion of soup and buckwheat in a line (they all thought of me as crazy, but in a good way:-)) or reciting 'Last thoughts of Woody Guthrie' to gloominess of late autumn day on some swampy shore of a small river flowing into Volga that local bards and artists called Mississippi sailing there on Flamingo yacht with the captain who liked their company and took them to those trips for free.. One of the main reasons I wanted to learn English was to understand the meaning of songs ~ and so then I needed to find songs which would be interesting to understand:-) that's how I got to Dylan. Interestingly I was indifferent to album version of Gates of Eden until I heard concert version of it on some bootleg from a guy who had great bootleg collection and shared it for free with anyone who's interested ~ he sent me huge pile of CDs and DVDs with flac files! Which I have not cheched all completely because I was moving a lot and then started travelling and just hope now that it's still safe somewhere probably in different places.. I can't say now which exactly concert it was but that version really touched me deeply! I could really feel the song! And found then how it can be important ~ the way the song is perfomed. Because it can be just automatic repetition of words or it can be really felt from inside:-) (and so I often feel it with my own songs too when I try to record them and express the right feeling, not just repeat words) I don't know what was wrong for me in album version, I don't say it's bad, maybe I should listen to it to check again.. But from that concert version I could really get the energy of the message! Which made me greatly interested in learning and playing that song. But again, I was perceiving it mostly intuitively without doing research or analysis ~ so if you have one I do need to check. In those times ~ from around 20 years ago to a bit more than 10 years ago ~ I researched all I could find, but I don't remember wide-spread information about such analyses as you do. Maybe I didn't check then absolutely all. But anyway I see that it needs knowlege of many historical facts ~ so it's valuable that you gather it all together and share. And I love also how you just logically get the meaning of the things which I as artist probably perceived in more surreal way as visions bringing me particular feelings, but I was not trying to explain it in words to mysef. So this information is totally a treasure! 💎

@@anoccasionaldream Thank you so much for this marvelous comment! I really appreciate your taking the time to offer it. And I am happy to meet you. Cheers. Jeff

Thanks Gavin. Yes, Desolation Row, Gates Of Eden, Key West……

Just make the check out to “CalicoSilver”. Haha!!

Thanks Jayy!

Thanks Jeffrey! I really appreciate your kind comment. Cheers! from Another Jeff ;-)

Truer words were never spoken, Ralph. I refuse to listen to any "news" any longer. It is a shame but I do not trust a word that I hear from anyone in the media. It is amazing that Dylan knew this even back when he was in his early 20s. Thanks for the great comment. Jeff

Thanks, Fergus!

You’re welcome. I’d never realised the significance of the difference between the characters who are on or off desolation row before, or thought of it as a good place to be. It’s still to me a tragic song, but not so apocalyptic. Lots of other useful references explained too. Thank you.

Thanks.

It is second on my queue, Chris, and coming very soon. Gotta review a '60s album I've always wanted to review first (hopefully today), then "New York" shortly after that. Yeah, it is coming (unless I drop dead first.....).

I agree 100%, Taya. I find that after listening to other music for a while, I need to always go back to Dylan like going back to an old friend or loved one. There will never be another Bob Dylan. Thanks for your comment. Jeff

With each passing year my confidence in my feeble attempts to interpret Dylan’s lyrics grows weaker. I have enjoyed doing so, but I question why I felt the desire to do so. Haha!

Thanks for your great comment, Eric! I have read it multiple times just because it was so good. I very much appreciate your taking the time to post this. And yes, I love "Farewell Angelina" and will put it on my queue for future analysis. Thanks again, and best wishes. Jeff

Thanks. Glad you enjoyed the video. Cheers. Jeff

Thanks! I really enjoyed doing this one. I will be posting my interpretation of All Along The Watchtower soon, I hope. Thanks for your comment. Jeff

What a GREAT comment, George!! Thank you so much for sharing this with me (and whoever reads this). I noticed a similar emphasis on the "in" or "out" and "to" and "from", etc., regarding the Gates Of Eden in that song also. I pay close attention to those words to help me formulate an interpretation. I also study the final verses of a song first, and then go to the beginning and work from there.....it often helps in the interpretation. As a lover of The Bible and the interpretive challenges and joys it offers, I very much appreciate how Dylan uses so many Biblical references and themes in hi songs. As to whether he consciously does so or whether the Bible is so ingrained in him that he does so sub- or super-consciously, I don't know. Many enthusiasts seem to think that his inclusion of Biblical references only began with his evangelical phase, but it began much much earlier, all the way back to his beginning. I would be interested in knowing whether he grew up reading the Bible or not.....I'm not enough of a Dylan biographical expert to know stuff like that. He mentioned in his Ed Bradley 60 Minutes interview that he "made a deal" with "the commander in chief" (which some have foolishly taken to mean with "the devil" but that is nonsense), and implied that a lot of his finest lyrics seem to come from that resulting wellspring of inspiration. And he sings about it all the time, his inspiration from poetic "tambourine man", "mother of muses", et al.. He has never been one to seem to imply that his art comes solely from HIM, but from inspirations. That brutal honesty (even admitting to "theft" from his inspirations) is one of the many things I admire about him as an artist....and is why I think his art touches so many people from so many walks of life. As for "getting out of the way" of inspiration and letting it happen, you make an EXCELLENT point there, George! You are so right. I've written many songs of my own and there are some that only have one verse that came quickly and perfectly at the time I wrote them......and for years later I agonized over attempting to "finish" those songs, because some of them I really like.....but several years ago I decided to stop trying to do so and leave them as is. I'd obviously made the point I wanted to make in the song with that one verse....and nothing more needed to be said....so "leave it alone", I told myself. One thing I will say about Dylan....if he writes a song with 24 verses in it (haha), they're almost always worth hearing....all 24 verses. Very little filler/fluff. But sometimes he says a LOT in a few verses, like on some of those great short songs on John Wesley Harding...like All Along The Watchtower which contains a world all to itself. Finally, about following your heart over your mind......truer words were NEVER spoken. Never. Thanks again, George. I really really enjoyed your comment (as always). I really appreciate your companionship via this channel. All my best to you, my friend. Jeff

@@CalicoSilver Bob lives with the Akashic library, He cant call information, but when he hears something or reads he can tell if the writers were also linked to the Akashic library Its like the Phrase "made of sterner stuff" This phrase is echoing cortex to cortex eternally just by its being repeated in everyday life and nothing will ever be able to erase it, no reading or writing is needed ever Now there are layers to understanding the meaning of the phrase For example you can invent a temporary association to the phrase , like people can be stronger or less likely to change , etc etc, But on real examination its obvious that those meanings can be associated with any number of words and they all match, So the association is false because,, There is a real reason in the first instance for those exact words to be sent echoing with eternal meaning forever Because the words are the exact words needed to help people in the future who may live in a society that has forgotten all correct meanings to their language But 1 person can hear the words be doing something, then suddenly their cortex tells them this is what the words really mean and upon examination its perfect no loop holes Because that person has accessed the Akashic library So sometimes he will be writing and its from his individual experience and knowledge, other times he is writing stuff that maybe 6 months later, his cortex tells him what he really wrote in the Eternal sense But since "Bringing it all back home" he has known he was existing eteranlly Before then he was just a kid playing folk songs "16 years, 16 banners, united over the fields" so do as he says esoteric means several rules can be looked at always reducing the numbers to a single number , e,g, United so 1+6= 7 so then that's 7 years, 7 banners over the fields no sense Lets as " above as below" "7 years, 7 banners over the DESERT" Now that's real wisdom eternal and that was fully intended

Thanks - I am happy people are enjoying these discussions. Cheers! Jeff

Good point about the blind commissioner with his money in his pants! For some reason I didn’t think of that. Thanks Colleen. Cheers. Jeff

I can easily imagine his writing process (which is kinda why I used that image of him at the typewriter as the thumbnail for this video). I think Dylan has a very broad and unencumbered ("but for the sky there are no fences facing") artistic/literary/historical range of sight that is open to him and from which he can easily extract ideas, references, etc., and I think the only difficulty for creators like him is that he actually has to reign in the flood of ideas and references so that they can become manageable. No lack of inspiration in this guy; more likely he has to use discipline to manage the flood of inspiration. I love most versions of this song that I've heard by Dylan. The only versions I have not liked are when some artists cover the song with a vocal style that exhibits a complete lack of artistic or literary sympathy with the lyrics that they are singing.....as if they could be singing out of the phone book and exhibit the exact same faux emotive approach. Haha! But there are many who do great jobs of covering this song. I almost posted the 1989 live footage of Bob Weir and The Dead performing this song.....or Chris Smither's superb cover here on KZfaq (which unfortunately skips a verse or two, but it is great nonetheless). As for the pay-per-view thing, yeah I am over that stuff. But I had to delete that video just hours after I'd posted it because it was "going viral" (had 2000 views in just 6 hours or so) and the comments that were pouring in (most of which I was deleting as they did) were becoming way too ridiculous.....from Dylan cultists who didn't even see his "performance" or who didn't even see enough of my video to know that I praised the music and the singing and playing, just not the marketing and lip-synching.....but that doesn't matter to the cultists.....they were offended that I dared to have a negative opinion about anything related to Dylan at all. Anyway, I just took it down and decided to take a break from KZfaq for a while to clear it out of my mind. Thanks as always for your comment. Jeff

I like it, Henry. Great comment, thanks. I've often wondered if Dylan's writing was/is a series of snapshots or short-short-stories also. Like the examples you mention, yes. Like Keats' Grecian Urn even. Like browsing through a museum. As much as I am drawn to finding threads and links within and without his lyrics, I also I like this idea very much. Thanks again. Jeff

I agree. It grabs you and takes you on a ride where you never notice how much time is going by. Wavelength indeed.

Thanks for your great comment. I really appreciate it. Yes, I love your Ophelia-to-JoanOfArc idea. Dylan's lyrics are so pregnant with interpretive opportunity and enjoyment - they are filled with history, culture, poetry.... He definitely "contains multitudes". He must have a brain like a sponge. Even at such an early age. Thanks again. Jeff

Thank you, Daniel. I really appreciate your kind and encouraging comment. Cheers. Jeff

Haha, well either brilliant or bullcaca, one or the other, haha. But seriously, thanks so much for your kind and encouranging comment, Jack. Cheers. Jeff

Hi Bill. Wow, thanks for your amazing comment and very interesting insights into this great song. You are bringing in insight that I don't have, regarding the Jewish feast days and such. Also the part about the German ship carrying 1000 Jews, about which I knew nothing. Thanks for your input!! Cheers. Jeff

kzfaq.info/get/bejne/r5eCq7mFp72voqs.html Hope this is ok, posting this link.

I have not seen the movie, so ...

Yes it always made much more sense to me that it was a preferred place, Trudy. Thanks. Jeff

Yes he really fills out the song.

Thanks Carmelo! I really appreciate your comment. Cheers! Jeff

Yep. And while I enjoy the intellectual exercise (or perhaps wankery) of thinking about these lyrics, sometimes I do wonder why I bother when Dylan doesn’t seem to know what they’re about either, haha!

Thanks for your great comment and interpretive ideas regarding this magnificent song, Bradley. I appreciate it. Jeff

Wow, I had no idea that the phrase was that old! Thanks for the info. Relatedly, last year I lived no where. Just an old 1998 vehicle with my wife and 2 dogs. Stayed in one short-term rental after another, a few weeks here, a few weeks there, never knowing where we'd end up. No address, no job, nothing. It was like heaven!! (well, to me, anyway....not so much to my wife, haha) Now we've just settled down again, have a house, live in a beautiful place....but need a new roof, need to mend the stone retaining walls, need to this, need to that..... I really MISS being rootless, like a rolling stone. It was heaven.

There was a time when I didn't think I cared as much for this song as everyone else.....but then I listened and listened and listened....and then I read the lyrics over and over.....and it opened up for me like a flower......and then I understood why everyone loved it so much.

@@CalicoSilver it's a beauty ....even though they are very different songs it seems to want to played with Visions Of Johanna......don't know why...

Hi Alexander. Yes, I realize fully that my "interpretations" always stand on the very precipice of being totally blown to smithereens. My interpretation of "desolation row" as being a preferable place to "outside of desolation row" is akin to my interpretation of "inside the gates of eden" as being preferable to "outside the gates od eden", and I base these interpretations on the whole of the songs (i.e., when I take in all of the lyrics of these substantial songs, I come away with a clear (for me) feeling that these are preferable "places" to be). But you are right: "desolation" has negative connotations to most people.....but then again, most people would prefer to be outside of desolation row, outside the gates of eden, NOT like a rolling stone, etc.. So from the POV of most people, and I think these songs are written from that POV (and perhaps intentionally humorously so), these are "desolate" places. But from those who have broken away from the mainstream POV's, the opposite is true. That is what I gather from these songs. I think Dylan thinks this way and intentionally titles this song/place/state as "desolate" for that purpose. But then again, I peer into the abyss of being completely wrong, too! Hahahaha. Jeff

Oh, and by the way, Stuck Inside of Mobile is perhaps my favorite Bob Dylan song and yet I have little idea of what it is about! A tough nut to crack, that one....or it seems so, anyway.....but one day I will give it my best shot. ;-)

Thanks for your comment. Yes, I've often wondered to what extent the drugs and "stream of consciousness" and Beat influence, etc., affected the lyrics he was writing at the time. I'm sure the drugs made a huge impact, but I'm not sold on the notion that they or a stream-of-consciousness methodology resulted in mere word-salad or free-associative conglomeration, or in lyrics unworthy of interpretive endeavor. I read in these lyrics great poetry. I really appreciate your intelligent and well-stated comment, but I think we'd disagree somewhat on when the "party started". I find great logic and poetic cohesion in even earlier lyrics like 1964's "Chimes Of Freedom", "My Back Pages", "To Ramona"....even "Ballad in Plain D" (which I attempt to defend in a video I posted). But you make some excellent points and again, I appreciate your input. Cheers! Jeff

I think this is partly true but I think both can be correct. In surrealism Dylan is going for a **feeling** The feeling is as much apart of the interpretation as the strict lyrics. Tombstone Blues or the song Highway 61 (with the brilliant use of the siren whistle) are at a frenetic, out of control pace of a society careening toward catastrophe in utter madness. Desolation Row is much more constrained and the narrator is much more in control and we might say "objective". He is less reactive to the madness. The idea this dong does not have specific reference points is to be rejected as the first verse makes clear. And allusions do not have to be completely didactic to know the reference point. (The letter in the last verse is a very specific reference to a 1965 letter to Dylan published in "Sing Out" magazine) Take these two verses from Tombstone Blues, probably written in 1965 (which i believe is a surrealistic take on Vietnam-soldiers die for nothing (tombstones)- as well as general societal madness and authority) "Now, John the blacksmith, after torturing a thief Says to the hero, the Commander-in-chief "Tell me, great hero, but please make it brief Is there a hole for me to get sick in?" The Commander-in-chief answers him while chasing a fly Saying, "Death to all those who have whimper and cry" And, dropping a barbell, he points to the sky Saying, "The sun's not yellow, it's chicken" This is an incredible assault on a religion that would condone such a war and anti human values. Both Jesus (in the religion) and the US President (officially-LBJ) are "Commanders in Chief" "The king of the Philistines (Philistines were historical enemies of Israel but modern meaning is "guided by materialism and usually disdainful of intellectual or artistic values"). his **soldiers to save** Puts jawbones on their_ tombstones_(inverting Samson and soldiers as hero) and **flatters their graves** Puts the pied pipers in prison and fattens the slaves Then **sends them out to the jungle**. Gypsy Davey with a **blowtorch he burns out their camps** With his faithful slave Pedro behind him he tramps With a fantastic collection of stamps To win friends and influence his uncle. One does not have to be a rocket scientist to know what the artist is getting at. Yes he throws images often at blinding speed and nor every lyric is specific to something but the idea (that Dylan himself proclaimed) that these songs have no specific literary or textural meaning is preposterous. Andi in a song like "It's Alright Ma" , Dylan is extremely specific and didactic in his scathing critique of the culture.

@@CalicoSilver Agree totally. Dylan was steeped in culture and history and had an incredible mind, He desperately tried to avoid being pinned down in conventional interviews to explain the complexity of the fusion of music, lyric and energy of his art. I think there was a lot of channeling from higher mind in his songs and lyrics, it sometimes I agree just poured through him, but the idea he did not know what he was after is nonsense. After the 6 albums from "Freewheein" through" Blonde on Blonde" what more can one say about American contradictions? "it's Alright Ma" is about as relevant (sadly so) as when it was written nearly 60 years ago. You might like the later work of Leonard Cohen, the only lyricist close to Dylan in brilliance (Everybody Knows, Closing Time, Democracy is Coming-to the USA, The Future, Anthem, You Want it Darker, more)

Indeed it is!

Charlie McCoy's playing was indeed lyrical here, I agree! Great point. Thanks for your comment.

Excellent comment and interpretation! Thanks for sharing it. Cheers! Jeff

Yes I think you are right. Thanks!

Thanks!

Must come from my 20 years of teaching college chemistry, Mike! Hahaha.

It might very well have been buoyed by an acid trip or something, but there is just so much depth to these lyrics nonetheless. Thanks for the comment, Lester. Cheers! Jeff

Maybe so, yes. Thanks.

Thanks, Chris. I appreciate your kind and encouraging comment. Cheers. Jeff

Thanks very much for your insight, Padraig. I appreciate it. Jeff

@@CalicoSilver No problem. Thanks for yours!

Yes I believe a small part at the beginning of the song was inspired by this event, but not at all the entire song.

Exactly, Oandad! I agree with you 100% that Desolation Row is not an actual place but a state of mind and of freedom and independence of thought, removed ("desolate") from the "madding crowd" of frankly nonsensical coersions and expectations and...well, slavery. You are right - Romeo doesn't belong, nor does several of the other characters in the song like Casanova who, like Romeo, seemed to have been "punished" for attempting to "go to" Desolation Row. Great great song. Yep, I hear ya - you and me both would greatly prefer "desolation" over the alternative. I hear ya. Great comment. Thanks. Jeff

​@@CalicoSilver Ophelia sees it but she doesn't know how to obtain it, her vice is her religion. Casanova, he's been to the row but he's can't get past his own vices and is being manipulated by the powers-that-be. The Good Samaritan knows how to get there, he's on the verge of enlightenment. The Titanic is the sinking ship, our materialistic society and Desolation Row is the place that's just around the corner that CCR sings about.

Excellent!! Right on the mark!! Thanks.

oh, and I love your broken door knob analogy, past the point of no return.

@@CalicoSilver Yes of course Desolation Row is not a place. I was sitting here thinking how did I miss all this in the songs of the 60s and later. I think I had it buried but didn't know what I know. This lyrics from great minds on a different level have illuminated so much. I am in my 70s now but I think better late than never to get a handle on this higher level of being.

Interesting idea, Bill.....

Believe it or not, I can hum the melody to that song but have no idea what it is about because I've never paid attention to the lyrics! Haha. I should do so. Thanks for the suggestion. Jeff

@@CalicoSilver one of the finest tunes ever written!

I hear ya, Alexander. But Dr. Filth was not on Desolation Row. Anyway, I hear ya. I still think one can use a word that represents the POV of others in an ironic way. A recent example was when a certain political candidate referred to those citizens who would not vote for her as “deplorables”, and now those very citizens often proudly refer to themselves as deplorables, haha. It is clear to me that Desolation Row is the place to be for those who break away “far from the madding crowd” and evade societal coercions, manipulations, and expectations, and who consider being called “desolate” a worthy price to pay. 👍😉

@@CalicoSilver Thank you for your reply Jeff. Apoligies if sounding a bit harsh in my previous. I still think that mr: Dylan chose a very poor title for his lyrc What also bothers me about this lyric is the namedropping. As if he knows the work of Einstein,T.S. Eliot ,Ezra Pound,Shakespeare et al at his fingertips. And this for a 27 year old person without any formal education. Can it be that Dylan,at this point in his career was considered by the multitudes such a Godlike figure and intellectual that part of him played along with these notions? I wonder. Also in view of his later lyrics that,generally speaking,were less laden with symbolic rhetoric. I dislike irony by the way when used as y cloak When I talk to a person who interweaves his conversation with fancy names I always get the urge to question his or her real knowledge (as far as possible) Anyway: Let ,s agree to disagree . I ramble on a bit ,sorry Really looking forward to your views on :Stuck inside of Mobil I learn a lot from you ,believe you me and enjoy your videos enormously . Alexander

@@CalicoSilver Would not the meaning of this lyric be more clear to a lot of people if the title were something like: Outsider,s Row I suppose my whole argument rests on the notion that I find the word ,,Desolation ,,a far too strong a qualification for the group of people Dylan had in mind. In 1965 the term ,,outsider ,,was considered a positive qualitication. Outsider equals Freethinker equals individualism ,

@@alexandervaneijken7741 Dylan is a poet and artist who chooses his own expressive means and tools, many of which I might have or might not have chosen if I were anywhere near the creative soul that he was enough to create my own poetry and art that others would want to enjoy and talk about So I don't question his choices - not because I think they are all infallibly perfect from my limited POV, but because I deeply respect and trust his abilities. As for his age and lack of "formal training", who gives a damn about any of that? I have two degrees from major universities but I learned more about my field by working 6 months than I did in all those years of university "formal training". I think Dylan is a sponge with an astonishing memory, given all the references in his lyrics (and yes I do think he knows more about those references than most of us, regardless of his age). Yes, we'll have to agree to disagree, Alexander. I think Dylan is the most amazing artist of his time - who even comes close? That is my opinion, anyway....which isn't worth much, haha!! Cheers! Jeff

....and it took me 40-some minutes to say it too.....whatever it was I said....which probably wasn't much....haha!

Thanks.

A characteristic pose of Britain's King Charles!

In other words, precisely the characteristics of a free entity. Haha!

you can squeeze the lemon that way, if you like it.@@CalicoSilver

Thanks! I appreciate your insights/clarifications very much. Jeff

Awesome input, Marty! Ophelia. I never could grasp that one. But I think you’ve nailed it!! Thanks. Jeff

This video is not for you, Matt. Sorry.

Sorry, Victor. This video was not meant for you.

Glad you enjoy it (that is, if crack is enjoyable....which I assume it must be, haha!) Thanks for the comment, Chris. Jeff

You’re probably right, Kevin. In fact, I wouldn’t suggest that the remainder of the video is any better. Haha! But it was fun nonetheless. 😉

@@CalicoSilver He has so many characters in the song. 20-30 or more?

You’re probably right, Paul! 😉

Thanks.