Bob Dylan – Maggie's Farm

Lyric Correction"She's sixty-eight, but she says she's twenty-four."

actually in the song, Dylan says that she says that she's FIFTY-four. just wanted to point that out.

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  @whitextee

General CommentThe title "Maggies Farm" is a play on "Magee Farm", where Dylan had played in 1963 in support of the Civil Rights movement. When some people were angered by the way he "moved on" to other subjects in his songs, he argued that "protest" was simplistic, and that he had the right to write about whatever the hell he felt like. This song just makes that point.

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  @elephant_range

General CommentI would also suggest that normal people are not anything that narcissistic artists can relate to.

I don't think artists have any special understanding of what life is about, but simply a different understanding. That is, if you can justify generalizing that much, which I don't know that you can.

A great man once said, "An artist is a regular man with special delusions of grandeur." In fact that great man was me, and really there's no reason for me to say it now, except that I wanted to quote myself.

As far as the meaning of this song, and any Dylan song, and really any song or any work of art...well, the artist may be the kind that knows exactly what his art means and tells his audience exactly what it means, or he may be the kind that suggests any person that wonders about the meaning of his art should decide for him or herself. I think Dylan would probably be the latter kind. There's a certain school that makes a big deal out of it--Symbolism, I think. Anyway, the point I think is that you can't say "think about what you want it to mean, and realize that's not it." Because, that is it. It may not be what the artist intended, or what everybody else thinks, but what does that matter? Personally, as an artist, I don't think I know any better what my art means than anybody else does. And I believe I know what this song means just as well as Dylan himself does. See what I mean about special delusions of grandeur?

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  @misterbojangles
  +1

  You believe you know what this song means just as well as Dylan himself does? WEll I think your essay means you're full of BS. And if the interpeter knows what an author means as much as the author, I am confident I am right and you are full of BS. stop reading teh post modern fantasy Philospohy and start using common sense. as an artist trying to communicateI'd be infruriated with you kind of people trying to tell me what my work means. what kind of nonsense is this. Soory if you have to use you mind and think abourt a piece of art to determine teh clues as to its meaning; but put down teh bong and do it befroe trying to tellme what i am trying to say. And BTW, I KNOW YOU are frull of BS, because (1) you give teh interpreter the right to reinterpet another persons art any way they want, because (2) any one one who would write such nonsense HAS to be full of it. Thanks! Peaace out!

  Flag BloozGTRon November 01, 2010  

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  Why are you having such trouble w/ the word "the?" It is not that difficult to spell. Your message gets lost in all the typos. Maybe texting is not such a great idea.

  Flag railroadginon May 30, 2011  

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  @misterbojangles You're obviously not a golfer.

  Flag Lafcadio1on September 07, 2015  

General CommentThis song is from the album where dylan goes electric. After another side of bob dylan, where he departed from politically motivated songs (oxford town, blowin' in the wind, masters of war...and some others on freewheelin' bob dylan) to more surreal songs and introspective stream of consciousness lyrics. This made some people angry, both for the fact that he changed his sounds and lyrical subjects. The movie No Direction Home shows how some people began to grow angry at Dylan for straying away from lyrics that tended to fit with the left leaning audience. Maggies farm is his response. He doesn't want to work for them and their political causes. He isn't going to work on the farm. This isn't what he is trying to do. He wants to do what he wants to do. This was followed by the first song on Highway 61 revisited, Like a Rolling Stone, where he completely departs from the folk sound and goes on for six minutes on the same subject. I doubt that this song is an attempt by Dylan to talk about anything directly political.

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  @TozieD

Song MeaningI like Napoleonin Rags interpretation. I will add my own thoughts toward his point. let's keep in mind that Dylan's biggest inspiration was woody guthrie. Now if you are familiar with "Library of Congress Recordings" featuring woody guthrie which I highly recommend for its historical spoken word stories< you will have a better grasp of what the song is about. Much like the Keene Ranch in the grapes of wrath, Maggies Farm is a large scale commercial Grower. In the 1940's the migration of "OKIES" to California left many families with no choice but to cross picket lines to work for these types of usually fruit growers. Housed in Shacks these families bought everything from a company store and were paid 2 1/2 cents a box when 5 cents was minimum pay for a man who wanted to eat. They had no other choice. The Keene Ranch is a good visual example in the G.O.W Film especially to the line and my whole point hangs on this "the national guard stands around the door. The song is historically in line with these farms as an abomination to labor. Trust me, it seems complicated and requires a history lesson. just trust me im right. (oh ya "fines you every time you slams the door" these labor camps enforced strict rules and curfews with fines) Ill keep em shorter from now on guys sorry

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  @Scofflaw

General CommentOk, I just took it at face value, didn't really ponder on who this Maggie was, just thought that the song portrayed a young man who worked hard for little cash and got no respect or feedback on his work there. Causing him to get a bit angry. But I see of course, on thinking a little further, the possibly allegorical aspects of it.

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  @moe2000

General CommentI think the first time Dylan played this song was at the Newport Folk Festival, and it's a slam on the folkies.
"Well, I try my best
To be just like I am,
But everybody wants you
To be just like them.
They sing while you save but I just get bored."

***Basically, screw you if you don't like me and my music.

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  @montresor
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  I like this view of teh somg, but it only seems to take the last stanza ino account.

  Flag BloozGTRon November 01, 2010  

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  Yes, he is tired of playing the leader of the folk movement. On another level, he is probably tired of taking crap from the press and his fans who are so smitten w/ the folk movement. All of the relatives of Maggie seem to be tied to the same thing. They are all tied to the folk movement, and he wants his freedom to be his own man/musician. Being tied to the folk movement has become a big chore, like working for a bunch of thugs on a farm. I have always wondered if the folkies "got" this song when he went electric and played it live?

  Flag railroadginon May 30, 2011  

General Comment"Maggie's Farm" was first released on 1965's "Bringing it all Back Home", so i'm unsure about the Thatcher theory. I think montresor's theory is most likely...'65 was the year Dylan went electric.

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  @mrjones

General Comment There are multiple interpretations of the song, i interpret that he is talking about how the government tells us that we are free and we can be whatever we want to be, which is true, but i think he feels as he's trapped in a dilemma of either too many choices, not enough choices, or his individuality of ideas that he comes up with. But we are also not free at the same time, because when we can be whatever we want to be, we are a product of the government, and he starts to make comparisons like Ex. Social Security Numbers to Serial Numbers.

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  @macl2

General Comment'Maggies Farm' for me is a masterpiece, wonderfully documenting the frustrations and inhumanity you encounter at work. You’ve got to serve somebody, in this case Maggie and her relations.

I think a farm is fantastic metaphor for a company, organisation or even nation. You could even read the farm as a family, to which Dylan is related through marriage and no longer wishes to be part of.

Genius, the man is a complete genius.

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  @BoHo