This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
I didn't mean
To treat you so bad
You shouldn't take it so personal
I didn't mean
To make you so sad
You just happened to be there, that's all
When I saw you say "goodbye" to your friend and smile
I thought that it was well understood
That you'd be comin' back in a little while
I didn't know that you were sayin' "goodbye" for good
But, sooner or later, one of us must know
That you just did what you're supposed to do
Sooner or later, one of us must know
That I really did try to get close to you
I couldn't see
What you could show me
Your scarf had kept your mouth well hid
I couldn't see
How you could know me
But you said you knew me and I believed you did
When you whispered in my ear
And asked me if I was leavin' with you or her
I didn't realize just what I did hear
I didn't realize how young you were
But, sooner or later, one of us must know
That you're just doin' what you're supposed to do
Sooner or later, one of us must know
That I really did try to get close to you
I couldn't see
When it started snowin'
Your voice was all that I heard
I couldn't see
Where we were goin'
But you said you knew an' I took your word
And then you told me later, as I apologized
That you were just kiddin' me, you weren't really from the farm
An' I told you, as you clawed out my eyes that I
Never really meant to do you any harm
But, sooner or later, one of us must know
That you just did what you're supposed to do
Sooner or later, one of us must know
That I really did try to get close to you
To treat you so bad
You shouldn't take it so personal
I didn't mean
To make you so sad
You just happened to be there, that's all
When I saw you say "goodbye" to your friend and smile
I thought that it was well understood
That you'd be comin' back in a little while
I didn't know that you were sayin' "goodbye" for good
But, sooner or later, one of us must know
That you just did what you're supposed to do
Sooner or later, one of us must know
That I really did try to get close to you
I couldn't see
What you could show me
Your scarf had kept your mouth well hid
I couldn't see
How you could know me
But you said you knew me and I believed you did
When you whispered in my ear
And asked me if I was leavin' with you or her
I didn't realize just what I did hear
I didn't realize how young you were
But, sooner or later, one of us must know
That you're just doin' what you're supposed to do
Sooner or later, one of us must know
That I really did try to get close to you
I couldn't see
When it started snowin'
Your voice was all that I heard
I couldn't see
Where we were goin'
But you said you knew an' I took your word
And then you told me later, as I apologized
That you were just kiddin' me, you weren't really from the farm
An' I told you, as you clawed out my eyes that I
Never really meant to do you any harm
But, sooner or later, one of us must know
That you just did what you're supposed to do
Sooner or later, one of us must know
That I really did try to get close to you
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This song really hit me when I heard it as somone contacting an ex, and declaring that eventually one of them is bound to realize that neither is to blame for the failed relationship. That they both tried and both loved each other.
I got to say is that "when you whispered in my ear, and asked me if I was leavin' with you or her. I didn't realize just what I did hear. I didn't realize how young you were." is such a fantastic line. It really clicks with me and I love it......and in the liner notes you see a photo of a girl whispering in Bob's ear.
Elephant Range mentioned that Bob sought to make his songs more versatile than specific. I think looking at it from a non-historical perspective, this song is about the author taking the virginity of a young girl without realizing it. It sounds like she was way more invested in the relationship than he, because she was young, inexperienced, and naive. He thought they would have just a fling and she thought they would last forever. I think she kept her virginity a secret: "But you said you knew an' I took your word" until after the deed, when she "told [him] later and [he] apologized." I think the refrain implies that the girl had to learn some time "You just did what you're supposed to do," and it might as well have been with him, as he actually did care about her when they had sex.
I don’t know who this is about but I’m pretty certain what it’s about.
The narrator is addressing an ex-girlfriend with whom he had what he thought was an ‘open’ relationship, and expressing his sorrow that he inadvertently hurt her. There is a mistake in the first verse here — it should read “when I saw you say goodbye to your friend and smile” — he thought she was in an ongoing relationship and just wanted an affair with him, whereas in fact she was leaving her previous partner to be with him.
The second verse refers to their failure to communicate, where each makes an assumption about the other’s intentions (he that she knows he isn’t ‘serious’ about her, she that he is serious about her). The second part of the verse refers to an incident where the two of them are at a party and he leaves with someone else and breaks her heart. “Young” here means innocent, as opposed to the worldly sophisticate he took her for.
The third verse is slightly less clear, but suggests that he couldn’t see how the relationship could continue, whereas she claimed to know what she was doing. “The farm” probably has a literal meaning but to me the metaphor suggests sex without commitment — again he’s saying she posed as a person who was in control of the situation and comfortable with casual encounters whereas in fact she was extremely vulnerable behind that façade. “Clawed out my eyes” refers to her jealous bitterness at the end of the relationship.
The chorus says that he did love her in his own way, even though he didn’t want to spend his life with her, and that in the end she took refuge in the conventional, wanted a traditional marriage rather than ‘free love’ and became jealous and angry when this wasn’t on offer.
I think it's one of Dylan's most heartfelt and beautiful songs.
I think this song is about Sedgwick:
I didn't mean to treat you so bad You shouldn't take it so personal I didn't mean to make you so sad You just happened to be there, that's all
It's really clear, in fact, he's saying sorry, but at same time excusing himself.
When I saw you say "goodbye" to your friends and smile I thought that it was well understood That you'd be comin' back in a little while I didn't know that you were sayin' "goodbye" for good
She said bye to Warhol and all his Factory for Bob, but he doesn't believe her, he tought she would come back to his friend and all this madness. But Edie really left all that behind for Dylan.
But, sooner or later, one of us must know You just did what you're supposed to do Sooner or later, one of us must know That I really did try to get close to you
We have tried but for some reason it hasn't worked, is not you blame or mine, but we must know that this isnt going anywhere, Edie.
I couldn't see what you could show me Your scarf had kept your mouth well hid I couldn't see how you could know me But you said you knew me and I believed you did When you whispered in my ear And asked me if I was leavin' with you or her I didn't realize just what I did hear I didn't realize how young you were
He couldn't see what she really was, and what she really feel, cause was in some aspects really superficial about her look and clothes, and he couldn't believe for sure she loves him. So he wasn't sure about her, cause she was so charming in many ways, but finally when they were close he forgot that and believe anything she said. Then I think is talking about Edie and Sara, they must had talk about that in some moment, and he was "blind" by her, even thinking about leaving Sara for a moment and just be for Edie. Now he see how blind he was, and how young she was for him.
I couldn't see when it started snowin' Your voice was all that I heard I couldn't see where we were goin' But you said you knew an' I took your word And then you told me later, as I apologized That you were just kiddin' me, you weren't really from the farm An' I told you, as you clawed out my eyes That I never really meant to do you any harm
He didn't see when things starts to get so bad, he was focus only in her. He trust her and expect her to take the situation. He says he's sorry but it had to be over, and she acts on the defensive, kidding him, but Bob knows she's broke, and feels sorry cause he didn't want her to feel that bad.
I think this song is about a girl that he (the narrator) has had a long relationship with, then he sinced it was ending (or started to have feelings for another girl.. or was cheating on her) so he broke up with her. Then she was so sad she killed herself. The chorus is kind of the narrator rationalizing his actions or looking at it from her side of the story.
--No wait. Scratch that. I think it's about a girl who had a strong crush on him and he didn't realize it. She tried to tell him, but he didn't hear her. (second verse) So she got so upset she killed herself.
Please, brothers and sisters, answer me:
What the fuck does "you weren't really from the farm" means????
Anything. I'll even accept lies.
The line "you wern't really from the farm" refers to Bob Dylan's relationship with Edie Sedgwick, and Edie Sedgwick's childhood
@mistyhayes is correct. Edie Sedgwick grew up on a ranch in California. Not a farm in any sense. This line does refer to Edie considering they were dating around the time.
@cavern Gosh I\'m 16 years late to the discussion but here is how interpret this line very generically:\r\n\r\nThere\'s very little doubt about this: The girl initially gave off one impression about her and later the writer (Dylan) finds out that really wasn\'t true.\r\n\r\nIn all likelihood, the girl either misrepresented something about herself from the beginning of their relationship (\'from the farm\' probably means humble background / humble dreams and ambition and simple-minded, which is clearly not true now) OR Dylan is implying that that she seems to have changed her position on certain things. \r\n\r\nThe first meaning implies that Dylan misread the girl\'s true identity from the start.\r\n\r\nI interpret the second meaning this way: the girl who initially committed to something and appeared to be confident of what she wants (since Dylan implies that he put all his trust in her and agreed to follow her into wherever she wanted to lead him. Dylan is expressing his own vulnerability in the past), now appears to have taken a U-turn on her position : identity / needs / wants, etc. and is trying to downplay everything she said in the past as "just kidding"\r\n\r\n
It's a a leap to think suicide is part of the equation in this song: The phrase "goodbye for good" encompasses more possibilities than that. Dylan's songs became very general around this time - he was avoiding specifics so as to keep interpretative possibilities open & to avoid what he called the 'journalism' of his so-called 'protest' songs.
This song is likely inspired by Edie Sedgwick, as is 'Just Like A Woman'. Cavern, the 'farm' ref reinforces this...just change 'farm' to 'Factory' (as in Warhol's talent 'farm'), and the song becomes - just possibly - another commentary on the shallowness of that scene.
Thanks, man! It doesn't matter if you're wrong. Now it makes sense. Finally!