In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Highway 51 runs right by my baby's door
Highway 51 runs right by my baby's door
If I don't get the girl I'm loving
Won't go down to Highway 51 no more
Well, I know that highway like I know my hand
Yes, I know that highway like I know the back of my hand
Running from up Wisconsin way down to no-man's-land
Well, if I should die before my time should come
And if I should die before my time should come
Won't you bury my body out on Highway 51?
Highway 51 runs right by my baby's door
I said, Highway 51 runs right by my baby's door
If I don't get the girl I'm loving
Won't go down to Highway 51 no more
Highway 51 runs right by my baby's door
If I don't get the girl I'm loving
Won't go down to Highway 51 no more
Well, I know that highway like I know my hand
Yes, I know that highway like I know the back of my hand
Running from up Wisconsin way down to no-man's-land
Well, if I should die before my time should come
And if I should die before my time should come
Won't you bury my body out on Highway 51?
Highway 51 runs right by my baby's door
I said, Highway 51 runs right by my baby's door
If I don't get the girl I'm loving
Won't go down to Highway 51 no more
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wow this is a great song. the only explanation i can think of noone commenting is b/c its very old, off of his debut album. anyways i love this song, it was such a good blues feel, something i think you dont see dylan doing too much.
This whole album is just raw, some bluesy, some just folk, but all in all SO underrated. It's better than Blonde On Blonde or Blood On The Tracks no question, in my opinion.
Better than Blonde on Blonde? I don't agree but it is a great song. I want to say I've heard a delta blues song with this title, but maybe I'm making this up. In any case US-51 does cut through the Mississippi delta region, which I presume is "no man's land."
Dylan appears to have based his version of the song on Tommy McClennan's New Highway No. 51 which was recorded in 1940., which in turn was probably based on Curtis Jones's Highway 51 Blues recorded in 1938. There are are also other songs about this highway, such as John Lee Hooker's Going Down Highway 51 recorded in 1948 or 1949. This Highway is a major N-that runs from Louisiana to Wisconsin, and skirts the eastern side of the Mississippi delta region. It appears that Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited as an allusion to this delta blues homage- as 61 is the other N-S artery running along the western side of the delta region.