This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
I been Norman Mailered, Maxwell Taylored
I been John O'Hara'd, McNamara'd
I been Rolling Stoned and Beatled 'til I'm blind
I been Ayn Randed, nearly branded
Communist, 'cause I'm left-handed
That's the hand I use, well, never mind
I been Phil Spectored, resurrected
I been Lou Adlered, Barry Sadlered
Well, I paid all the dues I want to pay
And I learned the truth from Lenny Bruce
And all my wealth won't buy me health
So I smoke a pint of tea a day
I knew a man, his brain was so small
He couldn't think of nothing at all
Not the same as you and me
He doesn't dig poetry
He's so unhip that when you say Dylan
He thinks you're talking about Dylan Thomas
Whoever he was
The man ain't got no culture
But it's alright, ma, everybody must get stoned
I been Mick Jaggered and silver daggered
Andy Warhol, won't you please come home?
I been mother, father, aunt and uncled
Been Roy Haleed and Art Garfunkeled
I just discovered somebody's tapped my phone
Folk rock
I've lost my harmonica, Albert
I been John O'Hara'd, McNamara'd
I been Rolling Stoned and Beatled 'til I'm blind
I been Ayn Randed, nearly branded
Communist, 'cause I'm left-handed
That's the hand I use, well, never mind
I been Phil Spectored, resurrected
I been Lou Adlered, Barry Sadlered
Well, I paid all the dues I want to pay
And I learned the truth from Lenny Bruce
And all my wealth won't buy me health
So I smoke a pint of tea a day
I knew a man, his brain was so small
He couldn't think of nothing at all
Not the same as you and me
He doesn't dig poetry
He's so unhip that when you say Dylan
He thinks you're talking about Dylan Thomas
Whoever he was
The man ain't got no culture
But it's alright, ma, everybody must get stoned
I been Mick Jaggered and silver daggered
Andy Warhol, won't you please come home?
I been mother, father, aunt and uncled
Been Roy Haleed and Art Garfunkeled
I just discovered somebody's tapped my phone
Folk rock
I've lost my harmonica, Albert
A Simple Desultory Philippic (Or How I Was Robert McNamara'd Into Submission) song meanings
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Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
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Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
Jerrybear is right, however I wouldn't necessarily say that this song is exactly a subterrean homesick blues parody, rather just a parody of Dylan's folk rock in general.
My question is what type of relationship Dylan and Simon and Garfunkel had, there seems to be some dislike between the three.
Just want to comment, that this song contains one of my favorite lines ever: "I've been Art Garfunkeled!"
This is a fun song. It brings out the goofy side of Paul Simon. Just fun to listen to :) .
I definitely agree that this song is a parody of Dylan's style in almost any conceivable way (music, lyrics, instrumentation, accent). Nonetheless, I don't think it is a malicious one. Note that Simon and Garfunkel covered Dylan's "The times they are a-changing" - they must have found something valuable in Dylan's work after all. This song is thoroughly crafted in a way that reminds me of a mixture between tongue-in-cheekly exposing Dylan's idiosyncrasies and simultaneously kind of commending him. In order to imitate someone at this level, you must know him extremely well and spend a lot of time practising. I understand the song as a way of saying "Hey, you do have some obvious peculiarities, but they are worth a whole song of mine". Otherwise, this would have been a complete waste of early album space at a point in time where Simon and Garfunkel just started rising.
A different, yet interesting analysis of the song can be found at morethings.com/music/beatles/rockyraccoon.html
I suspect this song is meant to be a little more biting than some of you guys are thinking. You gotta remember that at the time Bob Dylan was the be-all end-all for folk fans - he was being called "a genius", the "spokesman of a generation," etc. I think Paul Simon was more than a little frustrated that he, the guy who comes up with a lyrical masterpiece like "The Sound Of Silence" is overshadowed by the guy who writes lyrics like "Your dancing child with his Chinese suit, He spoke to me, I took his flute, I wasn’t very cute to him, was I?"
Paul Simon was a very old-school (I mean in terms of approach) songwriter back in the 60's, whereas Dylan was just nuts, kinda throwing paint at the canvas. I love 'em both, but I could see Paul Simon being a little jealous that Mr. Word Vomit is being hailed as the greatest ever and he, who obviously painstakingly constructs every little line is getting his leftovers.
To me that track his him saying "See how easy this Dylan shit is? I could do it too if I wanted."
This is a spoof on Bob Dylan, specifically, his song "Subterranean Homesick Blues" which is sung in a similar talking blues/rapping style. The line "It's alright ma, everybody must get stoned" references two different Dylan songs: "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" and "Rainy Day Women" which has the "everybody must get stoned" refrain.
At the end of the song are some additional words that are not shown here: "Folk Rock!" and "I lost my harmonica, Albert!" Folk rock was the genre that Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel were a part of. Albert refers to Albert Grossman, Dylan's manager at the time. Many of Dylan's songs featured harmonica solos.
It's obvious that this song is about Dylan. But throughout the whole album, the are subtle references/ connections to Dylan. I's say the entire album is an homage to Dylan and the influence he had on music - this song just makes it all the more clear.<br /> <br /> 'Scarborough Fair' - "Remember me to the one who lives there, cause she once was a true love of mine". Granted this is an old folk lyric but Dylan made it popular and brought it into the forefront of the music scene with 'Girl from the North Country'<br /> The two poetry songs ('Patterns' and 'A Poem on the Underground Wall') - Obviously very Dylan inspired.<br /> 'Flowers Never Bend With the Rainfall' - Anyone who is a Dylan fan can realize how Dylan-y this song is. It's got his signature rhyme scheme and similar type lyrics, it might as well be a song on 'Bringing It All Back Home'.
jerrybear, I'm glad you left this comment, because when i heard this song I was very confused!! I wondered if maybe it actually was Dylan.. but the wprds didn't exactly seem to be his style. thanks!
The "I lost my harmonica, Albert" may be a reference to a '64 Dylan show where he was quite intoxicated and forgot the words to "It's Ok Ma" and then lost his harmonica during "Tambourine Man".
I love the 3rd verse that makes fun of us hipsters in general. I love Bob Dylan and appreciate his great writing and social commentary but Dylan Thomas is a literary genius. Bobby knew this as well and reportedly borrowed his name.
this is the first time i've heard this song... and i laughed my ass off. i had to come to songmeanings to see what everyone else thought of it. excellent!
Initially I thought they had just been influenced by Bob Dylan's music, until I heard the Dylan Thomas line :)