I heard from a Bard College alumnus who attended the college in the 60's that Bob Dylan wrote it when he was hanging out on campus. Just as the lyric "the pump don't work 'cause the vandals stole the handle" (from Subterranean Homesick Blues) was inspired by Bard, this song was inspired by the curfew rules in place there at the time.
Tewksbury, a dorm built in 1958, was a women's only dorm, and if the women did not manage to get in by midnight, the doors would be locked (for security reasons I presume) and the women would have to find somewhere else to spend the night.
I heard from a Bard College alumnus who attended the college in the 60's that Bob Dylan wrote it when he was hanging out on campus. Just as the lyric "the pump don't work 'cause the vandals stole the handle" (from Subterranean Homesick Blues) was inspired by Bard, this song was inspired by the curfew rules in place there at the time. Tewksbury, a dorm built in 1958, was a women's only dorm, and if the women did not manage to get in by midnight, the doors would be locked (for security reasons I presume) and the women would have to find somewhere else to spend the night.
... and there you have it! :)