submissions
| Bob Dylan – Ballad in Plain D Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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I have often thought of this as one of Dylan's more enduring love songs simply for its title. All of his other songs that could be classified as "love songs" have a title that betrays either a name (ie. "Visions of Johanna") or a feeling (ie. "Tangled Up in Blue"). But "Ballad in Plain D" is exactly that...a ballad in plain D. It's almost as if Dylan felt that by stating a name or an emotion would in a sense tarnish who he was writing the song for. That's why I feel whoever this girl is she was probably Bob's greatest love interest. I have a theory as to who this song is about, but I could very well be (and probably am) wrong: I think it's about the Italian girl he wrote about in "Chronicles Vol. 1" that he was obviously very taken with. The "bronze skin" leads me to believe this, as well as (more importantly) the mother that stayed close. Now, we all know the Italian stereotypes of the close-knit family unit (and since I'm Italian I can relate) so I assume that in this song he is referring to a mother that would not let her daughter see a man that she didn't like. In "Chronicles" Dylan painted this picture very vividly. Those are my thoughts on the meaning of the song, but two things before I go: "Are birds free from the chains of the skyway" is one of my favorite Dylan lyrics ever, and I can't believe I am the first one to be posting for this song. I mean, for the love of God, someone at least call me a shithead in response so I know you have a pulse. Oh well. I'm finished. |
submissions
| Bob Dylan – Like a Rolling Stone Lyrics
| 20 years ago
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Yes Nickers, I saw that article in "Rollingstone" as well. I couldn't believe that for once those scumbags got something right. It has long been accepted that this song is in fact probably the greatest rock song ever written (even Dylan agrees that this is at least his personal best) but I thought that "Rollingstone" was gonna make some stupid Beatles song as number one. But for once, somehow, they did the right. Although I have some serious problems with some of the other songs on the list. But in case you don't know, there are two other similar issues of "Rollingstone" with lists such as this, and they are travesties! One is the well-known "500 Greatest Albums of All Time, " which is a complete joke, and the other one I know of is the "50 or 100 (I can't remember) Greatest Guitarists of All Time," which is even worse. Check them out if you don't know, and want to laugh.
P.S. "Rollingstone" sucks...Beatles too. (sorry, just my opinion) |
submissions
| Bob Dylan – Mr. Tambourine Man Lyrics
| 20 years ago
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It's not about drugs. Though it is very easy to see why people can think that. No, I'm afraid it has a much simpler meaning: you see, artists don't always have a particular "meaning" for songs. Sometimes they write about anything that influences them. Such is the case here. In "Bob Dylan: World Tours 1966-1974," Dylan's personal photographer from those days (Barry Feinstein) was interviewed, and though I can't remember the particulars of the instance (and I really don't feel like breaking out the DVD because honestly, it was pretty boring. I thought I was getting performance footage.) this whole thing was explained. You see, along with Feinstein, A.J. Weberman was also interviewed. For those of you who don't know, A.J. Weberman is the crazy Dylan fan that was so obsessed with him, that he even went so far as to go through Dylan's garbage. But he also interpreted Dylan's lyrics, and even wrote a book. He claimed that "Mr. Tambourine Man" was indeed about drugs, but Mr. Feinstein shot this down. He said that he remembered the night that Dylan wrote it. According to him (and here is where I get fuzzy on the particulars) a buddy of Dylan's in the hotel room was making a jackass of himself, prancing around the room and pounding on a tambourine. Dylan must of thought this was funny, and subsequently wrote "Mr. Tambourine Man." So this song doesn't necessarily mean anything, which brings me back to my original point: artists often write of what inspires them. In this case, Dylan's friend jumping around the room inspired him to write this song. However, I'm not saying you should stop trying to interpret songs, and it's true that songs mean whatever an individual wants them to mean, I'm merely informing you all that this song is not a reference to drugs. But you can still think that if you want. |
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