| Bob Dylan – All Along the Watchtower Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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The song does reference Isaiah 21 and was written during a period in Dylan's life when he was secluded and spent a great deal of time reading the scriptures. While Dylan sometimes does have Jesus references, even before his short-lived "born again" period, his background is Jewish. There are no overtly Christian references in this song. Dylan took a biblical passage about the collapse of Babylon and turned it on its head by imagining a conversation about the meaning of life between a thief and a joker in the city. It is true that Don McClean used the image of Dylan himself as a "jester" or "joker" in "American Pie" and Dylan consciously embraced imagery from that song, such as in "Shelter from the Storm," where he references McClean's line about the jester stealing the king's "thorny crown." But this song predates American Pie, so no dice on that theory. |
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| Bob Dylan – Shelter from the Storm Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Well kudos to those who argued intelligently for an extended metaphor about man's attitude toward woman, or about Vietnam. I don't think you're right, but it was ambitious to attempt that explanation. While I can't tell you exactly what Dylan means, some of the images are worth acknowledging for what they are. -- The little hilltop village, gambled for my clothes, bargained for salvation and gave me a lethal dose, is clearly a sustained reference in this verse to Jesus' crucifixion. Dylan was not in his "born again" phase at this time, but appreciated the symbolic beauty of spiritual ideas from various sources. Here, he's describing his sense of betrayal and suffering in terms similar to those of Jesus. -- "took my crown of thorns." is a related reference, but always plays cleverly on Don McClean's "American Pie," about the U.S. music scene, in which Dylan is a character called "the jester" and is said to have stolen the king's "thorny crown." That song interweaves spiritual and pop culture references in a similar way. In this more autobiographical song, Dylan embraces the reference. The implication is that "she" helped him escape the burden of being seen by fans as the "king" or as a messianic figure. So perhaps she is the woman in his life during the time in the 60s when he disappeared from the pop scene. |
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| Genesis – It Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| I'm not going to disagree that there are some sexual overtones here, but I think the song is better understood as a pantheistic anthem of enlightenment. "It" is everything. And it is real. And it is Rael. It's the conclusion of his spiritual quest in which he sees himself as one with the cosmos. | |
| Genesis – The Light Dies Down On Broadway Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| This story is setting up Rael for the big test. His monomythic character has descended into the abyss and passed through death. The test is whether he will give up everything to save his brother who, we already know, wouldn't even help him recover his manhood from the Raven. In the end, he will discover that the choice was actually to save himself, because all is one. | |
| Genesis – Anyway Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Lamb story is very stream-of-consciousness, though there is some logic to it. This is a spiritual journey and the confrontation with death is part of it. It is not, of course, the end. | |
| Genesis – Here Comes The Supernatural Anaesthetist Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Not actually all that complicated. The title character is Death. That's especially clear if you listen to "Anyway," in which the arrival of Death is awaited. | |
| Genesis – The Carpet Crawlers Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I think there are biblical metaphors here that are essential to understanding the song, but that doesn't mean it's necessarily a preachy song, in fact I think it's actually mocking conventional Western spirituality. "Needle's eye is winking," and "closing in on the poor" is, as others have noted, a reference to Jesus' saying that "It's easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of heaven." The Carpet Crawlers have taken that idea so literally that they are striving to pass through the needle's eye. Less, obvious, but perhaps more important is "the wise and foolish virgins," and "The eager pack lift up their pitchers - they carry all they lack." These are references to a parable told by Jesus about the difference between those who are prepared for and eagerly awaiting the kingdom of God and those who are not. The virgins in this tale are part of a wedding party and all of them carry oil lamps as they await the bridegroom, who will take them to the wedding feast, possibly the reference intended by "harvest feast." In the story the foolish virgins are those who did not bring along a pitcher of extra oil in case their wait was long. All of the virgins fall asleep because the bridegroom takes so long. When they awaken, all of their lamps have gone out. The foolish virgins have to find somewhere to buy more oil, but cannot. Only the wise virgins are read when the groom arrives. The lost oil may be the reference in the "congealed liquid" imagery, though it's unclear. The parable is itself enigmatic among various schools of Christian thought, and often thought of as a prophecy relating either to readiness for the Messiah's coming. But what is Peter Gabriel saying with these images? The song is closely related to "Chamber of 32 Doors" and both of them seem to indicate a desperate quest for spiritual meaning. Indeed, that seems to be a major theme of the entire "Lamb" album. We know that it concludes with the anthem of pantheistic enlightenment: "It is real, it is Rael!" Given all of these, I believe PG is exploring episodes in Rael's quest for meaning in which he encounters other people on a similar quest, but finds their idealized solutions to be meaningless, misguided and empty. In 32 doors, they are seeking the one door to escape (from cycle of reincarnation?). In carpet crawlers, they are seeking follow the dictates of the monotheistic religions as issued by the "callers." Indeed the "carpet callers heed their callers" could be a reference to the Islamic call to prayer. But Rael will only reach a state of enlightenment when he is reconciled to his cosmic unity with Brother John and with the universe. By the way, I disagree somewhat with others' analysis of "red ochre." This is a common trapping of religious sites in primitive cultures. I think PG is indicated that the location is some sort of metaphorical temple. |
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