| Judy Collins – Send In the Clowns Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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@[swvaroot:12417] It's far from "simple as that." That is a gross oversimplification, equivalent to, say, interpreting Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" as actually telling a story of Bob and some old man dancing to a tambourine on the beach. You are overliteralizing. |
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| Bob Dylan – Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| Good thinking there! You got much further along than I did in trying to unpack it. | |
| The Band – Cripple Creek Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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You know, if you substitute "trucker's dream" for "drunkard's dream," you change the entire meaning and feeling of the song. And that's what I thought it said the first 50 or so times I heard it, even in concert. In fact, I'm still not sure that wasn't the original intent, but everyone just took it the other way; it just seems to fit better, both with the rest of the lyrics and with The Band's overall milieu. Either way, it's one of the greatest songs from maybe the best band ever. But still on my Bucket List is finding out what "dips her doughnut in my tea" means. Haven't heard a satisfactory explanation so far, now Lavon's gone, and time just goes on. |
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| Bob Dylan – Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I think Dylan's lyrics, especially those from the 60s, are greatly overanalyzed. Sometimes he was conveying a message through the obscure images, but other times he was just playing with our minds, challenging us to come up with a meaning. That said, this is one of his more straightforward songs from the period, IMO. I have no idea what Housing Project Hill is, but other than that, it's a simple story of an (unsuccessful) trip to Juarez. I just don't see many hidden meanings. FWIW, I think thet Neil Young's live cover of this, from the 30th Anniversary Concert, is the best cover of any Dylan song I've ever heard, and much better than Bob's original. |
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