The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
Darkness at the break of noon
Shadows even the silver spoon
The handmade blade, the child's balloon
Eclipses both the sun and moon
To understand you know too soon
There is no sense in trying
Pointed threats, they bluff with scorn
Suicide remarks are torn
From the fool's gold mouthpiece
The hollow horn plays wasted words
Proves to warn that he not busy being born
Is busy dying
Temptation's page flies out the door
You follow, find yourself at war
Watch waterfalls of pity roar
You feel to moan but unlike before
You discover that you'd just be
One more person crying
So don't fear if you hear
A foreign sound to your ear
It's alright, Ma, I'm only sighing
As some warn victory, some downfall
Private reasons great or small
Can be seen in the eyes of those that call
To make all that should be killed to crawl
While others say don't hate nothing at all
Except hatred
Disillusioned words like bullets bark
As human gods aim for their mark
Made everything from toy guns that spark
To flesh-colored Christs that glow in the dark
It's easy to see without looking too far
That not much is really sacred
While preachers preach of evil fates
Teachers teach that knowledge waits
Can lead to hundred-dollar plates
Goodness hides behind its gates
But even the president of the United States
Sometimes must have to stand naked
An' though the rules of the road have been lodged
It's only people's games that you got to dodge
And it's alright, Ma, I can make it
Advertising signs that con you
Into thinking you're the one
That can do what's never been done
That can win what's never been won
Meantime life outside goes on
All around you
You lose yourself, you reappear
You suddenly find you got nothing to fear
Alone you stand with nobody near
When a trembling distant voice, unclear
Startles your sleeping ears to hear
That somebody thinks they really found you
A question in your nerves is lit
Yet you know there is no answer fit to satisfy
Insure you not to quit
To keep it in your mind and not fergit
That it is not he or she or them or it
That you belong to
Although the masters make the rules
For the wise men and the fools
I got nothing, Ma, to live up to
For them that must obey authority
That they do not respect in any degree
Who despise their jobs, their destinies
Speak jealously of them that are free
Do what they do just to be nothing more than something they invest in
While some on principles baptized
To strict party platform ties
Social clubs in drag disguise
Outsiders they can freely criticize
Tell nothing except who to idolize
And then say God bless him
While one who sings with his tongue on fire
Gargles in the rat race choir
Bent out of shape from society's pliers
Cares not to come up any higher
But rather get you down in the hole that he's in
But I mean no harm nor put fault
On anyone that lives in a vault
But it's alright, Ma, if I can't please him
Old lady judges watch people in pairs
Limited in sex, they dare
To push fake morals, insult and stare
While money doesn't talk, it swears
Obscenity, who really cares
Propaganda, all is phony
While them that defend what they cannot see
With a killer's pride, security
It blows the minds most bitterly
For them that think death's honesty
Won't fall upon them naturally
Life sometimes must get lonely
My eyes collide head-on with stuffed graveyards
False gods, I scuff
At pettiness which plays so rough
Walk upside-down inside handcuffs
Kick my legs to crash it off
Say okay, I have had enough
What else can you show me
And if my thought-dreams could be seen
They'd probably put my head in a guillotine
But it's alright, Ma, it's life, and life only
Shadows even the silver spoon
The handmade blade, the child's balloon
Eclipses both the sun and moon
To understand you know too soon
There is no sense in trying
Pointed threats, they bluff with scorn
Suicide remarks are torn
From the fool's gold mouthpiece
The hollow horn plays wasted words
Proves to warn that he not busy being born
Is busy dying
Temptation's page flies out the door
You follow, find yourself at war
Watch waterfalls of pity roar
You feel to moan but unlike before
You discover that you'd just be
One more person crying
So don't fear if you hear
A foreign sound to your ear
It's alright, Ma, I'm only sighing
As some warn victory, some downfall
Private reasons great or small
Can be seen in the eyes of those that call
To make all that should be killed to crawl
While others say don't hate nothing at all
Except hatred
Disillusioned words like bullets bark
As human gods aim for their mark
Made everything from toy guns that spark
To flesh-colored Christs that glow in the dark
It's easy to see without looking too far
That not much is really sacred
While preachers preach of evil fates
Teachers teach that knowledge waits
Can lead to hundred-dollar plates
Goodness hides behind its gates
But even the president of the United States
Sometimes must have to stand naked
An' though the rules of the road have been lodged
It's only people's games that you got to dodge
And it's alright, Ma, I can make it
Advertising signs that con you
Into thinking you're the one
That can do what's never been done
That can win what's never been won
Meantime life outside goes on
All around you
You lose yourself, you reappear
You suddenly find you got nothing to fear
Alone you stand with nobody near
When a trembling distant voice, unclear
Startles your sleeping ears to hear
That somebody thinks they really found you
A question in your nerves is lit
Yet you know there is no answer fit to satisfy
Insure you not to quit
To keep it in your mind and not fergit
That it is not he or she or them or it
That you belong to
Although the masters make the rules
For the wise men and the fools
I got nothing, Ma, to live up to
For them that must obey authority
That they do not respect in any degree
Who despise their jobs, their destinies
Speak jealously of them that are free
Do what they do just to be nothing more than something they invest in
While some on principles baptized
To strict party platform ties
Social clubs in drag disguise
Outsiders they can freely criticize
Tell nothing except who to idolize
And then say God bless him
While one who sings with his tongue on fire
Gargles in the rat race choir
Bent out of shape from society's pliers
Cares not to come up any higher
But rather get you down in the hole that he's in
But I mean no harm nor put fault
On anyone that lives in a vault
But it's alright, Ma, if I can't please him
Old lady judges watch people in pairs
Limited in sex, they dare
To push fake morals, insult and stare
While money doesn't talk, it swears
Obscenity, who really cares
Propaganda, all is phony
While them that defend what they cannot see
With a killer's pride, security
It blows the minds most bitterly
For them that think death's honesty
Won't fall upon them naturally
Life sometimes must get lonely
My eyes collide head-on with stuffed graveyards
False gods, I scuff
At pettiness which plays so rough
Walk upside-down inside handcuffs
Kick my legs to crash it off
Say okay, I have had enough
What else can you show me
And if my thought-dreams could be seen
They'd probably put my head in a guillotine
But it's alright, Ma, it's life, and life only
Lyrics submitted by roger wilco, edited by Mellow_Harsher
It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) Lyrics as written by Bob Dylan
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Here's my feeble attempt at deciphering some of the songs meaning. Before I do that, though, I should probably state that I'm not a Dylan fanatic, nor am I a connoisseur of all things Dylan – in other words, I have a life. Case and point: I actually don't have any of his albums, although I do have a couple of his greatest hits CDs. To expand on the amount of songs I have of his, I downloaded a few illegally from the net a few years ago (sorry Bob). Furthermore, I haven't read his memoir, but I did watch the excellent Scorsese documentary on his early life. Thus I know a little bit, and I mean just a tiny little bit, on his works and early life background. I do know, on the other hand, quite a lot about the times in which he grew up from the history books. (I’m 25, in case you’re wondering).
“It’s Alright Ma” is the best written song that I’ve ever heard. The first time I listened to it I was completely floored. The song has so much working for it. Its imagery, rhyming scheme, and emotional depth are all unbeatably top-notch in my estimation. That being said, it’s actually not even my favourite Dylan song – my favourite being his acoustic version of “Shelter from the Storm” (I don’t know why that’s my favourite, I can’t rationalize it, it just is).
From the very first listen through, the song always came across to me as being very conservative, in a strictly traditional sense. Perhaps my personal biases have something to do with why I interpreted the song that way. To get those biases out of the way I’ll state them right here: I’m a traditional conservative – but absolutely not mainstream Republican or Conservative Party of Canada liberal “conservative” – and a strict empiricist on all matters physical. Also, let’s just say I’m not a devotee to the doctrines of perpetual plentitude. You probably didn’t need or want to know any of that, but oh well.
Now to the song:
“Darkness at the break of noon Shadows even the silver spoon The handmade blade, the child's balloon Eclipses both the sun and moon To understand you know too soon There is no sense in trying.”
The first four lines in this verse sound apocalyptic in tone, like of a nuclear holocaust, which is a common theme in early Dylan songs if I can remember correctly. Or maybe just apocalyptic in a general sense, like he thought something was systematically wrong with the world then (and perhaps the same things are still wrong today). The fifth verse is about the burden of being too wise to the workings of the world, especially when your as young as he when he wrote this – that being early 20’s, if I’m not mistaken. If I’m correct in this assessment, I’ve recently had a similar experience. You feel ancient and there are very few people you can really relate to, particularly amongst your peers. It can be lonely, and to be an introvert, which I presume Dylan was/is to some degree, makes it that much worse. The sixth line is his recognition of the remorseless working of things, that whatever is wrong can’t be stopped. No doctrinaire idealism will turn the ship around.
“Pointed threats, they bluff with scorn Suicide remarks are torn From the fool's gold mouthpiece The hollow horn plays wasted words Proves to warn That he not busy being born Is busy dying.”
This verse I’m not sure of. The last two verses might mean something like Socrates famous adage that “the life which is unexamined is not worth living”. That is, people who don’t have a zest for life and knowledge are just as well dead. They’re empty vessels. But I’m probably wrong on this, like I am on everything else I’m writing, so I won’t take anymore stabs at it.
“Temptation's page flies out the door You follow, find yourself at war Watch waterfalls of pity roar You feel to moan but unlike before You discover That you'd just be One more person crying.”
My best guess on this verse is that it deals with some sort of libertinism (“temptation’s page”). People who live such a lifestyle are often insecure, jealous and so on. In other words, human nature takes over. Thus if you were to live such a lifestyle you’d constantly “find your self at war” with your acquaintances, and would have to witness many “waterfalls of pity roar”. If you did live this way, in the end “you’d just be… one more person crying”.
“So don't fear if you hear A foreign sound to your ear It's alright, Ma, I'm only sighing.”
The “it’s alright, ma,” part of the song I think is a device to appeal to a higher power. A mother is generally seen as a nurturing figure, and Dylan may be very well distraught with what he’s putting onto paper. Could appealing to “ma” be for psychological comfort?
“As some warn victory, some downfall Private reasons great or small Can be seen in the eyes of those that call To make all that should be killed to crawl While others say don't hate nothing at all Except hatred.”
In my humble opinion, the first four lines of this verse deal with intellectuals offering up optimistic or pessimistic visions of the future, and that what side they fall on depends on personal partisan hang-ups. Moreover, perhaps the third and forth line taken together is in reference to intellectuals often contemptuous views towards the masses. That is, those that should be “killed” for not following any given intellectuals political agenda to the letter, should be made to “crawl,” or more specifically be forced into becoming subservient. The last two lines might be a swipe at the naivete of the “make peace, not war” 60’s crowd.
“Disillusioned words like bullets bark As human gods aim for their mark Made everything from toy guns that spark To flesh-colored Christs that glow in the dark It's easy to see without looking too far That not much Is really sacred.”
Perhaps the second line deals with the idea that God is dead in western societies. To further elaborate, modern humans, through their reification of secular ideologies, are playing God by trying to bring about a utopia on Earth now, as opposed to waiting till the hereafter for such pleasures as was the case in earlier times. The verse as a whole I think means that modernity has no heart or soul. It’s just empty consumerism based on “enlightened” selfishness.
“While preachers preach of evil fates Teachers teach that knowledge waits Can lead to hundred-dollar plates Goodness hides behind its gates But even the president of the United States Sometimes must have To stand naked.”
Here’s my take on this verse: Preachers preach of Hell as a means of societal control. Teachers teach their students that knowledge of, and strict adherence to politically acceptable philosophical sophistries will lead to financial rewards and social power. Furthermore, the elites are often full of empty rhetoric. Thus, maybe the fourth line means “Goodness hides behind [the establishments] gates”? The last line is a reminder that everybody, including the most powerful, i.e., the President of the United States, is fallible.
“An' though the rules of the road have been lodged It's only people's games that you got to dodge And it's alright, Ma, I can make it.”
I think the first line is about the fact that if you’ve read enough history, and/or have been a keen enough observer of human nature, you kind of learn what to expect. The second line might be a warning to watch out for people’s partisan political agendas.
“Advertising signs that con you Into thinking you're the one That can do what's never been done That can win what's never been won Meantime life outside goes on All around you.”
Perhaps this verse is about advertisers manipulating “consumers” by preying on peoples secret desires and insecurities to move product, while, in fact, “…life outside goes on… all around you”. In other words, consuming crap isn’t what life’s all about, regardless of how hard advertisers try to make it so.
I’m getting tired so I’m going to stop here (not like anybody is going to read this anyway)
Hey Mate, I read you- don't be so self deprecating- You gave it a really good shot.<br /> You put in some time and effort.<br /> Dylan is cryptic, not sure even His Bobness would care to forensically analyse his<br /> own lyrics for precise unambiguous meaning.<br /> Suspect a little stream of consciousness at play here, as with much rich verbally economical poetry.<br /> You say you are only 25 years of age? How old was Bob when he wrote this?<br /> I recently heard him say that he is unable to write stuff of this power these days.<br /> Youth Power - know what you've got- before its gone.<br /> Cheers M.A. Keep writing!
Oh I followed you to the very end ! don't wanna say "good job" (that's always been said in similar cases,when you want to cheer someone anyway). It IS really good. I enjoyed all the references to philosophical - along with social and historical- matters. the honesty about "not being a Dylan fan" and admitting the greatness of this song impressed me. no wonder 'cause you write a lot .<br /> though i was waiting for the Interpretation of "That it is not he or she or them or it..." but it doesn't matter. <br /> I love Dylan rhymes, though I'm not English or American.
@MichaelAdams81<br /> I agree with a lot of your analyses, though clearly those aren't the only meanings behind Bobby's lyrics (if any...I feel there's plenty of stream of consciousness going on.) I do have to disagree with you on the chorus:<br /> <br /> “An' though the rules of the road have been lodged<br /> It's only people's games that you got to dodge<br /> And it's alright, Ma, I can make it.”<br /> <br /> If you look at the verses that precede this particular chorus, they all speak of authority figures and the narcissistic nature of humans that cause us to look down on others less intelligent or less capable:<br /> <br /> "As some warn victory some downfall...To make all that should be killed to crawl"<br /> "Human gods ...made everything from toy guns that spark to flesh-colored Christs"<br /> "Preachers preach of evil fates and teachers teach that knowledge waits"<br /> <br /> And I think we can agree that in all of these verses, Bobby certainly sheds a negative and very manipulative light on these authority figures. As if these authority figures, whose intelligent opinions drip with arrogance, were trying to manipulate (or perhaps teach) their own social and moral values to the fools and the young and the general masses. And remember, historically speaking, this song was written at a time when the young generation was establishing they're own set of values, creating friction between the older and the younger generations. In light of all of this, however inaccurate or accurate my analyses may be, it seems that Bobby is trying to say that we have to be wary of what others may have to teach us because some values we have to find ourselves and their circumstances may be far more different than your circumstances, giving way to a separate, much more individual set of values.
@MichaelAdams81 If you think this song is about conservatism and traditional values, you are delusional. This is the man who wrote Masters of War, Hard Rain, Subterranean Homesick Blues, Tombstone Blues, , Highway 61, Ballad of a Thin Man, and DEsolation Row DECADES before he went Christian for a while.<br /> <br /> Dylan's world view was derived from the folk protest movement (Woody Guthrie, his biggest early influence was a socialist), the beats, the surrealists, and the hipsters.<br /> <br /> Did you ever see "Don't Look Back"? If by "Conservative values" you mean integrity, truth honesty, care for others and revulsion at excessive Capitalism, Imperialism, greed, and consumer culture then perhaps you might have a point. Perhaps "Conservative" means something different North of the Border.<br /> <br /> Disillusioned words like bullets bark<br /> As human gods aim for their marks<br /> Made everything from toy guns that sparks<br /> To flesh-colored Christs that glow in the dark<br /> It's easy to see without looking too far<br /> That not much<br /> Is really sacred.<br /> <br /> While preachers preach of evil fates<br /> Teachers teach that knowledge waits<br /> Can lead to hundred-dollar plates<br /> Goodness hides behind its gates<br /> But even the President of the United States<br /> Sometimes must have<br /> To stand naked.<br /> <br /> In America these lines are a scathing assault on that which is most near and dear to Americans-B-U-S-i-N-E-S-S and B-O-T-T-O-M L-I-N-E.<br /> <br /> Old lady judges, watch people in pairs<br /> Limited in sex, they dare<br /> To push fake morals, insult and stare<br /> While money doesn't talk, it swears<br /> Obscenity, who really cares<br /> Propaganda, all is phony.<br /> <br /> These lines were NOT written by a conservative. Watch Dylan's Time Magazine Interview.<br /> <br /> You lose a point.<br />
@MichaelAdams81 Well I wasn't going to do this but I think I will add my two cents. I will deal only with the first two set of three as all follow from the first three. The initial three verses are symbolic, them the song becomes more pointed and literal.<br /> "Darkness at the break of noon..."<br /> Something is wrong. The natural order is inverted. Darkness is at night, not at the height of the day. The noon does not "break", dawn does. The darkness has invaded the light.<br /> "Shadows even the silver spoon"<br /> The darkness is so great that even those supposedly with everything (born with a silver spoon) are over run, even if they don't realize it.<br /> "The handmade blade, the child's balloon"<br /> The handmade blade is one made in prison, a symbol of darkness and evil, it juxtaposes and inverts innocence (the child's balloon.) <br /> "Eclipses both the sun and moon", even these cannot withstand the shadow, the entire natural order is engulfed<br /> "You understand you know too soon"- a grim realization is dawning in the soul<br /> "There is no sense in trying". An existential nihilism may be at hand.<br /> <br /> "Pointed threats they bluff with scorn"- The darkness and those who embrace it need not even do its thing, it merely has to bluff to get its way<br /> "Suicide remarks are torn from the fools gold mouthpiece, the hollow horn"<br /> The fool in literature and other times was the one who kept the king in check, his instrument is hollow, empty<br /> "Plays wasted words, proves to warn"<br /> The rants of those attempting to show the depth of the shadow are wasted<br /> "That he not busy being born is busy dying"<br /> If one is not creative, if one is not bringing authenticity and light to life, then one might as well be dead.<br /> <br /> "Temptations page flies out the door"<br /> The desires of life that are presented as what one should want are ripped from one's book of life"<br /> "You follow find yourself at war"<br /> As you rush after them the corruption of the land is upon you and suddenly order and sense of self is lost<br /> "watch waterfalls of pity roar"<br /> All around the landscape is filled with horror-the truth contains waterfalls of pity<br /> "You feel the moan but unlike before"<br /> Now one must feel the deep pain of the darkness, the shadow but unlike before<br /> "You discover that you'd be just be one more person crying."<br /> <br /> This last is extremely important because it sets up the entire focus of the song. And what is that? That " specialness" is an illusion. This theme reoccurs. "Advertising signs they con-what' "You into thinking YOU"RE THE ONE". Even those who claim they are for peace hate. Learning is reduced to money. even Jesus is not authentic but a vehicle for profit. <br /> <br /> So what is Dylan aiming at? This idea of "specialness. Dylan lived and lives in a particular time and place and society. It is America and its dominant idea of itself is called "American Exceptionalism". "We are the greatest nation on Earth. We are unique. We are the good guys. We are the city on the hill. We are endowed with destiny. GOD IS ON OUR SIDE."<br /> <br /> This is Dylan's heart of darkness. He came of age and wrote most of his seminal material in the confrontation with the horror of the echo of the greatest evil of slavery in the history of the world. With America on the verge of one of the greatest criminal acts of international war and terrorism of the 20th century-the war in Vietnam.<br /> <br /> All the details that follow are subordinate to this main theme, the revealing of the truth, that this sense of entitlement is corrupt beyond measure, is built upon lies and incalculable greed and cruelty, where the truth of its depravity of the soul is laid bare, and where nothing is held sacred except profit, domination, and the bottom line, In Highway 61 (song), this corruption of the soul is so vast that the "roving gambler who was very bored" and "wanted to start a third world war" runs into a promoter who says "Yes I think it can be very easily done". The Cuban Missile Crisis was two years removed when Its All Right Ma was written and the idea that those enthralled and in the grip of the shadow would not end it all in pursuit of their own ends (as the Joint Chiefs nearly did) was not so far off in reality.<br /> <br /> We can go to the second three but already we now see the details of this shadow which will fill the rest of the song.<br /> <br /> "Some warn victory, some downfall<br /> Private reasons great or small<br /> Can be seen in the eyes of those that call<br /> To make all that should be killed to crawl<br /> While others say don’t hate nothing at all<br /> Except hatred"<br /> <br /> The political and military leaders are obsessed with victory or downfall (Anti communism) , the reasons for their insanity can be great or small, that total control is the desire (killed to crawl) and even those who cry for peace buy into this division and give in to hate and polarity "Which side are you on" asks Desolation Row".<br /> <br /> The next verse needs no interpretation. It is all quite clear and direct.<br /> <br /> "Disillusioned words like bullets bark<br /> As human gods aim for their mark<br /> Make everything from toy guns that spark<br /> To flesh-colored Christs that glow in the dark<br /> It’s easy to see without looking too far<br /> That not much is really sacred"<br /> <br /> Is there even a need to interpret the obvious?<br /> <br /> "While preachers preach of evil fates<br /> Teachers teach that knowledge waits<br /> Can lead to hundred-dollar plates<br /> Goodness hides behind its gates<br /> But even the president of the United States<br /> Sometimes must have to stand naked<br /> <br /> An’ though the rules of the road have been lodged<br /> It’s only people’s games that you got to dodge<br /> And it’s alright, Ma, I can make it":<br /> <br /> Again the obvious except now the singer reveals one ray of hope, that he can make it through the land mines of this incredibly corrupt landscape. This theme will build as he contrasts the depth of shadow with the possibility that one can still live authentically in this God forsaken place.<br /> <br /> In "Its All Right Ma" Dylan is still fighting and counter punching. He is in the middle of an all out assault on this shadow that has perverted everything that began with Freewheelin' and will only end with the fatigue of "Desolation Row" and the retreat into the existential nihilism and despair of "Visions of Johanna" and "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again" that pervades Blonde on Blonde.. Dylan's hopes for societal change will morph into sanctuary of personal love "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" which will be dashed and chronicled in "Blood on the Tracks".<br /> <br /> To understand an artist such as this, to truly take him seriously, the song(s) cannot be viewed in a vacuum but must be understood in the context of his tapestry of life and work, the times he lives, and his consistency of thought and feeling.<br /> <br /> Otherwise one is just mentally floundering. This guy knew exactly what he wanted to say and exactly who and what he was aiming at. Forget all his protestations to the opposite.<br />
@MichaelAdams81 P.S. We must distinguish between Canadian and American Conservatism. (If such a thing exists). To repeat, the song sets up the darkness that has engulfed everything, those born with a silver spoon, innocent children, criminals and has perverted the natural order (Eclipses both the Sun and moon). Whether Dylan consciously knew it or not he is paralleling and countering one of the most famous phrases of the New Testament from Jesus "The rain falls on the just and unjust alike." To Jesus rain is God's love for it provides nourishment to all. For Dylan, the opposite has occurred. Therefore one feels it like a punch in the gut (the moan), and a sick realization that any uniqueness one has felt is empty, and dread and fear begin to spread.<br /> <br /> If this were an American conservative critique, then government would be the focus. But a great aim of Dylan's wrath is business (the agents of the super human crew), the beloved of the right wing. Here "Human God's-corporations and business elites- corrupt everything for the bottom line (Flesh colored Christ's that glow in the dark), Con one with advertising signs, pervert learning to the service of money ($100 plates), and the victims (caught in the rat race choir) fall into bitterness. The right is further eviscerated in pointing out those that "In limited sex they dare, push fake morals, insults and swears." These are the evangelical right wing preachers who preach of "evil fates", the Jimmy Swaggarts who rail against non traditional sexual norms but get caught with prostitutes in motels. The war makers and those who hew to the party line of the crowd (Strict party platform ties) are also slashed at but the bulk of the song's blistering rage is given to those elites, mostly in business who are the "Masters who make the rules". as today, the politicians are their servants.<br /> <br /> This is NOT a song that comes from an American conservative place.<br /> <br /> Despite all this the singer has hope and a certain faith in himself. He can "dodge people's games", he can "make it", he exhorts others to find their own center and authenticity "It is not he or she or it that you belong to", and despite everything that is thrown at him says "what else can you show me". He is defiant and has not been beaten. The song ends with a zen line, "Its life and life only". Things are what they are.<br /> <br /> This ferocity will carry through most of Highway 61, lashing out in wilder surrealistic images, but at the end he begins to surrender. He has given it everything over a remarkable span of 5 (soon to be 6) albums, an intensity that would be a lifetime for most. In weariness he settles into the sanctuary of Desolation Row and by Blonde on Blonde the fight has gone out of him.<br /> <br /> This period will be one of the great achievements of modern music-literary-cultural history, will define Dylan, and will enshrine him on the Mt Rushmore of contemporary artists. He will never achieve these heights consistently and over such a span again, except for the great "Blood on the Tracks". With a motorcycle accident, real or faked, he withdraws completely, only to reemerge as a country crooner who can occasionally summon greatness (All Along the Watch Tower) and mounts a similar ferocity in the Rolling Thunder tour. But without the political focus. The creative instinct and genius is still there in that tour, but nothing will ever touch this body of work in which Its All Right Ma stands at the center.<br /> <br /> It is tribute to Dylan's greatness that he erupts with periods of excellent work, even after touching the mind of God in his youth. There is no one like him. All lyricists and many rock artists followed in his wake. There would be no Springsteen if not for Dylan. Nor Jackson Browne or even mid-later Beatles. And all the countless others who now had the opportunity to bring lyrical sensibility to Rock and Roll.
@MichaelAdams81 I think you got it all right. It was a pleasure to read it.
@MichaelAdams81
It is a very pensive task to explain lyrics, let alone be responsible enough to offer up honesty, and humble notes of possible misinterpretation, mixed in coherently, and yet come out with an uncanny, and concise description of one Grand chestnut in Spike's basket of gifts. Not that any chance of claiming omnipotence, on any level is a smart move, I admit that I dig where you are comming from.I am a 25 year old, with 35 years of experience, and I like the way you think. Back in the late 80's, close friends of GratefulDead bestowed the moniker of "Spike" upon Bob, due to too many Bobs in the camp. He toured along, and played with on stage, either summer tour of 87, or88 with GD. We all loved the chance to be close and personal with one of our heros.<br /> Meanings are felt, more than explained, as emotions carry us further, despite fuzzy dates and strict adherence to the letter of the Book of Bob. None the less, I do remember being like you, wanting to share all I had, with all I could reach. B.T.W. you are right. On all levels. Magic I say, magic I cast, and recieve from any and all wise enough to show me. Thanks bro, I love right back atcha !