Chimes of Freedom Lyrics
I think this song is written from the point of view of a young person who is on the cusp of youthful optimism and love of life, and a realisation of all the pain and unfairness that exists in the world. It's very bittersweet.
Like most of his songs, this is intensely personal. This song is at the essence of Another Side, the side that Dylan always wanted to express, but couldn't figure out how to do it (until 1964). This isn't a protest song. It's about the freedom we all wish we had, but know we probably never will. Not freedom in a political sense, but in a personal sense. The kind of freedom that effects every moment of every day. Many people don't want to seek this freedom, or have given up. This song is a tribute to freedom at its essence, the undefinable freedom, and the deep desire for it which pains one with the knowledge that this kind of freedom is nearly impossible to obtain and takes superhuman strength, wisdom, and drive to ever achieve. At least, that's what I get out of it.
God, Dylan is almost too god for this site. Take from it what you will he makes many comments throughout the song "Chiming for the soldier who's strength is not to fight" an advocate of peace, maybe. You can take much more from this song, he writes so beautifully.
Powerful lyrics. Gotta say I like the Byrds version of it better and the Springsteen live version even more than that.
@Moses19 Agree! I've always interpreted it from the optimism of two lovers sheltering from a storm, but it really being about people's inability to see our freedoms 'flashing' out of existence. That each one disappears rhythmically that we don't see when it happens. We're spellbound by our own little bubbles that we lack the observance of continuous loss of freedoms and our good, and don't act soon enough to stop what we know should be stopped. Amazing lyrics.
@Moses19 Agree! I've always interpreted it from the optimism of two lovers sheltering from a storm, but it really being about people's inability to see our freedoms 'flashing' out of existence. That each one disappears rhythmically that we don't see when it happens. We're spellbound by our own little bubbles that we lack the observance of continuous loss of freedoms and our good, and don't act soon enough to stop what we know should be stopped. Amazing lyrics.
I think that the premise of the song is that one evening, between dusk and midnight, a storm strikes. Dylan and a few others take shelter in a church or cathedral. The first verse is about looking at the storm and feeling its majesty. Dylan uses metaphors of honorable soldiers "who's strength is not too fight". The idea of refugees too, possibly the soldiers are in a war to protect their rights, or simply that the storm is protecting them from unwanted attention. The use of the verb "flashing" here, serves to enforce this feeling of triumph.
In the second verse, Dylan is trying to convey the the power of the storm and the image of a melted furnace is perfect in conveying this. Wedding bells too, normally so loud, dissolve into the sound of the thunder ("Bells of lightening" such a great concept!) Here, Dylan uses the word "tolling", which has connotations of a long arduous task, for example, fieldwork. The people that represent this are the rebels, the outcasts and the luckless, all those who struggle against a much higher power.
I am less certain of the third verse, but from the talk of kind, gentle protectors and guardians, I think what Dylan is trying to say is that the storm is a provider, a protector of life. Indeed, the storm is far more powerful than anything man-made, the church bells for example. With its life giving water, the storm is more of a protector than the Church will ever be.
In the fourth verse, "the rain unravels tales", clearly Dylan & co are trading stories. In the process, they come to realise that they are all have their own lives, experiences, stories, issues and opinions. Without this storm, they probably would not have shared them at all. Dylan then sings about those who have no-one to talk to, the "mateless mother" or the outlaw, or those who cannot share, the deaf or blind. "The tongues with no place to bring their thoughts".
The fifth verse has me flummoxed.
In the sixth verse, Dylan sings of them watching the end of the storm "spellbound 'til the tolling ended". Although this is good news, they can continue on their journeys, Dylan identifies with those who cannot move on, the permanently wounded, the misused and the wrongly accused, and those who are no longer of this world.
Each verse finishes with "an' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing". Dylan is both trying to portray a feeling of awe and a feeling of helplessness, apparent from the "story" of each verse. However, the whole line is fraught with irony, after all the storm itself is keeping them hostage, trapped inside a church until it finishes.
Only Dylan can do this song justice. The imagery in this song is some of his best (and therefore the best ever written.)
'Through the mad mystic hammering of the wild ripping hail The sky cracked its poems in naked wonder'
I read somewhere that this is considered to be one of his acid songs but i don't think so. I think it's a testament to Dylan's writting skills that people find it impossible to believe that someone could just imagine this.
One of the greatest poems of the century. And the version in Another Side is wonderful. It's not about liking it or not. It's great - that's a fact.
This is our National Anthem.
At the risk of stating the obvious the words are about 2 people caught in a thunder and lightning storm, sheltering in a doorway, and staring up into the sky. Imagining this scenario and especially if you've been in such a situation yourself takes this song from good to great. Dylan, is untouchable as a vocalist in the way he handles a lyric. These words on paper are flat out great by any standards. Sung by a youthful and starry eyed Dyaln is just too much. Too good.
Acid, through and through...