This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Ev'rybody's building the big ships and the boats,
Some are building monuments,
Others, jotting down notes,
Ev'rybody's in despair,
Ev'ry girl and boy
But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here,
Ev'rybody's gonna jump for joy.
Come all without, come all within,
You'll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn.
I like to do just like the rest, I like my sugar sweet,
But jumping queues and making haste,
It ain't my cup of meat.
Ev'rybody's 'neath the trees,
Feeding pigeons on a limb
But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here,
All the pigeons gonna run to him.
Come all without, come all within,
You'll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn.
A cat's meow and a cow's moo, I can recite 'em all,
Just tell me where it hurts yuh, honey,
And I'll tell you who to call.
Nobody can get no sleep,
There's someone on ev'ryone's toes
But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here,
Ev'rybody's gonna wanna doze.
Come all without, come all within,
You'll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn.
Some are building monuments,
Others, jotting down notes,
Ev'rybody's in despair,
Ev'ry girl and boy
But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here,
Ev'rybody's gonna jump for joy.
Come all without, come all within,
You'll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn.
I like to do just like the rest, I like my sugar sweet,
But jumping queues and making haste,
It ain't my cup of meat.
Ev'rybody's 'neath the trees,
Feeding pigeons on a limb
But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here,
All the pigeons gonna run to him.
Come all without, come all within,
You'll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn.
A cat's meow and a cow's moo, I can recite 'em all,
Just tell me where it hurts yuh, honey,
And I'll tell you who to call.
Nobody can get no sleep,
There's someone on ev'ryone's toes
But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here,
Ev'rybody's gonna wanna doze.
Come all without, come all within,
You'll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn.
Lyrics submitted by dsfire, edited by Mellow_Harsher, slywlf
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i've heard that Dylan was at an acid party when Anthony Quinn complained about the noise. Quinn had just played a mighty Eskimo on a not so good movie and Dylan wrote this song to insult him. the other meanings may be right but i beleive it started with this.
This song is definately NOT about Jesus, even though many seem to think so!
Dylan may have thought the drug references in this were too blatant. I am suprised so many think it's a religious or other song.
"not my cup of meat" blends the idea of "cup of tea" as personal preference and "meat" as in what primarily drives and sustains you. It's a clever way of saying "I subsist on drugs but I prefer something else, though I know some people live for this."
The idea that "some are building monuments, others jotting notes" probably refers to rolled cigarettes whether joints, laced joints, laced tobacco, etc. Jotting notes would be something narrow and a monument would be obnoxiously large.
Eskimo ~ snow ~ cocaine.
"Trees" likely refers to marijuana as well. The pigeons choose their perches, and when the man with the snow comes along they flock there instead of the trees.
The connection between the actor and film could have a personal meaning to Dylan. Perhaps the actor Anthony Quinn resembled the dealer who inspired the song, or was around the scene either in person or on a poster, and was popularly associated with the archetype of the eskimo at that time and place.
@songmeaningstom ugh
What does this song mean? Anyone know?
jesus
Bob's voice is insanely cool in this song... And the Band is awesome.
ive heard its about a group of people awaiting the arrival of an acid supplier. Also, it could relate to simply waiting for someone bringing help, such as more basic medical attention.
In the 'Biograph' notes, Bob says it's a nursery rhyme! If it is 'about jesus', it's the funniest description of the rapture ever written.
First part "Ev'rybody's in despair" until a savior comes. Savior could be a messiah or a drug dealer. 2nd part, "All the pigeons gonna run to him" implies all the fools will be drawn to Quinn, which still could mean Jesus or a drug dealer. The 3rd part throws in a bunch of drug references "tell me where it hurts yuh, honey, And I'll tell you who to call" which implies a Dr. Feelgood solution. Also "Nobody can get no sleep" maybe because they're high on coke or speed. I though for sure this song was about acid when I first heard it because "Ev'rybody's gonna wanna doze." I thought it was dose (slang for LCD) and not doze. This may be giving Bob too much credit, but the song does draw a humorous parallel between religious saviors and pushers.
Bob lived on the streets for a while! must ave been cold..maybe he had more respect for eskimos afterwards. i might be way of line aswell.