Drifter's Escape Lyrics
I heard the drifter say,
As they carried him from the courtroom
And were taking him away.
"My trip hasn't been a pleasant one
And my time it isn't long,
And I still do not know
What it was that I've done wrong."
A tear came to his eye,
"You fail to understand," he said,
"Why must you even try?"
Outside, the crowd was stirring,
You could hear it from the door.
Inside, the judge was stepping down,
While the jury cried for more.
Cried the attendant and the nurse,
"The trial was bad enough,
But this is ten times worse."
Just then a bolt of lightning
Struck the courthouse out of shape,
And while ev'rybody knelt to pray
The drifter did escape.
Someone needs to help me with this one musically and for some intangilbe reason this is decidedly my favorite song of all time, but I can't grasp with clarity it's meaning John Wesley harding as an album is filled with stories varying from biographical to biblical but are similar in their vague nature Drifter's Escape clearly tells the tale of a hobo who has been unjustly or frivolously imprisoned and a cold hearted legal system eventually overpowered by nature SO what does all that mean? Is this a particular tale or a narrative of the human condition? What is the primary comment Dylan wishes to express In the movie Masked and Anonymous which Larry Charles, a Seinfeld writer co wrote with Dylan there is a scene where Dylan's character Jack Fate and his band play the song Meanwhile the character discuss the song's meaning Penelope Cruz states that she loves the songs Dylan plays because they are not precise and they are completely open to interpretation Meanwhile elsewhere John Goodman and Luke Wilson are talking about it Luke Wilson says the song is about trying to get to heaven, stating "you gotta know the route before you start out" but John Goodman concludes the scene stating that the song is written with a Jekyl and Hyde underlying, with Hyde narrating this particular story. that the song is about killing your conscience and accepting debochary as saintly if it please your appetite and your desire is the courtroom that of the law, that of God or that of one single man's psyche?
bob dylan is the driffer, the pressures in 65/66 were to much and he was losing his mind. his motorcycle accident is the bolt of lightning? so he got away from it all.
bob dylan is the driffer, the pressures in 65/66 were to much and he was losing his mind. his motorcycle accident is the bolt of lightning? so he got away from it all.
the jury is the 'mob mentality' that seems to negate the possiblity of emotion on a personal level.
the drifter is a free spirit, and though he has done wrong, he's a good man. the judge can empathise, and therefore is troubled even though he knows he himself has done the right thing.
the jury (mob) are comprimising the beauty of what is an upsetting but beautiful moment. all references to mobs (the jury, crowd outside) are negative, while all the personal references are emotive and sensitive.
i guess i think its about the power of the individual, and the fact that crowds can create pressure and subvert that power... but when everyone else is following the crowd (bending down to prey) the individual can rise above it and come out the victor!
The drifter is Dylan himself. He describes his status in the years of 65 - 66. The bolt of Lightning is his motorcycle accident, which he "used" to escape