There must be some kind of way outta here
Said the joker to the thief
There's too much confusion
I can't get no relief
Business men, they drink my wine
Plowmen dig my earth
None will level on the line
Nobody offered his word
Hey, hey
No reason to get excited
The thief, he kindly spoke
There are many here among us
Who feel that life is but a joke
But, uh, but you and I, we've been through that
And this is not our fate
So let us stop talkin' falsely now
The hour's getting late, hey
Hey
All along the watchtower
Princes kept the view
While all the women came and went
Barefoot servants, too
Well, uh, outside in the cold distance
A wildcat did growl
Two riders were approaching
And the wind began to howl, hey
All along the watchtower
All along the watchtower
Said the joker to the thief
There's too much confusion
I can't get no relief
Business men, they drink my wine
Plowmen dig my earth
None will level on the line
Nobody offered his word
Hey, hey
No reason to get excited
The thief, he kindly spoke
There are many here among us
Who feel that life is but a joke
But, uh, but you and I, we've been through that
And this is not our fate
So let us stop talkin' falsely now
The hour's getting late, hey
Hey
All along the watchtower
Princes kept the view
While all the women came and went
Barefoot servants, too
Well, uh, outside in the cold distance
A wildcat did growl
Two riders were approaching
And the wind began to howl, hey
All along the watchtower
All along the watchtower
Lyrics submitted by lzphishhead, edited by somacep4sc
All Along the Watchtower Lyrics as written by Bob Dylan
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Did no one else realize this connection?
Thoughts?
amen
i tend to believe this song was connotated with Vietnam because it was going on at the time this song was released (originally on Dylan's LP "John Wesley Harding" in 1967)
but what i actually believe the song is a story about society: the upper class being the Princes,
the Joker and pregnant women being the Middle class and the Thief representing the Lower Class.
i always thought the Thief's line when speaking to the Joker was a very peculiar one: "There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke."
the Thief is telling the Joker, of all people, that nobody takes life seriously. was it a hint from the Thief to the Joker to stop screwing around? and make plans for escape?
i'm still trying to figure that one out...
The page I linked to above is the REAL meaning about the song. It isn't about Jesus, and it isn't about Vietnam, at least, not directly. It is a fierce statement of disestablishmentarianism, of a conspiracy to bring down a powerful heirarchy.
By the way, njrockstarbandit, don't be ignorant. The Vietnam War was NOT one of the worst of the century. WW1 was, followed by WW2 and various slaughters in Cambodia and Tibet.
Anyway, this is a brilliant cover, and personally I believe it is the best rock song ever, beating even "Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin.
If you are gonna call people "fucking wackos" at least give some backing for your claim.
What, exactly, in the song says its about Vietnam, and don't just give me the "it was wrote during the Vietnam war" bs....
I would agree more with the idea of it being about society.
With a song like this I can see how it would be easy to think its about Vietnam. Hell, until I really looked at the lyrics I would have agreed with you. The first four lines ("There must be some kind of way out of here", ext.) sound a lot like a statement on Vietnam. But if you get locked into that train of thought right off the bat then you're going to have to really stretch the rest of the lyrics to make it fit.
Granted, I don't know what its about. And hell, it might be about religion or Vietnam. But if you're gonna make the claim, you need more than one or two lines that sorta-kinda-maybe-could-be about your theory. I'm not trying to insult anyone here, and no offense is meant, but please try not to jump to conclusions so damn fast.
Whether Jimi wanted his version to be interpreted differently, I will never know, personally I find it unlikely, although Jimi did "...dedicate this song to all the soldiers in Vietnam" in his live performance in 1970.
I'm not a good songwriter : )