There must be some way out of here
Said the joker to the thief
There's too much confusion, I can't get no relief
Businessmen, they drink my wine
Plowmen dig my earth
None of them along the line know what any of it is worth
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 you and I, we've been through that, and this is not our fate
So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late
All along the watchtower, princes kept the view
While all the women came and went, barefoot servants, too
Outside in the distance a wildcat did growl
Two riders were approaching, the wind began to howl
Said the joker to the thief
There's too much confusion, I can't get no relief
Businessmen, they drink my wine
Plowmen dig my earth
None of them along the line know what any of it is worth
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 you and I, we've been through that, and this is not our fate
So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late
All along the watchtower, princes kept the view
While all the women came and went, barefoot servants, too
Outside in the distance a wildcat did growl
Two riders were approaching, the wind began to howl
Lyrics submitted by oofus, edited by CrimsnEdge, Dartman, Backstage
All Along the Watchtower Lyrics as written by Bob Dylan
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
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So, it's the opposite of an endorsement of Christianity or any other religion. It's a description of the land where a seeker of truth must find his own way, whatever the dangers may be.
This song, in its three little stanzas, is wonderful writing and courageous personal philosophy. This is why Dylan was and still is considered one of our culture's great voices.
"There must be some way out of here, "there's too much confusion --The joker is having an existential crisis. He's saying "Holy shit, I'm really alive in the world, I'm a suffering human being, how do I get out of here?" There's also something suicidal about this, I think--in asking "There must be some way out".
"Businessmen they drink my wine." Then the Joker comments on the ignorance-is-bliss blindness of average people, who never ask "Why are we alive?" They drink wine and plow the earth, but they don't know what it's worth--that is, they don't ask why they're doing what they're doing.
"No reason to get excited" -- The thief, who's a bit saltier and wiser than the Joker, says "Listen, there's no reason to get excited about all this "existing" stuff. A lot of people have wondered why we exist.
"There are many here among us...life is just a joke"
Many people who ask existential questions become nihilists--they no longer think that life has any meaning.
"But you and I we've been through that"
But you and I are not going to think of life as a joke, we're going to keep searching for meaning. We're not going to commit suicide, either.
"Let us not talk falsely"
So let's not bullshit about accepting meaninglessness or commiting suicide...
"Hour is getting late"
...Because life is short and our deaths are coming, buddy.
The third stanza shows the context in which this conversation takes place. Basically, it describes the world of men.
"All along the watchtower"
Not sure what the watchtower is, sadly.
"Princes kept the view"-- In life, some men rule over other men, like kings.
"All the women came and went, barefoot servants too"-- Women and barefoot servants, just like princes, come and go--that is, they're Born, and then they Die.
"Outside in the cold distance a wildcat did growl"
Beyond the walls of man, nature is out there, wild and infinitely mysterious.
"Two riders were approaching"
Death. Death is coming for the princes, the servants, the women, the joker and the thief...and even the wildcat.
Some people may not like his vocals, others may find them unique. Music is art and art is down to an individuals tastes.
I personally agree yet disagree with this theory, A large chunk of the original thoughts and theories I had for this song were largely based on the a more religious point view. For example, the main idea on the identity of the Joker was that he was actually Jesus, loosely based on the comments he's made such as "Businessmen, they drink my wine." Possibly referring to the how Jesus turned water into wine and then when he says "Plowmen dig my earth" Referring to the world which God created. Now, while those parts still make a bit of sense to me, I can see what you mean in your own interpretation. Though, your argument is largely lacking certain parts of the poem such as the Joker feeling trapped. If the joker truly does represent Jesus then the joker's feeling of being trapped could be presented by Jesus when he met his demise, trapped in a cross, surrounded by two thieves.
But you and I, we've been through that, and this is not our fate
So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late." It suggests that people keep making the wrong decisions and when they run out of time to fix it they will not be able to.
Now, while the joker himself could possibly represent Jesus, the thief that the joker is talking to could represent Dismas, the Penitent thief who joined Jesus in paradise once they both passed away in the cross. This is due to to the thief kindly speaking to the joker, referring to how Dismas truly was the kinder to Jesus in the cross, contrary to the impenitent thief. While that theory does not have as much evidence to back it up, it may still be plausible. Something else that you failed to mention are the two riders who are nearing the city. Once again, it could be insisted that the two riders could possibly Hades and Death itself, bringing the incoming apocalypse as Revelation 6:8 states. To top it off, the joke, who represents Jesus, can be seen as Hades because they both judge the dead and the thief, who represents Dismas, can be seen as Death because they steal life from people.
I am agree with Zurielventura because he explained his quotes and I got his point of view that the joker is Jesus and because many people know about that he convert the in wine etc.
You are so close as Bob Dylan has mentioned in an interview that he had written the third verse first. It got mucked up in the studio. He stated that he intended to re record the song with the verses in the correct order. As you have said, this solves the problem of who the two riders are. From that starting point the song meaning unravels fairly easily. (The joker is a Jungian archetype, even present in most of Picasso's early cubist works...just look for the harlequin costume.) I do see it as a philosophical piece. The final words now become apocopalyptic, "...the hour is getting late".
The joker and the thief represent two sorts of social outcasts. The joker represents the class of people which denounce the system because they realise it's flaws and find it unjust. This is probably a more middleclass and intelectual stand. The thief on the other hand is also an outcast but he is not an outcast by choice. Thievery is in most cases a result of poverty. The majority of those who steal do it because they need to eat and feed their families so the thief here represents the more down-to-earth proletarian ,working class side of the social outcasts. They are obviously the two riders approaching the watchtower. It is suggested here that they are in a silent march towards something which symbolises the capitalist/social darwinist society. The princes are concerned. They observe the situation from their watchtowers, the princes being the capitalist, those who own the wine and the earth mentioned in the first verse. That is a reference to the unjustness of private property. The land and its fruits should be for everyone, including the jokers and the theives of the world. So,the princes are concerned,yet not that much,here Dylan realises that the social movements only managed so far to stir the structure, the watchtowers,but not yet to endanger it. Yet the last verse is essential. It somewhat gives a glimpse of things to come. The wildcat growl and the wing that howls give you an unsettling sentiment,it sends goosebumps up your spine. You can feel a tension. The two riders are approaching. And when they come too close to the wathctowers there will be conflict.
"The wind began to howl" definitely suggests that an uprising is coming!
Isaiah 21:8
And the lookout shouted, "Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower; every night I stay at my post."
Did you read these lines "Bussinesmen, they drink my wine, Plowmen dig my earth" I think that should be enough to understand the meaning of this song.
Anyway, this is what Joyce wrote: "I've put in so many enigmas and puzzles that it will keep the professors busy for centuries arguing over what I meant, and that's the only way of insuring one's immortality."
Shakespeare's "Hamlet" opens on the tower of the watch. Joyce's Ulysses opens in a watch tower. Dylan's song, when taken in it's logical order in with the third stanza actually is the first, also opens on a watch tower (it is aslo the only song on the recording that begins with it's title). The original biblical reference was obviously known by all three, but that knowledge is probably coincidental, a mere simple twist of fate.
"There must be some way out of here," said the joker to the thief,
"There's too much confusion, I can't get no relief.
Businessmen, they drink my wine, plowmen dig my earth,
None of them along the line know what any of it is worth."
The first verse could be him basically regretting the deal he made him being the joker/fool the devil being the thief (of his soul) and how the people enjoy what he does but none of them understand what he is going through to give them it.
"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 you and I, we've been through that, and this is not our fate,
So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late."
This verse could go back to when he made the deal. The Thief/Devil tells him not to get excited about the fame he just sold his soul for. The people around him don't know how lucky they are not to be in his position. But the Devil and him know more than the others know, and a regular safe life is no longer his fate. So let's not drag on the conversation, we both know what you just did.
All along the watchtower, princes kept the view
While all the women came and went, barefoot servants, too.
Outside in the distance a wildcat did growl,
Two riders were approaching, the wind began to howl.
The final verse as expected is the end of his life, the princes are the Devils guards keeping watch because Bob doesn't want to go to hell. The second line once again refers to his euphoric lifestyle that he's locked in. The last to lines seem to allude to Robert Johnson's "There's a hell hound on my trail" only this time it's a wild cat and two riders.
Of course this is just my opinion :)
The Joker and the Theif are positioned as people who are direct victims of demanding social expectations.
The song is about The Record Industry. That is why other recording artists always want to record it. When explained correctly, all artists can identify with this track.
The Joker is the Artist--In This Case Bob Dylan
The Thief is his Manager-Agent-Label Contact...etc.--In This Case Albert Grossman (Dylan's manager at the time this song was penned)
In the first verse, the Joker is going to his confidant and pleading to get him out of his current lot in life. 'Businessmen Drink His Wine, Ploughmen Dig His earth means--but none of them along the line know what any of it is worth' means that the recording artist is unhappy with the standard businessperson's approach towards selling art. They bottle it like Coca Cola, and it hurts the creative artist.
Then in the Second verse, the Thief talks the Artist into not thinking about things so deeply (for to remain a Thief (or a leach, really), the Joker must continue to work). The Theif basically talks the Joker into getting back on Stage or in the Recording Studio or what have you. The Hour is Getting late means go be a professional and do your job, no matter what you think on a personal level.
The last verse is about the decadence of being a Pop Star. Barefoot Servants and all that, it ends with a reflection that someday all this decadence must end. Dylan reflects on this a lot (Slow Train Coming comes to mind). The 2 Riders are kinda like the horsemen of the coming apocalypse. And The Wind began to howl...
Get it?
I'd also venture to say that this general religious imagery of the period is why the song is open to Hafidzarrazyon's religious interpretations.
In fact several of Dylan's songs around this time appear to refer to his professional situation - "Maggie's Farm" is another, and "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue".
The joker and the thief are shown as outsiders in this song, two people that don't fit in. It's possible that Dylan saw himself as the joker in the song- a creative type who is frustrated with people that don't understand or take advantage of his music and talent: "Businessmen they drink my wine/Plowmen dig my earth. None of them along the line/Know what any of it is worth."
The growl of the wildcat and the two riders in the night suggest even more conflict, tension building into something that will most likely end in collision. The song is about two people on the outside, who are no longer satisfied with the ways of society and their roles in it, who are most likely going to take action against it.
Businessman, they drink my wine. Plowman dig my earth. (They will be eating, drinking, building, buy and selling before sudden destruction comes) And there will come a time when no one realizes why they are actually on earth, and mindlessly go about trying to self actualize materially, rather than spiritually.
Upon having this revelation, the Thief tells the Joker not to be excited, because there are others who have already come to this realization. But the point is, to stop following the masses and blinding themselves to the truth because the time is short.
The watchtower represent when Jesus says be ever watchful, because he will come as a thief in the night. Surprisingly enough many governments (Princes) know the Apocalypse of man is coming. Our government knows California and almost the entire West Coast is going to sink, causing a Worldwide cataclysm. Its not a matter of if, but when. But us, we go about our business like nothing is going to happen. Wildcat IMO represents Satan, the Beast in the endtimes. Remember, in Revelations and Isiah, the two riders (witnesses) will come to Israel right after Babylon has fallen and during the time of the Beast.
The Wind begins to Howl. That is the great tribulation and the destruction that follows foretold not only in the Bible, but by seers like Nostradamus and Mother Shipton . Remember, Dylan wrote this right after is near death motorcycle accident and the Height of the Cold and Vietnam war.