All Along the Watchtower

The joker is the contemporary social critic. In the king’s court, he is the only one who can get away with telling the truth about the state of the king’s affairs, because he does it through comedy. In this poem, the joker is criticizing those who would receive the fruits of the earth’s bounty, but receive it in a manner of ignorance. They take from the earth but don’t give back, and for them it’s all for profit and instant gratification. Civilization doesn’t respect the earth the way the natives did, and ego-tripping allows some humans to think that they own nature or can control it. So the joker must be desperately crying out to his companion, the thief, from the perspective of the earth. The thief tries to calm down the joker by telling him how the two of them, who once thought along the lines of the aforementioned businessmen and plowmen, now have a matured and responsible outlook on life. They are no longer greedy and self-indulgent when it comes to taking into account the needs of our planet, though he acknowledges they once were like everyone else. But the thief adds a new element into the picture by saying how everyone else thinks life is not only a goodie bag but something not worth fighting for. On some level, I think life can be a joke; I mean, not only do we take ourselves too seriously oftentimes, but life can be full of paradoxes and coincidences that can only be laughed at; ideally, life is a playground for those virtuous enough to perceive it that way. But I don’t think that’s what the message of the poem is; I think the thief is referring to those who waste their lives and don’t grow up. I don’t mean “grow up” as in ceasing all silliness, I mean “growing up” as in being responsible and mature, which would entail not harming the earth or any of its creatures, and not giving back to society. So on some level, life is a joke, because people need to lighten up. On the other hand, some people are fun to laugh at but not much fun to be around; other jokers are those who aspire to live a self-centered life, living carelessly, recklessly, irresponsibly, and sadistically all their life. This paradox may be the source of the joker’s confusion. “Let’s stop talking falsely now,”—this could mean, “let’s grow up by stop being hypocrites. Let’s stop pretending we knew everything as teenagers. Let’s stop believing the lies society has fed us. Let’s stop thinking it’s okay to do what we used to do, because it’s time for us to rise above a second childhood—let us learn to stop kidding around.” I know it’s fun to say mean jokes, even off-color jokes that poke fun at groups of people, but be better people. Let’ s be role models. Let’s rise above the B.S. and raise the standards of living. Let’s get active in the system, doing our social responsibility to Mother Earth and our fellow man, no matter how small a part we appear play, it is still necessary; it isn’t really small at all. I think the fact that the line about businessmen and plowmen are stealing from the earth—and by doing so making themselves thieves—is directed at “the thief” is meant to be ironic. This may be true because the parallel is the thief says to the joker, “there are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke.” The key is a joker is complaining to a thief about thievery and a thief is complaining to a joker about jokers, and they seem to be fed up with their lot and realizing they need to change- hence, “the hour is getting late.”

The second part of the poem remains cryptic to me. Why would princes keep a view along the watchtower? Why wouldn’t he have his hired men to do that for him? Has he come to some conclusion that he needs to be responsible for watching out for his security, rather than depend on others to do it for him? Could this be a metaphor that applies to you and me, to society as a whole, or to the political regime? The women and the barefoot servants give more credence to the latter idea that it has to deal with a political regime, since the lyrics present the hierarchy of nobility. Is he proclaiming that lovers come and go, and those who serve you (friends?) come and go, so don’t let your guard down because it’s only a passing alliance? I don’t think he’s that cynical, but he could be. Given the global turmoil of the sixties and seventies, and the fact Dylan is using a political hierarchy in his lyrics, it seems reasonable to interpret these lyrics on a grander scale, and less offensive to hope and individual human nature. Besides, the first half of the song was evidentially aimed at giving a message to society as a whole, so why should the second half all of a sudden break from that audience? He could be giving his comments on politics, that collective human nature that emphasizes security and foreign relations due to resource dependency. This song was released in 1967, so the Vietnam War was in full effect. His message could be interpreted as “don’t get caught up in other countries’ agendas. They may seem to be as friendly as a lover and as giving as a servant today, but we can’t act as of it will last, or put all our eggs in one basket, in the same way it’s wise to not get into a personal relationship with someone and have it be imbalanced. We need to gaze on all countries, no matter what alliances we may have made with them, with a cool, impersonal eye. This was also a time of minority struggle, so this same message might be applied to blacks, hippies, women, gays, farmers; anyone who has come together to make sure their interests are protected in the face of civilization.

“Outside in the distance a wildcat did growl, Two riders were approaching, the wind began to howl.” Are the two riders the joker and the thief, come to tell the prince their newfound perspective on life? Does the growl symbolize a primal scream for a change, perhaps through violent means? Does the howling wind mean that the pressure has come on, and the time is now to resist the urge to revert back to immature thinking, or the thinking of previous generations before us? These two lines are especially ominous. I think they’re saying that we need to act on, and not just think about, about what we need to do. Planning is all good, but look outside the window, folks. There’s race riots, there’s a war based on reasons we don’t even think are worth fighting for, there’s police beating hippies in the streets…the struggle is here, waiting for us to resist and adapt and do all we can so come out on top in order for society to progress. The paradigm shift in consciousness is near at hand, the world is ready to wake up! We need you NOW!