They sat together in the park
As the evening sky grew dark
She looked at him and he felt a spark
Tingle to his bones
'Twas then he felt alone
And wished that he'd gone straight
And watched out for a simple twist of fate

They walked along by the old canal
A little confused, I remember well
And stopped into a strange hotel
With a neon burnin' bright
He felt the heat of the night
Hit him like a freight train
Moving with a simple twist of fate

A saxophone someplace far-off played
As she was walkin' on by the arcade
As the light bust through a beat-up shade
Where he was waking up
She dropped a coin into the cup
Of a blind man at the gate
And forgot about a simple twist of fate

He woke up, the room was bare
He didn't see her anywhere
He told himself he didn't care
Pushed the window open wide
Felt an emptiness inside
To which he just could not relate
Brought on by a simple twist of fate

He hears the ticking of the clocks
And walks along with a parrot that talks
Hunts her down by the waterfront docks
Where the sailors all come in
Maybe she'll pick him out again
How long must he wait?
One more time, for a simple twist of fate

People tell me it's a sin
To know and feel too much within
I still believe she was my twin
But I lost the ring
She was born in spring
But I was born too late
Blame it on a simple twist of fate


Lyrics submitted by typo

Simple Twist of Fate Lyrics as written by Bob Dylan

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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Simple Twist of Fate song meanings
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    This entire album gives me the shivers. The imagery is unbelievable throughout. His first major comeback came with more poetry than any other Dylan era, and this time it was because of how love moved him (obviously nearing the end of his marriage, Dylan went from songs like Dirge on the previous album to Sara, the most blatant song he ever wrote, essentially begging his wife not to leave him). Jakob Dylan put it best saying something along the lines of he can jam to Dylan's stuff like Subterranean Homesick Blues, but when he listens to BOTT he hears his parents talking. Dylan re-re-invented music with this album, lines such as "Like a corkscrew to my heart" to "The priest wore black on the seventh day/and sat stoned face while the building burned". Phenomenal. But this song outdoes all of them (of course tomorrow my favourite will again change, it's tough not to call Idiot Wind one of the best songs ever written). But back to this one. The thing with song lyrics, particularly Dylan's, is that it isn't always essential to pinpoint exactly what the circumstances are, but rather how the listener perceives them. I think the general message in this song is obvious, whether or not she's a prostitute is rather irrelevant. I think everyone can relate to this song. Everyone. That feeling after you met someone (maybe talked to her for ten seconds or even had a one night stand, it doesn't matter), and then after she's gone you realize that that was what you've been searching for, but it's too late. A simple twist of fate, you never plan to fall in love the way you do. Like what Lennon said, Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. I know I've had that feeling before, like I didn't realize something until it was too late. Maybe you even went back to that same spot and looked for her like he does in the song, 'How long must he wait, one more time, for a simple twist of fate'. This song gives me shivers because it rings so true to something personal to me, as I'm sure it does to a hell of a lot of people. Great great song. Dylan was always the master of putting un-expressible thoughts into words. "You who are so good with words/And with keeping things vague."

    FootOfPrideon June 15, 2011   Link

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