Not all of this is by any means my own,I've taken the best of 2/3 other contributors,represented it and added some of my own to get to what I think is a reasonable interpretation :
Eden is the place where there are no sins, a place of happiness, innocence, where all questions are answered. It is an enlightened state of consiousness, a state of nirvana, which can exist at any time in history. The song outlines many failed attempts to find it and the disasters that exist without it. The Reality exists, and mankind has to recover the memory and truth of it.
The song highlights all the differences between what is happening inside the "gates of Eden" and what is occurring in the real world. The song is saying religious people preach to you of paradise in the afterlife and try to tell you, you should follow their religion because of how great this life will be, whilst at the same time behaving in exactly the opposite way in the real world, as though this promise of paradise is a licence for their hypocrisy and the chance to fool people into believing their pointless lives are worthwile.
The gate is the penalty for original sin, separating man from God. The day before, God and man walked side by side, communing directly. Forevermore we're separated. By that gate. And on that day, not only did man fall, but all of creation fell. Death, disease, war, crime, lust, hate, natural disasters, etc all entered the world together. They exist outside the gates. Outside = consequence = mans fault. Inside = Gods perfection, unadulterated, wonderful
Of war and peace the truth justs twists
Its curfew gull it glides
Upon four-legged forest clouds
The cowboy angel rides
With his candle lit into the sun
Though its glow is waxed in black
All except when 'neath the trees of Eden.
This song may be a commentary on religious dogma.’Of war and peace The Truth justs twists’ The first verse deals with the obvious physical suffering that religion itself has generated in the world in wars of self righteousness down the ages, yet the negligence with which religious people approach it. The truth that "twists" is the proclaimed religious method towards perfection, while in reality creates many atrocities in its proclamation and defence of ‘Eden’.
Lucifer a.k.a mankind may be the cowboy or rebellious Angel. His candle being lit into the sun is a reference to Lucifer challenging the rule of god in the beginning of paradise lost. Its glow being waxed in black is a reference to the falsity of his message and systems of salvation. Except beneath the trees of Eden, i.e. the Tree of Knowledge.
The lamppost stands with folded arms
Its iron claws attached
To curbs 'neath holes where babies wail
Though it shadows metal badge
All and all can only fall
With a crashing but meaningless blow
No sound ever comes from the Gates of Eden
This may refer to the Industrial Revolution, an attempt by man to manage/dominate the world which lead to exploitation of many by a minority of crafty entrepeneurs. The lampost might be a reference to the gas lamps that sprung up all over cities during this period “To curbs beneath the holes, where babies wail,” could be a reference to the high infant mortality at that time or to a yearning for a simpler life, a return to mankind's infancy that filled many people at that stage. The hope for an end to this drives men to search for another Eden.
The savage soldier sticks his head in sand
And then complains
Unto the shoeless hunter who's gone deaf
But still remains
Upon the beach where hound dogs bay
At ships with tattooed sails
Heading for the Gates of Eden
In the third verse, the savage soldier and deaf man, i think, are representative of those peoples for whom the religious prerequisites to enter heaven (Eden) are impossible to achieve,one precluded by his barbaric nature and the other by being able to hear anything outside his own mind,while the ships are ships of war attempting to conquer paradise,an obvious absurdity but paradoxically not necessarily so for man who has no awareness of his own absurdity.
With a time-rusted compass blade
Aladdin and his lamp
Sits with Utopian hermit monks
Side saddle on the Golden Calf
And on their promises of paradise
You will not hear a laugh
All except inside the Gates of Eden
The fourth verse may deal with the treatment of other religion/belief systems by other religious dogma. that is, aladdin can represent the islamic world. the golden calf, in the bible is "wrongly" worshipped by townsfolk who are subsequently punished. alternatively, it can be taken to represent hinduism/religions of the east, in which the cow is often considered sacred. utopian hermit monks are the representation of Buddhism ,mysticism,religious contemplation,,self denial as gateway,alternative belief systems etc. While "You will not hear a laugh" outside the gates of eden’ as all dogmas take themselves so seriously and specifically denigrate all others , that is, all of those other beliefs are null and void, and only that particular religious dogma offers happiness,but actually those inside the gates of Eden ARE laughing as all of them are null and void.
Its about whatever eschatologically centred religious cult is currently beheading another or commiting suicide in an underground bunker somewhere.
Relationships of ownership
They whisper in the wings
For them condemned to act accordingly
And wait for succeeding kings
And I try to harmonise with songs
The lonesome sparrow sings
There are no kings
Inside the gates of eden.
This verse is critical of the hierarchy that organized religion often creates. that is, churches and popes and monks, etc. all collect dues and money to support the organization; the "normal" people are to look to them for merely for guidance but total obedience while awaiting the return of the promised saviour. the last line in this verse illustrates the contradiction between this state of affairs and that promised by religion; in other words, all those popes and religious leaders have no advantage in the afterlife where there are no kings, yet they are to be revered and served in real life.The description of himself ‘harmonising with songs the lonesome sparrow sings ‘ is humility.
The motorcycle black madonna
Two-wheeled gypsy queen
And her silver-studded phantom cause
The gray flannel dwarf to scream
As he weeps to wicked birds of prey
Who pick up on his bread crumb sins
And there are no sins inside the Gates of Eden
The verse is even more cryptic, but possibly the "gray flannelled dwarf" may represent all those white-collar businessmen who are impoverished spiritually but cheat others out of their money and posessions and are dismayed at their lack of control of the kind of spirited anti-societal revolution that the sixties produced..
The next verse is about the inherent nullification of real life experiences that the existence of the theology of heaven brings about. that is, real life means nothing in light of an eternal heaven, in which all those things we are "supposed" to do in earthly life - like reject material possessions, educate ourselves, etc. - mean nothing and do not have to be adhered to in Eden; nor does philosophy or intelligence or even personality mean anything in Eden,but outside of it everything is dictated by a human nature that is acquisitive and jealous while people who pretend to know anything rot in their precious winds,as they actually know nothing
The kingdoms of experience
In their precious winds they rot
While paupers exchange possessions
Each one wishing for what the other has got
While the princess and the prince discuss
Whats real and what is not
It doesn’t matter inside the gates of eden.
The pretentious, logical realist Princess and Prince, educated and academically minded, try to define and distill our reality through discussion and analysis, They're perhaps more lost than the rest of us in their arrogance and conviction that their endeavours will lead to some revelatory discovery.
This next verse is a continuation ,the result of religious propaganda,the newspeak of 1984,which has left people in such a state of catatonic conflict about ‘paths to paradise’ that they have become unnatural in the world and estranged in it,stricken by the required observances and contradictions supposed to free them,with the consolation of redemption and salvation in the next life.
The foreign sun it squints upon
A bed that is never mine
As friends and other strangers
From their fates try to resign
Leaving men wholly,totally afraid
To do anything they wish to do but die
And there are no trials
Inside the gates of eden
Finally the last verse, i think may be revisiting the idea that personal relationships, life, philosophical pondering and everything we do here loses meaning and significance with the existence of Eden; more particularly, however, i think it posits that free thought, and personal conclusions are impossible with the existence of an ultimate, absolute, authoritative Truth, like Eden.Yet it is better to human and live one’s own life without indoctrination or reference to useless outside theological doublespeak, is more honest and maybe all we can aspire to.
At dawn my lover comes to me
And tells me of her dreams
With no attempts to shovel the glimpse
Into the ditch of what each one means.
At times I think there are no words but these
To tell whats true
And there are no truths outside the gates of eden.
In summary, this song may be about all of the things that humans do to get to this ideal world of Eden, which they are already outside and can only attempt to enter falsely and therefore unsuccessfully.
The 'Gates of Eden' recurrent throughout the song are more likely a symbolic representation of an ultimate truth unknowable by human minds. More than anything Dylan sets out to remind us all how evasive and unattainable this truth is but in turn he also lays heavy criticism on those who lead their lives in ignorance of this fact. This is a particularly severe crime when our supericial or constructed belief systems lead to violence, snobbery and a false consciousness.
Maybe Dylan wants you to remember that while the world of Eden does exist, the only world we can know is one in which there are no truths and no solutions. In 1999’s ‘Things Have Changed’,far less cryptically and in a tone without forgiveness,Dylan almost rages ‘’All the truths in the world add up to one big lie.’’
Eden is the place where there are no sins, a place of happiness, innocence, where all questions are answered. It is an enlightened state of consiousness, a state of nirvana, which can exist at any time in history. The song outlines many failed attempts to find it and the disasters that exist without it. The Reality exists, and mankind has to recover the memory and truth of it.
The song highlights all the differences between what is happening inside the "gates of Eden" and what is occurring in the real world. The song is saying religious people preach to you of paradise in the afterlife and try to tell you, you should follow their religion because of how great this life will be, whilst at the same time behaving in exactly the opposite way in the real world, as though this promise of paradise is a licence for their hypocrisy and the chance to fool people into believing their pointless lives are worthwile.
The gate is the penalty for original sin, separating man from God. The day before, God and man walked side by side, communing directly. Forevermore we're separated. By that gate. And on that day, not only did man fall, but all of creation fell. Death, disease, war, crime, lust, hate, natural disasters, etc all entered the world together. They exist outside the gates. Outside = consequence = mans fault. Inside = Gods perfection, unadulterated, wonderful
Of war and peace the truth justs twists
Its curfew gull it glides
Upon four-legged forest clouds
The cowboy angel rides
With his candle lit into the sun
Though its glow is waxed in black
All except when 'neath the trees of Eden.
This song may be a commentary on religious dogma.’Of war and peace The Truth justs twists’ The first verse deals with the obvious physical suffering that religion itself has generated in the world in wars of self righteousness down the ages, yet the negligence with which religious people approach it. The truth that "twists" is the proclaimed religious method towards perfection, while in reality creates many atrocities in its proclamation and defence of ‘Eden’.
Lucifer a.k.a mankind may be the cowboy or rebellious Angel. His candle being lit into the sun is a reference to Lucifer challenging the rule of god in the beginning of paradise lost. Its glow being waxed in black is a reference to the falsity of his message and systems of salvation. Except beneath the trees of Eden, i.e. the Tree of Knowledge.
The lamppost stands with folded arms
Its iron claws attached
To curbs 'neath holes where babies wail
Though it shadows metal badge
All and all can only fall
With a crashing but meaningless blow
No sound ever comes from the Gates of Eden
This may refer to the Industrial Revolution, an attempt by man to manage/dominate the world which lead to exploitation of many by a minority of crafty entrepeneurs. The lampost might be a reference to the gas lamps that sprung up all over cities during this period “To curbs beneath the holes, where babies wail,” could be a reference to the high infant mortality at that time or to a yearning for a simpler life, a return to mankind's infancy that filled many people at that stage. The hope for an end to this drives men to search for another Eden.
The savage soldier sticks his head in sand
And then complains
Unto the shoeless hunter who's gone deaf
But still remains
Upon the beach where hound dogs bay
At ships with tattooed sails
Heading for the Gates of Eden
In the third verse, the savage soldier and deaf man, i think, are representative of those peoples for whom the religious prerequisites to enter heaven (Eden) are impossible to achieve,one precluded by his barbaric nature and the other by being able to hear anything outside his own mind,while the ships are ships of war attempting to conquer paradise,an obvious absurdity but paradoxically not necessarily so for man who has no awareness of his own absurdity.
With a time-rusted compass blade
Aladdin and his lamp
Sits with Utopian hermit monks
Side saddle on the Golden Calf
And on their promises of paradise
You will not hear a laugh
All except inside the Gates of Eden
The fourth verse may deal with the treatment of other religion/belief systems by other religious dogma. that is, aladdin can represent the islamic world. the golden calf, in the bible is "wrongly" worshipped by townsfolk who are subsequently punished. alternatively, it can be taken to represent hinduism/religions of the east, in which the cow is often considered sacred. utopian hermit monks are the representation of Buddhism ,mysticism,religious contemplation,,self denial as gateway,alternative belief systems etc. While "You will not hear a laugh" outside the gates of eden’ as all dogmas take themselves so seriously and specifically denigrate all others , that is, all of those other beliefs are null and void, and only that particular religious dogma offers happiness,but actually those inside the gates of Eden ARE laughing as all of them are null and void.
Its about whatever eschatologically centred religious cult is currently beheading another or commiting suicide in an underground bunker somewhere.
Relationships of ownership
They whisper in the wings
For them condemned to act accordingly
And wait for succeeding kings
And I try to harmonise with songs
The lonesome sparrow sings
There are no kings
Inside the gates of eden.
This verse is critical of the hierarchy that organized religion often creates. that is, churches and popes and monks, etc. all collect dues and money to support the organization; the "normal" people are to look to them for merely for guidance but total obedience while awaiting the return of the promised saviour. the last line in this verse illustrates the contradiction between this state of affairs and that promised by religion; in other words, all those popes and religious leaders have no advantage in the afterlife where there are no kings, yet they are to be revered and served in real life.The description of himself ‘harmonising with songs the lonesome sparrow sings ‘ is humility.
The motorcycle black madonna
Two-wheeled gypsy queen
And her silver-studded phantom cause
The gray flannel dwarf to scream
As he weeps to wicked birds of prey
Who pick up on his bread crumb sins
And there are no sins inside the Gates of Eden
The verse is even more cryptic, but possibly the "gray flannelled dwarf" may represent all those white-collar businessmen who are impoverished spiritually but cheat others out of their money and posessions and are dismayed at their lack of control of the kind of spirited anti-societal revolution that the sixties produced..
The next verse is about the inherent nullification of real life experiences that the existence of the theology of heaven brings about. that is, real life means nothing in light of an eternal heaven, in which all those things we are "supposed" to do in earthly life - like reject material possessions, educate ourselves, etc. - mean nothing and do not have to be adhered to in Eden; nor does philosophy or intelligence or even personality mean anything in Eden,but outside of it everything is dictated by a human nature that is acquisitive and jealous while people who pretend to know anything rot in their precious winds,as they actually know nothing
The kingdoms of experience
In their precious winds they rot
While paupers exchange possessions
Each one wishing for what the other has got
While the princess and the prince discuss
Whats real and what is not
It doesn’t matter inside the gates of eden.
The pretentious, logical realist Princess and Prince, educated and academically minded, try to define and distill our reality through discussion and analysis, They're perhaps more lost than the rest of us in their arrogance and conviction that their endeavours will lead to some revelatory discovery.
This next verse is a continuation ,the result of religious propaganda,the newspeak of 1984,which has left people in such a state of catatonic conflict about ‘paths to paradise’ that they have become unnatural in the world and estranged in it,stricken by the required observances and contradictions supposed to free them,with the consolation of redemption and salvation in the next life.
The foreign sun it squints upon
A bed that is never mine
As friends and other strangers
From their fates try to resign
Leaving men wholly,totally afraid
To do anything they wish to do but die
And there are no trials
Inside the gates of eden
Finally the last verse, i think may be revisiting the idea that personal relationships, life, philosophical pondering and everything we do here loses meaning and significance with the existence of Eden; more particularly, however, i think it posits that free thought, and personal conclusions are impossible with the existence of an ultimate, absolute, authoritative Truth, like Eden.Yet it is better to human and live one’s own life without indoctrination or reference to useless outside theological doublespeak, is more honest and maybe all we can aspire to.
At dawn my lover comes to me
And tells me of her dreams
With no attempts to shovel the glimpse
Into the ditch of what each one means.
At times I think there are no words but these
To tell whats true
And there are no truths outside the gates of eden.
In summary, this song may be about all of the things that humans do to get to this ideal world of Eden, which they are already outside and can only attempt to enter falsely and therefore unsuccessfully.
The 'Gates of Eden' recurrent throughout the song are more likely a symbolic representation of an ultimate truth unknowable by human minds. More than anything Dylan sets out to remind us all how evasive and unattainable this truth is but in turn he also lays heavy criticism on those who lead their lives in ignorance of this fact. This is a particularly severe crime when our supericial or constructed belief systems lead to violence, snobbery and a false consciousness.
Maybe Dylan wants you to remember that while the world of Eden does exist, the only world we can know is one in which there are no truths and no solutions. In 1999’s ‘Things Have Changed’,far less cryptically and in a tone without forgiveness,Dylan almost rages ‘’All the truths in the world add up to one big lie.’’