I hear the lines, "There's always been people that have to cause fear. They've been talking of the war now for many long years" ... can't help but think about the idea of the apocalypse and the rapture and how Christians shove it down your throat, and how Dylan is sort of like, "shut up!' because everybody is so afraid to die and so concerned about the other side that they miss out on what they have here! So he goes, "let me sleep, let me smell, and let me walk!" Just let me live NOW!!! I think the anti-war bomb shelter aspect brings a different angel to the song but I always thought it was about living and appreciating here and now what you have rather than preparing yourself for another life.
I hear the lines, "There's always been people that have to cause fear. They've been talking of the war now for many long years" ... can't help but think about the idea of the apocalypse and the rapture and how Christians shove it down your throat, and how Dylan is sort of like, "shut up!' because everybody is so afraid to die and so concerned about the other side that they miss out on what they have here! So he goes, "let me sleep, let me smell, and let me walk!" Just let me live NOW!!! I think the anti-war bomb shelter aspect brings a different angel to the song but I always thought it was about living and appreciating here and now what you have rather than preparing yourself for another life.