Was just listening to this song again in my car...
Most of the best Dylan material has multiple meanings. Of course no one would seriously argue that Dylan was really writing about some guy from whom he rented an apartment. Beyond the literal relationship of landlord and tenant, I think the song can be interpreted on multiple metaphorical levels, moving from the autobiographical (Dylan expressing his view of himself as a recording artist) to the societal (humans and their relationship to God/religion) to the universal (any general relationship to an authority figure).
So who is the Landlord? While God certainly fits this, I honestly find the tone of the song a little less deferential than to be expected, even coming from Dylan. He would come across as pretty high on himself talking to God this way, in my opinion. (Although Dylan is often very conceited in his writing, his obvious talent notwithstanding). Following the lyrics, the song most directly seems to be written to an agent or manager. Albert Grossman, as noted previously, is a good guess.
Was just listening to this song again in my car... Most of the best Dylan material has multiple meanings. Of course no one would seriously argue that Dylan was really writing about some guy from whom he rented an apartment. Beyond the literal relationship of landlord and tenant, I think the song can be interpreted on multiple metaphorical levels, moving from the autobiographical (Dylan expressing his view of himself as a recording artist) to the societal (humans and their relationship to God/religion) to the universal (any general relationship to an authority figure). So who is the Landlord? While God certainly fits this, I honestly find the tone of the song a little less deferential than to be expected, even coming from Dylan. He would come across as pretty high on himself talking to God this way, in my opinion. (Although Dylan is often very conceited in his writing, his obvious talent notwithstanding). Following the lyrics, the song most directly seems to be written to an agent or manager. Albert Grossman, as noted previously, is a good guess.