If Dylan read these comments I think he would be highly amused.
First, he knew two groups of people would take the lyrics and directly correlate them with drug use and one group would see the "big picture".
Group one - Those who judged beatnicks, hippies, and "long hairs" in the 60's and without knowing them, dubbed them as stoners.
Group two - Stoners. They equate anything and everything with getting stoned. They see the obvioius connotation and run with it without taking the time to actually listen to the lyrics.
Group three - Those who see the big picture. They acknowledge the direct connotation with drug culture and getting "stoned" and probably smoke themselves, but they know the song was about much much more than that. Dylan didn't make music so people could pass a joint to the rhythm.
But, he knew what he was doing when he wrote this song. So, interpret what you will. It was expected.
If Dylan read these comments I think he would be highly amused. First, he knew two groups of people would take the lyrics and directly correlate them with drug use and one group would see the "big picture".
Group one - Those who judged beatnicks, hippies, and "long hairs" in the 60's and without knowing them, dubbed them as stoners. Group two - Stoners. They equate anything and everything with getting stoned. They see the obvioius connotation and run with it without taking the time to actually listen to the lyrics. Group three - Those who see the big picture. They acknowledge the direct connotation with drug culture and getting "stoned" and probably smoke themselves, but they know the song was about much much more than that. Dylan didn't make music so people could pass a joint to the rhythm.
But, he knew what he was doing when he wrote this song. So, interpret what you will. It was expected.