The song is about a non-conformist who had humble beginning in life, was completely capable of contributing, but was shunned for one reason or another by the ruling class. But the protagonist continues digging his hands into life, despite feeling pushed down. He is fundamentally non-violent, but he relies on God to deliver justice to his oppressors, which is how I interpret, "I pay in blood, but not my own."
An alternate interpretation would be a person going around inflicting punishment on people and using Christ as an excuse, because Christ's blood was the ultimate sacrifice in the Christian religion.
The song is about a non-conformist who had humble beginning in life, was completely capable of contributing, but was shunned for one reason or another by the ruling class. But the protagonist continues digging his hands into life, despite feeling pushed down. He is fundamentally non-violent, but he relies on God to deliver justice to his oppressors, which is how I interpret, "I pay in blood, but not my own."
An alternate interpretation would be a person going around inflicting punishment on people and using Christ as an excuse, because Christ's blood was the ultimate sacrifice in the Christian religion.
Not sure where Dylan's mind was when he wrote it.