The song is introspective. The first line explains that. He mentions circling the Southern zone which is obviously about touring. Dylan has fathered several children and a few of them were illegitimate, hence the line "If you could only prove who your father was". He speaks about his tumultuous life and endless touring which has taken its toll: "How I made it back home, nobody knows". He's "been through hell". The talk of "this nation must be freed - accused of murder" is a reference to warmongering within the political system.
The refrain "I pay in blood but not my own" is another reference to those that gain from war. He pays in blood because that is the new currency. Or has that always been the currency?
The song is introspective. The first line explains that. He mentions circling the Southern zone which is obviously about touring. Dylan has fathered several children and a few of them were illegitimate, hence the line "If you could only prove who your father was". He speaks about his tumultuous life and endless touring which has taken its toll: "How I made it back home, nobody knows". He's "been through hell". The talk of "this nation must be freed - accused of murder" is a reference to warmongering within the political system.
The refrain "I pay in blood but not my own" is another reference to those that gain from war. He pays in blood because that is the new currency. Or has that always been the currency?