I think that the premise of the song is that one evening, between dusk and midnight, a storm strikes. Dylan and a few others take shelter in a church or cathedral. The first verse is about looking at the storm and feeling its majesty. Dylan uses metaphors of honorable soldiers "who's strength is not too fight". The idea of refugees too, possibly the soldiers are in a war to protect their rights, or simply that the storm is protecting them from unwanted attention. The use of the verb "flashing" here, serves to enforce this feeling of triumph.
In the second verse, Dylan is trying to convey the the power of the storm and the image of a melted furnace is perfect in conveying this. Wedding bells too, normally so loud, dissolve into the sound of the thunder ("Bells of lightening" such a great concept!) Here, Dylan uses the word "tolling", which has connotations of a long arduous task, for example, fieldwork. The people that represent this are the rebels, the outcasts and the luckless, all those who struggle against a much higher power.
I am less certain of the third verse, but from the talk of kind, gentle protectors and guardians, I think what Dylan is trying to say is that the storm is a provider, a protector of life. Indeed, the storm is far more powerful than anything man-made, the church bells for example. With its life giving water, the storm is more of a protector than the Church will ever be.
In the fourth verse, "the rain unravels tales", clearly Dylan & co are trading stories. In the process, they come to realise that they are all have their own lives, experiences, stories, issues and opinions. Without this storm, they probably would not have shared them at all. Dylan then sings about those who have no-one to talk to, the "mateless mother" or the outlaw, or those who cannot share, the deaf or blind. "The tongues with no place to bring their thoughts".
The fifth verse has me flummoxed.
In the sixth verse, Dylan sings of them watching the end of the storm "spellbound 'til the tolling ended". Although this is good news, they can continue on their journeys, Dylan identifies with those who cannot move on, the permanently wounded, the misused and the wrongly accused, and those who are no longer of this world.
Each verse finishes with "an' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing". Dylan is both trying to portray a feeling of awe and a feeling of helplessness, apparent from the "story" of each verse. However, the whole line is fraught with irony, after all the storm itself is keeping them hostage, trapped inside a church until it finishes.
I think that the premise of the song is that one evening, between dusk and midnight, a storm strikes. Dylan and a few others take shelter in a church or cathedral. The first verse is about looking at the storm and feeling its majesty. Dylan uses metaphors of honorable soldiers "who's strength is not too fight". The idea of refugees too, possibly the soldiers are in a war to protect their rights, or simply that the storm is protecting them from unwanted attention. The use of the verb "flashing" here, serves to enforce this feeling of triumph.
In the second verse, Dylan is trying to convey the the power of the storm and the image of a melted furnace is perfect in conveying this. Wedding bells too, normally so loud, dissolve into the sound of the thunder ("Bells of lightening" such a great concept!) Here, Dylan uses the word "tolling", which has connotations of a long arduous task, for example, fieldwork. The people that represent this are the rebels, the outcasts and the luckless, all those who struggle against a much higher power.
I am less certain of the third verse, but from the talk of kind, gentle protectors and guardians, I think what Dylan is trying to say is that the storm is a provider, a protector of life. Indeed, the storm is far more powerful than anything man-made, the church bells for example. With its life giving water, the storm is more of a protector than the Church will ever be.
In the fourth verse, "the rain unravels tales", clearly Dylan & co are trading stories. In the process, they come to realise that they are all have their own lives, experiences, stories, issues and opinions. Without this storm, they probably would not have shared them at all. Dylan then sings about those who have no-one to talk to, the "mateless mother" or the outlaw, or those who cannot share, the deaf or blind. "The tongues with no place to bring their thoughts".
The fifth verse has me flummoxed.
In the sixth verse, Dylan sings of them watching the end of the storm "spellbound 'til the tolling ended". Although this is good news, they can continue on their journeys, Dylan identifies with those who cannot move on, the permanently wounded, the misused and the wrongly accused, and those who are no longer of this world.
Each verse finishes with "an' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing". Dylan is both trying to portray a feeling of awe and a feeling of helplessness, apparent from the "story" of each verse. However, the whole line is fraught with irony, after all the storm itself is keeping them hostage, trapped inside a church until it finishes.