This Bob Dylan song that Mark covered was one of my favourites he sang!
The song is interesting and to me it depicts a woman living on her own, only one dress hanging on the line! She is lonely and longs for a better life, the hurricanes come and go in this part of her world often and she's possibly had enough of living under the constant threat of being alone and subject to elements of the weather. She has neighbours call on her occasionally but she is not often bothered with visitors as townfolk are busy bodies.
She misses a time when things were lively. She goes do the dance hall alone and she is beholden to no-one although I am sure she has men folk wanting to be with her but as she is at liberty to ask men to dance i would certainly think she has no husband or boyfriend to interfere with the decisions she makes. I am also sure no-one in town has interested her as a potential partner. She is looking for something but she is not sure what. She takes a chance to ask a the traveler in the long black coat, to dance. He is a mystery, has no outward expression and is travel worn. He has piqued her interest, yet he is expressionless upon being asked if he would like to dance. I am not sure that he even took her up on the offer to dance and some gossip in town suggests he is a travelling preacher whom they have seen quoting text from a bible.
Anyway suffice to say the traveller must have seen that look in her eye and the next thing she is gone from the town. Gossip has ensued for sure and I can imagine the towns folk thought she must have been either kidnapped but they are not really sure. She has not let anyone know she has gone so specualtion is high enough for the local preacher to give the townsfolk a lecture of mens intentions suggesting that the traveller has captured the girl and ran off with her. And that all men are vile and let their minds controle their actions and cause sin!
I think the last verse of the song suggests that someone is looking for the lady but the search is in vain. That person was possibly someone from the town that had possibly shown an interest in her but was rejected. He is possibly piqued that she ran off with somebody else but I am sure the lady made sure she would not be found and she never left a note to let anyone know. She has either moved on with the traveller or she saw an opportunity to leave town and the traveller has provided her with an alibi without exposing her real intentions to disappear and leave the town behind.
This Bob Dylan song that Mark covered was one of my favourites he sang! The song is interesting and to me it depicts a woman living on her own, only one dress hanging on the line! She is lonely and longs for a better life, the hurricanes come and go in this part of her world often and she's possibly had enough of living under the constant threat of being alone and subject to elements of the weather. She has neighbours call on her occasionally but she is not often bothered with visitors as townfolk are busy bodies. She misses a time when things were lively. She goes do the dance hall alone and she is beholden to no-one although I am sure she has men folk wanting to be with her but as she is at liberty to ask men to dance i would certainly think she has no husband or boyfriend to interfere with the decisions she makes. I am also sure no-one in town has interested her as a potential partner. She is looking for something but she is not sure what. She takes a chance to ask a the traveler in the long black coat, to dance. He is a mystery, has no outward expression and is travel worn. He has piqued her interest, yet he is expressionless upon being asked if he would like to dance. I am not sure that he even took her up on the offer to dance and some gossip in town suggests he is a travelling preacher whom they have seen quoting text from a bible. Anyway suffice to say the traveller must have seen that look in her eye and the next thing she is gone from the town. Gossip has ensued for sure and I can imagine the towns folk thought she must have been either kidnapped but they are not really sure. She has not let anyone know she has gone so specualtion is high enough for the local preacher to give the townsfolk a lecture of mens intentions suggesting that the traveller has captured the girl and ran off with her. And that all men are vile and let their minds controle their actions and cause sin! I think the last verse of the song suggests that someone is looking for the lady but the search is in vain. That person was possibly someone from the town that had possibly shown an interest in her but was rejected. He is possibly piqued that she ran off with somebody else but I am sure the lady made sure she would not be found and she never left a note to let anyone know. She has either moved on with the traveller or she saw an opportunity to leave town and the traveller has provided her with an alibi without exposing her real intentions to disappear and leave the town behind.