The lyrics are quite obtuse in places and the verses don’t seem to gel with the chorus making it a puzzling song. It recently occurred to me that it might be about Joan Baez who as we know was a big influence on Dylan and who he may have been in love with earlier to the time this was written.
He may be anticipating a future when they spend some kind of time together again.
‘You’re the one that called on me etc.’ may be a direct reference to Joan using Bob’s popularity to promote the folk movement.
The lace references may indicate he may have considered marriage thus curtailing her activities (I’ve read she was a bit promiscuous) but in fact was unsure of her at that time - though he allegedly dumped her in the end.
The chorus may be him seeing his most prolific period as being ‘on fire’ and taking its own tumultuous path (until it ends?).
Who knows…
The lyrics are quite obtuse in places and the verses don’t seem to gel with the chorus making it a puzzling song. It recently occurred to me that it might be about Joan Baez who as we know was a big influence on Dylan and who he may have been in love with earlier to the time this was written. He may be anticipating a future when they spend some kind of time together again. ‘You’re the one that called on me etc.’ may be a direct reference to Joan using Bob’s popularity to promote the folk movement. The lace references may indicate he may have considered marriage thus curtailing her activities (I’ve read she was a bit promiscuous) but in fact was unsure of her at that time - though he allegedly dumped her in the end. The chorus may be him seeing his most prolific period as being ‘on fire’ and taking its own tumultuous path (until it ends?). Who knows…