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Of war and peace the truth just twists
Its curfew gull just glides
Upon four-legged forest clouds
The cowboy angel rides
With his candle lit into the sun
Though its glow is waxed in black
All except when 'neath the trees of Eden
The lamppost stands with folded arms
Its iron claws attached
To curbs 'neath holes where babies wail
Though it shadows metal badge
All and all can only fall
With a crashing but meaningless blow
No sound ever comes from the Gates of Eden
The savage soldier sticks his head in sand
And then complains
Unto the shoeless hunter who's gone deaf
But still remains
Upon the beach where hound dogs bay
At ships with tattooed sails
Heading for the Gates of Eden
With a time-rusted compass blade
Aladdin and his lamp
Sits with Utopian hermit monks
Side saddle on the Golden Calf
And on their promises of paradise
You will not hear a laugh
All except inside the Gates of Eden
Relationships of ownership
They whisper in the wings
To those condemned to act accordingly
And wait for succeeding kings
And I try to harmonize with songs
The lonesome sparrow sings
There are no kings inside the Gates of Eden
The motorcycle black madonna
Two-wheeled gypsy queen
And her silver-studded phantom cause
The gray flannel dwarf to scream
As he weeps to wicked birds of prey
Who pick up on his bread crumb sins
And there are no sins inside the Gates of Eden
The kingdoms of Experience
In the precious wind they rot
While paupers change possessions
Each one wishing for what the other has got
And the princess and the prince
Discuss what's real and what is not
It doesn't matter inside the Gates of Eden
The foreign sun, it squints upon
A bed that is never mine
As friends and other strangers
From their fates try to resign
Leaving men wholly, totally free
To do anything they wish to do but die
And there are no trials inside the Gates of Eden
At dawn my lover comes to me
And tells me of her dreams
With no attempts to shovel the glimpse
Into the ditch of what each one means
At times I think there are no words
But these to tell what's true
And there are no truths outside the Gates of Eden
Its curfew gull just glides
Upon four-legged forest clouds
The cowboy angel rides
With his candle lit into the sun
Though its glow is waxed in black
All except when 'neath the trees of Eden
The lamppost stands with folded arms
Its iron claws attached
To curbs 'neath holes where babies wail
Though it shadows metal badge
All and all can only fall
With a crashing but meaningless blow
No sound ever comes from the Gates of Eden
The savage soldier sticks his head in sand
And then complains
Unto the shoeless hunter who's gone deaf
But still remains
Upon the beach where hound dogs bay
At ships with tattooed sails
Heading for the Gates of Eden
With a time-rusted compass blade
Aladdin and his lamp
Sits with Utopian hermit monks
Side saddle on the Golden Calf
And on their promises of paradise
You will not hear a laugh
All except inside the Gates of Eden
Relationships of ownership
They whisper in the wings
To those condemned to act accordingly
And wait for succeeding kings
And I try to harmonize with songs
The lonesome sparrow sings
There are no kings inside the Gates of Eden
The motorcycle black madonna
Two-wheeled gypsy queen
And her silver-studded phantom cause
The gray flannel dwarf to scream
As he weeps to wicked birds of prey
Who pick up on his bread crumb sins
And there are no sins inside the Gates of Eden
The kingdoms of Experience
In the precious wind they rot
While paupers change possessions
Each one wishing for what the other has got
And the princess and the prince
Discuss what's real and what is not
It doesn't matter inside the Gates of Eden
The foreign sun, it squints upon
A bed that is never mine
As friends and other strangers
From their fates try to resign
Leaving men wholly, totally free
To do anything they wish to do but die
And there are no trials inside the Gates of Eden
At dawn my lover comes to me
And tells me of her dreams
With no attempts to shovel the glimpse
Into the ditch of what each one means
At times I think there are no words
But these to tell what's true
And there are no truths outside the Gates of Eden
Lyrics submitted by MagiDrakee
Track duration: 05:40
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Eden is the place where there are no sins, a place of happiness, innocence, where all questions are answered. It is an enlightened state of consiousness, a state of nirvana, which can exist at any time in history. The song outlines many failed attempts to find it and the disasters that exist without it. The Reality exists, and mankind has to recover the memory and truth of it.
23 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side[e] of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
The GATE is the penalty for original sin, separating man from God. The day before, God and man walked side by side, communing directly. Forevermore we're separated. By that gate. And on that day, not only did man fall, but all of creation fell. Death, disease, war, crime, lust, hate, natural disasters, etc all entered the world together. They exist outside the gates. Outside = consequence = mans fault. Inside = Gods perfection, unadulterated, wonderful.
Each verse to me seems like a portrait of a consequence of the fall.
"Upon four-legged forest clouds
The cowboy angel rides
With his candle lit into the sun
Though its glow is waxed in black
All except when 'neath the trees of Eden"
Lucifer (trans. Morning Light) is the cowboy or rebellious Angel. His candle being lit into the sun is a reference to Lucifer challenging the rule of god in the beginning of paradise lost. Its glow being waxed in black is a reference to the falsity of his message. Except beneath the trees of Eden, i.e. the Tree of Knowledge. In contemporary times it is a reference to mysticism, a dark knowledge, that propels men to search for the gates of Eden and brings their Fall, similar to that of Eden. Historically, this would refer to the period of the Renaissance and/or Enlightenment
"The lamppost stands with folded arms
Its iron claws attached
To curbs 'neath holes where babies wail
Though it shadows metal badge
All and all can only fall
With a crashing but meaningless blow
No sound ever comes from the Gates of Eden"
Historically, I think this stanza refers to the Industrial Revolution, the next great epoch. The lampost might be a reference to the gas lamps that sprung up all over cities during this period. To curbs beneath the holes, where babies wail, could be a reference to the high infant mortality at that time or to a yearning for a simpler life, a return to mankind's infancy that filled many people at that stage. The hope for an end to this drives men to search for another Eden.
"The savage soldier sticks his head in sand
And then complains
Unto the shoeless hunter who's gone deaf
But still remains
Upon the beach where hound dogs bay
At ships with tattooed sails
Heading for the Gates of Eden"
This I think is a reference to War, or more specifically, the first two lines refer to soldiers in the trenches, hence the phrase 'sticks his head in sand'. I have been thinking abt the shoeless hunter, could it possibly be Khurschev?He banged his shoe on the lectern at the UN. He was also the people's Commisar for Defense, if I am not mistaken during WWII. 'Upon the beach where hound dogs bay' might be a reference to fighting on the beaches of France. 'Ships with tattooed sails' could be a reference to the D-Day landings. 'Heading for the Gates of Eden' in this case might be a reference to the yearning for peace that followed the Second World War, when people thought it would usher in a new Age of Peace, after the defeat of Hitler.
"With a time-rusted compass blade
Aladdin and his lamp
Sits with Utopian hermit monks
Side saddle on the Golden Calf
And on their promises of paradise
You will not hear a laugh
All except inside the Gates of Eden"
I think this stanza refers to religion, or more specifically to superstition and false dogma. 'Aladdin and his lamp' is a reference to magic and incantations. The last three lines are a bit enigmatic. It could refer to people in Heaven actually laughing at their foolishness or to the fact that they (the false prophets) claim that there could be no happiness until their version of Eden was attained
'Relationships of ownership
They whisper in the wings
To those condemned to act accordingly
And wait for succeeding kings
And I try to harmonize with songs
The lonesome sparrow sings
There are no kings inside the Gates of Eden'
This stanza I think is a critique of Marxism. 'Succeeding kings' could refer to the leaders of the Soviet Union who were de-facto Red Tsars. The lonesome sparrow refers to the opposition within the Soviet Union (or could be Trotsky). In this case, Utopia was pursued with a zeal in order to create a classless society (There are no kings inside the Gates of Eden), but failed. In this stanza as in each of the previous ones, Dylan describes in detail the failed attempt at Utopia and then in the last line tells us what inspired the Utopia in the first place thereby showing how the anti-thesis of the desired outcome to the revolution resulted.
1)"Ships with tattooed sails/heading for the gates of Eden" = imports.
2)"...with a crashing but meaningless blow/No sound ever comes from the gates of Eden" = no wars fought on our own soil (except the Civil War.)
3)"There are no kings inside the gates of Eden" = our dream vision of equality through democracy, which obviously is corrupted.
4)"There are no sins inside the gates of Eden" = we think we're perfect.
5)"There are no trials inside the gates of Eden" = the injustice that is not persecuted legally or morally in the US.
6)"There are no truths outside the gates of Eden" = the US is thought to be the be-all, end-all of all nations.
I think there is also an element of frustration in Dylan's tone and lyrics. Although Dylan may be more aware of the fact than many, it gives no comfort to realise that he is as lost as the rest of us.
Specific examples can be highlighted to flesh out this interpretation. Most obviously, the time rusted comfort blade and golden calf are representations of whatever belief system you wish to choose. Perhaps Catholicism, Marxian economic theory or whatever eschatologically centred religious cult is currently commiting suicide in an underground bunker somewhere.
The pretentious, logical realist Princess and Prince, educated and academically minded, try to define and distill our reality through discussion and analysis, They're perhaps more lost than the rest of us in their arrogance and conviction that their endeavours will lead to some revelatory discovery.
I could go on but these examples illustrate the point most effectiely. Does the Eden of which Dylan sings exist? I never really considered that question until reading some of the above comments. I suppose the fact that we will never find it in this lifetime is a more important message to be drawn from the song. Now stop hating people, putting on your useless masks and blowing up babies.
Another example that to Dylan there really was no such thing as "truth". The line between war and peace is so fine that it almost cannot be seen. Therefore the truth just twists and you are unable to tell what is war and what is peace.
"All and all can only fall
With a crashing but meaningless blow
No sound ever comes from the Gates of Eden"
Once again, Paradise Lost, or if you prefer The Bible, humans "fall" out of Paradise with a "crashing and meaningless blow"- Seems odd that a fall can be crashing but also meaningless. Again it is that fine line between truth- something can be crashing to one person but meaningless to others. However, in the simple world of Eden, there are no sounds.
The motorcycle black madonna
Two-wheeled gypsy queen
And her silver-studded phantom cause
The gray flannel dwarf to scream
As he weeps to wicked birds of prey
Who pick up on his bread crumb sins
And there are no sins inside the Gates of Eden
This one is tough, but I'll give it a shot. Clearly this is about death, "wicked birds of prey" seem to me to be vultures feasting on the dead. However, the fact that Dylan says "maddonna" here makes me think that he is referencing Jesus and Mary. Why she is a motorcycle black maddonna, and he is a gray flannelled dwarf is beyond me. I do think that this is a reference to Jesus turning over a table at the Temple because of the possesions being bought and sold there in the house of God- "silver studded phantom cause the gray flannelled dwarf to scream." Again, these gray areas of what is a sin or what is right and wrong dont exist in Eden.
Every verse in this song shows the complexities and uncertainties of our world. Just like Dylans lyrics in the song, nothing is clear, and everything is kryptic as man tries to reach his road to perfection, something that will never happen. Every thing is complex and kryptic, that is, until the last line of every verse. These last lines represent the ideal ways of life, and the way life is in Eden- a place so vastly different from the world we know. Look simply at the last line of each verse:
1. All except when 'neath the trees of Eden
2. No sound ever comes from the Gates of Eden
3. Heading for the Gates of Eden
4. All except inside the Gates of Eden
5. There are no kings inside the Gates of Eden
6. And there are no sins inside the Gates of Eden
7. It doesn't matter inside the Gates of Eden
8. And there are no trials inside the Gates of Eden
9. And there are no truths outside the Gates of Eden
While the rest of the song portrays the grey areas of life that are kryptic and mysterious, the last line of each verse is a concrete statement that seems to be fact. This is the ideal world of Eden, where everything is black and white, and nothing is disputed- paradise. Notice that every last line talks about what happens inside the gates of Eden, until the very end when Dylan claims there are no truths OUTSIDE the gates of Eden. This is what he wants you to remember- that this world of Eden doesnt exist, only a world in which there are no truths. A world that is not perfect and does not have answers, solutions, or truths.
"At dawn my lover comes to me
And tells me of her dreams
With no attempts to shovel the glimpse
Into the ditch of what each one means"
To me, this is a clear reference to Paradise Lost, specifically Book V. The narrator here is Adam, and his lover is Eve telling him of the dream in which she eats the forbidden fruit and they in turn are cast out of Paradise (Eden). In the poem, Adam tells Eve that there is no reason to think about the dream or what it means, because it is just a dream and it is something that she would never do in real life. What follows in "Gates of Eden" is Adam speaking after the fall, or after being kicked out of Eden:
"At times I think there are no words
But these to tell what's true
And there are no truths outside the Gates of Eden."
If you read Paradise Lost, or the Book of Genesis (though Paradise Lost is much more in depth), you realize that there are major differences between the way that humans think before and after the fall. Before the fall, the world is black and white. Everything is clearly defined- there are "truths" and nontruths and nothing in between. However, once Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit they realize that they now have the ability to reason- in a sense, to make decisions on their own and decide what is "right" and "wrong". Since defining these terms are very subjective, then there reallly "are no truths outside the gates of Eden" Sort of like Pontius Pilate said, "What is truth?" The only truth that really exists to Adam or to all human beings is that there are no "truths" in the world.
Therefore, this song to me is about all of the things that humans do to get to this ideal world of Eden, that frankly does not exist. Some examples:
Verse 3- The complaining soldier, and the deaf shoeless hunter remain because they think they are "heading for Eden". They use war to get to Eden.
Verse 4- Aladdin, the monk, the Golden calf- all of these things use spiritualism or magic to get to Eden. All believe in promises of Paradise, but inside the fantasy world of Eden laughs are heard.
Verse 5- Ownership, conquering, kings and queens think they can get to Eden, but these things dont exist in the fantasy world of Eden.
After all this mumbo jumbo, I really take this song as saying a simple statement- that there are no truths. There are no real solutions or answers to the problems that exists, because everyone views the world differently through their own eyes, and they have since Eve ate the forbidden fruit in Eden. I think Dylan was saying on a personal note, that he did not have the answers and was not the savior because there is no such thing as having the answers.
WOW NO ONE WILL READ THIS BECAUSE ITS EXTREMELY LONG.
Does that mean they own the copyright for what *we* write?