I remember reading an article about this song when it first came out (I believe 1968) by Paul Williams in Crawdaddy magazine, which was a cheaply produced, but very serious, intellectual magazine published by Williams. The thing that stuck with me from the article was that Williams compared the structure of the song to a moebius strip (because the starting point of the lyrics is actually in the middle of the song & the song opens with the middle part of the lyrics) & felt it gave the song a claustrophobic feel (because you come into it & leave it in the middle). The starting point would be "All along the watchtower" & then after the line "Two riders were approaching, the wind began to howl", the next line would be "There must be some way out of here," said the joker to the thief", the joker & the thief being the two riders who were approaching, of course. This makes perfect sense to me & seems right. As far as the actual meaning, my own opinion is that it's a philosophical piece about how one finds meaning in a chaotic & very imperfect world. The joker sees this world & can't take it seriously because it's so false & is depressed because he can't find a way to make sense of it. The thief has come to this same realization in his past, but has found a way to move beyond it & create his own meaning. So it is, in effect, a parable about existentialism. Or maybe I'm totally wrong...
Wow, eyeland!
You are so close as Bob Dylan has mentioned in an interview that he had written the third verse first. It got mucked up in the studio. He stated that he intended to re record the song with the verses in the correct order. As you have said, this solves the problem of who the two riders are. From that starting point the song meaning unravels fairly easily. (The joker is a Jungian archetype, even present in most of Picasso's early cubist works...just look for the harlequin costume.) I do see it as a philosophical piece. The final words...
Wow, eyeland!
You are so close as Bob Dylan has mentioned in an interview that he had written the third verse first. It got mucked up in the studio. He stated that he intended to re record the song with the verses in the correct order. As you have said, this solves the problem of who the two riders are. From that starting point the song meaning unravels fairly easily. (The joker is a Jungian archetype, even present in most of Picasso's early cubist works...just look for the harlequin costume.) I do see it as a philosophical piece. The final words now become apocopalyptic, "...the hour is getting late".
@eyeland What you say makes a lot of sense and is the truth because your analysis is based on the scientific, and that this song is not about the religious. This song is about life, about the origin and how life works for each person.
@eyeland What you say makes a lot of sense and is the truth because your analysis is based on the scientific, and that this song is not about the religious. This song is about life, about the origin and how life works for each person.
@eyeland Wonderful and profound analysis. The Möbius strip describes the structure quite good. In mathematics, these figures are known to be "unorientable", which very much suits the 'chaotic & imperfect world' described in the song.
@eyeland Wonderful and profound analysis. The Möbius strip describes the structure quite good. In mathematics, these figures are known to be "unorientable", which very much suits the 'chaotic & imperfect world' described in the song.
@eyeland one of those long lost sources such as you describe also stated that Dylan did use the "watchtower" from the book of Isiah for symbology. if not religious, it does pull from prophetic sources.
@eyeland one of those long lost sources such as you describe also stated that Dylan did use the "watchtower" from the book of Isiah for symbology. if not religious, it does pull from prophetic sources.
wish some of these old links were still active, sadistic sniper gave one i'd love to follow up over on the hendrix version of this song.
wish some of these old links were still active, sadistic sniper gave one i'd love to follow up over on the hendrix version of this song.
I remember reading an article about this song when it first came out (I believe 1968) by Paul Williams in Crawdaddy magazine, which was a cheaply produced, but very serious, intellectual magazine published by Williams. The thing that stuck with me from the article was that Williams compared the structure of the song to a moebius strip (because the starting point of the lyrics is actually in the middle of the song & the song opens with the middle part of the lyrics) & felt it gave the song a claustrophobic feel (because you come into it & leave it in the middle). The starting point would be "All along the watchtower" & then after the line "Two riders were approaching, the wind began to howl", the next line would be "There must be some way out of here," said the joker to the thief", the joker & the thief being the two riders who were approaching, of course. This makes perfect sense to me & seems right. As far as the actual meaning, my own opinion is that it's a philosophical piece about how one finds meaning in a chaotic & very imperfect world. The joker sees this world & can't take it seriously because it's so false & is depressed because he can't find a way to make sense of it. The thief has come to this same realization in his past, but has found a way to move beyond it & create his own meaning. So it is, in effect, a parable about existentialism. Or maybe I'm totally wrong...
Think you're on the right track with the joker's feelings, but do you realize you're trusting the thief to be honest? Lot more goin on here.
Think you're on the right track with the joker's feelings, but do you realize you're trusting the thief to be honest? Lot more goin on here.
Wow, eyeland! You are so close as Bob Dylan has mentioned in an interview that he had written the third verse first. It got mucked up in the studio. He stated that he intended to re record the song with the verses in the correct order. As you have said, this solves the problem of who the two riders are. From that starting point the song meaning unravels fairly easily. (The joker is a Jungian archetype, even present in most of Picasso's early cubist works...just look for the harlequin costume.) I do see it as a philosophical piece. The final words...
Wow, eyeland! You are so close as Bob Dylan has mentioned in an interview that he had written the third verse first. It got mucked up in the studio. He stated that he intended to re record the song with the verses in the correct order. As you have said, this solves the problem of who the two riders are. From that starting point the song meaning unravels fairly easily. (The joker is a Jungian archetype, even present in most of Picasso's early cubist works...just look for the harlequin costume.) I do see it as a philosophical piece. The final words now become apocopalyptic, "...the hour is getting late".
@eyeland What you say makes a lot of sense and is the truth because your analysis is based on the scientific, and that this song is not about the religious. This song is about life, about the origin and how life works for each person.
@eyeland What you say makes a lot of sense and is the truth because your analysis is based on the scientific, and that this song is not about the religious. This song is about life, about the origin and how life works for each person.
@eyeland Wonderful and profound analysis. The Möbius strip describes the structure quite good. In mathematics, these figures are known to be "unorientable", which very much suits the 'chaotic & imperfect world' described in the song.
@eyeland Wonderful and profound analysis. The Möbius strip describes the structure quite good. In mathematics, these figures are known to be "unorientable", which very much suits the 'chaotic & imperfect world' described in the song.
@eyeland one of those long lost sources such as you describe also stated that Dylan did use the "watchtower" from the book of Isiah for symbology. if not religious, it does pull from prophetic sources.
@eyeland one of those long lost sources such as you describe also stated that Dylan did use the "watchtower" from the book of Isiah for symbology. if not religious, it does pull from prophetic sources.
wish some of these old links were still active, sadistic sniper gave one i'd love to follow up over on the hendrix version of this song.
wish some of these old links were still active, sadistic sniper gave one i'd love to follow up over on the hendrix version of this song.