my take is that it's about jesus when he, according to the new testament,
descended into hell to free the captives there. he's in the form of a woman,
but to really argue that dylan is singing to a woman just because he says he's
singing to a woman somewhat misses the point of dylan being dylan. anyway,
the people trapped in hell (actually, sheol or hades, since those are the old
testament concepts) are wondering what in the hell (pun intended) jesus is
doing down there. the boss who went north is satan who, per peter, goes out to venture
to and fro upon the earth. 'vanity got the best of him' - obvious reference to
satan. to 'be in here' you got to have 'done some evil deed' ... thus the
abode of all these people who are questioning why jesus is there. of course, he's
there to lead everyone free from satan's grip. it's actually a very straightforward,
easy to understand song... :)
my take is that it's about jesus when he, according to the new testament, descended into hell to free the captives there. he's in the form of a woman, but to really argue that dylan is singing to a woman just because he says he's singing to a woman somewhat misses the point of dylan being dylan. anyway, the people trapped in hell (actually, sheol or hades, since those are the old testament concepts) are wondering what in the hell (pun intended) jesus is doing down there. the boss who went north is satan who, per peter, goes out to venture to and fro upon the earth. 'vanity got the best of him' - obvious reference to satan. to 'be in here' you got to have 'done some evil deed' ... thus the abode of all these people who are questioning why jesus is there. of course, he's there to lead everyone free from satan's grip. it's actually a very straightforward, easy to understand song... :)