All Along The Watch-Tower
"There must be some way out of here," said the joker to the thief,
"There's too much confusion, I can't get no relief.
Businessmen, they drink my wine, plowmen dig my earth,
None of them along the line know what any of it is worth."
"No reason to get excited," the thief, he kindly spoke,
"There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke.
But you and I, we've been through that, and this is not our fate,
So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late."
All along the watchtower, princes kept the view
While all the women came and went, barefoot servants, too.
Outside in the distance a wildcat did growl,
Two riders were approaching, the wind began to howl.
Commentary
from “John Wesley Harding”, 1967
I must admit that when i first heard the song back in college, the only line that made any sense at all was -
“There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke”
but in the aftermath of the events of the past week, it seems that the joke’s on
us! sadly no one is laughing.
Dylan’s lyrics bear a stamp of timelessness. he briefly turns fortune-teller through these words, but it’s paradoxical that the setting spells gloom. The last few words are eerie .when i heard Hendrix’s version of the same song earlier today, i was quite certain i heard the wind make noises.
“Two riders were approaching, the wind began to howl.”
— Mohit
Links
We’ve run a few of Dylan’s lyrics on Minstrels:
poem #112
poem #227
poem #832
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From the Wondering Minstrels mailing list, 1999–2008.
Jaideep · 24 June 2002
all along the watchtower, princes kept the view, reminds me so much of hamlet and horatio and i can almost hear laurence olivier say ‘there are more things on heaven and earth, horatio’…as seconds
CIC4urGC · 1 June 2005
Well Boys and Girls,
I’m sorry to learn that all of you are so uneducated. Bob Dylan didn’t write the lyrics to “All Along the Watch Tower.” They are hundreds of years old. He “borrowed” them from written history.
Get educated.
Dawn Chisholm · 13 August 2006
All this imagery and reference is from Isaiah, chapter 21 in the Bible.
RPapa · 10 March 2007
Thank you
Where might I research your statement?
Sincerely
FF
Brian Williams · 15 April 2007
Care to site the source of the lyrics to “All Along the Watchtower” ?
Please I want to be an edumucate(sic) like you.
Jon Accardi · 18 June 2007
The lyric’s to “All Along The Watchtower” most certainly written by Bob Dylan in 1967. I don’t know where you get your information from but YOUR WRONG. Written by Bob while recovering from a motorcycle accident. The story was taken from parts of the Old Testament. Yes the Bible! With modern references about his record company cheating him out of his royalties. “The Businessmen drink my wine, The Plowmen dig my earth”.
I think you need to be Educated. Maybe you should read a book.
Sorry, but your wrong dude!