Why Bob Dylan Won The Nobel Prize

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  • Опубліковано 14 чер 2016
  • MY BOOK OF ESSAYS IS OUT NOW!
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    SOURCES AND FURTHER READING:
    Clinton Heylin, "Bob Dylan: The Recording Sessions, 1960-1994" (pg 69-71)
    books.google.com/books?id=c9d...
    Albin J. Zak III, "Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix: Juxtaposition and Transformation "All along the Watchtower" Journal of the American Musicological Society, Vol. 57, No. 3 (Fall 2004), pp. 599-644
    Nicholas Taylor, "Bob Dylan: John Wesley Harding" (via Pop Matters) 2000
    www.popmatters.com/review/dyla...
    Robert Johnson Wikipedia:
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_...
    Herb Bowie, "All Along The Watchtower" (via Reason To Rock)
    www.reasontorock.com/tracks/wa...
    D.A. Pennebaker, "Don't Look Now" 1967
    www.imdb.com/title/tt0061589/
    Kees de Graaf, "All Along The Watchtower Analysis (via his website)
    www.keesdegraaf.com/index.php/...
  • Розваги

КОМЕНТАРІ • 3 тис.

  • @1DaTJo
    @1DaTJo 4 роки тому +231

    I met Dylan in 1986 in Sydney Australia. During our first conversation which was mostly about music, he asked me “What’s the first line of one of your songs?” I told him a line. He seemed surprised when I asked him in return to tell me the first line of one of his songs.
    I wondered with great anticipation, which one he would say, out of all his many genius songs. After a little while he leaned over and said, “There must be some way out of here.”
    Out of all his songs, that’s the line he chose. It amazed me. I felt at the time that he was referring to life on planet earth, but who really knows. The beauty of good art is it’s open to endless interpretation.

    • @daanje1062
      @daanje1062 Рік тому +15

      Best comment i read in a long while. Thank you.

    • @1DaTJo
      @1DaTJo Рік тому +2

      @@daanje1062 thank you for your kind words. :)

    • @FunkyFrank5
      @FunkyFrank5 9 місяців тому

      Maybe he was looking for a way out of your dumb conversation get owned

    • @GD-rd6ig
      @GD-rd6ig 7 місяців тому +3

      It’s good you didn’t take it personally😊

    • @1DaTJo
      @1DaTJo 7 місяців тому +7

      @@GD-rd6ig considering we were in a limo and Bob had just asked me to sing, to open the show at his concert the following night, taking it personally was far from my mind.
      You can read about it in the book Pledging My Time by Ray Padgett. There’s a whole chapter about my experience meeting and doing a gig with Bob.

  • @JoshGrayMusic
    @JoshGrayMusic 7 років тому +5795

    If you ask Dylan about this he'd probably say it's just a song

    • @Mordorer
      @Mordorer 6 років тому +272

      Josh Gray ikr! Sometimes writers just write and keep what's written if it reads well to them. Over analyzing is fun tho.

    • @ByWayOfDeception
      @ByWayOfDeception 6 років тому +25

      perfect, exactly what I would want to know.

    • @christianolmeda938
      @christianolmeda938 6 років тому +41

      Josh Gray completely agree. Hearing this song i dont get any of this. He starts the video saying he wont explain the song then does

    • @marteenyo
      @marteenyo 6 років тому +123

      He's not over-analyzing though, the meaning of the song is pretty obvious. And the fact that it is "just a song" doesn't mean it can't have a profound message.

    • @restlessnameless85
      @restlessnameless85 6 років тому +20

      And that would be true. And no one would ever believe him. And he knows that, too.

  • @MiamiMarkYT
    @MiamiMarkYT 4 роки тому +879

    I still remember my English teacher Mr. Hayward bursting with gleeful anticipation that Dylan could actually win the award. He would practically campaign to us about it. Years later I ran into him at a restaurant and we talked about how he won it and his joy and excitement made him tear up a little. I’m so glad Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize.

    • @MrReham1058
      @MrReham1058 4 роки тому +25

      That my friend is the most educated intellectual and historical account of a recent period and ones life while growing up - consciousness at that age and being able to say You were there.

    • @jodawgsup
      @jodawgsup 3 роки тому +2

      Who the fuck cares? The guy is not a writer - never has been, in the classical sense. Leonard Cohen would come even closer, as he actually wrote poetry.
      Bob Dylan was a man who wrote catchy songs. Hardly has the "depth" you and others ascribe to it - which makes me doubt you've ever picked up a book to ready voluntarily.

    • @phat111
      @phat111 3 роки тому +23

      @@jodawgsup you love the sound of your own voice don’t you pal. Define poetry... stop putting everything in a box

    • @jodawgsup
      @jodawgsup 3 роки тому +1

      @@phat111 No need to define it, I indeed agree with you that Chief Keef should be the next nominee for the Nobel Prize. After all, we oughn't to define poetry in any way, shame or form. The utterings of your demented grandma could be the next grand literary work!

    • @babs3899
      @babs3899 3 роки тому +11

      @@phat111 aint even worth arguing man its clear hes uneducated on the subject

  • @spacealienjesus709
    @spacealienjesus709 4 роки тому +866

    This song is as mysterious as Dylan himself..

    • @raben7049
      @raben7049 3 роки тому +26

      Says a lot coming from eraserhead profile

    • @floydofnova2743
      @floydofnova2743 3 роки тому +2

      @@raben7049 I know it Just sends a chill down my spine.

    • @janettedean4713
      @janettedean4713 3 роки тому +3

      I found a Financial Times article from May 22, 2018 that shared this: In 1967 Bob Dylan went acoustic. Two years after galling his hardcore devotees by daring to wield an electric guitar at the Newport Folk Festival, the songwriter returned to his Americana roots for his next album, John Wesley Harding. The dramatic shift back to a more rustic, ascetic sound was partly due to the injuries sustained in a motorbike crash in July 1966; the incident forced him slow down, take stock and rein in his new rocker image.
      But Dylan was also responding to the increasingly self-indulgent and ostentatious style of songwriting that had come to define the music of the mid-1960s. Psychedelia and verbosity had become anathema to him; he would now insist on “writing shorter lines, with every word meaning something”.
      “All Along the Watchtower”is emblematic of this new, tauter approach to lyrics. At only 12 lines, it is more akin to a truncated sonnet than a song. Opening with a harmonica solo, and a first verse which introduces us to two characters, the track initially has all the hallmarks of a sprawling ballad in the vein of “Desolation Row”. Filled with medieval iconography of watchtowers, jesters and princes, we can imagine the story unfolding on a Bayeux-style tapestry.
      But in two-and-a-half minutes it’s all over. In an ending similar to that of Browning’s “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came”, Dylan abruptly leaves us with the ominous image of riders approaching a mysterious tower - and the onus of interpretation. Or even exegesis: while convalescing from his accident, Dylan immersed himself in biblical readings, and “Watchtower” contains several allusions to the Book of Isaiah in which the fall of Babylon is heralded by the arrival of unknown horsemen. (In CliffsNotes, it shows the Book of Isaiah has many social justice themes against unethical rulers & corrupted empires.)

    • @dennistaylor5052
      @dennistaylor5052 3 роки тому

      @@floydofnova2743 You need to get out more, he sounds like finger nails on a chalk board that guy couldn't hold a tune in a sack

    • @diegoschembri1244
      @diegoschembri1244 3 роки тому +1

      Great pic man

  • @NataliaSergheev
    @NataliaSergheev 7 років тому +3053

    Wish you'd mention Dylan liked Hendrix's version of the song better than his. Dylan has described his reaction to hearing Hendrix's version: "It overwhelmed me, really. He had such talent, he could find things inside a song and vigorously develop them. He found things that other people wouldn't think of finding in there. He probably improved upon it by the spaces he was using. I took license with the song from his version, actually, and continue to do it to this day."[26] In the booklet accompanying his Biograph album, Dylan said: "I liked Jimi Hendrix's record of this and ever since he died I've been doing it that way... Strange how when I sing it, I always feel it's a tribute to him in some kind of way."

    • @soulscanner66
      @soulscanner66 7 років тому +83

      nice addition to the video ... thumbs up

    • @joseph95239
      @joseph95239 6 років тому +9

      correcto!........

    • @joseph95239
      @joseph95239 6 років тому +8

      youre comparing two different styles.....just a tribute by Hendrix...

    • @johnclhugyugihjbvgbkj9729
      @johnclhugyugihjbvgbkj9729 6 років тому +2

      Natalia Sergheev says it’s jimis

    • @tonycampbell1424
      @tonycampbell1424 6 років тому +48

      This is like Cash vs NIN vis a vis "Hurt." Ask Reznor whose was better, he'll tell you Cash's cover bested his original version.
      But really, does it matter either way? We all have our preferences. Personally, I like the Dylan and Hendrix versions about the same.

  • @AA-sn9lz
    @AA-sn9lz 4 роки тому +1027

    Thought this was Polyphonic for a second..

  • @aaronquist8125
    @aaronquist8125 3 роки тому +247

    The thing I like more about Dylan's original over Jimi's is it's mood/atmosphere. Its more earthy and straightforward tone makes it feel more timeless and immediate, like it's there to deliver a message, a riddle, a parable or something. Whereas Jimi's is more about the sound itself, less concerned with the content. Both are masterpieces though.

    • @thismans1405
      @thismans1405 3 роки тому +10

      To me Jimi Hendrix's version is more an adventure of the neck of the guitar than poetry. It's virtuoso like guitar playing but i can only feel that the lyrics are an afterthought, only left to play second fiddle with some emotion behind it but without any addition meaning. It feels like repainting a classic composure with brighter more confusing colors. Interesting and exciting, but it doesn't fit.

    • @brandonterzic
      @brandonterzic 2 роки тому +10

      @@thismans1405 Wow. I totally disagree with that. Jimi didn't do anything on record that didn't mean something of vital importance to him. Jimi covered that song because it meant something profound to him, personally, and he was able to bring out the mood and find new elements inside of it. The guitar playing serves the song, not the other way around. Buy hey, it's all about perspective I guess. The fact that Dylan has admitted on more than a few occasions that Jimi's take is the definitive version speaks volumes

    • @ArturoGarzaID
      @ArturoGarzaID Рік тому +5

      Crazy how 3 simple chords could become so iconic.

    • @Margarita.youtubefans
      @Margarita.youtubefans Рік тому +2

      But the creator of it is His Royal Bobness. However good or great, Jimi's rendition is but an interpretation.

    • @bobmccarthy5022
      @bobmccarthy5022 Рік тому +4

      @@thismans1405 Hendrix's version is great. Dylan's is genius.

  • @cillianmclaverty4410
    @cillianmclaverty4410 3 роки тому +63

    I like the “emmm” genre, very mysterious

    • @dylanthompson4836
      @dylanthompson4836 Рік тому +1

      After the emmm he says "Vision music. Or mathematical music".

  • @philophos
    @philophos 7 років тому +160

    This fucked with my perception of time so hard just now. I was like, what the fuck, I swear Bob Dylan only won the Nobel Prize like a couple of weeks ago -- how in the actual hell can nerdwriter have written this 4 months ago?! Was it actually four months ago?!
    I was close to crisis there, man. Everyone, he won it mid-October. This seems to have been an ad hoc title change. Don't fall into crisis like I did.

    • @Theyungcity23
      @Theyungcity23 7 років тому +11

      "I've traveled back, somehow become unstuck in time. Maybe I can change things, fix everything.... Oh wait no, he just changed the title. Back to my porn."

    • @Kevin-qi9ph
      @Kevin-qi9ph Місяць тому

      ​@@Theyungcity23😂 Too funny. Too great. Tip o' the hat to you, sir for comic relief amidst opinion & analysis.

    • @pouyan_m
      @pouyan_m 25 днів тому

      Its been 7 8 years buddy

  • @alfiewills419
    @alfiewills419 6 років тому +1402

    "You think you'll stick with folk rock, or will you go into more writing?"
    "I don't play folk rock"
    "What would you call your music?"
    "I'd call it... emmm..." 😂😂

    • @piglet2548
      @piglet2548 4 роки тому +24

      Music

    • @ManataxImplosion
      @ManataxImplosion 4 роки тому +4

      Lmao

    • @sauberboisaubarboi5652
      @sauberboisaubarboi5652 4 роки тому +18

      Poetry

    • @bingbongjoel6581
      @bingbongjoel6581 4 роки тому +4

      Alfie Wills
      Stop existing. Please.

    • @dontaylor7315
      @dontaylor7315 4 роки тому +26

      Any interviewer who's even half-savvy about Dylan should know he probably can't be persuaded to put any song in anything so definitive or final as a category or genre. He keeps everything fluid.

  • @benking1573
    @benking1573 Рік тому +6

    This is a legendary piece of music journalism. I continue to refer to this when people ask me about about music. You’ve made a really great thing.

  • @bereckdavid4810
    @bereckdavid4810 4 роки тому +90

    It's such a powerful piece, it feels as if something is about to happen. It has a sense of urgency. I never looked for meaning.

  • @ferociousgumby
    @ferociousgumby 3 роки тому +59

    Here's the kicker: his latest album is among the best he's ever done, and he was 79 when he made it. THAT is why he got the Nobel: not just for a few songs, but for a body of work that stretches over decades. He is one of the few constants in our lives, especially for those of us who grew up listening to him. He has been described by one biographer as "one of the hardest-working musicians in the country", and I think that expresses a certain earthbound doggedness that has kept him going when a lesser man would have collapsed under the weight of his legend.

    • @JakeAllen3
      @JakeAllen3 9 місяців тому

      Sweet. Which album? Rough & Rowdy Ways? I heard mixed things on his new stuff but I’m a huge fan of all his old stuff I’ll have to check it out

    • @GD-rd6ig
      @GD-rd6ig 7 місяців тому +1

      “When you’ve lost your mind/you’ll find it there”

    • @1DaTJo
      @1DaTJo 7 місяців тому

      Great comment

    • @meninagreen5704
      @meninagreen5704 Місяць тому +1

      Boy did you say that right! I just saw him in Louisville and loved every second. His voice is better than ever, and the songs from that album, Rough and Rowdy Ways, so haunting and deep.
      Tonight he's in New Orleans. He just goes on like a beautiful ocean wave.

    • @ferociousgumby
      @ferociousgumby Місяць тому +1

      @@meninagreen5704 Incredible! Rough and Rowdy got me through the pandemic. There he was, still in his prime, with a great new collection of songs, all free! It was a complete surprise to me. I first encountered Dylan (though I had no idea who he was then) when my folksinging brother came home from university and sat on the porch at our cottage in Muskoka, singing "Where have you been, my blue-eyed son?" I had never in my life heard a song so powerful. I was only about ten years old, but he has been a touchstone all my life. Just so good to know he's there and still on that road.

  • @cccc6341
    @cccc6341 5 років тому +680

    I've always taken the meaning of this song to be a conversation between the biblical horsemen War (joker) and Death (Theif) commenting on how humans continue to treat humans so poorly: the rich princes keep the barefoot servants out of their castle while taking the fruits of their labor, dividing them into inferior classes. War (class struggle) wants to prolong the Apocalypse to give them more time to figure things out, but Death points out that it's too late- the storm has already started, and the other two horsemen have almost arrived.

    • @rubentongiani6198
      @rubentongiani6198 4 роки тому +38

      Thats a really nice one

    • @matiasm7320
      @matiasm7320 4 роки тому +11

      Like you're point of view...

    • @danielcardiff3861
      @danielcardiff3861 4 роки тому +16

      I prefer yours than the one in the video.

    • @richardmilliken5651
      @richardmilliken5651 4 роки тому +13

      Nice ~ Simplified Cliff-notes rendition!! No doubt that we have a joker inside all of us, but the thief is so much more than a Karl Marx Economic Philosophy about income inequality,
      i would say that it is much closer to Franz Kafka and the complete exploration of humanity and good vs evil !!~~~

    • @mattwyattuk
      @mattwyattuk 4 роки тому +11

      Fantastic interpretation. I think that’s the beauty of Dylan’s lyrics, you can read into them in multiple ways. But this one is particularly good!!!

  • @lupcokotevski2907
    @lupcokotevski2907 5 років тому +73

    The imagery and characters seem Shakspearean to me: jesters, thieves, princes, watchtowers, characters providing commentary, horsemen,etc.

    • @megaultradamn
      @megaultradamn 2 роки тому

      Wow! You're right! No one else in the history of English literature has ever used these elements together before the Shakesman himself!

  • @LawrenceCarroll1234
    @LawrenceCarroll1234 4 роки тому +21

    “All Along the Watchtower” - ever since I heard it as a teenager - struck me as one of the most beautiful and haunting songs ever.
    I would go on to feel almost the same about his, “It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)” as well, though it is more a description of the inner angst and turmoil about living in a completely debased - and debasing - world, but without the ultimately even more powerful cryptic and abstract nature of Watchtower.
    Both are masterpieces in their own right, though (like so many of his songs), but there is that often a subtle difference between his various “profoundly apocalyptic” works that one can savor like different tastes on the tongue, from these two songs to his other famous apocalyptic works, like “A Hard Rain’s A Gonna Fall.”
    One of his lighter works, “As I Went Out One Morning” begins by sounding profound too, but quickly and seamlessly reveals itself to be hilarious rather than foreboding or ominous. Like “Quinn, The Mighty Eskimo” and Dylan’s other humorous works, it allows “relief” that the joker seeks in Watchtower.
    Levity is as important as gravity. :)

  • @VictorIdrac
    @VictorIdrac 8 років тому +62

    Your videos are haunting to the point where I can not stop watching, no matter the topic. well. done

  • @cameron8772
    @cameron8772 7 років тому +180

    I think the song is about a conversation between two polarizing, universal forces. The Joker is life and The Thief is death personified. Since these two things are so closely related they have had this same conversation over and over.
    The Joker comes at The Thief asking for some meaning to his life. "'There must be some kind of way out of here,'
    Said the joker to the thief" is life's attempt to gain some deeper meaning into the existence of it all. He believes that nobody knows what any of it means and he is frustrated by this. The Thief, however, is much more pessimistic and basically say "Ohh come on be reasonable, there is no meaning to life its all just a joke" and I think that is why Life would be named The Joker.
    Any way that covered the first two verses of lyrics establishing these polarizing forces. The third goes into the hierarchy of civilization summarized in the structure of a watchtower. "Princes kept the view, While all the women came and went, Barefoot servants too" These lines establish the hierarchy of life, Princes at the top, men and women in the middle and servants at the bottom. But the Joker and the Thief are not in this hierarchy they are witnesses in the cold distance, never really taking part in life themselves but rather being the horsemen that protect/observe it.
    This is just a theory me and some friends thought about. Lemme know what you guys think.

    • @tricky2055
      @tricky2055 5 років тому +9

      Cameron That’s the best interpretation of this song that I have ever read. Great job!

    • @akshatjagga
      @akshatjagga 5 років тому +4

      Insightful

    • @lisabruna3138
      @lisabruna3138 5 років тому

      And now I have another reason to think Bear McCreary is a genius too. Dude hid an entire show in the background music. Brilliant!

    • @mariaradu8022
      @mariaradu8022 5 років тому +2

      It’s really cool, especially the part about the tower representing the structure and hierarchy of society; wow, I just never really thought about it that way.

    • @joeescobar8217
      @joeescobar8217 5 років тому +3

      Yeahhhh... Its insightful. This is what art is suppose to be. No wonder why Jimi admired him

  • @losaikogogreen3636
    @losaikogogreen3636 5 років тому +6

    The melody drives the words. I remember when this came out. I was young but hooked on Dylan from then on.

  • @gary_buckley
    @gary_buckley 4 роки тому +238

    And then Hendrix came along and made the instrumental worthy of the lyrics

    • @ashishmeshram5057
      @ashishmeshram5057 3 роки тому +5

      Yessir

    • @tyroneshoelace4872
      @tyroneshoelace4872 3 роки тому +2

      Except in typical black fashion, Hendrix added poor grammar to the song. HaHaHaHa. I shake my head every time I hear it.

    • @laneconstancio7806
      @laneconstancio7806 3 роки тому +11

      @@tyroneshoelace4872 huh?

    • @markrussles4735
      @markrussles4735 3 роки тому +7

      @@laneconstancio7806 I think that’s a troll or I hope it is

    • @balltoball1
      @balltoball1 2 роки тому +10

      @@markrussles4735 his name is Tyrone shoelace. It’s a white dude trolling with racist shit cause he can’t get no relief.

  • @Quotenwagnerianer
    @Quotenwagnerianer 8 років тому +52

    Jeez. Now I finally realize why they did pick this song for Battlestar Galacatica and the way the hidden cylons realized who they were.

    • @inkasaraswati7625
      @inkasaraswati7625 8 років тому +2

      That's exactly my response as well, now things finally make sense. Side note, I don't think I'll ever get tired of Evan's editing, it's a breeze to watch with loads of content.

    • @neilbrooks6537
      @neilbrooks6537 8 років тому

      I didn't even realize this was the song during that episode of Battlestar Galactica until you pointed it out. Yeah it totally fits!

    • @Edbrad
      @Edbrad 8 років тому +1

      That episode? It was a huge part of the final Season

    • @Quotenwagnerianer
      @Quotenwagnerianer 8 років тому

      ***** Rather 3rd Season not final.

    • @Edbrad
      @Edbrad 7 років тому

      Quotenwagnerianer No it was also a big part of the final season as well, it was like literally integrated into the plot.

  • @CJ-zm8vd
    @CJ-zm8vd 7 років тому +88

    Please do more Bob Dylan! I've always been fascinated by his work.

    • @TMthe33rd
      @TMthe33rd 4 роки тому +1

      @Pesky Echo everything is never original

    • @johntao6822
      @johntao6822 4 роки тому +2

      @Pesky Echo annoying Nazi

  • @turntablethoughts1140
    @turntablethoughts1140 6 років тому +14

    Bob Dylan's songwriting is hypnotic

  • @michaelmcnulty3097
    @michaelmcnulty3097 6 років тому +4

    His greatest album. A great work of art. Continuity between songs is unparalleled.

  • @ArvindhMani
    @ArvindhMani 7 років тому +910

    Nerdwriter, this is an amazing video but you didn't have to retrospectively change the title! It was more appropriate before, especially considering that you don't as much as mention the words "why Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize". I wish you would consider reverting to the original title of the video.

    • @rjmoney9
      @rjmoney9 7 років тому +123

      changed the name to get more views lmao

    • @joeya5147
      @joeya5147 7 років тому +21

      I second this.

    • @Tommotreloaded
      @Tommotreloaded 7 років тому +5

      RJ Money Attention, not views. so shut up please

    • @KshitijPatil1
      @KshitijPatil1 7 років тому +16

      What was the original title?

    • @noname_1377
      @noname_1377 7 років тому +1

      Kshitij Patil Yes could someone write the original title, please? thx

  • @CaptainBeefheart90
    @CaptainBeefheart90 8 років тому +1307

    12 lines =12 apostles= 12/4=3 = he's Hebrew heritage so are the three stooges --> half life 3 confirmed

    • @fuckenps3
      @fuckenps3 8 років тому +31

      Wow, now you just need to use big adjectives and you can be nerdwriter2

    • @CaptainBeefheart90
      @CaptainBeefheart90 8 років тому +42

      it's true adjectives can serve a purple but non the less, my relationship with the English language has platypused

    • @CaptainBeefheart90
      @CaptainBeefheart90 8 років тому +16

      why did I go electric?

    • @Warstub
      @Warstub 7 років тому

      You probably wanted some sheep action.

    • @billied2003
      @billied2003 7 років тому +6

      varg xx

  • @Druidy0
    @Druidy0 5 років тому +1

    Just found this channel yesterday and binge watched everything, great content!

  • @largelatte7320
    @largelatte7320 6 років тому +7

    This is why i love this song. Its shrouded in mystery and the audience makes out what the lyrics mean! The instrumental is as captivating as the lyrics and like the dude said in the video Its a repetitive beat which enchants the listener to keep listing . This is a song of pure talent and that is why it is my favourite song of all time....

  • @DoctorZisIN
    @DoctorZisIN 7 років тому +168

    My interpretation is that the Joker is Dylan and the thief is LBJ. "There must way out of here" refers to the aparently endless conflict in Vietnam and War in general. The USA is engaged in taking land and resources around the world, like a "thief". The horsemen, like in Isaiah, are a presage to the fall of Babylon. Again, a symbol of Amercan capitalism, riches and power. The Joker, the entertainer who points out the flaws on society, sees so much wrong with it, he can't get relief. "Businessmen drink his wine", or in other words, record companies benefit from Dylan's talent. "Plowman dig my earth". After his accident, many thought his career ended, dead, as if digging a hole for it on the earth. "None of them along the line know what any of it is worth". Neither the record executives nor the critics understood the value of Dylan's music.
    "No reason to get excited" The status quo ignores the Joker's warning, minimizing it's impact. "There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke". Politicians don't take their job seriously. "But you and I have been through that and this is not our fate". The thief claims to be more serious than others, yet still believes to be safe, trying to apease the voice of the people, selling a false sense of secutiry. "But let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late". A veiled threat to the Joker, accusing him of talking falsely, yet acknowleging that something is about to happen. This suggest that the thief secretly knows the truth but does what he can to conceal it, in essence "stealing the truth" form the people. "Al along the watchtower". The watchtower is the metaphor for those in power, government officials and military who are supposed to be our protection, and be vigilant in our behalf, but instead behave like royalty "princes kept their view", and devote their time to corrupt pleasures with women and barefoot servants, as it was in acient Babylon right before the fall.
    "Outside in the distance a wildcat did growl" The wildcat is the voice of the rebelion, outside the circles of power. Also may represent nations hostile to America. Finally the riders approaching and the wind, once again refer to the Biblical prophecy of doom over Babylon the great, a power so great, people thought it could never fall.

    • @OLDGREGG315
      @OLDGREGG315 5 років тому +16

      Now this makes a hell of a lot more sense. To me anyway. I think when we listen to a vague song the key is to establish a possible theme in your head and listen through it multiple times to link up the lyrics until you feel everything fits in to place. I will never look at this song the same way again after reading this so thank you.

    • @marco111187
      @marco111187 5 років тому +11

      You could just listen to the song. Enjoy it, and not do a massive essay analysis of the song 😂 😂

    • @peterjohnson617
      @peterjohnson617 4 роки тому +2

      @@marco111187 Yeah !

    • @julliegreenheck8452
      @julliegreenheck8452 4 роки тому +1

      I like this, well stated.

    • @TimeTheory2099
      @TimeTheory2099 4 роки тому +7

      Grafight...
      2years latter, and people are commenting on your quote. Great insight. I bought Jimi's version in 69
      I only thought it's a farout song about two soldier's on watch, bitch'n about Vietnam.
      Edit:
      I never knew the part about businessmen drinking wine. My friends thought Jimi was singing "Busy man? Then drink my wine, come and dig my herb" I liked the idea of soldier's getting happy in a foxhole, before the shit hit the fan. Peace.

  • @xBINARYGODx
    @xBINARYGODx 7 років тому +1125

    Dylan was a cutie when he was young.

    • @aninditafarzana2773
      @aninditafarzana2773 7 років тому +125

      me too #nohetero

    • @xBINARYGODx
      @xBINARYGODx 7 років тому +31

      beginning to think nohomo actually implies fullhomo, or perhaps fullbi from men who cannot handle the fullhomo-half of themselves.
      :-P
      (edited for shit spelling)

    • @fartknocker8363
      @fartknocker8363 7 років тому +4

      and you're a moron.

    • @OwenOrsini
      @OwenOrsini 6 років тому +4

      Pickle Neck *insert referee whistle here*

    • @MohammedMuaawia
      @MohammedMuaawia 6 років тому +92

      I look just like Bob Dylan if he were a 17 year old north african kid who looks nothing like Bob Dylan.

  • @geoffreynhill2833
    @geoffreynhill2833 2 роки тому +4

    A poet speaks whatever comes to mind, goes over it, editing it till it feels as right as he can make it, then, crossing his fingers, lets it go on a wing and a prayer.

  • @calumstephens9000
    @calumstephens9000 8 місяців тому +2

    This is honestly one of my favourite videos on UA-cam.

    • @h3553
      @h3553 6 місяців тому

      For me as well!

  • @kaingates
    @kaingates 8 років тому +414

    I'm sorry but in this video you're way off.
    First of all you used Jimi Hendrix' version in the chord progression. Dylan uses A minor - G major - F major. And as a quick look you wouldn't think that's important but! Since Wagner people have used melodic themes to specific characters, example Didos and Aeneas, and Dylan drew inspiration of that (probably) through Johnson but not in the same way. These guys weren't scholars in music but they still got the concept of themes for certain characters, and the A minor has often been used to describe low-class citizens (Mozart's Magic Flute). So the Joker and the Thief are the A minor chord. The G major chord is historically used as showing something pompous and big (like the main theme in Beethovens third symphony) and the G major to F major has been used to show signs of revolution. Like in Ode to Joy by Beethoven. That means these three chords describes the whole song in the first bar.
    Secondly he references the Book of Isaiah not as a method to begin preaching but the sign of a revolution. Remember that Dylan was a revolutionary "hippie" in the 60's. The story is about the Oppressors in Babylon and Gods wrath. He references this story because he sees his society's becoming corrupt and vile and the rich are taking from the poor. Why are they jokers and thieves? Because the businessmen are drinking *their* wine and plowmen are digging *their* earth! They've been stolen from and from the text it seems like they fought back "you and I, we've been through that" he sympathizes with the Joker "he kindly spoke" and the Thief is done, he's tired but knows that something is coming along "this is not our fate". This is why many interprets that the structure of the song is going in a loop. So what is *this* ? Probably the Jokers call to uprising but also possible to see what the wild cat and the riders brings.
    Thirdly the characters. While you are definitely right they can be interpreted differently but their roles are way off. Joker and the Thief are going to bed hence "the hour is getting late" and why is this important? Because the wind that's mentioned later is beginning to howl and paints a picture of "the calm before the storm".
    Further on, the Joker and the Thief are people depend on other people. One is an entertainer and the other is stealing from others, why would the see the riders in the distance? It's much more likely that the princes, that let women come and go, spot them from the watchtower. Then there's the wildcat, it symbolizes the wild and the great forces of nature (remember, Dylan was a hippie) and remember that in the Book of Isaiah God used the forces of nature to level the city with the earth.

    • @SchokoKekseFTW
      @SchokoKekseFTW 8 років тому +31

      great comment, really interesting view...

    • @JohnHorneGuitar
      @JohnHorneGuitar 8 років тому +3

      Yes!

    • @kaingates
      @kaingates 8 років тому +32

      MaxMustermann Yeah, sorry about the length but I felt that I couldn't say "you're far off" and not defend the statement.

    • @S2Cents
      @S2Cents 8 років тому +16

      Well Bob Dylan wasn't a hippie. Hippies that knew him knew that. Fascinating post, tho.

    • @dwightfry99
      @dwightfry99 8 років тому +31

      If you have anything backing up your claims that 'A minor' means this and 'G major' means that, please provide it. It sounds very interesting if not complete hogwash. The only part of that argument that makes sense to me is the G to F (to G) progression because chord transitions actually emit emotion. It's really music composition 101. Not only that, but I don't think it's a coincidence that these chords can be played using only white keys on the piano. A child who is simply playing every other white key could stumble on this chord progression and recognize the emotion.
      Secondly, Dylan said 'my' wine and 'my' earth. This makes me believe the joker was a middle class wine maker. The workers sacrifice. The rich indulge. The workers don't comprehend the wealth they create. The rich don't comprehend the suffering. The joker is imagining socialism.
      The thief is also middle class and sees the dynamic, however he is not thinking of socialism but desires more wealth by playing off the system. At the end of the day, the thief tells the joker that his idealistic beliefs are false, ie you must be joking. The thief continues on to say, this is not our fate. More wealth and power awaits. (A place in the watch tower)
      And up in the watch tower there sits the richest and most powerful who look out a window, isolated from the real world. I get a sense of longing from that line. The system which seems so unjust to the joker makes up the society which is desired by the prince.
      (The song isn't about revolution) *EDIT: I take that back, it is about revolution*, but very different perspectives. The joker sees an unjust world and wants to fix it somehow. The thief sees opportunity take advantage and gain power. The prince is cut off from the from society and the system in which people find self worth. They have everything, and they have nothing.
      EDIT: TL;DR: I believe the song is about socialism. It shows that the workers aren't as happy as they could be. The middle class is faced with a choice. Some will fight for the workers, some will take advantage. But if you take advantage, you're doomed to loneliness as you rise in the system and isolate yourself from society. Socialism is the answer despite opposition from the greedy.

  • @jackofallspades98
    @jackofallspades98 8 років тому +1001

    Suggestion: Lyrical analysis of Hotel California. I've always wondered exactly what that song means.

    • @ishootthem
      @ishootthem 8 років тому +9

      that would be nice! But i think the nerdwriter just take suggestions from twitter and patreon :/

    • @Gunners_Mate_Guns
      @Gunners_Mate_Guns 8 років тому +75

      It's basically about the cultures of superficiality, fame, and materialism so dominant in California life in particular and about how hard it is to escape getting caught up in that culture.

    • @GJxPaladin
      @GJxPaladin 8 років тому +82

      the hotel california is a metaphor for drug addiction, a place where you can have a lot of great experiences and have fun (at least on the surface), but that you may never leave. The beast and the ritual described are representative of bad trips, inevitable and horrifying to every addict, and something that turns the idyllic hotel into a really creepy place and makes the highs practically worthless
      that's just from the top of my head, really. it's not particularly complex

    • @akki015
      @akki015 8 років тому +195

      hotel california is just a negative yelp review with a two minute guitar solo...

    • @io-ru6zq
      @io-ru6zq 8 років тому +13

      it's not deep

  • @Sid00101
    @Sid00101 6 років тому +891

    I like this video , but it didnt say much about what the title was infering. What is this relationship with the Nobel price; yes it is a great piece, but why is it better than so many others posible Nobel candidates.

    • @Nicoloide
      @Nicoloide 6 років тому +113

      Iván Egües It's because the original title was "How Bob Dylan writes a song"

    • @edwardkostreski6733
      @edwardkostreski6733 6 років тому +90

      I don't know if this answers but the official reason from the Nobel Prize was: The Nobel Prize in Literature 2016 was awarded to Bob Dylan "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition"

    • @ryanortega3633
      @ryanortega3633 6 років тому +51

      I think the Title is suggesting that the abilities on display within the Song are emblematic of the reason Dylan was awarded The Nobel Prize in Literature.

    • @AdamRoss1
      @AdamRoss1 6 років тому +1

      Iván Egües wow. Regressive.

    • @HenrikRClausen
      @HenrikRClausen 6 років тому +1

      Other candidates, such as Leonard Cohen...

  • @Hugatree1
    @Hugatree1 4 роки тому +10

    This song reminds me somehow of a Twilight Zone episode where several unrelated characters, a clown, a ballerina, a soldier are trapped in a windowless room with no memory of how they got there or how to get out. The images this song evokes leaves us in a mind loop of endless puzzles and gateways that lead nowhere like a mental labyrinth. It might be a tale of the endless cycles of karmic birth and rebirth or a haunting fairytale told on a rainy night. That is the magic and mystery of Bob Dylan

    • @RichardCarling
      @RichardCarling Рік тому +1

      "Five characters in search of an exit." That episode also has a hint of Hans Christian Andersen's "The steadfast tin soldier"

  • @Pumpkinking64
    @Pumpkinking64 8 років тому +45

    I prefer Dylan's version too! Hendrix's version is a masterpiece though.

    • @jacksonkliewer5199
      @jacksonkliewer5199 8 років тому +1

      I totally agree. Since your profile picture is Bob Dylan, I'm guessing you're a fan. Can you tell me what your favorite song and album from Dylan are? Mine are Highway 61 Revisited and Desolation Row

    • @Pumpkinking64
      @Pumpkinking64 8 років тому

      +sauron saruman Either "I Shall Be Released" (The Last Waltz version) or "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue". For albums, it's either Freewheeling or Highway 61...

    • @Pumpkinking64
      @Pumpkinking64 8 років тому

      +sauron saruman actually my favorite song is probably I Was Young When I Left Home. I know it's a compilation, but damn is the No Direction Home soundtrack amazing... great stuff.

    • @CaesarBonaparte
      @CaesarBonaparte 8 років тому +2

      I agree. Actually, my favorite versions are with Dylan and the Dead.

    • @stephenfiore9960
      @stephenfiore9960 7 років тому

      ........... Cant beat the harmonica where the spirits come through....

  • @felipegutierrez2182
    @felipegutierrez2182 8 років тому +968

    Best part of the week: new Nerdwriter upload.

    • @martinp3166
      @martinp3166 8 років тому +10

      Was just about to write the same. It really is a weekly highlight

    • @davidmolina125
      @davidmolina125 8 років тому +1

      In Wednesday (I don't know if I wrote that properly XD) all the best uploaders upload their content. Love this day.
      Sorry for my bad english, I am not native

    • @ms.m3n
      @ms.m3n 8 років тому +2

      He's been tapping into some awesome topics for sure. loved his vlog on Dylan's joker/thief song. better than the dissection reference insight found on like genius.com

    • @dbuck5350
      @dbuck5350 8 років тому +1

      Always a treat.

    • @FrenchToast663
      @FrenchToast663 8 років тому +1

      Did he said ''this sad week'' at the end? Why this week is sad? :O

  • @MinhasBrothers
    @MinhasBrothers 6 років тому +8

    Enjoy the videos! Dylan constantly outdid himself ... with wonderful mythical and literature song/poems throughout his career like Desolation Row (1965), Idiot Wind (1975), Black Diamond Bay (1976), Isis (1976), Hurricane (1976) Jokerman (1976), Changing of the Guards (1978), Mississippi (2001), Thunder on the Mountain (2006). When you look at his career as whole it makes a lot of sense he could win a nobel prize. Thanks for the analysis!

  • @AdamRoss1
    @AdamRoss1 6 років тому +11

    I love this channel and all new content. However, I find myself coming back to this video, it's insightfulness, and my love for the song. I have rewatched this video at Least a dozen times. I hope one day that at least one friend/family member understands my love of the original beyond the Hendrix version.

  • @din6040
    @din6040 8 років тому +5

    Hey Nerdwriter1! I'm gonna be making video essays soon (probably not on this channel), your content has really inspired me to get my ideas down. I have a couple scripts written so far already and I'm really excited to see how they turn out. Thanks for all your hard work.

  • @Mrvioleto
    @Mrvioleto 8 років тому +301

    Omg more Dylan plez :3

    • @Pumpkinking64
      @Pumpkinking64 8 років тому +19

      Definitely!

    • @Noah-dh6se
      @Noah-dh6se 8 років тому +17

      I can not disagree

    • @AH-mq2zu
      @AH-mq2zu 8 років тому

      Up this comment

    • @benaaronmusic
      @benaaronmusic 8 років тому +3

      It would be a pleasure to hear your interpretations of any sort of music, but more Dylan would be appreciated. :)

    • @maxgrymonprez77
      @maxgrymonprez77 8 років тому +1

      Gates of eden!!

  • @ChrisLoNgShAnK1990
    @ChrisLoNgShAnK1990 6 років тому

    Check that TS Eliot line too! 'all the women came and went' refers back to Prufrock's 'in the room the women come and go'

  • @amarks4383
    @amarks4383 4 роки тому

    your analysis and research are so in depth and keep me at the edge of my seat. I appreciate your viewpoints and angles. Excellent job as always. Also, who does your video edits? They are great

  • @buttsoup7485
    @buttsoup7485 8 років тому +141

    Kendrick please!

    • @SamSClair
      @SamSClair 8 років тому +18

      Good Kid M.A.A.D City has so much to analyse

    • @AveLudusMagnus
      @AveLudusMagnus 8 років тому +4

      hell yeah

    • @alexchavez2550
      @alexchavez2550 8 років тому +2

      Yes, one of the best lyricists of this generation and one of my favorite rappers.

    • @BadBlueBoysBorovje
      @BadBlueBoysBorovje 8 років тому

      I can analyse it for you - ''he raps about bullshit''

    • @shapedsilver3689
      @shapedsilver3689 8 років тому +9

      It's funny you say that, I always thought of Kendrick as sort of the Bob Dylan of the millennials. While some people have said that Conor Oberst or Jake Bugg deserve that title, because their music is similar Dylan's, Kendrick is more representative of popular music today, just as Bob Dylan in his early career was the poster child for folk revival. Also, Kendrick raps about issues that are very prominent today in a very personal and different way. Other rappers touch on the same issues but not in such depth or with such strong writing quality, just as Bob Dylan is known for his songwriting more than anything else.

  • @navjoshi
    @navjoshi 8 років тому +23

    How well edited is this holy shit

  • @sivawright
    @sivawright 6 років тому

    Thank you! With these videos, you have changed my perspective of the songs...

  • @slingshotdave6437
    @slingshotdave6437 3 роки тому +6

    Could never decide what I loved most about Dylan. His music or his attitude! I honestly think most of his interviews should be considered art! The world wasn't ready for him.

    • @SandfordSmythe
      @SandfordSmythe 2 роки тому

      His attitude could turn me off. Somewhere there should be basic politeness.

    • @slingshotdave6437
      @slingshotdave6437 2 роки тому

      I think his attitude was in response to the way the media tried to paint him as a radical hippy. They didn't respect him like they did other artists at the time. He just comes across as very sharp minded to me.

    • @mancebo7
      @mancebo7 4 місяці тому

      @@SandfordSmythe Totally agree. There's many an interview where he behaves like an arrogant spoiled brat intent on crushing everyone under the weight of his (imagenedly brilliant, but actually) rude, sarcastic remarks. I truly admire the artist... but I just can't stand the corrosive personality.

  • @mechamartini
    @mechamartini 8 років тому +97

    Why do I love his videos ?
    Substance.

    • @BugVlogs
      @BugVlogs 8 років тому +17

      Why do I hate his videos?
      False substance.

    • @kaingates
      @kaingates 8 років тому +6

      It's not necessarily false substance but sometimes he's faaaaar off!

    • @esotericsean
      @esotericsean 8 років тому +16

      Regardless, he never claims his statements are fact. He's presenting thoughts on artwork of all mediums. He even specifically calls this one an "exploration" of Bob Dylan's song. He's sharing his thoughts for others to think about and discuss.

    • @ahikernamedgq
      @ahikernamedgq 8 років тому +31

      Yeah, I like his videos, too. But, I feel like they're pretty heavy on pretense, and pretty light on content or insight.

    • @mathiaswold2901
      @mathiaswold2901 7 років тому +4

      They're so 'Dense'

  • @elizabethwear4113
    @elizabethwear4113 8 років тому +10

    There's also the fact that we have a joker and a thief in a conversation that criticizes joking and taking what isn't yours. I can't decide if they're attempting to elevate themselves and/or each other above their statuses as a joker and a thief, or if they're being underhanded with each other.

    • @kaingates
      @kaingates 8 років тому +3

      Like the saying "the taxi driver knows best how to run the country"?

    • @larrygeetar9309
      @larrygeetar9309 8 років тому +1

      Happens at bars, funerals, and other public events all the time. "Just as every
      cop is a criminal / And all the sinners Saints," and all that ...

  • @leshtricity
    @leshtricity 4 роки тому +36

    it's interesting that he says "cold distance" when that wasn't in Dylan's version, but rather arranged and added by Hendrix.

    • @dontaylor7315
      @dontaylor7315 4 роки тому

      I notice changes like that a lot when there's a cover of a song I like, especially when the songwriter is primarily a lyricist (like Dylan) and the artist doing the cover is primarily a musician (like Hendrix). "Cold distance" doesn't really mean anything, it's just a musician playing with sounds. Janis Joplin did that too and it really stands out in "Summertime" and "Me and Bobby McGee."

  • @muhammadibrahimabdullah3737
    @muhammadibrahimabdullah3737 6 років тому +11

    I loved this video, having only just discovered Bob Dylan very recently. Thanks Writer.

    • @jacquelinebott5318
      @jacquelinebott5318 3 роки тому +1

      I too have only discovered Bob Dylan even though I’m 74 and was a young woman while Bob was writing n singing the the first early masterpieces, I wish I had woken up then...but now I’m at an age where I can appreciate his writing and music with all my heart

  • @CERTAIND00M
    @CERTAIND00M 7 років тому +24

    The fact that the newer Battlestar Galactica could map an entire series' worth of plot-points around just this song's lyrics is a testament to the depths of Dylan's words.

    • @TheGoldenCapstone
      @TheGoldenCapstone 2 роки тому

      Wait what?! I've never heard or this before...

    • @narfbite5239
      @narfbite5239 2 роки тому +3

      @@TheGoldenCapstone Oh my God yes! I don't want to give away the plot of the BSG (2004 Series). After watching this video, it makes so much sense why this song was the main plot point of the show. Idk if you've watched BSG, but give it a try. Make sure you watch the webseries (prologue episodes) then the main series with BSG Razor where its supposed to be. You can find it all on the internet I'm sure. BSG was a little lost on me in my youth (not realizing how much depth the show had), but coming back to the series, I now realize how good it is.

  • @Stinathedog
    @Stinathedog 8 років тому +22

    I think I heard somewhere that Dylan preferred Hendrix's version and his performances after hearing it reflected Hendrix's version of the song.

    • @sylvesterstallon3
      @sylvesterstallon3 8 років тому +1

      He described his later performances as a tribute to hendrix

    • @Gunners_Mate_Guns
      @Gunners_Mate_Guns 8 років тому +3

      That doesn't surprise me a bit.
      Jimi took an already good song, then made it his own, turning it into a masterpiece in the process.

    • @maxgrymonprez77
      @maxgrymonprez77 8 років тому +1

      It was the other way around.Hendrix wasn't satisfied with his version of the song. Hendrix was a big fan of Dylan and maybe he thought it did't honour him enough.

    • @Gunners_Mate_Guns
      @Gunners_Mate_Guns 7 років тому +1

      *****
      It was, definitely.
      Jimi just took it to legendary status, and even Dylan himself agrees.

    • @chriswatts9227
      @chriswatts9227 7 років тому +1

      you will find that in performances after the Hendrix version Dylan incorporates some of the chord progressions that Jimi added to the song.

  • @darrellhansen7268
    @darrellhansen7268 10 місяців тому +2

    Bob could write!!!! His view was solid and often prophetic. People who know nothing say he couldn't sing but he Could. He could hit any note he wanted. He also is a man of faith and understanding. Thankvyou Bob for all you do. We are all better because of it.

  • @brendanmcnally9145
    @brendanmcnally9145 3 роки тому

    Very well done!! I'm impressed with your analysis

  • @RoryStarr
    @RoryStarr 8 років тому +15

    I know comedy can be difficult to work with for your format, but I think breaking down Norm MacDonald's take on weekend update would be quite interesting. In an interview I believe on a podcast (I could dig it up) he talked about how he hates innuendo in comedy. His role was to say precisely what was meant every time. I find it quite interesting because his run on weekend update was both extremely popular and quite reviled. I feel the idea that a plain-spoken thought is both humorous and controversial is quite interesting.
    There are other things, too. Like that he lies about his heritage before telling racist jokes. It's all quite subversive and peels back the fluidity of some of our strongly-held beliefs.
    "You know - with Hitler- the more I learn about that guy, the more I don't care for him." - Norm MacDonald

    • @EamonBurke
      @EamonBurke 8 років тому +2

      I just watched some of that, hadn't seen much before. You are dead on. That is fascinating.

  • @trekpopklootzak9126
    @trekpopklootzak9126 8 років тому +11

    One of the best videos I've ever seen on youtube.

  • @alwitts5630
    @alwitts5630 3 роки тому

    I really enjoyed this examination.
    Well done!

  • @sohaiblangrial2141
    @sohaiblangrial2141 5 років тому +7

    Bob Dylan is carrying the legacy of the old troubadour. The fact that they would sing short stories and fables is enough to know why he qualified for a literary award.

  • @settheray2jerry1
    @settheray2jerry1 7 років тому +5

    great analysis. all along the watchtower is one of the most chilling songs i have ever heard

  • @nadineblue2683
    @nadineblue2683 7 років тому +140

    Bob dylan is so important in the history of music no one really gives the man credit until he won the noble prize i was so shocked that he hadnt won one before such a beautiful man
    he was the walrus

    • @Max_j9578
      @Max_j9578 4 роки тому +16

      the Walrus was Paul!

    • @endoneswa
      @endoneswa 3 роки тому +4

      @@Max_j9578 yea. And I am the eggman

    • @zackzallie8735
      @zackzallie8735 3 роки тому +2

      @@Max_j9578 John: I was the walrus, but now I'm John.

    • @GGT950
      @GGT950 3 роки тому +5

      That’s not really correct Nadine
      Before he got the Noble prize he had
      1 Academy Award.
      2 GMA Dove awards
      3 Golden Globe awards
      10 Grammy’s
      The hall of fame & lord knows what else I can’t look em all up.
      But yeh the Noble Prize was the icing on the cake

    • @jeremycolton1728
      @jeremycolton1728 Рік тому

      Goo, goo, g' joob!

  • @Wyeuca
    @Wyeuca 4 роки тому +2

    This is incredible. I'm a pastor and musician, and have watched this video I don't even know how many times since you first released it. This is such an awesome breakdown of this song, thank you for that.

  • @cyberbubba1
    @cyberbubba1 5 років тому +13

    Playing for change does an incredible cover of this classic...

  • @falleneldor
    @falleneldor 8 років тому +3

    So he was saying "this has all happened before. it will happen again"
    `:-)
    (this is one of my favorite songs. I loved how this song was used in Watchmen graphic novel and the Battlestar Galactica reboot series.

  • @edithramona5406
    @edithramona5406 8 років тому +11

    A video on Dylan made me think about Joan Baez - how about a video on her? :)

  • @johngregory3928
    @johngregory3928 3 роки тому +44

    The Joker being Nite owl and the thief Rorschach and Ozimandiyas the one waiting in the watchtower with his wildcat

  • @edwgwilymedwgwilym2827
    @edwgwilymedwgwilym2827 4 роки тому +260

    We must simply believe that Dylan is the greatest poet of our era

    • @dontaylor7315
      @dontaylor7315 4 роки тому +21

      "Greatest poet" is a mighty tall order and there'd be no way to verify it except subjectively, but for me there's no doubt he was the most poetic song lyricist of the 60s.

    • @edwgwilymedwgwilym2827
      @edwgwilymedwgwilym2827 4 роки тому +7

      It’s okay. It’s not a competition. Not one than anybody can win, anyway. Dylan is what he is. His lyrics aren’t always great, but he succeeds very well with connotation over meaning. The line „... two riders were approaching.... „ is immortal.

    • @dontaylor7315
      @dontaylor7315 4 роки тому +2

      Personally my favorite Dylan lyrics are all on the albums released in 1964-69.

    • @prettyracha_
      @prettyracha_ 4 роки тому +1

      Edwgwilym Edwgwilym im sorry to tell u well not, first off, Jimi Herndrix is the original creator of “All along the watch tower”. Bob is just the copier, but it’s crazy how they throw in Elvis the “King of Rock and Roll” steeling African American music to converting it into white culture. Which is something Bob did with this song. But just cause bob was able to make a “better beat” does not mean the song is his. He got his inspiration from Jimi Hendrix. You take a song but can barley understand because it is not his.

    • @dontaylor7315
      @dontaylor7315 4 роки тому +14

      @@prettyracha_FIRST Dylan wrote "All Along the Watchtower" and recorded it. THEN Hendrix heard it, liked it and covered it. He did a great cover but it is a cover not the original.

  • @videotrash
    @videotrash 8 років тому +5

    one of the best and most cryptic lyrics in a song ever. pumped for this video!

  • @locutusdborg126
    @locutusdborg126 7 років тому +168

    Very well done. Dylan is a genius. I am glad he was recognized. My favorite, BTW, is Mr. Tamborine Man. Then Watchtower.

    • @wills9709
      @wills9709 7 років тому +9

      Me too, Mr. tambourine man is amazing but the Jimi Hendrix version of all along the watchtower is over the top. I also love don't think twice, it's all right,and my back pages. Positively fourth street too but all said Bob Dylan is the brilliance behind it all and deserves the credit but Jimi, OMG how trajic that He's gone. What a star, I miss him.

    • @locutusdborg126
      @locutusdborg126 7 років тому +6

      Will S I was lucky enough to see Jimi live, I was in the front row and college kids were handing him acid (LSD) tabs. I don't think he really swallowed them.

    • @janjansen7983
      @janjansen7983 7 років тому +2

      All along the watchtower is amazing. The lyrics is awesome and has a very special meaning.
      The only thing is, I cant find a good version from Bob itself, sadly enough :(

    • @l2ic3
      @l2ic3 7 років тому +5

      No, his best song is Ballad of a Thin Man. This is actually a fact, not my opinion. I'm sorry that you're wrong.

    • @Tzadeck
      @Tzadeck 7 років тому +2

      I actually think Ballad of a Thin Man and From a Buick 6 are the worst tracks on Highway 61 Revisited. Everything else is amazing, but I personally love Desolation Row, Queen Jane Approximately, and Just Like the Tom Thumb Blues. Not that I don't like Ballad of Thin Man--I think it's a great song among excellent songs.

  • @maxonyoutube3854
    @maxonyoutube3854 5 років тому +17

    When I first read the lyrics for this song, I think it's meant to have 2 different perspectives. The joker and the thief represent lowly people who live nonglamarous and poor lives, obviously a rich man wouldn't be a thief, and the joker, I mean he says it in the song, some people think life is a joke. They question how wreckless the wealthy and powerful the people at the top are, and how they don't recognize how wasteful they are, how they don't value the things that those at the bottom do, it's Maslow's hierarchy. Maybe they're at the bottom of this tower, looking for a way to get to the top, meanwhile you have the princess who is at the top of the watch tower, and her view is much different than theirs.

  • @leonsantana3646
    @leonsantana3646 3 роки тому

    This analysis complements and improves Battlestar Galactica in such a huge way
    Especially the whole cyclic song part

  • @lolmomz
    @lolmomz 8 років тому +6

    I bet this guy got an A on every English essay in high school

  • @j.c.mgomez2515
    @j.c.mgomez2515 7 років тому +77

    Ad so he wins the literature Nobel prize, you are prophetic Nerdwriter!

    • @creme8338
      @creme8338 7 років тому +33

      he just changed the title, if i'm interpreting your comment right.

    • @tpowell453
      @tpowell453 7 років тому +12

      Title change to get views. Old trick, doesn't work.

    • @ta55o5
      @ta55o5 7 років тому +16

      but it did work

  • @funktionweb
    @funktionweb 2 роки тому +1

    I find the "time loop" aspect very interesting, like the beginning of the song is also the end of the song, and it just keeps looping, like a karmic cycle that they can't get off of. Very Buddhist/Hindu/12-Monkeys. I was recently listening to Dylan's song "Isis" and realized that it does the same thing; the song both starts and ends on the 5th day of May, like he's caught up in this karmic cycle with the goddess Isis. If any of you have noticed other Dylan songs that do this, please let me know, I find it very interesting.

  • @chuckhenry6437
    @chuckhenry6437 3 роки тому

    That is a very good analysis. Wow. Thank you.

  • @johnparadise3134
    @johnparadise3134 7 років тому +1396

    You never explicitly say why Dylan won the Nobel Prize.

    • @rjmoney9
      @rjmoney9 7 років тому +369

      That's because he made this video long before Dylan won and only changed the title afterwards

    • @johnparadise3134
      @johnparadise3134 7 років тому +25

      RJ Money Oh! Thanks!

    • @nestorsdragon8057
      @nestorsdragon8057 7 років тому +84

      You're kidding right? This video is very explicity. He won because of his amazing talent with telling a story

    • @johnparadise3134
      @johnparadise3134 7 років тому +73

      Nestor's Dragon I guess the line: "There are some novels, some trilogies in fact, with less actual content then Bob Dylan is All Along the Watchtower," says it all, ha? Well of course! His talent and influence is undeniable and deserving of any and all accolades that it gets. But I thought he was going to explain it more concretely.

    • @miraxell
      @miraxell 7 років тому +1

      John Paradise You realize the vid is from 3 months ago, dont you?

  • @tommyo.7876
    @tommyo.7876 8 років тому +26

    Thanks, Rap Genius

    • @kaingates
      @kaingates 8 років тому +5

      Shots fired.

    • @Youtubeusee365
      @Youtubeusee365 8 років тому

      what do you mean?

    • @krombopulos_michael
      @krombopulos_michael 8 років тому +2

      +corey willoch I think he means that this video is basically just telling stuff you could read on the Rap Genius annotations.

    • @Youtubeusee365
      @Youtubeusee365 8 років тому

      Krombopulos Michael ohhhh, that really is shots fired.. thanks anyway!

  • @PierzStyx
    @PierzStyx 6 років тому +1

    Every time I listen to Dylan's All Along The Watchtower I am reminded of how great a songwriter Dylan is.

  • @Alvaro-fh5dd
    @Alvaro-fh5dd 7 років тому +39

    WTF?
    He won the nobel prize just one month ago, this video was upload in jun 15?
    Am i on drugs or something?

    • @Digmer
      @Digmer 7 років тому +2

      same here. but we are not crazy, thank god.

    • @nightman8612
      @nightman8612 7 років тому

      Now it makes sense why the answer of the question (title of the video) is not there at all....Total misleading title in my opinion .....

  • @Danielorenzen
    @Danielorenzen 7 років тому +16

    You should do a Johnny Cash video like this one! It's amazing!

  • @calebkuster9881
    @calebkuster9881 6 років тому

    your videos lock me into a hypnotic momentum

  • @josephcalvey4546
    @josephcalvey4546 6 років тому +3

    Interestingly, Bob Dylan loved the Hendrix version of the song and said that whenever he plays the song live it feels like a tribute to Hendrix. I love both versions.

  • @dragos7puri
    @dragos7puri 8 років тому +3

    I like Dylan's version a lot more than Hendrix'. I think Bear McCreary's version was also worth a mention.

  • @International72521
    @International72521 8 років тому +5

    I always interpreted that song from a Vietnam era perspective of young men being forced to the frontlines of war to fight for something they didn't believe in while politicians and leaders watched from safety and comfort.

    • @Ethan-ih3eq
      @Ethan-ih3eq 8 років тому

      That was the political context of the entire woodstock movement. Check it out. It's mainly the history of America's left-wing cultural push back against american imperialism during the cold war.

  • @ashermitchell2794
    @ashermitchell2794 6 років тому +1

    This is the most brilliant video. In 8 minutes you summarized everything I've wanted to tell people about Dylan. So perfectly said. Thank you.

  • @Cain_Abyss
    @Cain_Abyss 5 років тому

    That's a really well made video. Great content.

  • @rabbitss11
    @rabbitss11 7 років тому +645

    Dylan is a genius but I bet even he couldn't fully explain his lyrics

    • @banana1231234
      @banana1231234 6 років тому +129

      rabbitss11 even if he could, author intent is largely useless compared what people personally extract from art

    • @rabbitss11
      @rabbitss11 6 років тому +3

      oh no, stupid pointless twat alert, hole in the air is what you are

    • @AntiAntiAntiFa
      @AntiAntiAntiFa 5 років тому +8

      If he could, there wouldn't be much reason to do them as verse.

    • @suzannesands7330
      @suzannesands7330 5 років тому +44

      He thinks imagistically It's like dream logic. He thinks in images, and because of this it is hard to interpret any one way. It's like Fellini. In his mature phase he thought imagistically. He thought in archetypes. For any artist who thinks that way, the themes are more universal and allow us all to project our own interpretation onto them. And we're all correct in that interpretation.

    • @daniluchison
      @daniluchison 5 років тому +8

      Correct. He pulled the STORY from the DEEP OF OUR COLLECTIVE MIND.

  • @joopremme8190
    @joopremme8190 7 років тому +20

    The literary elites in my country (The Netherlands) ridiculed Dylan when he was awarded the Nobelprize for literature (one of the poets from those circles commented in a paper "his songs do not even rhyme", but I think that they just did not get it.
    Dylan is not a literature genius because he can rhyme, but because he can tel the stories that need to be told and evoke the images that matter.

    • @LeafInTheStream
      @LeafInTheStream 3 роки тому

      But how much more of a genius would Dylan be if he _could_ rhyme?!

    • @harpothehealer
      @harpothehealer 3 роки тому

      Very well said your last sentence .I think your last sentence explains things perfently.

    • @tbwatch88
      @tbwatch88 3 роки тому +1

      pshaw. if you don't know that lyrics aren't poetry, you're not worth educating, mate. sorry.

    • @LeafInTheStream
      @LeafInTheStream 3 роки тому

      @@tbwatch88
      And take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind
      Down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves
      The haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach
      Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow
      Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free
      Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands
      With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves
      Let me forget about today until tomorrow

    • @IanRossWilliamsmusic
      @IanRossWilliamsmusic 2 роки тому +1

      @@LeafInTheStream With your silhouette when the sunlight dims
      Into your eyes where the moonlight swims
      And your matchbook songs and your gypsy hymns
      Who among them would try to impress you?

  • @giarcnella66
    @giarcnella66 4 роки тому +5

    I can say with near certainty that none of the characters in the song, the joker or the thief, are Dylan himself. Dylan was the quintessential bard, and a bard never alludes to himself. His role to is spin external allegories and metaphors about the kingdom and its state of affairs.

  • @thejesman
    @thejesman 6 років тому +10

    And this is just one of Dylan's songs. Virtually any of them could be analyzed in a similar way. It's Alright, Ma in particular is almost like the Bible set to music.

  • @bengski68
    @bengski68 7 років тому +7

    "Riders approaching in the _cold_ distance"
    That'd be a Hendrix addition

    • @JerryStanaway
      @JerryStanaway 7 років тому

      I was just going to point that out, but I see you've already done so.

  • @TheKurtkapan34
    @TheKurtkapan34 8 років тому +35

    Great video but how can you not talk about the battlestar Galactica while talking about this song...

    • @SchokoKekseFTW
      @SchokoKekseFTW 8 років тому +6

      what the hell are you talking about? also, the analysis kinda sucked, as there was no real explanation given about the meaning... just some historical context I'm sure every Dylan fan already knew

    • @RealPigeonTalk
      @RealPigeonTalk 8 років тому +3

      I totally watched this video because I just finished watching Battlestar not that long ago lol.

    • @SchokoKekseFTW
      @SchokoKekseFTW 8 років тому

      Oğulcan ACAR
      yeah, I overreacted... But I see that my comment has been deleted, even though it got two upvotes... Maybe someone doesnt like (constructive) criticism.. Cheers

    • @TheKurtkapan34
      @TheKurtkapan34 8 років тому

      i doubt that evan would delete it and he's the only one who could do it so..
      i still see your post man..

    • @MrBeastknows
      @MrBeastknows 8 років тому +1

      What are you talking about? He never called it an analysis. It says right there in the title it's an exploration of the song.
      You're a child.

  • @Jasongy827
    @Jasongy827 7 років тому +2

    Wow, never heard of Bob Dylan. Dam, I love the connection, and analyzation of the piece.

  • @Pro1er
    @Pro1er 6 років тому +3

    I love Dylan, and I almost always prefer an original version of a song to a cover, but Hendrix absolutely nailed this song, and no one else even comes close to it musically. I consider it to be one of Hendrix's, and rock's, masterpieces - and I don't use that term lightly.

  • @felipeadao5552
    @felipeadao5552 7 років тому +14

    This is one of the many reasons why Bob Dylan deservingly won the Nobel Prize For Literature 2016!

  • @sudevsen
    @sudevsen 8 років тому +4

    Rorsache and Nite Owl travelling to Luxor

  • @Ye4rZero
    @Ye4rZero Рік тому +1

    What's brilliant is that Dylan and Hendrix both said how much better the others version is

  • @christierella
    @christierella 3 роки тому +1

    You are GREAT at what you do! Why are you not on network tv or Netflix?

  • @sintonia4339
    @sintonia4339 7 років тому +5

    Favorite channel at the moment