Such a good song. Chris Smither talked about it at a show once, said that when he heard it he thought something like, "Oh no! Now what am I gonna do?" How do you try to write and perform as a contemporary of Dylan, when he's putting out material like this? It would be so intimidating to try to compete against this.
This is one of the deepest and greatest lyrical songs Dylan ever wrote. It owes a lot to the"Beats" and is very James Joyce like. VOJ is a companion song to "Sruck Inside of Mobile..." on the other side. Both are songs of deep existential despair. To the singer there is no way out of the barren constricted matrial city landscape, symbolized by the earthy Louise. To Dylan, rain is almost ALWAYS a symbol of sorrow. (look through all his lyrics) "We sit here *stranded*, though we're all doin' our best to deny it And Louise holds a *handful of rain* (sorrow-despair), temptin' you to *defy it* "The ghost of 'lectricity (the defining energy of the landscape) howls in the bones of her face" Here we have either Visions of JOHANNA (a person lost) or (the) VISIONS of Johanna. (visions of transcendence). I perfer the latter and beleve here Dylan is alluding to the fierce idealism of Joan Baez (Johanna) that never left her but he has given up on . "The harmonicas play the skeleton keys and the rain" (Rain again- drenched in despair) Just Like a woman "Tonight as I stand inside the *rain*" VOJ is an end point in a long cycle to Mr.Tambourine Man where the more youthful Dylan seeks the same transcendence but is on the beginning of the journey "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" There is a yearning here for a Zen like state of being, something deeply longed for in VOJ the same longing is present but the feeling is defeat, the "visions" remain out of reach. I don't think Dylan in his personal life ever gained that, like Leonard Cohen did.
Oddly, this song shows what a great singer Dylan is. Not the classical beautiful voice, but the flow and the intonation and everything else. Obviously, his lyrics are beyond comparison. There is no one in second place.
Do “isis” from the “live 75” album....theres several live 1975 versions of “isis”, u want the one from bob’s official youtube channel, the one with the black and white pic of him, in a hat, looking straight at the camera...that says Bob dylan, live ‘75 rolling thunder review” on it (its the original album/CD cover art/photo from that album)
Of all the great figures in rock, Bob Dylan is one of the hardest to get into initially--but once you get it, you discover that he went deeper than his peers. I'd take his great 60s records (Blonde on Blonde, Highway 61, Bringing it All Back Home) over the Beatles.
@@jamesgreenldn No, Dylan would still have been Dylan, but the Beatles would have continued being the Backstreet Boys until George, and John to some extent, got tired of Paul's schmaltzy songwriting.
@@Hexon66 You've not listened to "The Beatles" without the bullshit claptrap. "The Beatles" kicked the door down, making everything that followed possible. That includes Dylan going electric and getting a band -- as Lennon told him to do -- and making it possible for Dylan to have his few hits on the POP Charts.
This is about Hurricane the boxer. True story. He was saying what the white people were saying what Hurricane was. True story. There is a movie about Hurricane. Maybe with Denzel.
Pure genius. Dylan the prophet.
Dylan gets inspiration from reading, living, loving, losing, and winning.
Such a good song. Chris Smither talked about it at a show once, said that when he heard it he thought something like, "Oh no! Now what am I gonna do?" How do you try to write and perform as a contemporary of Dylan, when he's putting out material like this? It would be so intimidating to try to compete against this.
Bob Dylan at the absolute hight of his powers.
Great Picasso like song painting!
Good analogy. Excellent. I was also thinking James Joyce.
This is one of the deepest and greatest lyrical songs Dylan ever wrote. It owes a lot to the"Beats" and is very James Joyce like.
VOJ is a companion song to "Sruck Inside of Mobile..." on the other side. Both are songs of deep existential despair. To the singer there is no way out of the barren constricted matrial city landscape, symbolized by the earthy Louise. To Dylan, rain is almost ALWAYS a symbol of sorrow. (look through all his lyrics)
"We sit here *stranded*, though we're all doin' our best to deny it
And Louise holds a *handful of rain* (sorrow-despair), temptin' you to *defy it*
"The ghost of 'lectricity (the defining energy of the landscape) howls in the bones of her face"
Here we have either Visions of JOHANNA (a person lost) or (the) VISIONS of Johanna. (visions of transcendence). I perfer the latter and beleve here Dylan is alluding to the fierce idealism of Joan Baez (Johanna) that never left her but he has given up on .
"The harmonicas play the skeleton keys and the rain" (Rain again- drenched in despair)
Just Like a woman
"Tonight as I stand inside the *rain*"
VOJ is an end point in a long cycle to Mr.Tambourine Man where the more youthful Dylan seeks the same transcendence but is on the beginning of the journey
"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"
There is a yearning here for a Zen like state of being, something deeply longed for
in VOJ the same longing is present but the feeling is defeat, the "visions" remain out of reach.
I don't think Dylan in his personal life ever gained that, like Leonard Cohen did.
masterpiece! ♥
Oddly, this song shows what a great singer Dylan is. Not the classical beautiful voice, but the flow and the intonation and everything else. Obviously, his lyrics are beyond comparison. There is no one in second place.
Do “isis” from the “live 75” album....theres several live 1975 versions of “isis”, u want the one from bob’s official youtube channel, the one with the black and white pic of him, in a hat, looking straight at the camera...that says Bob dylan, live ‘75 rolling thunder review” on it (its the original album/CD cover art/photo from that album)
…”Jeez, I can’t find my knees”.
Master to the piece!!!
And peace to the master.
Of all the great figures in rock, Bob Dylan is one of the hardest to get into initially--but once you get it, you discover that he went deeper than his peers. I'd take his great 60s records (Blonde on Blonde, Highway 61, Bringing it All Back Home) over the Beatles.
You can’t have one without the other, those guys were friends and influenced each other man
@@jamesgreenldn No, Dylan would still have been Dylan, but the Beatles would have continued being the Backstreet Boys until George, and John to some extent, got tired of Paul's schmaltzy songwriting.
@@Hexon66 You've not listened to "The Beatles" without the bullshit claptrap.
"The Beatles" kicked the door down, making everything that followed possible. That includes Dylan going electric and getting a band -- as Lennon told him to do -- and making it possible for Dylan to have his few hits on the POP Charts.
Why choose? I agree Dylan brought deep lyrical sensibility to the Beatles. They took rock to great musical heights.
Comparisons are odious...
Banger!
That bass line .....
Joe South on bass
Rhymes Near....with mirror.....to clear.....to here........genius, 1966 this shite....no one wrote like that, even established poets, really.
Not** even
Do those words not rhyme in your dialect?
@@BigSirZebras of course they do, i was praising it
This is about Hurricane the boxer. True story. He was saying what the white people were saying what Hurricane was. True story. There is a movie about Hurricane. Maybe with Denzel.