All Along the Watchtower
"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.
"All Along the Watchtower" Bob Dylan
I'm really not the scripture-citing type, but it is said that Dylan found inspiration for this song in the book of Isaiah 21:8-9 ... I'll leave it to you to find and decipher the scripture.
What I think, is that Dylan was saying about Vietnam what a lot of us are thinking about Iraq ... with a sidenote about there being some sort of biblically apocalyptic punishment for nations who attempt to empire-build for their own enrichment.
Today's fragrance: Shaal Nur by Etro with notes of lemon, bergamot, grapefruit, mandarin, rosewood, coriander. Mid-notes of thyme, tarragon, rosemary, karo karounde, rose, petit-grain. Base notes of nutmeg, patchouli, vetiver, cedar wood, opoponax, incense and musk. Although it lacks the requisite oakmoss, I wonder if this can still qualify as a fresh chypre, with its introductory citrus notes and its herb/spice/woodsiness. *Edit* per Victoria, it is not a chypre without the oakmoss ... it must be the incense that deepens and sharpens it for me. It's beautiful, even on this sunny day (I'd alway worn in it in cold, wet winter).
posted by mireille at 7:31 AM
8 Comments:
Today's post leaves me feeling sad. So much loss implied in that picture and poem.
Changing the subject to an unsolicited, obnoxious perfume opinion: Etro Shaal Nur = ick
*runs away, chortling*
10:56 AM
You sure found the perfect photo to go w/ your post. I admire your togetherness! =)
11:20 AM
I saw/heard Jimi Hendrix sing this at Duke University several eons ago. So absolutely thrilling, as you can imagine. I've never read the words, though. Quite a different experience. very moving in its way.
12:31 PM
Never completely understood all the words before. Thanks.
1:27 PM
How very odd that I was listening to Bob Dylan this morning ("Jokerman", off the Infidels album)and thinking how appropiate some of his stuff remains.
Thanks for the post.
3:32 PM
That's a great song.
6:55 AM
What a great song! Thank you for posting the words, M.
xoxo
10:53 AM
Thanks for reminding everyone about that fantastic song (both versions).
As you may already know, Dylan has said he preferred the Hendrix version, which ranks as #48 in Rolling Stone's list of 500 greatest recordings.
I'd go further than Rolling Stone, and say that after Hendrix recorded it, he and everyone else might as well have put away their gear, because nobody since then has come close to doing anything so new and so wild. Not just his playing and singing, but the intro, the drumming, the discords. And of course Dylan's words and tune.
Some more trivia: Hendrix changed some of the words, nonsensically perhaps - "None will level on the line
Nobody of it is worth"
And I just noticed something else. Not only does the third Hendrix album contain this song. Its name, Electric Ladyland, contains the word Dylan. I can find no reference to this on Google, so maybe I've just had my first-ever original thought. ;-)
11:47 PM
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