bob dylan blonde on blonde album meaning

In the empty lot where the ladies play blindman’s bluff with the key chainĪnd the all- night girls they whisper of escapades out on the “D” train

If it wasn’t enough to have the most alliterative two lines in history starting the song, Dylan takes us back to the night playing tricks in the second verse: There and here the lithe indolent prostitute cummings went there in “Paris”, published in 1928:īefore whose upward lean magnificent face Dylan is not alone in imagining the night as a prostitute, e.e. four “st”s and one almost “st” (sit), a half rhyme on “night” and “quiet” and “deny it”, a quarter rhyme on “like” and night”, even a rhyme on “ain’t it” and “sit”, all in two lines – not bad! But, back to the question, “ain’t it just like night to play tricks”? It is, because the night playing tricks, in the context of all the other sexual references on Blonde on Blonde refers to the slang meaning of the term, which is the sexual act between a prostitute and customer. We sit here stranded, though we’re all doin’ our best to deny it “Ain’t it just the night to play tricks”? Well is it or ain’t it? Is that, like, a rhetorical question? Don’t we already all know that it’s just like the night to play tricks when we’re trying to be so quiet? Or is this Dylan just playing tricks with this kick-assonanced line, full of “t”s,”s”s and “k”s, so by the time we get to the end of the second line we do feel kind of stranded: As most people in the western hemisphere (or at least those who have any appreciation of music) know, the song starts:Īin’t it just like the night to play tricks when you’re tryin’ to be so quiet? Among other things, “Visions of Johanna” is about the night, which makes three appearances in the first two verses. But before we come to that, let’s take a moment to appreciate one of Dylan’s best-loved songs, “Visions of Johanna”, and realize how much creative energy went into its composition. While “Blonde on Blonde” ends with one sad-eyed lady, there are plenty of other references to suspicious women and ladies on the album.

The most viewed post on this blog has been the one on “Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands”, so here are a couple of posts about that song and other ladies on “Blonde on Blonde”, taken from my book “Understanding Bob Dylan” which focuses on literary archetypes Dylan has used.

Bob dylan blonde on blonde album meaning