| Song Analysis |  |
Biblical Allusion in Bob
Dylan's Lyrics
© Copyright
1999-2005, Skylar Hamilton Burris.
[ Website Table of Contents | Literary Resources | Bob Dylan ]
"Fools, they limit you
to their own unimaginative mentality. They never
stop to think that somebody has been exposed to an experience they
haven’t been . . . There is so much misunderstanding by people who are
caught up in their own little words laid on you . . .
— Bob Dylan in the linear notes of Biograph
do Not create anything, it
will be
misinterpreted. it will not change.
it will follow you the rest of your life.
— Bob Dylan from "Advice for Geraldine on Her Miscellaneous
Birthday"
Bob Dylan is not a big fan of interpretations of his own work. But the fact remains that he did not follow his own advice--he did create something--over 600 somethings, to be more precise. And when you put the printed word to the page, you are automatically subject to interpretation. The fact that critics and scholars have scoured Dylan’s lyrics for meaning, however, ought to be a compliment. You don’t see them investing that kind of time in any other popular musician.
So I am here publishing my own interpretations, or perhaps misinterpretations, of many of Dylan's songs. I am approaching these songs with an angle--a prejudice, if you prefer. I am looking at them in the context of the Bible, and I am specifically pointing out the biblical allusions. Sometimes I will merely list allusions; at other times, I will delve deeper into the lyrics, indicating how these allusions direct and contribute to the overall meaning of the songs.
Dylan was born and raised in a Jewish family. He became a born-again Christian in 1979, "studying the Bible at the Vineyard Christian Fellowship school in California" (Biography 4). It is said that in 1983 he "joined an ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect, Lubavitcher Hasidim," but I think it more likely that he studied with a Rabbi from the sect than that he actually joined it (Biography 4). There has been some debate as to whether or not Dylan is still a Christian. I think James W. Earl says it well in his article, "Beyond Desire: The Conversion of Bob Dylan":
Those who follow Dylan primarily through rumor or the press often ask if he hasn’t gone back to being a Jew, but the question is wrong. After the first flush of his rebirth he rediscovered and reabsorbed his Jewishness in new and personal ways. (53-54)
Certainly Dylan’s album Infidels is heavily influenced by the Hebrew Scriptures and a Jewish view of the world, but it is also impossible to begin to interpret some of the songs on it--like "A Sweetheart Like You" and "Jokerman"--outside of a Christian context. What’s more, Bob Dylan opened his 1987 concert tour with these words:
I’m gonna sing a song about my hero. Everybody’s got their own hero. I don’t know who your hero is, maybe Mel Gibson . . . maybe for some people it’s Michael Jackson . . . or Bruce Springsteen . . . Anyway I don’t care nothing about none of those people. I have my own hero. I’m gonna sing about my hero now. (Earl 48-49)
He then played "In the Garden" from his album Saved.
Whatever Dylan’s religious beliefs may or may not be, the fact remains that the Bible--both the Old and New Testaments alike--has always influenced--and continues to influence--his writing. I hope this paper will provide some insight into that influence. I know I am not the first to point out these biblical allusions, and when I arrive at an allusion by reading the writing of another, I cite my source. I cite the first person who introduced me to the idea, even if he or she was not the first person to think of it. However, if I arrived at the allusions through my own independent thinking, I do not offer any citation, although I am certain many people elsewhere have no doubt had the same idea.
These songs are arranged in chronological order (i.e. in order of release). I will continue to add more in the months to come.
Biography Resource Center. "Dylan, Bob." The Gale Group, 1999.
Dylan, Bob. Lyrics 1962-1985. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1985.
Earl, James W. "Beyond Desire: The Conversion of Bob Dylan." University of Hartford Studies In Literature. 20.2 (1988): 46-63.
Parr, Bill. Bob Dylan and Christianity. 29 August
1999.
http://funnelweb.utcc.utk.edu/~wparr/SlowTrain.html.
The King James Bible.
The NIV Study Bible. Ed. Kenneth Barker. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995.