All along the Watchtower
Discussion
Binge watched BSG over the weekend and realised I don't understand what the relevant Dylan song ''All along the Watchtower'' is all about. For one thing, you go up and down towers not along them, and reading the lyrics the tower seems peripheral to the narrative, as if the song should be called something like 'the joker and the thief'. Does it actually mean anything?
What relevance it has to Battlestar Galactica is a whole other nerdfest.
It was once summed up thus:
“Dylan’s accomplishment here is nothing less than amazing. In the space of a few verses, in a song so spare it could almost be missed as a throw-away, Dylan manages to accomplish all of the following.
Summarizes his own life to date. Given his earlier efforts to make pointed fun of almost everything around him, and his near-fatal motorcycle crash that marked a turning point in his career, it is hard not to see the joker as Dylan himself. He has now learned that life is not a joke, and distinguishes between artists and outsiders who understand the seriousness of life, versus the businessmen and fans who treat his art as simply a marketable commodity.
Identifies the primary issue of our time as one of values. Modern thinkers such as Ken Wilber, with his image of our contemporary “flatland,” in which everything is seen as neutral, and devoid of value, are brought to mind. In earlier songs Dylan talked tirelessly of modern figures misunderstanding the significance of issues such as war, freedom and poverty. Here Dylan stands back from these specific issues and reduces the confrontation to its essential element: human values against the established order.
Propels his theme with a powerful dramatic structure. From a traditional dramatic viewpoint, almost nothing happens in this song: two riders talk to each other while approaching a castle. We’ve hardly got a decent first act, let alone a whole play. Yet by repeatedly hinting at the intensity of a coming confrontation, and by identifying the two opposing forces, Dylan keeps us on the edges of our seats, wondering what will happen next. The effect at the end is comparable to the conclusion of William Butler Yeats’ famous poem, “The Second Coming “And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?” In both cases, there is a perceptible chill creeping up the spine, as the poet leaves his reader to contemplate the inevitability and intensity of the coming confrontation, and its consequences.”
The reference to philosophers and poets is a common thing with Dylan reviews. He was very well read and thought hard about what those who went before were saying.
I have no idea what the connection with BSG is. I thought that was a Ronald Dahl thing...........
“Dylan’s accomplishment here is nothing less than amazing. In the space of a few verses, in a song so spare it could almost be missed as a throw-away, Dylan manages to accomplish all of the following.
Summarizes his own life to date. Given his earlier efforts to make pointed fun of almost everything around him, and his near-fatal motorcycle crash that marked a turning point in his career, it is hard not to see the joker as Dylan himself. He has now learned that life is not a joke, and distinguishes between artists and outsiders who understand the seriousness of life, versus the businessmen and fans who treat his art as simply a marketable commodity.
Identifies the primary issue of our time as one of values. Modern thinkers such as Ken Wilber, with his image of our contemporary “flatland,” in which everything is seen as neutral, and devoid of value, are brought to mind. In earlier songs Dylan talked tirelessly of modern figures misunderstanding the significance of issues such as war, freedom and poverty. Here Dylan stands back from these specific issues and reduces the confrontation to its essential element: human values against the established order.
Propels his theme with a powerful dramatic structure. From a traditional dramatic viewpoint, almost nothing happens in this song: two riders talk to each other while approaching a castle. We’ve hardly got a decent first act, let alone a whole play. Yet by repeatedly hinting at the intensity of a coming confrontation, and by identifying the two opposing forces, Dylan keeps us on the edges of our seats, wondering what will happen next. The effect at the end is comparable to the conclusion of William Butler Yeats’ famous poem, “The Second Coming “And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?” In both cases, there is a perceptible chill creeping up the spine, as the poet leaves his reader to contemplate the inevitability and intensity of the coming confrontation, and its consequences.”
The reference to philosophers and poets is a common thing with Dylan reviews. He was very well read and thought hard about what those who went before were saying.
I have no idea what the connection with BSG is. I thought that was a Ronald Dahl thing...........
wibble cb said:
Glad he wrote it, as Jimi Hendrix and U2 both outdid his versions....!
So did Michael Hedgeshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqGHE5GqZ44
thebraketester said:
jet_noise said:
I thought it was a Hendrix song.
Was a long time till I learnt 'twas a Dylan cover!
I found about 10 seconds ago.... I have thought it was a Hendrix tune for 19 years.... Was a long time till I learnt 'twas a Dylan cover!
The electric guitar playing just grabbed everyone - Dylan might have written it but his was nothing like in the same vein.
I first saw Hendrix in the very early days (he didn't have his 'tash then) at The Plaza at Newbury in Berkshire in Feb 67 - it was peanuts to get in, under ten bob (50p). Pretty wild. Played Hey Joe (interestingly that's not a Hendrix tune either, big hit in the UK (we had more taste - in the States, The Leaves had recorded it and had a hit). Jimi also played Purple Haze that night at Newbury, only weeks before it was released.
Chas Chandler (bassist with The Animals) managed them, he was a bloody clever bloke at talent spotting.
Last saw Hendrix at the Isle of Wight Festival in Aug 70, just before he died.
As for 'didn't know' I 'did know' but forgotten U2 had recorded it on Rattle and Hum. Bloody awful, like some drunk bloke singing it.
I also knew Michael Hedges did it but I am no fan, at all, of acoustic, I'm an electric guitar fan, full stop.
Personally, I think Dave Matthews Band did the best version:
https://youtu.be/fOaMQ-R9YGM
Starts at around 3:45.
https://youtu.be/fOaMQ-R9YGM
Starts at around 3:45.
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