Bob Dylan's Jokerman

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by onlyconnect, Nov 6, 2017.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Scope J

    Scope J Senior Member

    Location:
    Michigan
    Great song!

    no idea what the lyrics mean, nor do i care
     
    The MEZ likes this.
  2. streetlegal

    streetlegal Forum Resident

    I don't think anyone has yet commented on the music and the sound. I remember reading a contemporary review that compared the song to a lighter-textured "Changing of the Guards," and I agree. The subtle accompaniment reflects the mysterious, visionary nature of the lyrics and allows Dylan's vocals room to breathe. I always wished Dylan recorded more songs like this, particularly in latter years, which would suit his present voice.
     
    Jarleboy, The MEZ, lschwart and 2 others like this.
  3. S. P. Honeybunch

    S. P. Honeybunch Presidente de Kokomo, Endless Mikelovemoney

    I think that's the most political verse, as Jokerman is a politician who might draw support from Sodom and Gomorrah, even though he doesn't have a connection to them in a meaningful way. He also draws political support by seeking to identify himself with a certain martyr, yet punishes a rich man by throwing him into the fiery furnace merely for being rich rather than for religious reasons. This is in contrast to King Nebuchadnezzar trying to kill Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego by throwing them into the fiery furnace for not obeying the decree to worship a golden image. Jokerman punishes the rich because it gives him political power. Jokerman doesn't have a meaningful connection to Sodom, Gomorrah, or the name of the rich man because they are trivial concerns that only serve to add to his political power.

    In this song, Dylan is concerned both with Jokerman's passive attitude about freedom and truth and with his visiting a place that he has no real personal stake in other than garnering political power.
     
  4. TimB

    TimB Pop, Rock and Blues for me!

    Location:
    Colorado
    To me it is a very interesting song, that may or may not make any sense to some. It is my favorite song of his from the 80’s.
     
  5. streetlegal

    streetlegal Forum Resident

    There's a link on expectingrain.com to transcriptions of "Jokerman" and "Man of Peace" (among other songs) from the Tulsa collection. The transcriptions are made by one Doc Yoder. On first glance, the transcripts look very interesting.

    An example of a deleted draft verse:

    suffering like a madman from unscrupilous affairs . . . moonlighting in the streets - reading ancient prayers - reciting keats & shelley your life has been just a series of breaths - youve kicked in the teeth of hamlet & macbeth & youve played machiavelli drunk, standing in the middle of the street directing traffic xxx with a small dog at your feet

    Enjoy!!

    More Back Pages: Dylan Archive Transcriptions
     
    Last edited: Jan 2, 2018
    lschwart, enro99, redsock and 2 others like this.
  6. Paul Yoder

    Paul Yoder New Member

    Location:
    Little Rock, AR
    Hi, I'm Doc Yoder -- Paul, actually. Doc is my teaching persona. One of the most interesting things I'm learning from the Archive is about Bob's method. He actually makes lists of rhyming words and builds the songs around those. I'm still not sure how Alexander Pope finds his way into "Jokerman" ("fools rush in where Angels fear to tread"), but he first shows up at the Ritz Carlton. I'm convinced Bob finally looked up the quotation because he kept getting it wrong over several drafts. LOTS of fun.
     
    Jarleboy, asdf35, slane and 8 others like this.
  7. Paul Yoder

    Paul Yoder New Member

    Location:
    Little Rock, AR
    Well, folks. I just got an email from the Dylan Archive requesting that I take down my transcriptions, so those will no longer be available online. I have requested clarification on how I can use the transcription without violating fair use.

    Paul
     
  8. uzn007

    uzn007 Pack Rat

    Location:
    Raleigh, N.C.
    :realmad:
     
    redsock likes this.
  9. redsock

    redsock Writer, reader, grouch.

    Damn it. I missed it. That little Jokerman snip is very interesting.

    (I would think something like this would only stoke interest in Dylan, but what do I know .............)
     
  10. MagicAlex

    MagicAlex Gort Emeritus

    Location:
    Atlanta, GA
    Damn! I hope maybe there’s some kind of agreement or compromise that you can come to with those ‘in charge’. What I have had time to peruse on your website is very interesting and I think you are (were) onto to some very ineresting finds. Hoping to see more from you in the future. Good luck, man!
     
  11. Maranatha5585

    Maranatha5585 BELLA + RIP In Memoriam

    Location:
    Down South
    I love the song...
    It has a number of possible meanings from the perspective you look.
    I clearly see a strong Jesus factor at work. Let's take a look, this is about four years
    in to his walk with God and that is about the time, if not sooner when the cares of
    this life, and some apathy creeps in. It becomes easier than ever to second question certain
    things... Reading these lines, I see Dylan not doubting Christ, but in fact, reaffirming
    the scripture.
    He realizes this Messiah works in the most mysterious ways..
    Dylan studied to show himself approved, a workman who is not ashamed of his faith.

    He dances to the eternal will of the Father..
    He explained in parables that he would depart, and they would be confounded..
    He shed the old man skin.. human flesh, taking the rightful position of Lord..
    He warned the preachers of filthy lucre.. not all that say Lord, Lord..

    It's all there, and a masterpiece.
    and, Glory to God for allowing me to hold this for now...
    [​IMG]
     
  12. groundharp

    groundharp Maybe your friends think I'm just a stranger

    Location:
    California Day
    Ian McLagan just may have had the inside info -- Mac said that one time on the tour, he and Bob were drinking together, and Mac was able to have a long conversation with him where he said he was able to ask Bob everything about his songs and what they were really about, everything he'd always wanted to ask Bob about. But Mac said the next day, he couldn't remember any of it because they'd drunk too much. To his regret, he knew he'd never get another chance to ask all those questions again.
    But Mac might have remembered the odd snippet of info out of that long night of drinking, so it's possible that Dylan did tell him that Jokerman is about Reagan.
     
    Jarleboy, uzn007 and stewedandkeefed like this.
  13. I333I

    I333I Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ventura
    I think that this is Top 5 Dylan, easy.
     
    The MEZ likes this.
  14. Jaycat

    Jaycat Forum Resident

    Location:
    Harvard, MA, USA
    Or, as Archie Bunker put it, "Sodom and Glocca Morra."
     
    Jarleboy likes this.
  15. streetlegal

    streetlegal Forum Resident

    I wish Dylan would do more songs like "Jokerman." Listening to it today, the first instance in a long time, I was struck how it reminded me, in part, of Hamlet's contemplation on mankind (humankind) as entirely ambiguous, at once apparently divine and god-like and yet of nothing more than dust:

    What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how
    infinite in faculties, in form and moving how express and
    admirable, in action how like an angel, in apprehension how like
    a god! the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals—and yet,
    to me, what is this quintessence of dust?

    I was reading this article, beyond my scope really, but one that I think chimes with much of Dylan's vision. It traces the rise of materialist Post-Marxist society in terms of a contradiction, that, by removing a sense of Godhead, of a metaphysical order, or nature, it dooms itself to radical relativism and individualism, a theme that I guess runs through Infidels.
     
    chervokas and RayS like this.
  16. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    First step was touching the moon!
     
  17. Fender Relic

    Fender Relic Forum Resident

    Location:
    PennsylBama
    I am Jokerman!

    [​IMG]
     
  18. Fender Relic

    Fender Relic Forum Resident

    Location:
    PennsylBama
    Listen to Jokerman 10 times forwards and backwards then all will be revealed. I might be as simple as this....

     
  19. Billchi_11

    Billchi_11 What would DBoon do?

    Location:
    Chicago
    One of his best live performances ever!
     
    redsock likes this.
  20. autumn daze

    autumn daze I really don't belong here

    Location:
    Milton Keynes, UK
    Been thinking about this song a lot lately. I first heard it in the nineties as I was getting into Dylan and it struck me then as being the best thing I’d ever heard him do. Twenty something years later and my opinion hasn’t changed. What a song, still is as powerful now as I remember it from back then.
     
    The MEZ and Vaughan like this.
  21. Maranatha5585

    Maranatha5585 BELLA + RIP In Memoriam

    Location:
    Down South

    Scuse me... while I kiss the sky.

    was it somthin' I said..


    wmw :p
     
  22. Vaughan

    Vaughan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Essex, UK
    Yeah, a special song indeed. Every single time I hear it I'm taken to another place. Searing vocals, understated music, and magic in buckets full.
     
    autumn daze likes this.
  23. I love that album and how Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare propel the music with a pulse that Dylan never had before
    It's a pity Bob Dylan didnt tour with the formation on the album
    they would have slaughtered any other band on the road
     
  24. Sear

    Sear Dad rocker

    Location:
    Tarragona (Spain)
    Sometimes I think it's my favorite Dylan song
     
    Jarleboy and Dbstay like this.
  25. Sear

    Sear Dad rocker

    Location:
    Tarragona (Spain)
    Once again, I have no idea what he's talking about.
    But the verses are so powerful I can't help being deeply moved
     
    Jarleboy likes this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine