Jack organized the bank robbery for when everyone would be at the cabaret. He had a history with Lily. Big Jim recognized him as a possible threat to his thing with Lily and possibly had his own history with Jack as well. Big Jim went to kill Jack in Lily's room, but his shot went awry because Rosemary stabbed him at that exact moment - the one good thing Rosemary wanted to do before she died. The boys got the money and were waiting for Jack. Jack met up with the boys and skipped town. The next day, Rosemary was hanged. And, Lily was left reflecting about her dad and her past while wondering when she'd see Jack again. The song is a movie.
Not sure Jim ever fired, it said only "clicked" or "cocked" the gun, never actually mentioning a shot, errant or otherwise. Rosemary took him out first.
I heard this song a thousand times but never quite pieced it all together. I’ve meant to sit down and read the lyrics but never got around to it, thanks!
Good sum-up, to add though, the "cold revolver clicked" Big Jim was standing there you couldn't say suprised, and Rosemary was "steady in her eyes", this suggests the gun clicked because Rosemary had taken out the bullets. Hence why she was steady in her eyes, and then stabbed Big Jim. Listened to this song dozens of times and still find more depth to the story.
A favorite of mine...Bob tells you enough of the story for you to piece it together, but it's kinda cryptic and unresolved. I've listened to it hundreds of times, and it's definitely cinematic. Love when Dylan doesn't bother with a chorus, but each verse ending with "the Jack of Hearts" is a refrain, which is a stylistic signature of his. Glad you took the time to check it out. Enjoyed your reaction!
I think some of the magical lines in this song are 1. "Outside the streets were fillin' up, the window was open wide A gentle breeze was blowin', you could feel it from inside" When I hear these lines, I can actually feel that breeze 2. ""I know I've seen that face before, " Big Jim was thinkin' to himself "Maybe down in Mexico or a picture up on somebody's shelf" That "picture on somebody's shelf" evokes so much story beyond what we hear in the song, brilliant. 2. "Lily had already taken all of the dye out of her hair She was thinkin' 'bout her father, who she very rarely saw Thinkin' 'bout Rosemary and thinkin' about the law" Throwing that line "thinking about her father who she very rarely saw" just makes this whole person real. i always hoped that someone would make a movie of this song. It has everything ready for production.
Easily one of my favourite Dylan songs on one of his best two or three albums. The entire album is just so solid. Thanks for reviewing this - I really wish I could hear this song for the first time again.
Bob is an entire planet to explore. Only one reasonable thing you can do at this point. That's listen to the entire Blood on the Tracks album. It's a masterpiece.
i wrote this comment to the reactors, its kind of a long-winded version of your exact sentiments, ha:/ ..but, yeah, ur correct, haha: the thing about bob is that hes one of those 60's guys who makes whole albums & not just "songs", & the way this crazy little song fits (towards the end of the album) into what is basically an entire album about his deteriorating marriage & eventual divorce is kind of epic...maybe a stroke of genius...its like a slightly lighthearted break in the seriousness & heartache
Best singer songwriter to ever live imho been to a concert of his in the 80’s listening to him as one of my favorites from late 60’s on👏🏻👏🏻👍🏻blood on the tracks was one of my favorites
Nice reaction. I feel like you got the story quite well. Lily is a showgirl, hence why she was playing cards backstage and dying her hair. She's an old acquaintance of the Jack somehow, likely from her period of traveling and having 'many strange affairs'. The Jack is some kind of roving outlaw, which explains why Big Jim recognizes him either from Mexico or a poster on a wall (ie a wanted poster). And yeah Big Jim and Rosemary are the town big shot and his embittered wife who stabs him in the end. The real anbiguity of the track is the fate of the Jack since its not established, but i feel like the most common interpretation is that Big Jim either misfired or the click was Jim cocking the gun, but he was stabbed before firing, in which case we can assume Jack eventually did get back to his gang
I can think of a handful of others on this cinematic level, but it's a small list! Paul Simon wrote some wonderfully visual stuff. I also think "Tangled Up In Blue" could be a cool movie.
This was great to hear. There aren’t enough Dylan reactions. His catalog is a treasure trove of mixed genres, light & deep masterpieces. There was much controversy when he went ‘Electric’ but In my humble opinion, that was some of his best, not to downplay his exquisite folk beginnings. Ok. You got me to subscribe. I hope to hear a more Dylan. Thanks.
I gotta say, I have been listening to Bob"s catalog since about 63 or so. I could not escape his story as I owned 3 record stores beginning in my University years. I was always entertained by his quirky imagination. To this day his story occupies a fairly large space in my brain as I follow his music. He seems to have no equal at what he puts to music, just consider, "A Murder Most Foul" written in his late 70's.
Dylan & Townsend; 2 of the greatest poets of the last few generations. "Blowin' in the Wind" is perhaps the best poem of this age. If you want to know why Dylan was awarded the Nobel prize, listen to this song to get an idea.
@@John_Locke_108 Ha ha! Good point. But he does say "... on the seven o'clock news". That's the best part of the song, though. The ending. "It didn't seem like much was happening, so I turned it off and went to have another beer...."
Epic song. Lot of people in the comments missing the detail of the line, " a cold revolver clicked." It's not a Colt revolver. He describes it as a cold revolver because the bullets had been taken out by Rosemary, which is why it "clicked". Big Jim didn't expect it, but "Rosemary right beside him, steady in her eyes." Just thought I would add this as it's an important part of the whole story and details Rosemary's cunning, and intention of her " one good deed before she died." There is also an extra verse in the original lyrics that isn't in the song, worth checking out.
Bob Dylan was brother/uncle Gary's favorite, so this was well received, thank you .. the tempo is so quick, amazing he can keep up with the words.. :) love the way you guys seemed to figure out the story, I got sort of lost... :)
This song had me scratching my head for years since I first heard it as a young teen. Could not figure out what the heck was going on. It was only after becoming familiar with some other Dylan songs that I finally got it. It's a big canvas, and Bob is painting in little sections here and there and leaving the rest for us to fill in as we like. He is making us become involved in his song. Another good example of this is his song Idiot Wind. Each little section is some different event that vexed him in some way, you don't get many details about it, so you have to fill it in for yourself. And certainly one of the angriest songs ever recorded.
True about Idiot Wind, but as many Dylan songs do, the vitriol is mitigated to some degree with the narrator's recognition of his own culpability. Note, the final chorus uses 1st person plural (we, our, ourselves), rather than 2nd person singular (you, your, yourself).
I'm sure it's a COLT revolver, rather than a cold revolver. Also the gallows is the structure that the hanging rope (noose) hangs from. Another superbly written masterpiece from Bob on, arguably, his greatest album.
This song was released not to long after Dylan's soundtrack to "Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid'', and I've always thought the movie experience (in which Dylan had a small part) may have put him in an old western frame of mind.
Great job, Sam! ❗Great musical breakdown. ❤🔥😙👌(chefs kiss) Phil you did wonderful too. A+🤭 Anyway, I agree with the other comments the entire album "Blood On The Tracks" is most certainly a wonderful place to start, if you're wanting to start listening to entire albums. But if not, I'll suggest another song from the same album, if interested. "Bob Dylan - Tangled Up In Blue" (by the channel: Bob Dylan) --This song is from his 15th studio album called "Blood On The Tracks" released in 1975. (This song by BD has some religious references. Just saying)
Tangled Up In Blue is great and I've done it a couple of times at open mics. But I think a song that is also great that nobody mentions much is Jokerman.
Nice Job Sam decifering this one!! Some others to consider .."The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carrol" "The ballad of Hollis Brown" and "The man in the Ling Black Coat" all tell wonderful stories...Hattie Carrol....like Hurricane is based on true events!
Great reaction! Try Brownsville Girl by Dylan. One of his great long ballads. Not as short as Jack of Hearts, 11 minutes, but better. Not as straightforward either, more confusing. You'll love it.
SAM NAILED IT! Lilly took the dye out of her hair because the cabaret shut down and she didn't need to look her best anymore. In the American West the gallows was a temporary scaffold built for hanging people. You GUYS ROCK!!!, PJ
Sam you nailed it 100%, Blood on the Tracks, is my favorite Dylan album.....Grew up in the 60's and 70's, most amazing music, Enjoy from a 70 yr old hippie😀.............Please react Bob Marley's "Redemption Song", his last song, amazing!!!
This whole brilliant album should be seen in the context of Dylan's separation from Sara (the Sad-eyed lady from the lowlands). The experience spawned this album and a return to live touring (which I was fortunate enough to see). Dylan's lyrics are like a good jazz solo, focused, but drawing inspiration from many sources and weaving them all together in a mysteriously evocative lyric, subject to change in any future performance.
@@TheSixtoo I think it is "Colt revolver", but I think @zimmerman89 is right there with the meaning. The click may have been Big Jim cocking the revolver prior to firing, and then he got Rosemary's knife in his back before he could pull the trigger. Or perhaps he had pulled the trigger, and the click was the sound of the hammer falling on an empty chamber. Ooh, intriguing, had Rosemary unloaded his gun when he wasn't watching because she was "leanin' to the Jack of Hearts"?
The reference to Lily washing the dye out of her hair always made me wonder if it was maybe Lily, the showgirl, disguised as Rosemary, who actually killed Big Jim. ❤
"Masters of War" "John Brown" "Ballard of Hollis Brown" "Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" "Idiot Wind" "She's Your Lover Now" "Tweeter and The Monkey Man" (Traveling Wilbury's) for serious stuff, for fun stuff "Talkin’ Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues" "Drifter's Escape" so much to listen to
Gallows typically refers to the platform where hangings take place. When the song says Rosemary on the gallows, I picture someone standing on that type of platform, just about to be hanged. Blood on the Tracks is a masterpiece IMO. The entire album is well worth a listen. There were times in Dylan‘s life when he seemed interested in making a movie. And I definitely think that this song is a great example of the synopsis of a script for one. The song definitely paints the picture of the story very vividly. I like to think of it as in the storytelling tradition of a American ballad.
Love Minus Zero/No Limit is another intriguing and somewhat mysterious lyrical masterpiece. Rod Stewart does an entertaining and engaging ( if somewhat schmaltzy) version centred around one of his wives. Joan Baez singing Dylan songs, songs about Dylan or frankly almost any song, is a sheer delight…… a voice so pure and beautiful! A personal favourite is Joan singing “Love Song to a Stranger”. She also sings “Lilly,Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts “. There are so many more I could recommend.
""I know I've seen that face before", Big Jim was thinking to himself. Maybe down in Mexico or a picture upon somebody's shelf." Or maybe in a deck of cards.
"Blood on the tracks" the album on which this appears, does not include a track that is less that magnificent. And there aren't many albums about which that can be said
Try Tangled Up in Blue, Not Dark Yet, Subterranean Homesick Blues, Shelter from the Storm, Forever Young, I Shall Be Released, Positively 4th St.. … there are so many … My Back Pages (one of the greatest songs ever written, IMHO)
the thing about bob is that hes one of those 60's guys who makes whole albums & not just "songs", & the way this crazy little song fits (towards the end of the album) into what is basically an entire album about his deteriorating marriage & eventual divorce is kind of epic...maybe a stroke of genius
Nice watching you guys come to this stuff fresh 🙂while old bastards like me are mouthing along to the lyrics by heart, because they all come flooding back when that music kicks in. About 15 years after he released this song (hard to believe it's now 35 years even further on) he did another totally different song on the same subject of a heroic loner who has a magnetic effect on women. One of Dylan's many alter egos, clearly. Maybe check out the song, 'Man in the Long Black Coat'.
There's a whole movie in these Lyrics. I've listen to it hundreds of time and i still don't think I've caught everything in the song but a gallows is what they hang you from.
Although this song seems like an outlier on this album Blood on the Tracks which delved into the breaking up of his marriage, this song could very well be a metaphor for himself as the Jack of Hearts his wife and a woman executive from the record company. Another song that is very beautiful and very direct from this album is If You See Her, Say Hello.
They missed one of the first lines. ( The cabaret was quiet except for the drilling in the wall). That is the whole point of the song. The Jack of hearts was the distraction in the bar so his boys could rob the bank .The Jack of hearts walked into town with his accomplices and with a plan to rob the bank .He caused a lot of commotion and mystery among the patrons in order to distract them from realising what the drilling in the wall was all about . His boys got the job done while he held everyone’s attention in the bar. Then after causing all the trouble he walked out of the bar to meet his boys who by then were on the outskirts of town with the money. They were waiting for him to show up so they could all leave town .Dylan is brilliant at disguising the real plot in his songs ,he leaves it to us to work it out.
Jack organized the bank robbery for when everyone would be at the cabaret. He had a history with Lily. Big Jim recognized him as a possible threat to his thing with Lily and possibly had his own history with Jack as well. Big Jim went to kill Jack in Lily's room, but his shot went awry because Rosemary stabbed him at that exact moment - the one good thing Rosemary wanted to do before she died. The boys got the money and were waiting for Jack. Jack met up with the boys and skipped town. The next day, Rosemary was hanged. And, Lily was left reflecting about her dad and her past while wondering when she'd see Jack again. The song is a movie.
Not sure Jim ever fired, it said only "clicked" or "cocked" the gun, never actually mentioning a shot, errant or otherwise. Rosemary took him out first.
I heard this song a thousand times but never quite pieced it all together. I’ve meant to sit down and read the lyrics but never got around to it, thanks!
Good sum-up, to add though, the "cold revolver clicked" Big Jim was standing there you couldn't say suprised, and Rosemary was "steady in her eyes", this suggests the gun clicked because Rosemary had taken out the bullets. Hence why she was steady in her eyes, and then stabbed Big Jim. Listened to this song dozens of times and still find more depth to the story.
@@micksfinarolakis9506 I think he sings "colt revolver"
Blood On The Tracks is my favorite Dylan album. Lots of winners.
Good call. Same here.
Same here... and it's my #3 all-time favorite album, I think. 👍
Fantastic album- blood on the tracks! his best- this is a perfect storytelling! Desire with ‘ hurricane ‘ is gis second best lp
Fantastic album- blood on the tracks! his best- this is a perfect storytelling! Desire with ‘ hurricane ‘ is gis second best lp not a bad track in it
@@michaelp.7893love to hear your top 2
This song is a real adventure. Just so absolutely clever. Pure genius. Nobody sings a story like Bob.
I love this song. This whole album is one of his best.
his peak for me...
🎊 Dylan’s 1964 “Ballad of Hollis Brown,” will blow your story-loving minds away‼️
The whole album Blood On The Tracks is incredibly solid.
A favorite of mine...Bob tells you enough of the story for you to piece it together, but it's kinda cryptic and unresolved. I've listened to it hundreds of times, and it's definitely cinematic. Love when Dylan doesn't bother with a chorus, but each verse ending with "the Jack of Hearts" is a refrain, which is a stylistic signature of his. Glad you took the time to check it out. Enjoyed your reaction!
I think some of the magical lines in this song are
1. "Outside the streets were fillin' up, the window was open wide
A gentle breeze was blowin', you could feel it from inside"
When I hear these lines, I can actually feel that breeze
2. ""I know I've seen that face before, " Big Jim was thinkin' to himself
"Maybe down in Mexico or a picture up on somebody's shelf"
That "picture on somebody's shelf" evokes so much story beyond what we hear in the song, brilliant.
2. "Lily had already taken all of the dye out of her hair
She was thinkin' 'bout her father, who she very rarely saw
Thinkin' 'bout Rosemary and thinkin' about the law"
Throwing that line "thinking about her father who she very rarely saw" just makes this whole person real.
i always hoped that someone would make a movie of this song. It has everything ready for production.
Oh my Lord I love Bob Dylan and this song! I never expected to see a reaction to this! Epic! Thank you and the guy who requested it!
"Ballad of a Thin Man" is a must listen
Cuz you know something's happening here ...
Easily one of my favourite Dylan songs on one of his best two or three albums. The entire album is just so solid.
Thanks for reviewing this - I really wish I could hear this song for the first time again.
Bob is an entire planet to explore. Only one reasonable thing you can do at this point. That's listen to the entire Blood on the Tracks album. It's a masterpiece.
i wrote this comment to the reactors, its kind of a long-winded version of your exact sentiments, ha:/ ..but, yeah, ur correct, haha:
the thing about bob is that hes one of those 60's guys who makes whole albums & not just "songs", & the way this crazy little song fits (towards the end of the album) into what is basically an entire album about his deteriorating marriage & eventual divorce is kind of epic...maybe a stroke of genius...its like a slightly lighthearted break in the seriousness & heartache
Great reaction again guys..
Omg
Love to hear Bob tell a story!!!
Hey Guys when you get a chance check out "Tangled Up In Blue".❤ Favorite Dylan
For me that is the best track on the album.
@@Rick-or2kq Yes Agree 💯
Every song on Blood on the Tracks is pure gold and this one is the best.
Best singer songwriter to ever live imho been to a concert of his in the 80’s listening to him as one of my favorites from late 60’s on👏🏻👏🏻👍🏻blood on the tracks was one of my favorites
This album!!! Just AMAZING! Glad you guys gave it a listen.
Nice reaction. I feel like you got the story quite well.
Lily is a showgirl, hence why she was playing cards backstage and dying her hair. She's an old acquaintance of the Jack somehow, likely from her period of traveling and having 'many strange affairs'.
The Jack is some kind of roving outlaw, which explains why Big Jim recognizes him either from Mexico or a poster on a wall (ie a wanted poster).
And yeah Big Jim and Rosemary are the town big shot and his embittered wife who stabs him in the end.
The real anbiguity of the track is the fate of the Jack since its not established, but i feel like the most common interpretation is that Big Jim either misfired or the click was Jim cocking the gun, but he was stabbed before firing, in which case we can assume Jack eventually did get back to his gang
You're very good at this, Sam. On a first listen you got the essence of the story.
Blood on the Tracks is a fantastic album
The greatest, most visual, movie song that was never a movie.
I can think of a handful of others on this cinematic level, but it's a small list! Paul Simon wrote some wonderfully visual stuff. I also think "Tangled Up In Blue" could be a cool movie.
Harry Chapin's "Taxi" is just begging to be a movie.
A gallows is the apparatus used to hang people.
Great album, great song, unmatched artist. 🎨
😊❤
The rhythm is so redundant that it draws you into the lyrics and character-,such brilliant storytelling
This was great to hear. There aren’t enough Dylan reactions. His catalog is a treasure trove of mixed genres, light & deep masterpieces. There was much controversy when he went ‘Electric’ but In my humble opinion, that was some of his best, not to downplay his exquisite folk beginnings. Ok. You got me to subscribe. I hope to hear a more Dylan. Thanks.
So glad you guys found this one. I always feel like I just watched an old western with my ears when I hear this song . . . love it!!
BRILLIANT. What a singer, he ruled sixties music, IMHO. keep producing great music videos
Since it's already on the turntable, listen to Idiot Wind next.
Dylan at his angriest since Masters Of War.
This is possibly the best album he ever recorded.
You might be right but John Wesley Harding might be my favorite.
@@John_Locke_108 "Be careful not to touch the walls, there is a brand new coat of paint, I'm glad to see your still alive , your looking like a Saint"
Absolutely great story telling. It was at one time being thought of as a being made into a movie.
Blood On The Tracks is my favorite Dylan album!
I gotta say, I have been listening to Bob"s catalog since about 63 or so. I could not escape his story as I owned 3 record stores beginning in my University years. I was always entertained by his quirky imagination. To this day his story occupies a fairly large space in my brain as I follow his music. He seems to have no equal at what he puts to music, just consider, "A Murder Most Foul" written in his late 70's.
Mark!!!
Thank you!!!! Relentlessly thank you for this suggestion!
Dylan's Imagery is insane it's like a film coming out of your speakers, i can just a young Clint Eastwood as jack, what a film
One of my favorite Dylan movie-in-a-song numbers. His imagery is photographic. Great album.✌️❤️🎶
Dylan & Townsend; 2 of the greatest poets of the last few generations. "Blowin' in the Wind" is perhaps the best poem of this age. If you want to know why Dylan was awarded the Nobel prize, listen to this song to get an idea.
You are the first to offer up this classic. Well done..
I love this song too.....
Love to hear Bob tell a story!!!!
I like this one and a very similar song on the next album, Black Diamond Bay.
Will they know who Cronkite is?
@@John_Locke_108 Ha ha! Good point. But he does say "... on the seven o'clock news". That's the best part of the song, though. The ending. "It didn't seem like much was happening, so I turned it off and went to have another beer...."
@@John_Locke_108Probably not. But they should learn.
Epic song. Lot of people in the comments missing the detail of the line, " a cold revolver clicked." It's not a Colt revolver. He describes it as a cold revolver because the bullets had been taken out by Rosemary, which is why it "clicked". Big Jim didn't expect it, but "Rosemary right beside him, steady in her eyes." Just thought I would add this as it's an important part of the whole story and details Rosemary's cunning, and intention of her " one good deed before she died." There is also an extra verse in the original lyrics that isn't in the song, worth checking out.
u guys kept up with the story extraordinarily...MUCH better than i dud my first listen, ha
Bob Dylan was brother/uncle Gary's favorite, so this was well received, thank you .. the tempo is so quick, amazing he can keep up with the words.. :) love the way you guys seemed to figure out the story, I got sort of lost... :)
Every time I listen to this song I think I am watching a western movie. I can see the scenes in my head.
I love this song!
Tremendous album!!
Rainy Day Woman is my favourite Dylan tune🎉
Gallows: a wooden frame, consisting of a crossbeam on two uprights, on which condemned persons are executed by hanging.
Great song, good story.
This song had me scratching my head for years since I first heard it as a young teen. Could not figure out what the heck was going on. It was only after becoming familiar with some other Dylan songs that I finally got it. It's a big canvas, and Bob is painting in little sections here and there and leaving the rest for us to fill in as we like. He is making us become involved in his song.
Another good example of this is his song Idiot Wind. Each little section is some different event that vexed him in some way, you don't get many details about it, so you have to fill it in for yourself. And certainly one of the angriest songs ever recorded.
True about Idiot Wind, but as many Dylan songs do, the vitriol is mitigated to some degree with the narrator's recognition of his own culpability. Note, the final chorus uses 1st person plural (we, our, ourselves), rather than 2nd person singular (you, your, yourself).
@@Hexon66 Good point
I'm sure it's a COLT revolver, rather than a cold revolver. Also the gallows is the structure that the hanging rope (noose) hangs from. Another superbly written masterpiece from Bob on, arguably, his greatest album.
This song was released not to long after Dylan's soundtrack to "Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid'', and I've always thought the movie experience (in which Dylan had a small part) may have put him in an old western frame of mind.
Never heard anyone react to this Dylan track. Fun tune.
Ya changed places in new chair-I love this song-my Girlfriend hates it--It's been like this for a long time-Thanks for reacting to it Brian Birch !!!!
Great job, Sam! ❗Great musical breakdown. ❤🔥😙👌(chefs kiss) Phil you did wonderful too. A+🤭
Anyway, I agree with the other comments the entire album "Blood On The Tracks" is most certainly a wonderful place to start, if you're wanting to start listening to entire albums. But if not, I'll suggest another song from the same album, if interested. "Bob Dylan - Tangled Up In Blue" (by the channel: Bob Dylan) --This song is from his 15th studio album called "Blood On The Tracks" released in 1975. (This song by BD has some religious references. Just saying)
Tangled Up In Blue is great and I've done it a couple of times at open mics. But I think a song that is also great that nobody mentions much is Jokerman.
@edprzydatek8398 yeah...Great suggestion
@@mamaflush9945Thanks.
My favourite song from Dylan's Masterpiece, that is Blood on the Tracks !
Nice Job Sam decifering this one!! Some others to consider .."The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carrol" "The ballad of Hollis Brown" and "The man in the Ling Black Coat" all tell wonderful stories...Hattie Carrol....like Hurricane is based on true events!
Great reaction! Try Brownsville Girl by Dylan. One of his great long ballads. Not as short as Jack of Hearts, 11 minutes, but better. Not as straightforward either, more confusing. You'll love it.
SAM NAILED IT! Lilly took the dye out of her hair because the cabaret shut down and she didn't need to look her best anymore. In the American West the gallows was a temporary scaffold built for hanging people. You GUYS ROCK!!!, PJ
Dylan created one of the finest story songs ever. Gordon Lightfoot's "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" and Paul Simon's "Duncan" also feel like movies.
Sam you nailed it 100%, Blood on the Tracks, is my favorite Dylan album.....Grew up in the 60's and 70's, most amazing music, Enjoy from a 70 yr old hippie😀.............Please react Bob Marley's "Redemption Song", his last song, amazing!!!
Sam nailed it!! I've listened to that song over a hundred times and couldn't figure all that out😅
This whole brilliant album should be seen in the context of Dylan's separation from Sara (the Sad-eyed lady from the lowlands). The experience spawned this album and a return to live touring (which I was fortunate enough to see). Dylan's lyrics are like a good jazz solo, focused, but drawing inspiration from many sources and weaving them all together in a mysteriously evocative lyric, subject to change in any future performance.
This entire album is worth going over. Lily was the lead actress in the Cabaret, thus the dye in her hair
Definitely a favorite. Brilliant storytelling. Try "Black Diamond Bay" for similar storytelling, or for a change of pace, try "Things Have Changed".
The “Gallows” is the platform whereupon one stands before the noose if put around one’s neck.
The fact that " A cold revolver clicked" meant Jim's firearm aimed at the jack of hearts misfired in my humble opinion.
Isnt it a ”Colt revolver”?
Yeah, I always thought that.
I mean to say that a Colt revolver misfired.
@@TheSixtoo I think it is "Colt revolver", but I think @zimmerman89 is right there with the meaning. The click may have been Big Jim cocking the revolver prior to firing, and then he got Rosemary's knife in his back before he could pull the trigger. Or perhaps he had pulled the trigger, and the click was the sound of the hammer falling on an empty chamber. Ooh, intriguing, had Rosemary unloaded his gun when he wasn't watching because she was "leanin' to the Jack of Hearts"?
@@jonm1114 Yeah, Rosemary might very well have unloaded the revolver.
Yes, Bood on the Tracks! Next listen to Tangled Up in Blue off of the same album.
You did good!
Great old tune.
The reference to Lily washing the dye out of her hair always made me wonder if it was maybe Lily, the showgirl, disguised as Rosemary, who actually killed Big Jim. ❤
Gallows = A structure, normally of wood from which hangings are carried out. Sometimes the baugh of a tree would be used, ( gallows tree).
Exactly.
Hi guys, a suggestion for any Dylan tune, have the lyrics handy to follow along with and to go back to as needed. Cheers fellow Canadians.
Imagine a western movie when you listen, that’s what it is. Love the reactions 👌
"Masters of War" "John Brown" "Ballard of Hollis Brown" "Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" "Idiot Wind" "She's Your Lover Now" "Tweeter and The Monkey Man" (Traveling Wilbury's) for serious stuff, for fun stuff "Talkin’ Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues" "Drifter's Escape" so much to listen to
Gallows typically refers to the platform where hangings take place. When the song says Rosemary on the gallows, I picture someone standing on that type of platform, just about to be hanged. Blood on the Tracks is a masterpiece IMO. The entire album is well worth a listen. There were times in Dylan‘s life when he seemed interested in making a movie. And I definitely think that this song is a great example of the synopsis of a script for one. The song definitely paints the picture of the story very vividly. I like to think of it as in the storytelling tradition of a American ballad.
Love Minus Zero/No Limit is another intriguing and somewhat mysterious lyrical masterpiece. Rod Stewart does an entertaining and engaging ( if somewhat schmaltzy) version centred around one of his wives. Joan Baez singing Dylan songs, songs about Dylan or frankly almost any song, is a sheer delight…… a voice so pure and beautiful! A personal favourite is Joan singing “Love Song to a Stranger”. She also sings “Lilly,Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts “. There are so many more I could recommend.
There's not a single note or a single word on this album which is less than perfect❤
""I know I've seen that face before", Big Jim was thinking to himself. Maybe down in Mexico or a picture upon somebody's shelf." Or maybe in a deck of cards.
The story is exactly what it is, no hidden meaning. Lily was just tired of the Caberet(saloon) scene, and thinking of a different life.
Subterranean Homesick Blues. Please!!!
Great Story/Song from 1974. We used to play Poker and listen to Dylan. Perfect for Poker-Playing nights. Get yer buzz on.
"Blood on the tracks" the album on which this appears, does not include a track that is less that magnificent. And there aren't many albums about which that can be said
Gallows is the wooden structure with a platform that has a trap door one stands on used for a hanging
50 years later I still think of this as Bob's "new" album. LOL!
My first new Bob album was the one after, Desire. Bought it along with Joni Mitchell’s Hissing of Summer Lawns on the same day.
Try Tangled Up in Blue, Not Dark Yet, Subterranean Homesick Blues, Shelter from the Storm, Forever Young, I Shall Be Released, Positively 4th St.. … there are so many … My Back Pages (one of the greatest songs ever written, IMHO)
What a story! How could anyone conceive of a song that? Only BD!
the thing about bob is that hes one of those 60's guys who makes whole albums & not just "songs", & the way this crazy little song fits (towards the end of the album) into what is basically an entire album about his deteriorating marriage & eventual divorce is kind of epic...maybe a stroke of genius
this songs hits a bit different in the context of the album as a whole rather than by itself is my point, ha:/
Nice watching you guys come to this stuff fresh 🙂while old bastards like me are mouthing along to the lyrics by heart, because they all come flooding back when that music kicks in. About 15 years after he released this song (hard to believe it's now 35 years even further on) he did another totally different song on the same subject of a heroic loner who has a magnetic effect on women. One of Dylan's many alter egos, clearly. Maybe check out the song, 'Man in the Long Black Coat'.
There's a whole movie in these Lyrics. I've listen to it hundreds of time and i still don't think I've caught everything in the song but a gallows is what they hang you from.
Although this song seems like an outlier on this album Blood on the Tracks which delved into the breaking up of his marriage, this song could very well be a metaphor for himself as the Jack of Hearts his wife and a woman executive from the record company. Another song that is very beautiful and very direct from this album is If You See Her, Say Hello.
P.s. Yes, Hurricane is a badass flic...
"He owned the only diamond mine in town...."
I think you would really like the song Changing of the Guards. From the album Street Legal, it's another upbeat song with great lyrics and music.
They missed one of the first lines. ( The cabaret was quiet except for the drilling in the wall). That is the whole point of the song. The Jack of hearts was the distraction in the bar so his boys could rob the bank .The Jack of hearts walked into town with his accomplices and with a plan to rob the bank .He caused a lot of commotion and mystery among the patrons in order to distract them from realising what the drilling in the wall was all about . His boys got the job done while he held everyone’s attention in the bar. Then after causing all the trouble he walked out of the bar to meet his boys who by then were on the outskirts of town with the money. They were waiting for him to show up so they could all leave town .Dylan is brilliant at disguising the real plot in his songs ,he leaves it to us to work it out.
"gallows" is a frame usually of two upright posts and a transverse beam from which a noose is suspended, used for executions by hanging.
Tangled up in blue for another story :)
Try Like a Rolling Stone. Probably his most popular. Rolling Stone Magazine voted it the greatest song of all time
The man that introduced Weed to the Beatles 🎉😂
The gallows is not s dungeon, it is literally the platform where you stand when the noose is put around your neck and you fall through the trap door
'Lay, lady, Lay' next please. From 1969, he was thinking about Barbra Streisand and wrote this.
"Ballad of Hollis Brown"