Bob Dylan
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Crimson flames tied through my ears, rollin' high and mighty traps
Pounced with fire on flaming roads using ideas as my maps
"We'll meet on edges, soon," said I, proud 'neath heated brow
Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now
Half-wracked prejudice leaped forth, "rip down all hate," I screamed
Lies that life is black and white spoke from my skull, I dreamed
Romantic facts of musketeers foundationed deep, somehow
Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now
Girls' faces formed the forward path from phony jealousy
To memorizing politics of ancient history
Flung down by corpse evangelists, unthought of, though somehow
Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now
A self-ordained professor's tongue too serious to fool
Spouted out that liberty is just equality in school
"Equality," I spoke the word as if a wedding vow
Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now
In a soldier's stance, I aimed my hand at the mongrel dogs who teach
Fearing not that I'd become my enemy in the instant that I preach
My existence led by confusion boats, mutiny from stern to bow
Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now
Yes, my guard stood hard when abstract threats too noble to neglect
Deceived me into thinking I had something to protect
Good and bad, I define these terms quite clear, no doubt, somehow
Ah, but I was so much older then I'm younger than that now
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Lyrics submitted byroger wilco, edited by wbnyc
My Back Pages Lyrics as written by Bob Dylan
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
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My Back Pages song meanings
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+6
General Comment
Zero, you had it right the first time. He was talking about his past when he would point fingers at leaders/politicians/teachers out of anger for them having preached their ideas to the public, but he didn't realize that he was no better by doing the same thing.
Anyway, you guys pretty much hit the nail on the head in my opinion. He's taking a step back from the "savior of a generation" status everyone bestowed on him and basically saying, "You know, I was growing up and expressing my ideas through my work, thats all. I didn't necessarily have all the right answers for you all...I know more now than I did then."
songofishon November 19, 2006Link
+4
General Comment
"Using ideas as my maps...."
I have that line tattooed. There's no way anyone can dispute the beauty of these lyrics. It's poetry by a genius poet.
cherujon January 15, 2006Link
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+4
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I would really like to know one thing. How could someone in their teens come up with this:"Yes, my guard stood hard when abstract threatsToo noble to neglectDeceived me into thinkingI had something to protect"I was 50 before I saw the truth of this kind of serenity. I mean the ego taking over and a fighting attitude towards perceived threats that have nothing to do with what we really are in essence. Read The Power of Now if you interested in what i am getting at.
tomconway53on April 18, 2008Link
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+3
General Comment
"Ah, but I was so much older then. I'm younger than that now" Man, no words for that!
DarkLedBetteron July 06, 2004Link
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+3
General Comment
For what it's worth, my interpretation is it's similar to what Michael Stipe wrote in 'What's the Frequency Kenneth' in the line 'irony was the shackles of youth'. The irony being that when you're young you're so certain you know everything as if you're old & wise and when you're older you are less certain as if you're actually young and don't know much, more circ*mspect and aware things can be shades of grey. So it's the irony in 'I was so much older then I'm younger than that now', that's it's all ass(arse) about face. Older wiser is being freed from the shackles
Great to hear from other passionate Dylan fans out there.
skiwion October 22, 2011Link
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+2
General Comment
How could you forget the other one? He's the best of the lot - Roger McGuinn from the Byrds, the band that best interpreted Dylan and made his music accessible to the masses.
The bset rendition of this song is on the 30th anniversary concert done in about 1993. A classic, as is Mr Tambourine Man.
Song's meaning? About being indoctrinated at a young age and thinking that you knew it all and that there was nothing left to learn. Later you realise that you have a lot more to learn ie. "But I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now"
chrisb1on January 20, 2006Link
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+2
General Comment
Dylan accepted an award presented by a New York liberal institution called the Emergency Civil Rights Committee on the evening of December 13, 1963. Dylan said "It's taken me a long to time to get young, and now I consider myself young." Perhaps this is where the refrain from this song came from, and his rejection of well-meaning left rhetoric.
BernadetteBenedicton June 15, 2008Link
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+2
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"another side of bob dylan" was released in 1964, a year before he went electric at newport.
the reaction of the crowd to his electric sound has nothing to do with song.
sun_gianton January 25, 2009Link
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+2
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To quote another 20th century genius,Bucky Fuller-"We're all born a genius, but life has a way of de-geniusing you". I believe that this lyric indicates that open mindedness gets crushed early in life due to indoctrinations of many kinds .We can only become young and open minded again when we are mature enough to realize this and learn to see and observe with the honesty of a true Artist.
motomanon December 10, 2010Link
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+1
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dylan is lamenting having been too idealistic for compromise, finding himself the mirror image of those he defined as 'the enemy' and realizing the world is more grey than black/white. he's describing being more aware of the world the way it is rather than how he felt it could be. it's a bit of a reconciliation between an older man (who feels younger, having been freed from his idealism and hard-charging, never-ending, and exhausting soldier for righteousness character) and settled to being more realistic about his surroundings and where he and society are going. or something.
Infinitly Surrealon October 08, 2007Link
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- Artists - B
- Bob Dylan
- Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2
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Love in a Vacuum 'Til Tuesday Well, in my opinion this song is about being a young & maybe a little naive &/or introverted girl and finding yourself loving a man who is at first very charming, carefree & outgoing, and seems at first to be without limits, as in "There was a timeyou opened up every doorwayyou didn't mind if everythingwasn't your way"then that man starts to gradually become more introverted & shows their more possessive/obsessive side to you as the relationship progresses, even while they keep up the appearance of being carefree & outgoing to everyone else,"Don't pull awaythat goes against what you told meI look in your eyes I realize what you've sold meis love in a vacuum"so you confront them about the way they're acting and of course they deny it,"I think you've changedbut you insist thatthat's not true"quite possibly they are an addict of some sort, my guess would be cocaine, &/or showing very obsessive behavior towards you (early on in the video for this song we see the man hanging a picture up, it is a very large portrait of Aimee & it is prominently displayed in his/their apartment for the duration of the song), thus their "love in a vacuum","You look so strange, so distantthat you're hardly youNow I can seehow you have been acting differentYou say it's mebut I knowthat it isn'tit's love in a vacuum"but still you are in love with them and don't want to leave them and you know that they are truly in love with you and they don't want you to leave them either, maybe they are convinced you can save them from themself, maybe they are so broken that the possibility of an overdose &/or suicide attempt is very real and you want to get through to them that their behavior not only dangerous but it is also just pissing you off and if they don't wise up they run the risk of loosing you, as in the lines"You will be lonelyif you leave me alone", so you want to save them but can't get through to them due to the addiction &/or emotional problems they have, "Love in a vacuumand that's not enoughlove in a vacuumYou will be lonelyyou'll be the only one who feels this wayYou will be lonelyif you leave me alone You will be lonelyyou'll be the only one who feels this wayit's just not enough"you want them to understand that the love they are giving you is not enough when it is filtered through the vacuum of their drug addiction &/or emotional impairment, "You will be lonelyyou'll be the only one who feels this wayit's just not enoughand just waityou will be lonelyLove in a vacuumLove in a vacuum and that's not enoughLove in a vacuum".'Love In A Vacuum' for me is a hauntingly truthful acute argument on the loneliness of obsession and almost inevitable loss of love that follows people who are broken in some way or another; the obsessives, the co*ke heads, the drunks, addicts or the just-plain-old emotionally broken; a razor sharp, lyrically driven, deceptively poppy, yet ultimately-depressing-in-the-best-way song. Quintessential Aimee Mann. Fortnight Taylor Swift The song 'Fortnight' by Taylor Swift and Post Malone tells a story about strong feelings, complicated relationships, and secret wishes. It talks about love, betrayal, and wanting someone who doesn't feel the same. The word 'fortnight' shows short-lived happiness and guilty pleasures, leading to sadness. It shows how messy relationships can be and the results of hiding emotions. “I was supposed to be sent away / But they forgot to come and get me,” she kickstarts the song in the first verse with lines suggesting an admission to a hospital for people with mental illnesses. She goes in the verse admitting her lover is the reason why she is like this. In the chorus, she sings about their time in love and reflects on how he has now settled with someone else. “I took the miracle move-on drug, the effects were temporary / And I love you, it’s ruining my life,” on the second verse she details her struggles to forget about him and the negative effects of her failure. “Thought of callin’ ya, but you won’t pick up / ‘Nother fortnight lost in America,” Post Malone sings in the outro. Mental Istid Ebba Grön This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io Cajun Girl Little Feat Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”Rate These Lyrics
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