ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER

The Bob Dylan song that was made famous by Jimi Hendrix, All Along The Watchtower, is a haunting message song. It resonates with listeners on a subliminal level and has been the subject of much debate about its meaning. This is because there is more than one meaning to the story of the joker and the thief. The background to the song is the counter-culture of the 1960’s, the war in Vietnam, drug use, and the threat of a nuclear war between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. This was a time of social revolution (got to revolution) and protest against the war in Vietnam (make love not war). The love songs of the early ‘60’s had given way to many songs that commented on socio-political messages.

On a personal level, Dylan had been in a severe motorcycle accident and during his time of recovery and seclusion he reportedly read the bible. Both of these influenced his writings and future recordings. I believe that he was inspired by the bible to find a deeper meaning in life or in the least to see where he was in a different light. In this context, what is going on in the world from a biblical perspective is now greater than personal beliefs or corporate ambitions.

Many songs of this era had a double meaning or more than one message to convey to the listener. There was the physical story line and a deeper hidden message. Some of these hidden messages were covert drug references, intentional or not, like Puff The Magic Dragon (puff the joint), while some had an apocalyptic message (The End). Eastern religions and spirituality were also being explored and influencing the songs of the day. All Along The Watchtower has endured as it is not just a song of its era. As a surface story, it is about the pressures of society and all that goes with fame and fortune. This is seen in the first stanza (quatrain):

“There must be some way out of here,” said the joker to the thief

“There’s too much confusion,” I can’t get no relief

Businessmen, they drink my wine, plowmen dig my earth

None of them along the line know what any of it is worth.

Here, Dylan is railing against the pressure and struggle that his life had become as a leader in the counter-culture movement. He is also being critical of the corporate structure that allows profiteering from his efforts, talent and vision. His motive isn’t for pleasure or profit alone, he believes in the cause: in the revolution for social change. He is speaking out against the exploitation of artists and the common man. He speaks to these people (the thief) along the line (phone), but they just don’t get it. “The line” could also be a drug reference: that many are too drunk and/or stoned to understand what is truly important in life.

Specifically, it is about corrupt businessmen like some in the recording industry. It reflects his frustration with the establishment: that they do not understand that there is something more important going on (happening) then just producing music for profit. In the song, the joker (Dylan) is talking to the thief, explaining in a poetic way his frustration with worldly affairs. The thief answers back:

“No reason to get excited,” the thief he kindly spoke

“There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke

But you and I, we’ve been through that, and this is not our fate

So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late.”

The thief (profiteer) first calms down the joker and then answers his rant. He tells the joker not to worry about those that do not see any deeper meaning in life than materialistic concerns. What is implied here is that the joker once viewed life as but a joke. But both now know better: that there is more to life, that it is a serious experience with sometimes serious consequences. And now both have evolved beyond perceiving and living life as just a joke. They have mission in life or something important to accomplish with the understanding that they now possess.

He is chiding the joker for speaking of things that he knows are no longer important and to leave the concern to others. There is only a single lifetime to do something worthwhile and having wasted so much time on trivial matters, it is now getting late. So let us stop wasting our breath on these matters and do something with what we know to be true. The third and final stanza describes what is important and what is true:

All along the watchtower, princes kept the view

While all the women came and went, barefoot servants too

Outside in the distance, a wildcat did growl

Two riders were approaching, the wind began to howl.

A watch tower is mainly for military purposes, to watch for approaching danger (enemy). While the watchtower itself mostly stands alone, it can be a part of another structure like a castle. A castle with a lookout tower is implied as it is princes that are manning the watchtower or castle wall. Women and servant were seen coming and going, presumably as no threat to the keep. But outside the castle walls a threatening sound was heard coming from a wildcat. Is this a herald of impending trouble? Two riders are seen on their approach to the keep. And a second ominous sound was heard: the howling wind. What this is describing is a coming threat to the princes and the established order.

If we are to assume that the two riders are the joker and the thief, what danger do they represent to the princes? In keeping to the context of the story line, they then represent change in the established order of things. The princes of industry have gotten rich off of the talents of exploited artists because of their lust for money. They do not know what life is worth along the lines of drunkards and fools. The coming revolution will upend the princes and a new social order will take over. This is in line with the goals of the counter-culture: to break down established norms and raise consciousness.

Is there a deeper or hidden message to the song? One clue is the title, All Along The Watchtower, and not for example: The Joker and the Thief. It can be concluded that what happens at the watchtower is the focus of the song. To find the deeper message we need to turn to the bible as Dylan did when writing the lyrics to this song. The song title points to the watchtower and the need for watchmen.

In Ezekiel 3:16-21, the Lord told Ezekiel that he had made him a watchman for the house of Israel and to give warning to them for Him. He then warns Ezekiel of the weight of this responsibility. If the Lord tells him to speak to a wicked man to tell him he will die for his sins and Ezekiel does not warn him or try to turn him from his ways in order to save the wicked man’s life, then the wicked man will die for his sin and Ezekiel will be held accountable for the man’s blood. But if he does warn him and the wicked man does not turn from his ways, he will die for his sins and Ezekiel will have saved himself. The warning of the watchman’s responsibility is repeated with a righteous man who turns to evil.

In Ezekiel 33:1-20, a similar warning is given to the watchman Ezekiel. He is to speak to his countrymen concerning the Lord bringing a sword (judgment) against a land. If the people’s watchman sees the Lord’s sword coming against the land and he blows the trumpet to warn the people, then for those who did not heed the warning and die, their blood will be on their head. In heeding the warning they would save themselves. But if the watchman does not warn the people and even one person dies for his sin, the watchman will be held accountable for his blood.

In the context of the song, the first two stanzas are describing the wickedness of man. The third stanza describes a watchtower with a danger approaching. To reinforce the idea that this is a warning along the lines of Ezekiel is the reference to barefoot servants: Isaiah is famously known as the barefoot prophet. This is because he was told by the Lord to remove the sackcloth (for mourning) from his body and to walk barefoot as a sign or warning to the people. It was a sign of what would happen to the people if they did not heed the warning and change from their wicked ways. The Lord’s sword would come against them and they will be in mourning for their losses and carried off into captivity (barefoot).

If this is a reference to Isaiah and judgment, then the women who come and go are complacent. In Isaiah 32, complacent women and daughters who feel secure will tremble. They are told to strip off their clothes and to put sackcloth on for mourning. They are told to mourn for all of the houses of merriment and for a city of revelry. The fortress will be abandoned, the noisy city deserted; citadel and watchtower will become a wasteland forever (verses 13-14). Again, if the first part of the third stanza is based on the book of Isaiah (see also Isaiah 1 and 21), then the second part is based on the book of Revelation.

Isaiah prophesied judgment on Israel and surrounding nations of his day but also of a future time of judgment. He was told to warn the people and the nations of a coming apocalypse if they did not change their ways. In particular, the fall of Judah described as a day of battering down walls (and watchtowers). The book of Revelation is about the future apocalypse that Isaiah alludes to. In particular, it is the fall of Babylon: in one hour your doom has come (the hour is getting late).

If we assume that the two riders that are approaching are the joker and the thief, then who do these two important figures represent in a future time? The first clue is a wildcat growling. This can be construed as “the beast out of the sea” that resembled a leopard in Rev.13. The next clue is the howling wind that represents the “beast out of the earth” that spoke like a dragon in Rev.13. They are described as beasts because of their nature but they are men. In a similar way the joker and thief are described by their behavior. The first beast is known to the world as the Antichrist and the second beast is called the False Prophet later in Revelation.

The question then becomes: who is the Antichrist and who is the False Prophet in this play? The answer is in the first two stanzas. The joker claims that plowmen dig his earth and businessmen drink his wine (from the earth): the beast out of the earth known as the False Prophet. This conclusion is then reinforced when the thief chides him for speaking falsely. This identifies the thief as the Antichrist who can be seen as serious or stern-faced (Daniel 8:23) in the second stanza.

We also see this dynamic of the thief and the hour as getting late in Matthew 24:42-41 and Luke 12:35-48. To paraphrase: followers are cautioned to keep watch and to understand that if the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. Be ready for the day and hour of the Second coming is unknown. Those that are asleep will be caught unawares and will lose their possessions and/or lives.

Whether or not Dylan wrote these lyrics with these biblical references in mind is subject to debate. It may simply be that he was inspired to write in this way, not consciously knowing that a deeper meaning could be found in the lyrics. Regardless, the song resonates on a deep level and has endured for this reason. I believe that in reading the bible he was inspired to write this song and that he is a watchman on the wall warning the people of a coming danger to the established order.