Bob Dylan: Mr. Tambourine Man Meaning

Mr. Tambourine Man Lyrics

Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to.
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come followin' you.

Though I know that evenin's empire has...

1. anonymous

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   Oct 28th 2008 !⃝

   This song is about an idea... an idea of a friend.. and desperation for one like him.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
2. m320753

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   Oct 6th 2008 !⃝

   This song may be about pot but it could also be about really good things that are happening to Dylan around this time in his life .it's like he's just letting his mind wander wherever it wants to go and his career or popularity amazes him and I'm ready to go anywhere means possibly that he knows deep inside that he's gonna make it big . This verse about the beach always hits me visually because me and my friends used to go to Jones beach on Saturday nights after the bars closed and dance around and were driven deep beneath the wave. To me anyway this is like a picture on a television that keeps changing with every verse, in fact I can see it now as I write these thoughts down.
3. anonymous

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   Sep 30th 2008 !⃝

   I think the song is just about getting lost in listening to music. He is tired so he has the "Tambourine Man" Play him a song to relax,and he just gets lost in it.
4. anonymous

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   Sep 29th 2008 !⃝

   I feel that his inspiration came from the tambourine man, maybe a colleague or friend who he wanted to be like. I just get this sense of closeness to the tambourine man and it could be drug related. listen to cocaine by bob dylan from live at the gaslight 1962, you could attribute most of the sensations described in the song to cocaine. Its kind of like he can't control his actions when the tambourine man comes he has to follow, when he needs his fix he has to use

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
5. anonymous

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   Sep 4th 2008 !⃝

   Why does it have to be about one thing, maybe he had a whole bunch of shit swirling round in his head? but I do agree. just because Dangerous Minds, shitty film anyway, said it was about dope doesn't make it so!
6. anonymous

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   Aug 26th 2008 !⃝

   This song is most definitely about drugs. Who in their right mind would write a song about all this stuff and not a have a code like Jingle Jangle and Magic Swirling Ship, without it being about drugs
7. anonymous

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   May 21st 2008 !⃝

   Dylan referred to the inspiration for the song as being a guy playing a Giant Tambourine.
   
   Is it possible you can write a song that's poetic and not wholly clear without it being about drugs?
8. ozarktrail

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   May 11th 2008 !⃝

   This song is so about drugs its not even funny. First in the 60's you couldn't openly sing about drugs.
   
   OK so ill first take the opening line
   Hey Mr. Tambourine Man play a song for me in the jingle jangle morning I'll come following you
   mr tambourine man = drug dealer
   jingle jangle = when the drugs wear off and you have the crash
   that's the easiest poke

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
9. anonymous

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   Apr 24th 2008 !⃝

   He is a songwriter. He asks "play a song for me".
   
   A prayer for inspiration to the Muse. It's late, can't sleep and he has writer's block.
   
   3rd verse >
   Though you might hear laughin', spinnin', swingin' madly across the sun,
   "It's not aimed at anyone, it's just escapin' on the run
   And but for the sky there are no fences facin'.
   And if you hear vague traces of skippin' reels of rhyme
   To your tambourine in time, it's just a ragged clown behind,
   I wouldn't pay it any mind, it's just a shadow you're
   Seein' that he's chasing."
   >>>Apologizing for his artistic audacity.
   
   Last verse>
   "Then take me disappearin' through the smoke rings of my mind,
   Down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves,
   The haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach,
   Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow.
   Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free,
   Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands,
   With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves,
   Let me forget about today until tomorrow."
   >>>Free me from all the worldly interferences and all my own physical and psychological impediments. "one hand waving free" alludes to inspired prolific writing and creating.
10. anonymous

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    Mar 13th 2008 !⃝

    I think that before we say whether it is about drugs or not, we should define 'drug' These states of euphoria can be reached naturally or with the assistance of natural substances, but in either case an altered state of mind is where the beauty that he speaks of is coming from. Staying up all night around a fire or drum circle playing music can put you in the space, Love and meditation can do it, Mushrooms or DMT can do it, whatever road you take these experiences are the magic of life, and Dylan has caught this joy and love and brought it back to us in the form of lyrics. He refuses to give anyone a clear explanation because I think there is no clear explanation. Our society has no place for a shaman, so to get the message across one must me very creative. Well done Mr. Dylan
    
    ...And if you hear vague traces of skippin' reels of rhyme
    To your tambourine in time...
11. anonymous

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    Feb 22nd 2008 !⃝

    This song sounds more like a lullaby than anything else, something relaxing, and that fits in with the whole song, too. Everyone saying it's a drug song point to one or two lines to prove their point, and that simply isn't convincing...
12. rhpsfc

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    Dec 6th 2007 !⃝

    It was inspired by my father. In the early 60's Dylan had a friend who was going to the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). My father was friends with the same person. Dylan would be up here a lot and my father would play with him. Very simply my father was playing the tambourine early in the morning and Dylan wrote the song. This is something I have been told my whole life with no reason to think that he would not be telling me the truth. There it is.
13. anonymous

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    Nov 29th 2007 !⃝

    This song is clearly about the use of drugs, although I am not sure about which type. Now read this line from the song and try and tell me this is not about the dealing/use of drugs:
    "Take me on a trip upon your magic swirlin' ship"
    
    Hmmm??? I thought so

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
14. anonymous

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    Sep 25th 2007 !⃝

    I think it's a lullaby.
15. anonymous

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    Sep 16th 2007 !⃝

    It was inspired by a guy playing a tambourine and a trip Dylan took to California. Not every song that sounds a little off has to be about drugs.

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