Its title and opening echo the labor ballad about the union organizer Joe Hill.
The words
A dream of a grieving saint ends with the dreamer waking in shame over his own part in the saint's fate.
Borrowing the dream framing of the old labor ballad about Joe Hill, the singer describes seeing the saint alive, moving among the crowds in sorrow and calling out to people who have lost their way. The dream then darkens as the singer realizes he was among those who put the saint to death. He wakes in fear and shame, and the song ends in grief. Its tone is quiet and confessional, set over the sparse acoustic backing of the album.
Lyrics on bobdylan.com ↗Listen and watch
The words
A dream of a grieving saint ends with the dreamer waking in shame over his own part in the saint's fate.
Borrowing the dream framing of the old labor ballad about Joe Hill, the singer describes seeing the saint alive, moving among the crowds in sorrow and calling out to people who have lost their way. The dream then darkens as the singer realizes he was among those who put the saint to death. He wakes in fear and shame, and the song ends in grief. Its tone is quiet and confessional, set over the sparse acoustic backing of the album.
Lyrics on bobdylan.com ↗Connections
On the map
In threads
The same year · 1967
- All Along the WatchtowerJohn Wesley Harding
- I’ll Be Your Baby TonightJohn Wesley Harding
- Dear LandlordJohn Wesley Harding
- I Pity the Poor ImmigrantJohn Wesley Harding
- John Wesley HardingJohn Wesley Harding
- The Wicked MessengerJohn Wesley Harding
- The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas PriestJohn Wesley Harding
- I Am a Lonesome HoboJohn Wesley Harding
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