Bob Dylan’s 115th Dream by Bob Dylan Lyrics Meaning – Navigating the Surreal Seas of America’s Psyche
Lyrics
I was riding on the mayflower when I thought I spied some land
I yelled down to Captain Arab, I’ll have ya understand
Who came running to the deck and said boys forget the whale
We’re goin’ over yonder, cut the engines, change the sails
Haul on that bowline we sang that melody
Like all tough sailors do when they’re far away at sea
I think I’ll call it America, I said as we hit land
I took a deep breath, I fell down, I could not stand
Captain Arab he starting writing out some deeds
He said let’s build us a fort and start buying the place with beads
Just then a cop come down the street crazy as a loon
They throws us all in jail for carryin’ harpoons
Aw, me, I busted out don’t even ask me how
I went lookin’ for some help, I walked past a guernsey cow
Who directed me down to the bowery slums
Where people carried signs around sayin’ ban the bums
I jumped right in line, sayin’ I hope that I’m not late
When I realized I hadn’t eaten for five days straight
I went into a restaurant lookin’ for the cook
I told him I was the editor of a famous etiquette book
The waitress he was handsome and he wore a powder blue cape
I ordered up some suzette, I said could you please make that crepe
Just then the whole kitchen exploded from boiling fat
Food was flyin’ everywhere I left without my hat
I didn’t mean to be nosy but I went into a bank
To get some bail for Arab the boys back in the tank
They asked me for some collateral and I pulled down my pants
They threw me in the alley, when up comes this girl from France
Who invited me to her house, I went, but she had a friend
Who knocked me out an’ robbed my boots an’ was I on the street again
I rapped upon a house with a US flag upon display
I said can you please help me out, I got some friends down the way
The man said get out of here I’ll tear you limb from limb
I said you know, they refused Jesus, too, he said you’re not him
Get out of here before I break your bones, I ain’t your pop
I decided to have him arrested and went looking for a cop
I ran right outside and hopped inside a cab
I went out the other door this English man said fab
As he saw me leap a hot dog stand and a chariot that stood
Parked across from a building advertising brotherhood
I ran right through the front door like a hobo sailor does
But it was just a funeral parlor and the man asked me who I was
I repeated that all my friends were in jail, with a sigh
He gave me his card and said call me if they die
I shook his hand and said goodbye and went back out on the street
When a bowling ball came down the road and knocked me off my feet
A pay phone was ringin’ and it just about blew my mind
When I picked it up an’ said hello, this foot came through the line
Well about this time I was fed up at trying to make a stab
At bringing back any help for my friends and Captain Arab
I decided to flip a coin, like either heads or tails
Would let me know if I should go back to ship or back to jail
So I hocked my sailor’s suit an’ I got a coin to flip
It came up tails, it rhymed with sails, so I made it back to the ship
Well I got back and took the parking ticket off the mast
I was ripping it to shreds when this coast guard boat went past
They asked me my name and I said Captain Kidd
They believed me but they wanted to know exactly what I did
I said for the Pope of Eyruke I was employed
They let me go right away, they were very paranoid
Well the last I heard of Arab he was stuck on the side of a whale
That was married to the deputy sheriff of the jail
But the funniest thing was as I was leavin’ the bay
I saw three ships sailing and they were all headed my way
I asked the Captain what his name was an’ how come he didn’t drive a truck
He said his name was Columbus an’ I just said good luck
Bob Dylan’s ‘Bob Dylan’s 115th Dream,’ a track from his 1965 album ‘Bringing It All Back Home,’ remains an exhilarating fusion of satire, surrealism, and social commentary. Wrapped up in a maritime adventure that wouldn’t be out of place in a Herman Melville novel, the song takes listeners on a wild journey through a funhouse mirror version of America, echoing the expanse and eccentricities of the nation.
Dylan’s narrative, which unfolds in a series of vivid, almost hallucinatory images and bizarre encounters, owes as much to the folksy tall tales of Mark Twain as it does to the biting wit of Allen Ginsberg. It’s an odyssey that captures the zeitgeist of the 60s but continues to resonate as a timeless exploration of the American Dream gone topsy-turvy.
Setting Sail on a Sea of Satire
The very title of ‘Bob Dylan’s 115th Dream’ signals a departure from reality, suggesting a sequence of revelatory visions, each more absurd than the last. As Dylan ‘spies land’ from the Mayflower, ostensibly discovering America, the stage is set for a critique of historical expansionism and opportunism. The song immediately launches into a playful but cutting portrayal of American colonialism, commercialism, and the hopeful naivety that often accompanies a purported fresh start.
When Captain Arab (a sly nod to Captain Ahab of ‘Moby Dick’) opts to venture ‘over yonder,’ abandoning the quintessential whaling expedition, Dylan subverts the archetype of the determined seafarer. The abandonment of the whale chase for the lure of the land reflects the fickle nature of the American spirit, always reaching for the next great conquest.
Navigating the Bowery’s Social Undercurrents
The saga takes a more grounded turn as Dylan walks ‘past a Guernsey cow’ into the ‘Bowery slums’—a stark representation of economic disparity. Here, the juxtaposition of the animal with the downtrodden zone of poverty illustrates the stark reality of ‘the land of the free.’ Dylan joins a line of anti-poverty sign-bearers, momentarily a part of the collective cry for justice, hunger overshadowing his purpose in a stark reminder of the basest human needs.
Dylan’s insertion of himself as a protester, albeit temporarily, underscores his lyrical prowess in capturing the essence of civil unrest and the many faces it wears. This fleeting allusion to societal ills is an effective technique in the winding narrative, a reminder that beneath the fanciful dream are urgent issues clamoring for acknowledgement.
The Absurdity of American Chaos and Chance
Disaster striking a restaurant kitchen becomes an allegory for unpredictable American enterprise, while a bank visit gone awry is a satirical glance at the nation’s financial whims. These chaotic scenes serve as metaphors for the dream’s larger theme—Dylan’s America is a place where random chance, luck, and misfortune play significant roles in shaping individual destiny.
The flip of a coin later in the song, which decides the narrator’s fate, encapsulates the gamble of American life, where success and failure hinge on the unpredictable laws of probability. The vivid imagery of exploding kitchens and pulled-down pants at the bank showcases Dylan’s mastery of blending humor with critical social reflection.
Finding Brotherhood in the Face of Adversity
A failed attempt at finding companionship and solidarity leads to the protagonist tumbling through a series of increasingly bizarre scenarios. The symbol of brotherhood, advertised across from a ‘chariot’ of a hot dog stand, offers a fleeting hope of unity, quickly undercut by the disillusionment of a nearby funeral parlor—pointing out the absurd paradoxes evident in American society.
Dylan’s lyrical journey through American streets reveals a skeleton of civility and fraternity that seems to fracture under the weight of real human interaction. The song’s exposure of the fragility of these ideals evokes thoughts about the everyday challenges to coexistence and compassion in a disjointed cultural landscape.
The Hidden Meaning Behind Dylan’s Whimsy
While ‘Bob Dylan’s 115th Dream’ unfolds like a raconteur’s patchwork of amusing anecdotes, there lies a deeper strain of introspection about identity and historical memory. Dylan, acting as both the bard and the jester, holds a mirror to the illusion of the foundational American myths, from discovering new lands to the self-made man.
This wild dreamscape serves as a canvas for Dylan to question the collective conscience of a nation often too proud or enmeshed in its own narrative to recognize its follies. By painting with broad strokes of the absurd, Dylan enables a profound discourse on the essence of America’s dream and how it might look upon waking.
