Psalm 61

[Griff]

Oh, God said to Abraham, "Kill me a son"
Abe says, "Man you must be puttin' me on"
God says, "No", Abe say "What?"
God say "You can do what you want Abe but
The next time you see me comin' you better run"

Well Abe said, "Where do you want this killin' done?"
God say, "Out on Highway 61"

Well Georgia Sam he had a bloody nose
Welfare department they wouldn't give him no clothes
He asked poor Howard, "Where can I go?"
Howard said, "There's only one place I know"
Sam said, "Tell me quick man and I got to run"

0ld howard just pointed with his gun
And said, "That way down Highway 61"

Well Mack the finger said to Louie the King
"I got forty red white and blue shoe strings
And a thousand telephones that don't ring
Do you know where I can get rid of these things?"
And Louie the King said, "Let me think for a minute son"

And he said, "Yes I think it can be easily done
Just take everything down to Highway 61"

Now the fifth daughter on the twelfth night
Told the first father that things weren't right
My complexion she says is much too white
He said, "Come here and step into the light"
He says, "Hmm you're right
Let me tell the second mother this has been done"

But the second mother was with the seventh son
And they were both out on Highway 61

Now the Rovin' gambler he was very bored
He was tryin' to create a next world war
He found a promoter who nearly fell off the floor
He said, "I never engaged in this kind of thing before
But yes I think it can be very easily done"

We'll just put some bleachers out in the sun
And have it on Highway 61

Bob Dylan

[DanaC]

Awesome. I used to know that by heart lol. Did a passable Dylan impression with it too:p

[Big Sarge]

I admit I never heard it before and I'm rather lost as to the meaning

[Griff]

According to wiki:

The song has five stanzas. In each stanza, someone describes an unusual problem that is ultimately resolved on Highway 61. In Verse 1, God tells Abraham to "kill me a son". God wants the killing done on Highway 61. This stanza references Genesis 22, in which God commands Abraham to kill one of his two sons, Isaac. Abram, the original name of the biblical Abraham, is the name of Dylan's own father. Verse 2 describes a poor fellow, Georgia Sam, who is beyond the helping of the welfare department. He is told to go down Highway 61. Georgia Sam may be a reference to Piedmont blues musician Blind Willie McTell, who occasionally went by Georgia Sam when recording.

In the third verse, a "Mack the Finger" has this problem of getting rid of particular absurd things: "I got forty red white and blue shoe strings / And a thousand telephones that don't ring". "Louie the King" solves the problem with Highway 61. Verse 4 is about the "fifth daughter" who on the "twelfth night" told the "first father" that her complexion is too pale. Agreeing, the father seeks to tell the "second mother", but she is with the "seventh son", on Highway 61.

The fifth and last verse is the story of a bored gambler, trying "to create the next world war". His promoter tells him to "put some bleachers out in the sun / And have it on Highway 61". There is an evident political undertone in this absurd tale.

There is a pause in each verse while Dylan waits for some event in the story to finish; in the third verse, for example, the pause occurs while Louie the King attempts to resolve the shoestring-and-telephones problem. Between each verse Dylan is heard blowing an imitation police whistle, known as a "Siren Whistle" [1], brought in by Sam Lay who was drummer on the Highway 61 sessions as noted by Tony Glover in the liner notes to Live 1966. Other accounts say that the whistle was brought in by Al Kooper. It is said that he had originally brought in the "siren whistle" to police the sessions. Supposedly, if someone were to begin doing drugs he would go into a corner and blow on the whistle. He later suggested to Dylan that he use the whistle in this song instead of his harmonica.

[JBKlyde]

you shouldn't mock the bible like that.. I find it very dis tasteful

[Happy Monkey]

More distasteful or less distasteful than telling someone to kill their son in order to win a bet?

Trying to start a world war is worse, but the whole "kill your son" thing is more viscerally, creepily, cruel.

[footfootfoot]

Do you know why god wanted Abraham to kill Isaac when he was a child?

Because if Abraham waited until Isaac was a teenager it wouldn't have been a sacrifice.

I may not be here all week, but try the gefilte fish anyway. The Lox isn't too bad either.

[orthodoc]

I'm stealing that.

[Griff]

Originally Posted by Big Sarge

I admit I never heard it before and I'm rather lost as to the meaning

The bottom line for me anyway is the idea we have as Americans that we can solve our problems and rebuild our lives by simply picking up, moving, and starting over. I see Highway 61 as a symbol of that spirit.

Originally Posted by JBKlyde

you shouldn't mock the bible like that.. I find it very dis tasteful

I say this as a friend, I am almost always offended by your interpretation of the bible, finding Jesus in your words about a vengeful angry God is next to impossible.

[JBKlyde]

the fact that you call me friend is nice, but the fact that you don't pay attention to most of what I say is dis-heartening... if you notice when I speak of God if it is not a direct scripture.. I unusually question my sanity.. ""I have to question the prophetic ties behind these hallucinations is a path to enlightenment really being opened or have I just tapped in to some dark force"" I believe that where there is a will there is a way and the only way to the Father is through the Son so I would even contend with the pope on this subject. He said " you don't have to believe in God to goto heaven.. maybe he's just trying to get the atheist to "zipit" or maybe he's just referring to that scripture that says that for him who hears my words but dose not keep them there is no judge.. however if your just going to make a mockery out of the bible scriptures you are CLEARLY in the wrong and that's what I see is a mockery.. your not trying to shead light your just trying to over ride
my psalm 76 post and that just leads people away from the truth down your dark path of highway 61.. I'm not upset just a little disheartened..

[xoxoxoBruce]

""I have to question the prophetic ties behind these hallucinations is a path to enlightenment really being opened or have I just tapped in to some dark force""

OK, whatever works for you. But keep in mind this is all going on in your head, just your head, not mine or anybody else. And until you've conquered your demons you've got no business telling anyone else what they should do, say, or think.

[JBKlyde]

well realize that with out debate I have no way of seeing my error flaw or as you call demon.. and If you don't at least try to see things my way then I'll never have that "mirror" into my mind that tells me when I make a mistake.. yes I have a therapist but nothing can compete with all the knowledge I find by ""interacting"" with allegedly (wink) sane people..

thank you for understanding...

[Clodfobble]

Welcome back, JB. I'm glad you got your medical situation under control. You are clearly doing much better.

I have to question the prophetic ties behind these hallucinations -- is a path to enlightenment really being opened, or have I just tapped in to some dark force?

(Punctuation added by me)

Have you considered the possibility that the hallucinations are neither from God or Satan? That they are just hallucinations?

I have partial temporal lobe seizures myself, that can sometimes give me auditory hallucinations, but I know that they are not from any good or evil power. One way I know this is that medication can control and even stop the hallucinations, and a supernatural spirit wouldn't be very powerful if all it took to stop them was a little pill, you know? So they must be nothing more than neurons misfiring in my brain, and not caused by any higher power, either good or evil.

[JBKlyde]

but when this "intentity" tells me I am going to start a ministry to "save souls" I have to question the logic behind the "intentity"... and when I have a vision of the pope saying "noone will ever forgive you" I have to question my own logic.. It is not unheard of for the spirit to manifest in ones psycheicic and when I have a vision of Perry Stone saying "It's only in your head" I realize that the illness is minor compared to the power of the spirit... so what I've decided to do is just keep testing the waters and do my best in every situation to "do the right thing"...

[Clodfobble]

It's a good idea to do the right thing, and always question your logic.

Remember that God does not reveal himself, by definition. If everyone had a spirit speaking directly to him or her, then there would be no need for faith. So therefore if you hear a clear message of any kind, good or bad, you must assume it is part of the illness.