All Along the Watchtower
A mysterious, twelve-line conversation between a joker and a thief, recorded in Nashville in 1967.
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"All Along the Watchtower" appears on Bob Dylan's 1967 album John Wesley Harding. Dylan wrote the song, and Bob Johnston produced it. The original recording has just twelve lines of lyrics, which depict a conversation between a joker and a thief. Critics have offered many readings of the song; some point out that its words resemble passages from the Book of Isaiah, chapter 21, verses 5 through 9.
Background
Following a motorcycle accident in July 1966, Dylan spent 18 months recuperating at his home in Woodstock and writing songs. All songs for John Wesley Harding were written and recorded during a six-week period at the end of 1967. Dylan has claimed he thought of the song during a thunderstorm. He recorded "All Along the Watchtower" on November 6, 1967, at Columbia Studio A in Nashville, Tennessee.
Accompanying Dylan on acoustic guitar and harmonica were Charlie McCoy on bass guitar and Kenneth Buttrey on drums. The producer was Bob Johnston, and the sound engineer was Charlie Bragg. The final version resulted from two different takes during the second of three John Wesley Harding sessions; the exact take numbers are disputed.
Did You Know?
- Dylan's original recording was produced by Bob Johnston, who also produced Dylan's previous albums Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde.
- The song's lyrics have been interpreted as echoing lines from the Book of Isaiah, Chapter 21, verses 5–9, and some writers have also noted references to the Book of Revelation.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: All Along the Watchtower (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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