John Wesley Harding Lyrics
He traveled with a gun in every hand
All along ths countryside, he opened many a door
But he was never known to hurt an honest man
Wit his lady by his side, h took a stand
And soon the situation there was all but straightened out
For he was always known to lend a helping hand.
But no charge held against him could be proved
And here was no man around who could track or chain him down
He was never known to make a foolish move.
After the Beatles released SPLHCB and the rest of the musical community was knee-deep in psychedelia Dylan took the polar opposite approach to John Wesley Harding. Clearly by sound alone you can hear the simple American traditionalism it's rooted in, written and recorded in Nashville, Tennessee. But in addition to that, while The Beatles, Byrds and Jefferson Airplane were dealing with the very esoteric aspects of existence and reaching out as far as they could with their thoughts and music, Dylan reared back and examined things in their bare nature from the start. John Wesley Harding which is the first track and title of the album groups things together as well as Dylan's previous 'album-starters'. Clearly reminiscent of Woody Guthrie's Pretty Boy Floyd, John Wesley Harding is a glorified outlaw whose sins are forgotten and virtues extolled. In this sense it is stylistically and musically a tribute to folk Americana. However history would note that John Wesley Harding is a fictal character while John Wesley Hardin was a real man. Is this misspelling intentional? Also history would note that the JWH initials are comprable to the Hebrew moniker for Jehovah. Could this also be intentional? Throughout the album Dylan draws on numerous Biblical references dealing with traditional Christian themes. It only makes sense that the album title and first song would serve to encompass this.
Since I was born in 1977 I hadn't really considered your point about SPLHCB. I just wanted to add that "Music From Big Pink" by the Band came out a year later and has the same traditional feel that John Wesley Harding has.
Since I was born in 1977 I hadn't really considered your point about SPLHCB. I just wanted to add that "Music From Big Pink" by the Band came out a year later and has the same traditional feel that John Wesley Harding has.
Ha, it is hard to imagine that JWH is just a coincidence. Especially given how the person is described as being perfect. So, did Jesus make a "foolish move" when he let Judas kiss him? ;-)
Ha, it is hard to imagine that JWH is just a coincidence. Especially given how the person is described as being perfect. So, did Jesus make a "foolish move" when he let Judas kiss him? ;-)
Can anyone tell me the meaning of this song?
Isn't it about the emptiness/falsity of hero worship and futility of 'outlaw' living itself - at the end of the album Dylan sounds like someone who is finally willing to live a 'normal' settled life.
well it is about John Wesley Hardin and is admittedly one of Dylan's most lackluster lyrical efforts personally i enjoy the song a great deal and think the lyrics are interesting, but they lack the true social commentary of Dylan's better folk works, John Wesley Hardin wasn't born in Cheney county and he would probably hurt an honest man, he was renowned in history as 'the meanest man alive' and the song is about that outlaw and the outlaw life Dylan said in an interview that Hardin as a figure interested him and he had a tune that he really liked, when he sat down to write it he just kind of fumbled a bit, but then he said, in an attempt not to make the song seem like just a filler he made it the album title and lead off song that's bobby
You know... screw all that "true social commentary" junk about Dylan's bettr "folk works". Didn't Dylan himself always say that he didn't intend to be made into some kind of prophet for the 60s? Of course, Dylan loved to say crazy things. Like the story about the song being a missive that he turned into something better by titling the album after it. A song doesn't have to be packed with hundreds of references to be good. John Wesley Harding is a simple song, and that makes it better than a lot of the "social commentary" stuff....
You know... screw all that "true social commentary" junk about Dylan's bettr "folk works". Didn't Dylan himself always say that he didn't intend to be made into some kind of prophet for the 60s? Of course, Dylan loved to say crazy things. Like the story about the song being a missive that he turned into something better by titling the album after it. A song doesn't have to be packed with hundreds of references to be good. John Wesley Harding is a simple song, and that makes it better than a lot of the "social commentary" stuff.
I have concluded on several ideas that lead me to believe that this has album has one central story, with several characters, all of which are mentioned in the story told in the liner notes. I believe there are a couple instances of altar egos and schitzophrenia.
yeah I totally agree with theweeks123 The thing that nmustapha must realize is that Dylan's interviews are VERY misleading, as he himself tends to diminish his work and the effort he puts into it. He doesn't like the worshiping he gets, and is very private about his life, so he will always try to make it seem like no big deal But it SO is
Stephan King uses some verses from this song in the book "The Dark Half." King uses the lyrics because they decribe the character George Stark.