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Artist: Bob Dylan
Track: joker man

Lyrics
Standing on the waters casting your bread
While the eyes of the idol with the iron head are glowing
Distant ships sailing into the mist,
You were born with a snake in both of your fists while a hurricane was blowing
Freedom just around the corner for you
But with the truth so far off, what good will it do?

Jokerman dance to the nightingale tune,
Bird fly high by the light of the moon,
Oh, oh, oh, Jokerman

So swiftly the sun sets in the sky,
You rise up and say goodbye to no one
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread,
Both of their futures, so full of dread, you don't show why
Shedding off one more layer of skin,
Keeping one step ahead of the persecutor within

Jokerman dance to the nightingale tune,
Bird fly high by the light of the moon,
Oh, oh, oh, Jokerman

You're a man of the mountains, you can walk on the clouds,
Manipulator of crowds, you're a dream twister
You're going to Sodom and Gomorrah
But what do you care? Ain't nobody there would want to marry your sister
Friend to the martyr, a friend to the woman of shame,
You look into the fiery furnace, see the rich man without any name

Jokerman dance to the nightingale tune,
Bird fly high by the light of the moon,
Oh, oh, oh, Jokerman

Well, the Book of Leviticus and Deuteronomy,
The law of the jungle and the sea are your only teachers
In the smoke of the twilight on a milk-white steed,
Michelangelo indeed could've carved out your features
Resting in the fields, far from the turbulent space,
Half asleep near the stars with a small dog licking your face

Jokerman dance to the nightingale tune,
Bird fly high by the light of the moon,
Oh, oh, oh, Jokerman

Well, the rifleman's stalking the sick and the lame,
Preacherman seeks the same, who'll get there first is uncertain
Nightsticks and water cannons, tear gas, padlocks,
Molotov cocktails and rocks behind every curtain,
False-hearted judges dying in the webs that they spin,
Only a matter of time 'til night comes steppin' in

Jokerman dance to the nightingale tune,
Bird fly high by the light of the moon,
Oh, oh, oh, Jokerman

It's a shadowy world, skies are slippery gray,
A woman just gave birth to a prince today and dressed him in scarlet
He'll put the priest in his pocket, put the blade to the heat,
Take the motherless children off the street
And place them at the feet of a harlot
Oh, Jokerman, you know what he wants,
Oh, Jokerman, you don't show any response

Jokerman dance to the nightingale tune,
Bird fly high by the light of the moon,
Oh, oh, oh, Jokerman
Full Lyrics and Meaning
SongMeanings Interpretations
Bob Dylan - Jokerman Lyrics
The references to Leviticus, Deuteronomy, the law of the jungle and the sea as his "only teachers" reveal his ruthless, survival of the fittest, self-obsession ...
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I love this song and believe it's one of Dylan's most profound songs. Coming from his deep Biblical understanding, it's an allegory about the church as the ...
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(Dylan will soon write yet another masterpiece, Jokerman, for whom 'the book of Leviticus and Deuteronomy/The law of the jungle and the sea' are teachers.).
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I also want to note that the two most beautiful songs (in my opinion) that refer to Jesus are both by Jewish men- "Jokerman" by Bob Dylan and this song. And ...
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SongFacts
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Genius Meanings
Bob Dylan – Jokerman
“Jokerman” is the first track from Dylan’s 1983 album Infidels. This album is often seen as Dylan’s return to secular music after a conversion to Christianity and three gospel
Bob Dylan – Jokerman (Reggae Remix by Doctor Dread)
[Verse 1] / Standing on the waters casting your bread / While the eyes of the idol with the iron head are glowing / Distant ships sailing into the mist / You were born with a snake
Bob Dylan – Jokerman (Infidels Alternate Take)
[Verse 1] / Standing on the waters casting your bread / While the eyes of the idol with the iron head are glowing / Distant ships sailing into the mist / You were born with a snake
Bob Dylan – Julius and Ethel (Infidels Outtake)
“Julius and Ethel” is a song that Bob Dylan wrote in 1983 for his album, Infidels but left it off the final version of the album. The song is about Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
Bob Dylan – Cold, Cold Heart (Shot of Love Outtake)
I tried so hard, my dear, to show that you're my every dream / Yet you're afraid each thing I do is just some evil scheme / A memory from your lonesome past keeps us so far apart
Bob Dylan – Too Late (Band Version - Infidels Outtake)
[Verse 1] / Well, wether there was a murder I don't know I wasn't there / I was busy visiting a friend in jail / There were just two women on the scene at the time / Neither one of
Bob Dylan – Señor (Tales Of Yankee Power) (Rehearsal)
Señor, señor, do you know where we’re headin’? / Lincoln County Road or Armageddon? / Seems like I been down this way before / Is there any truth in that, señor? / Señor, señor, do
Bob Dylan – Don’t Fall Apart on Me Tonight
Amidst the wider topics on Infidels, the closing track is the album’s love song. It depicts a relationship talk involving life choices, lack of communication and jealousy – until
Bob Dylan – Death Is Not the End (Full Version - Infidels Outtake
[Verse 1] / When you’re sad and when you’re lonely / And you haven’t got a friend / Just remember that death is not the end / And all that you’ve held sacred / Falls down and does
Bob Dylan – License to Kill
[Verse 1] / Man thinks because he rules the earth he can do with it as he please / And if things don’t change soon, he will / Oh, man has invented his doom / First step was
Bob Dylan – Tight Connection to My Heart (Has Anyone Seen My Love) (Empire Burlesque Alternate Take)
[Verse 1] / Well, I had to move fast / And I couldn’t with you around my neck / I said I’d send for you and I did / What did you expect? / My hands are sweating / And we haven’t
Bob Dylan – Abraham, Martin, and John (Rehearsal)
[Verse 1] / Anybody here seen my old friend Abraham? / Can you tell me where he's gone? / He freed a lot of people but it seems the good they die young / You know I just looked
Bob Dylan – Man of Peace
[Verse 1] / Look out your window, baby, there’s a scene you’d like to catch / The band is playing “Dixie,” a man got his hand outstretched / Could be the Führer / Could be the
Bob Dylan – Neighborhood Bully
The song was written after israel bombed the Iraqi nuclear reactor (“Operation Opera”) and was condemned all around the world.
Bob Dylan – Tell Me (Infidels Outtake)
[Verse 1] / Tell me / Tell me, I’ve got to know / Tell me / Tell me before I go / Does that flame still burn, does that fire still glow? / Or has it died out and melted like the
Bob Dylan – Things Have Changed
Director Curtis Hanson selected Dylan to write this song for his 2000 film, Wonder Boys. Though the film was a flop, the track won “Best Original Song” at the Oscars. Curtis said
Bob Dylan – I and I
[Verse 1] / Been so long since a strange woman has slept in my bed / Look how sweet she sleeps, how free must be her dreams / In another lifetime she must have owned the world, or
Bob Dylan – Sweetheart Like You
[Verse 1] / Well, the pressure’s down, the boss ain't here / He gone North, for a while / They say that vanity got the best of him / But he sure left here in style / By the way
Bob Dylan – Dignity
The song “Dignity” was recorded during the sessions for Dylan’s album Oh Mercy (1989), but was not released until 1994, when it was put on Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Volume 3 and
Bob Dylan – Straight A's In Love (Empire Burlesque Outtake)
You ain’t so good in arithmetic, baby / You don’t know how to count / When it comes to spending money / It’s never the right amount / But baby, you know, two and two is four / Baby
Bob Dylan – Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground (Infidels Outtake
If you had not have fallen then I would not have found you / Angel flying too close to the ground / And I patched up your broken wing and hung around a while / Trying to keep your
Bob Dylan – False Prophet
[Verse 1] / Another day that don't end / Another ship goin' out / Another day of anger, bitterness, and doubt / I know how it happened / I saw it begin / I opened my heart to the
Bob Dylan – Blind Willie McTell (Take 5) [Infidels Outtake]
[Verse 1] / I seen the arrow on the doorpost / Saying, “This land is condemned / All the way from New Orleans / To new Jerusalem” / Well, I traveled through East Texas / Where many
David Duchovny – Positively Madison Avenue
This song was inspired by the Chrysler Superbowl Ad in which Bob Dylan appeared. “It’s a song I wrote after watching the Super Bowl a couple years ago.” Duchovny told Rolling
Bob Dylan – You Ain't Goin' Nowhere
[Verse 1] / Clouds so swift, the rain falling in / Gonna see a movie called Gunga Din / Pack up your money, pull up your tent, McGuinn / You ain't goin' nowhere / [Chorus] / Ooh-
Bob Dylan – Fur Slippers (Shot of Love Outtake)
[Intro] / Ain't got no fur slippers now / [Verse 1] / Six o'clock in the evening, I feel so low / Ain’t got not girlfriend ain’t got no place to go / Even took my fur slippers away
Bob Dylan – We Just Disagree (Rehearsal)
[Verse 1] / Been away, haven't seen you in a while / How've you been, have you changed your style? / And do you think that we've grown up differently? / Don't seem the same, seems
Bob Dylan – Green, Green Grass of Home (Infidels Outtake)
[Verse 1] / The old hometown looks the same / As I step down from the train / And there to meet me is my mama and papa / Down the road I look and there runs Mary / Hair of gold and
Bob Dylan – Union Sundown
[Verse 1] / Well, my shoes, they come from Singapore / My flashlight’s from Taiwan / My tablecloth’s from Malaysia / My belt buckle’s from the Amazon / You know, this shirt I wear
Bob Dylan – Foot of Pride (Infidels Outtake)
[Verse 1] / They say the wife got the husband drunk / But I don't know, I wasn't there, I was visiting a friend in jail / They sang “Danny Boy” at his funeral and the Lord’s Prayer
Bob Dylan – This Was My Love (Infidels Outtake)
Soft as a raindrop fresh as the sea / Warm as the sunshine shining on me / This was my love this was my love / Light was her laughter few were her tears / Gentle her beauty tender
Bob Dylan – I and I (Reggae Remix by Doctor Dread)
[Verse 1] / Been so long since a strange woman has slept in my bed / Look how sweet she sleeps, how free must be her dreams / In another lifetime, she must have owned the world, or
Bob Dylan – A Couple More Years (Rehearsal)
I've got a couple more years on you babe, and that's all / I've had more chances to fly, and more places to fall / And it ain't that I'm wiser, it's only that I've spent more time
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Genius Albums
The Essential Bob Dylan [2000 Edition] by Bob Dylan
Get all the lyrics to songs on The Essential Bob Dylan [2000 Edition] and join the Genius community of music scholars to learn the meaning behind the lyrics.
The Essential Bob Dylan [2014 Edition] by Bob Dylan
Get all the lyrics to songs on The Essential Bob Dylan [2014 Edition] and join the Genius community of music scholars to learn the meaning behind the lyrics.
Biograph by Bob Dylan
A massive landmark box set by Dylan, Biograph included many previously unreleased tracks as well as most of Dylan’s major hits. It was originally released as five LPs with liner
The Times They Are A-Changin' by Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan’s third studio album, released in 1964. The album is considered one of Dylan’s most influential and significant works, showcasing his growth as a songwriter and his
Love and Theft by Bob Dylan
“Love And Theft” is the thirty-first studio album by songwriter Bob Dylan. It was recorded from 8th-21st May 2001 and released on 11th September 2001. It’s the first album Dylan
Bringing It All Back Home by Bob Dylan
This 1965 Bob Dylan classic isn’t just special for it’s sound and lyrics the critics and his fans love but also for it’s tremendous influentiality it holds. In ‘Bring it All Back
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