Bob Dylan – All Along the Watchtower (Official Audio)

Genius Lyrics

“The joker and thief are two pretty broad archetypes, but there are plenty of theories as to who they are meant to represent. Some think the Joker is a symbol for Jesus, since he interacts with a thief, and Jesus was crucified next to the Penitent thief and Impenitent thief. Additionally, some believe that the Joker is Dylan himself, and the thief is Elvis Presley, as Elvis was accused of stealing rock and roll from the African-Americans to make money. Some have gone even deeper and view the joker and the thief as symbols of life and death. A lot of this song has to do with perspective; the businessmen see things differently than the joker, the princes see things differently than the servants, the thief sees things differently than the plowmen. A concise and beautifully written song like this lends itself to so many different meanings that no interpretation can be proven incorrect. So view it however you like; all we can do is give more information to help you form an opinion.

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What we do know about the thief and the Joker is that they are outsiders in some capacity. They operate outside the walls of conventional psychological safety, and would rather spend their time risking the threats of wolves and howling winds than be cooped up behind the safe walls the princes hide behind. The Joker expresses frustration and some degree of sadness at the state of the world, and shows a desire to change things.”