Gates of Eden
Arlo Guthrie Lyrics

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Of war and peace the truth just twists, its curfew gull it glides
Upon four legged forest clouds the cowboy angel rides
With his candle lit into the sun though it's glow is waxed in black
All except beneath the trees of Eden

The lamp post stands with folded arms its iron claws attached
To curbs 'neath holes where babies wail
Through its shadow's metal badge

All in all can only fall with a crashing but meaningless blow
No sound ever comes from the Gates of Eden

The savage soldier sticks his head in the sand and then complains
Unto the shoeless hunter who's gone deaf but still remains
Upon the beach where hound dogs bay at ships with tattooed sails
Heading for the Gates of Eden

The time rusted compass blade, Aladdin and his lamp
Sits with Utopian hermit monks, side saddle on the Golden Calf
And on their promises of paradise you will not hear a laugh
All except inside the Gates of Eden

Relationships of ownership they whisper in the wings
To those condemned to act accordingly and wait for succeeding kings
And I try to harmonize with songs the lonesome sparrow sings
There are no kings inside the Gates of Eden

The motorcycle 'Black Madonna', two-wheeled gypsy queen
And her silver-studded phantom cause the gray flannel dwarf to scream
As he weeps to wicked birds of prey, pick up on his bread crumb sins
And there are no sins inside the Gates of Eden

The kingdoms of experience in the precious winds they rot
While paupers change possessions
Each one wishing for what the other has got
And the princess and the prince discuss what's real and what's not
It doesn't matter inside the Gates of Eden

The foreign sun it squints upon a bed that is never mine
As friends and others, strangers from their fates try to resign
Leaving men holy and totally free to do anything they wish to do but die
And there are no trials inside the Gates of Eden

At dawn my lover comes to me and tells me of her dreams
With no attempts to shovel the glimpse
Into the ditch of what each one means

At times I think there are no words but these to tell what's true
And there are no truths outside the Gates of Eden

Overall Meaning

Arlo Guthrie’s “Gates of Eden” was released in 1965 and was written by Bob Dylan. The song is an exploration of some of the most pressing social issues of the time, including war, peace, ownership, and experience. It is a commentary on the state of America in the mid-60s, with Dylan questioning the country’s values and ideals.

In the first verse, Dylan introduces the idea that the truth of war and peace is distorted and twisted. The “curfew gull” is a reference to the curfew bell or siren that signaled the start of a curfew, which was common during wartime. The “cowboy angel” is a metaphor for hope, as even though it flies on “four legged forest clouds,” it carries a candle of light that can still shine through the darkness. The mention of “Eden” suggests that this hope is still possible in the world.

The second verse takes a darker turn, with Dylan painting a grim picture of societal decay. The “lamp post” is symbolic of urbanization, which has created a world of concrete and steel. The “iron claws” suggest that this world has a hold on us that we cannot escape. The “babies wail” refers to the suffering that is the result of living in such a world. The role of the lamp post is to shed light on this darkness, but all it can do is cast shadows. In contrast, the “Gates of Eden” are a place of silence, where there is no sound of crashing or suffering.

Line by Line Meaning

Of war and peace the truth just twists, its curfew gull it glides Upon four legged forest clouds the cowboy angel rides With his candle lit into the sun though it's glow is waxed in black All except beneath the trees of Eden
The truth of war and peace is twisted and the curfew bird silently glides on four-legged forest clouds while the cowboy angel with his candle rides into the blackened sun. The only place where the sun still shines bright is under the trees of Eden.

The lamp post stands with folded arms its iron claws attached To curbs 'neath holes where babies wail Through its shadow's metal badge All in all can only fall with a crashing but meaningless blow No sound ever comes from the Gates of Eden
The lamp post stands silently on the curbs beneath the holes where crying babies are heard. Although it can only fall with a meaningless blow, no sound ever comes from the Gates of Eden.

The savage soldier sticks his head in the sand and then complains Unto the shoeless hunter who's gone deaf but still remains Upon the beach where hound dogs bay at ships with tattooed sails Heading for the Gates of Eden
The savage soldier sticks his head in the sand and then complains to the shoeless hunter who has gone deaf but still remains on the beach where ships with tattooed sails are heading for the Gates of Eden while the hound dogs bay.

The time rusted compass blade, Aladdin and his lamp Sits with Utopian hermit monks, side saddle on the Golden Calf And on their promises of paradise you will not hear a laugh All except inside the Gates of Eden
The rusted compass blade of time, Aladdin, and his lamp sit with the Utopian hermit monks on the Golden Calf. Their promises of paradise are met with no laughs except for inside the Gates of Eden.

Relationships of ownership they whisper in the wings To those condemned to act accordingly and wait for succeeding kings And I try to harmonize with songs the lonesome sparrow sings There are no kings inside the Gates of Eden
Whispers of ownership in relationships are heard in the wings to those who are condemned to act accordingly and wait for the succeeding kings. In an attempt to harmonize with the songs of the lonesome sparrow, it is realized that there are no kings inside the Gates of Eden.

The motorcycle 'Black Madonna', two-wheeled gypsy queen And her silver-studded phantom cause the gray flannel dwarf to scream As he weeps to wicked birds of prey, pick up on his bread crumb sins And there are no sins inside the Gates of Eden
The motorcycle 'Black Madonna' and her silver-studded phantom, the two-wheeled gypsy queen, cause the gray flannel dwarf to scream. He weeps to wicked birds of prey who pick up on his bread crumb sins. However, it is realized that there are no sins inside the Gates of Eden.

The kingdoms of experience in the precious winds they rot While paupers change possessions Each one wishing for what the other has got And the princess and the prince discuss what's real and what's not It doesn't matter inside the Gates of Eden
The kingdoms of experience rot away in the precious winds while paupers change possessions, each one wishing for what the other has. Meanwhile, the princess and the prince discuss what's real and what's not, but inside the Gates of Eden it doesn't matter.

The foreign sun it squints upon a bed that is never mine As friends and others, strangers from their fates try to resign Leaving men holy and totally free to do anything they wish to do but die And there are no trials inside the Gates of Eden
The foreign sun squints upon a bed that is not mine while friends, strangers, and others try to resign from their fates. Men are left holy and free to do anything they wish to do but die. Trials do not exist inside the Gates of Eden.

At dawn my lover comes to me and tells me of her dreams With no attempts to shovel the glimpse Into the ditch of what each one means At times I think there are no words but these to tell what's true And there are no truths outside the Gates of Eden
At dawn, my lover tells me of her dreams without attempting to force them into a specific meaning. At times it is believed that there are no words except these to express what's true, and it is seen that outside the Gates of Eden, there are no truths.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BOB DYLAN

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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