Johnny Cash
Bob Dylan Lyrics


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Far between sundown's finish an' midnight's broken toll
We ducked inside the doorway, thunder crashing
As majestic bells of bolts struck shadows in the sounds
Seeming to be the chimes of freedom flashing
Flashing for the warriors whose strength is not to fight
Flashing for the refugees on the unarmed road of flight
An' for each an' ev'ry underdog soldier in the night
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing

Through the city's melted furnace, unexpectedly we watched
With faces hidden as the walls were tightening
As the echo of the wedding bells before the blowin' rain
Dissolved into the bells of the lightning
Tolling for the rebel, tolling for the rake
Tolling for the luckless, the abandoned an' forsakened
Tolling for the outcast, burnin' constantly at stake
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing

Through the mad mystic hammering of the wild ripping hail
The sky cracked its poems in naked wonder
That the clinging of the church bells blew far into the breeze
Leaving only bells of lightning and its thunder
Striking for the gentle, striking for the kind
Striking for the guardians and protectors of the mind
An' the poet and the painter far behind his rightful time
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing

In the wild cathedral evening the rain unraveled tales
For the disrobed faceless forms of no position
Tolling for the tongues with no place to bring their thoughts
All down in taken-for-granted situations
Tolling for the deaf an' blind, tolling for the mute
For the mistreated, mateless mother, the mistitled prostitute
For the misdemeanor outlaw, chaineded an' cheated by pursuit
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing

Even though a cloud's white curtain in a far-off corner flared
An' the hypnotic splattered mist was slowly lifting
Electric light still struck like arrows, fired but for the ones
Condemned to drift or else be kept from drifting
Tolling for the searching ones, on their speechless, seeking trail
For the lonesome-hearted lovers with too personal a tale
An' for each unharmful, gentle soul misplaced inside a jail
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing

Starry-eyed an' laughing as I recall when we were caught
Trapped by no track of hours for they hanged suspended
As we listened one last time an' we watched with one last look
Spellbound an' swallowed 'til the tolling ended
Tolling for the aching whose wounds cannot be nursed
For the countless confused, accused, misused, strung-out ones an' worse




An' for every hung-up person in the whole wide universe
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing

Overall Meaning

The song "Chimes of Freedom" by Bob Dylan is a poetic tribute to freedom fighters, rebels, and outcasts who have suffered for their beliefs. Throughout the song, the image of chimes is used as a metaphor for the ringing of freedom and justice, and the flashing of these chimes represents the struggle and triumph of those who have fought for their rights.


The first verse opens with a scene of thunder and lightning, suggesting a world in turmoil. The chimes of freedom, however, are flashing, representing hope and the promise of a brighter future. The second verse describes a city in chaos, where the ringing of wedding bells is replaced by the tolling of rebellion and resistance. The third verse is more abstract, with the poet conjuring images of a stormy sky and the "hammering of the wild ripping hail." The chimes of freedom that he sees flashing are now striking for the gentle, the kind, and those who protect the mind.


The fourth verse is perhaps the most poignant, as it evokes the suffering of those who are marginalized and silenced. The tolling of the bells is now for those who are deaf and blind, for mothers who have been mistreated, for prostitutes who are mistitled, and for those who are chained and cheated by the law. In the final verse, the image of the chimes of freedom is expanded to include all those who are searching for a way out of their difficult circumstances, from prisoners to those who are hung up on their personal demons.


Line by Line Meaning

Far between sundown's finish an' midnight's broken toll
We sought refuge from a stormy night between the end of sunset and the start of midnight.


We ducked inside the doorway, thunder crashing
We took shelter indoors because of the sound of thunder.


As majestic bells of bolts struck shadows in the sounds
The sound of thunder and lightning struck shadows with incredible force.


Seeming to be the chimes of freedom flashing
The noise of the storm seemed to symbolize the struggle for freedom.


Flashing for the warriors whose strength is not to fight
The storm symbolized the struggle of those who fight without physical strength.


Flashing for the refugees on the unarmed road of flight
The storm symbolized the struggle of refugees who fled without weapons.


An' for each an' ev'ry underdog soldier in the night
The storm symbolized the struggle of every underdog soldier fighting in the dark.


An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing
We watched and contemplated the meaning behind the storm and its symbolic flashes of freedom.


Through the city's melted furnace, unexpectedly we watched
In the middle of a fiery city, we witnessed something unexpected.


With faces hidden as the walls were tightening
We hid our faces as we felt the walls of the city closing in on us.


As the echo of the wedding bells before the blowin' rain
The sound of wedding bells echoed before the arrival of a heavy storm.


Dissolved into the bells of the lightning
The sound of wedding bells disappeared and was replaced by the sound of thunder and lightning.


Tolling for the rebel, tolling for the rake
The thunder and lightning symbolized the struggle of rebels and outcasts.


Tolling for the luckless, the abandoned an' forsakened
The storm symbolized the struggle of those who were unlucky and abandoned by others.


Tolling for the outcast, burnin' constantly at stake
The storm symbolized the struggle of a lone outcast who was always in danger.


An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing
We contemplated the symbolic meaning behind the storm that we witnessed and how it represented the struggle for freedom.


Through the mad mystic hammering of the wild ripping hail
We endured the madness and mysticism of a wild hailstorm.


The sky cracked its poems in naked wonder
The sky's lightning and thunder produced poetry of naked wonder.


That the clinging of the church bells blew far into the breeze
The sound of church bells was carried away by the wind and disappeared.


Leaving only bells of lightning and its thunder
The only sounds that remained were the bells of lightning and thunder.


Striking for the gentle, striking for the kind
The storm symbolized the struggle of those who were gentle and kind.


Striking for the guardians and protectors of the mind
The storm symbolized the struggle of those who protected the minds of others.


An' the poet and the painter far behind his rightful time
The storm symbolized the struggle of artists who were unappreciated during their time.


An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing
We watched and pondered over the symbolic meaning behind the storm and how it represented freedom.


In the wild cathedral evening the rain unraveled tales
In the wild and majestic evening, the rain brought forth mysterious tales.


For the disrobed faceless forms of no position
The tales were for those who had no identity or social standing.


Tolling for the tongues with no place to bring their thoughts
The storm symbolized the struggle of those who had opinions but no one to listen to them.


All down in taken-for-granted situations
The struggles of those in taken-for-granted situations were also represented in the storm.


Tolling for the deaf an' blind, tolling for the mute
The storm was a symbol for the struggles of those who were deaf, blind, or mute.


For the mistreated, mateless mother, the mistitled prostitute
The storm represented the struggles of women who were mistreated or mistitled.


For the misdemeanor outlaw, chaineded an' cheated by pursuit
The storm symbolized the struggle of outlaws who were mistreated and cheated.


An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing
We contemplated the symbolic meaning behind the storm and how it represented the struggle for freedom.


Even though a cloud's white curtain in a far-off corner flared
Despite a white cloud in the distance catching our attention.


An' the hypnotic splattered mist was slowly lifting
The hypnotic mist slowly began to disappear.


Electric light still struck like arrows, fired but for the ones
Electricity lit up the night, but its power often only benefited a select few.


Condemned to drift or else be kept from drifting
Those who were not allowed to drift or left to drift were condemned to a life of oppression.


Tolling for the searching ones, on their speechless, seeking trail
The storm represented the struggle of those who were seeking answers but could not find the words to express themselves.


For the lonesome-hearted lovers with too personal a tale
The storm symbolized the struggle of lovers who were lonely and had personal stories to tell.


An' for each unharmful, gentle soul misplaced inside a jail
The storm represented the struggle of innocent and gentle people who were unfairly imprisoned.


An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing
We contemplated the symbolic meaning behind the storm and how it represented the struggle for freedom.


Starry-eyed an' laughing as I recall when we were caught
We looked back with starry eyes and laughter at the memories of when we were trapped.


Trapped by no track of hours for they hanged suspended
We were trapped with no sense of time or way to keep track of it.


As we listened one last time an' we watched with one last look
We listened and watched one last time before the end.


Spellbound an' swallowed 'til the tolling ended
We were mesmerized and captivated until the thunderstorm ended.


Tolling for the aching whose wounds cannot be nursed
The storm symbolized the struggle of those whose pain could not be eased.


For the countless confused, accused, misused, strung-out ones an' worse
The storm represented the struggle of those who were confused, accused, mistreated, addicted or in worse situations.


An' for every hung-up person in the whole wide universe
The storm was a symbol for every person in the universe who was hung up or struggling with something.


An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing
We contemplated the symbolic meaning behind the storm and how it represented the struggle for freedom.




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

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

@juliecrane9647

I separated after 22 yrs. It was 2yrs til we divorced. We should have ripped our bandaids off sooner.
Looking back....
It took awhile to get away from romancing what we had...
And thinking it could work again.
It wasn't.
But I told him we didn't do the best job teaching our girls how to have a good marriage but we could teach them how to end it with dignity and grace.
We have...
It's been 12 yrs. I see him often at our 3 daughters homes. There are grands now.
I call him when my car battery is dead or the dryer blew a fuse.
He's a good guy and a damn good dad...
My girls call him for the same stuff.
He was there when I battled cancer and my mom passed.
No romance but still love.
Just remember our kids are always watching.
It does get better in time and it all comes into focus.
Acceptance.
Wish you peace as you go....
And to thine own self be true.



All comments from YouTube:

@arneanderson187

I met my first and true love at a north country fair (Lake County, Minnesota) in 1975. But we ended up going our separate ways. But I never forgot her and this song always made me think of her. And after 45 years of being apart, we are now back together.

@ercanozgur7621

16 yıl bekledik biz. Mutluluklar sizlerin olsun. Büyük aşklara

@allbottledup9513

I wish I had the words. Thank god, you found each other again. That special love never goes away it seems. I hope y’all enjoy your time together as much as possible!

@a.nobodys.nobody

God bless you both. enjoy it. Hoping for the same

@PrincessWowNetwork

That’s so beautiful and inspiring. So happy for you both❤

@angelag1702

Congrats!

2 More Replies...

@HauntedMask24

This song makes me nostalgic for a time I hadn’t lived in. A true masterpiece.

@roberthurst7998

Maybe you were

@fernsader9261

Sometimes music has no time. It just helps you connect to yourself

@chucke027

That's the Genius of it

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