Mr. Tambourine Man
Melanie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm not sleepy and there ain't no place I'm going to.
Hey! Mister Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come following you.
Take me for a trip upon your magic swirling ship,
And my senses have been stripped
And my hands can't feel to grip
Waiting only for my bootheels to be wandering.
I'm ready to go anywhere, I'm ready for to fade
Into my own parade, cast your dancing spell my way,
I promise I'll go under it.
Hey! Mister Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
I'm not sleepy and nobody cares where I'm going to.
Hey! Mister Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come following.
Take me disappearing down the smoke rings of my mind,
Through the foggy ruins of time,
Down past the frightened leaves
And the lifeless frozen trees
Way down to the windy beach,
Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow.
I want to dance beneath the diamond sky
With one hand waving free,
Silhouetted by the sea,
With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves.
Please let me forget about today until tomorrow.
Hey! Mister Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
I'm not sleepy and nobody knows where I'm going to.
Hey! Mister Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come following.
The song "Mr. Tambourine Man" by Melanie Safka is a cover version of Bob Dylan's original, but with a unique twist. The song is an open letter to the titular character, asking him to play a song for the singer and to take her on a journey to escape from reality, which seems too mundane and unhappy. The song is full of surreal images and metaphors, suggesting a desire to disconnect from reality and live in a world of imagination.
The song explores themes of escapism, freedom, and self-discovery. The singer of the song is longing for a sense of liberation, to be free to go anywhere and the need to escape reality. Mr. Tambourine Man is a symbol of freedom, a person who can help the singer escape the heavy weight of life's burdens. The line "take me for a trip upon your magic swirling ship" suggests that the singer is looking for a way to escape her struggles and feel free again, even if it's just for one night.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey! Mister Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
Melanie requests the Tambourine Man to play a song for her.
I'm not sleepy and there ain't no place I'm going to.
Melanie states that she is not sleepy and has nowhere to go.
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come following you.
Melanie will follow the Tambourine Man in the morning.
Take me for a trip upon your magic swirling ship,
Melanie desires to go on a journey with the Tambourine Man on his magic swirling ship.
And my senses have been stripped
Melanie is in a state where her senses have been removed.
And my hands can't feel to grip
Melanie's hands are unable to feel anything to grip.
And my toes too numb to step,
Melanie's toes are also numb and she can't step properly.
Waiting only for my bootheels to be wandering.
Melanie is waiting for her boots to wander aimlessly.
I'm ready to go anywhere, I'm ready for to fade
Melanie is willing to go anywhere and fade away.
Into my own parade, cast your dancing spell my way,
Melanie wants the Tambourine Man to cast his dancing spell and make her a part of his parade.
I promise I'll go under it.
Melanie promises to go under the dancing spell.
Take me disappearing down the smoke rings of my mind,
Melanie desires to disappear into the smoke rings of her mind.
Through the foggy ruins of time,
Melanie imagines herself traveling through the foggy ruins of time.
Down past the frightened leaves
Melanie sees herself going past the leaves filled with terror.
And the lifeless frozen trees
Melanie looks at the lifeless and frozen trees.
Way down to the windy beach,
Melanie goes down to the breezy beach far away.
Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow.
Melanie wants to go far away from twisted crazy sorrow.
I want to dance beneath the diamond sky
Melanie desires to dance under the diamond sky.
With one hand waving free,
Melanie wants to wave one hand freely while dancing.
Silhouetted by the sea,
Melanie wants her silhouette to be created by the sea while she dances.
With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves.
Melanie desires to forget all about her memories and fate and drown them in the waves.
Please let me forget about today until tomorrow.
Melanie requests to forget about today and remember it tomorrow.
I'm not sleepy and nobody knows where I'm going to.
Melanie says she's not sleepy and nobody knows where she's going.
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come following.
Melanie says she will follow the Tambourine Man in the jingle jangle morning.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Bob Dylan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@lioubovnik11
It was July 1968, as my english was so bad my Parents ( RIP) sent me to England in a british family in Ashford " The Stevens family" They were so nice and kind with me , one evening they asked me if liked pop music, I said yes ( didn't know really about what they were talking)... That special evening I heard from the first time a fantastic song, .... It was Melanie singing "Mister Tambourine man" . I never forgotten . Today I'm 71 years old. Thank you so much to the Stevens family and to Melanie She made me jump into pop music, folk song, country music. We have sometimes in our like the luck to find out happyness through out great artists and their music. Thanks too Mister Bob Dylan and so much more from Woodsock festival.
@25provo
R.i.p Melanie Safka. We played this song on my father's funeral back in 2008.
@LM-kg4fl
Rest in peace Dear Melanie. Thank you for your beautiful rendition of this magical song.
@blue1spiral
i'm astounded that anyone could think this is not the best cover EVER of this song. Really listen to it afew times... I'm amazed it hasn't been posted until now. This is my all time favorite song. ever. ever.
@user-zf8gd8pt8l
I agree!
@alanthorpe2326
Dylan's great lyrics, but Melanie added the magic, her voice, performance & majesty elevated every song she did. So in love with her when I was 17 in 1969. Nothing's changed, every time I listen to her unique voice I go back in time. Named my baby girl in '72 after her.
@1earflapping
The flute really transforms this song into a true dreamscape.
@fek2000
I come back to this every now and then for the best of reasons. I once had a girlfriend from 1978 to 1983. She would eventually die of cystic fibrosis, but not before we shared great times at the small town radio station I worked at and elsewhere. I used to make her cassettes because she really liked, as she told it, "all those records you played that I've never heard before." So after she died, I visited her mother a few times and she gave me a few of the cassettes back with some other mementos. On the cassette with this song on it, she had circled "Mr Tambourine Man." I'll never know completely why, but Melanie's voice and her voice were very similar, so this still cuts through me like a knife, but it is such a sweet sorrow. A sweet sorrow that will outlive us both.
@GumperVanLier
Thanks for sharing this, fek2000.
@bobmecgeo
Sweet sorrow my friend. I wish you well