My Own Version of You: Analysis:

(photo from @ dylan_mostly on twitter)

After 8 years of no original songs, Bob Dylan released ‘Rough and Rowdy Ways’ in 2020, a fully original new album, unlike anything he had released before.

The third song on the album is one of my personal favourites, it’s the first new song on the album that wasn’t released as a single prior, and is a Frankenstein-themed song, all about time and the past.

All through the summers and into January
I’ve been visiting morgues and monasteries
Looking for the necessary body parts
Limbs and livers and brains and hearts

These are the four opening lines to the song. They paint a picture of a long, lengthy task; going from summer to spring; and a grotesque and immoral task. He’s digging up graves; defiling them; but, furthermore, he’s defiling monasteries. He has no respect for the dead, nor does he have respect for religion.

The message is also metaphorical. The limbs and hearts and livers and brains aren’t literally those things; they are about the parts of the past that the singer is stealing.

I want to bring someone to life - is what I want to do
I want to create my own version of you

These are a short two lines, but, unless we know what the “you” is, we won’t know what this song is about.

First of all, this “you” is not directed at us, unlike in the succeeding song, ‘I’ve made up my mind to give myself to you’. No, this is directed at a vague past; Dylan’s past. With this in mind, we’ll gain a fuller understanding of the lyrics, as we understand how they relate back to this concept of “you” reffering to the past.

It must be the winter of my discontent
I wish you’d taken me with you wherever you went
They talk all night - they talk all day
Not for a second do I believe what they say

The use of “winter” to describe his discontent, implies that it is a cold, hard, harsh feeling, but it also relates to the end of the year; every other season has passed, as in, time has passed and he’s at the end. However, there’s also another meaning to be inferred. Winter is also the end before a new start, it implies that this discontent isn’t going to last much longer.

The third line exposes the singers lamenting over the time that has passed. They feel as though they’ve been left behind it, as if it has escaped them entirely, and they have no clue how it all managed to dissapear so quickly. It touches on a feeling a lot of people get when they’re aging; a feeling of lost youth and not being able to do the things they used to be able to do, due to a passing of time.

The final third and fourth lines are the most elusive lines, they’re hard to pinpoint a clear and easy meaning. I, personally, infer it to mean people who disagree with him, people who say that it can’t be done. These people always exist, and always will, which would explain how they talk all day and all night, since it seems like they’ll never disappear or go away.

I want to bring someone to life - someone I’ve never seen
You know what I mean - you know exactly what I mean

This is where the meaning of “you” seems to get mixed up and changed. Hitherto, we established that it meant Bob Dylan’s past (he laments over a personal loss of his own time). However, these small two lines are critical, they say that, not only is this about Bob Dylan’s past, it’s also about *all* of the past; the past before Dylan was even born; hence why the singer has never known it.

I’ll take Scarface Pacino and the Godfather Brando
Mix ‘em up in a tank and get a robot commando
If I do it upright and put the head on straight
I’ll be saved by the creature that I create
I get blood from a cactus - make gunpowder from ice
I don’t gamble with cards and I don’t shoot no dice
Can you look in my face with your sightless eye
Can you cross your heart and hope to die

Still, the song makes it clear that it still has a lot to do with the past that Bob Dylan grew up with:

• Scarface Pacino is a reference to the movie ‘Scarface’ from 1983, which Al Pacino starred in
• Godfather Brando is a reference to the movie ‘The Godfather' from 1972, which Marlon Brando starred in
• Robot Commando is a reference to is both a gameplay book for a tabletop game, from 1986, and also a toy from 1961.

An odd line is “I get blood from a cactus — make gunpowder from ice”, which seems weird at first. However, getting blood from a cactus is a reference to carmine, a red dye made from insects that live on cacti. Gunpowder being made from ice seems even more curious, but ice packs contain ammonium nitrate, something that can be used to make gunpowder.

The lines “if I do it upright and put the head on straight” and “I don’t gamble with cards and I don’t shoot no dice” emphasise the singer’s commitment to his goal; he isn’t taking chances or anything less than perfection.

Can you look in my face with your sightless eyes, is a reference to the immaterial nature of this monster. It has no eyes to possibly see. We know it’s immaterial, because it’s not a literal monster; it’s the past; it’s bringing the past to the present. I, also, take it as a slight reference to musicians that have ‘blind’ at the beginning of their name; Bob Dylan has borrowed from people like Blind Willie McTell before.

Can you cross your heart and hope to die, is one of many phrases that a parent says to their child; it emphasises the nature of the singer’s relationship with the monster; he is the parent of it.

I’ll bring someone to life - someone for real
Someone who feels the way that I feel

These small two-like segments in the song are, maybe, the most important parts. In this one, the singer emphasises their commitment to their ressurection efforts; how genuine they feel about it. They also emphasise how they feel; how they feel like they’re in the past; they have a link and inherint appreciation for it.

I study Sanskrit and Arabic to improve my mind
I want to do things for the benefit of all mankind
I say to the willow tree - don’t weep for me
I’m saying the hell with all things that used to be
I get into trouble and I hit the wall
No place to turn - no place at all
I pick a number between one and two
And I ask myself what would Julius Caesar do

The first line is a reference to Mary Shelly’s classic novel, ‘Frankenstein’, wherein, Frankenstein, after befalling illness, attempts to learn Persian, Sanskrit and Arabic, in an attempt to help his mind.

Furthermore, the second line follows Frankenstein’s intentions from the book; he wanted to benefit all of mankind by beating death; and also to prove his greatness. It could show that the singer is lying, that they actually want to prove how great they are, by bringing back this thing to life.

The third line is a reference to the tree, the “Weeping Willow”, wherein the singer asks it not to weep for him. It shows the singer’s resolve, their drive, their determination, that they don’t want any sympathy. Furthermore, references to a Weeping Willow are found on the song ‘big river’, written and released by Johnny Cash in 1958, which Bob Dylan also performed in 1969. In the song, the singer teachers the Weeping Willow how to cry. In this song, the singer tells the Weeping Willow not to cry; it shows how, despite referencing all this old media and content, the song is an entirely new creation that isn’t going to adhere, step for step, by what once was. This is further backed up by the following line, “to hell with all things that used to be”, which points out how this isn’t just a copy of what used to be.

The fifth and sixth lines, “I get into trouble and I hit the wall, no place to turn — no place at all” is a display of how the singer is stuck, he’s got no more options, and his plans have been put to a hault.

In the seventh line, the singer says “I pick a number between 1 and 2", showing how limited he is in options; they’re binary.

Finally, on the eighth line, the singer says, “and I ask myself what would Julius Ceaser do”. This, yet again, references how the singer is pulling from older sources and ideas than just the 20th century; he’s going as far back as ancient Rome.

I’ll bring someone to life - in more ways than one
Don’t matter how long it takes - it’ll be done when it’s done

In this short segment, the singer declares that, via line one, this is about bringing the sound and ideas of the past back; whilst the song is literally about bringing somebody to life, it’s also about those ideas and that sound from the past, hence why he’s bringing someone to life in “more ways than one”. The second line merely refers to how long and strenuous the task is, which is why it must take such a long time; perhaps it’s also an apology from Dylan for giving us this horribly long wait for a new original-materials album to drop!

I’m gonna make you play the piano like Leon Russell
Like Liberace - like St. John the Apostle
Play every number that I can play
I’ll see you baby on Judgement Day
After midnight if you still want to meet
I’ll be at the Black Horse Tavern on Armageddon Street
Two doors down not that far to walk
I’ll hear your footsteps - you won’t have to knock

In this first line, what’s important isn’t just that it’s referencing Leon Russell, it’s that it’s referencing his piano playing. Leon played piano on several large bands in the 60s, like the Beach Boys, and he was also mentor-like to Elton John in the early 70s.

This second line references Liberace, who was the most highest-paid entertainer in the world at his height, in the 60s and 70s. He was also, noticeably, a piano protige. What’s also important, is the mention of St. John the Apostle. St. John was the longest living of Jesus’ Apostles and the only one to die of natural cause. This is about the music of the 60s and 70s; how it’s going to last longer than other genres and types of music, and, since it’s the music that the “monster” is based of, the monster will also outlive the things around it. Obviously, the monster is Rough and Rowdy Ways, but it can also be a representation of Bob Dylan’s entire discography; something that will far outlive the man himself.

Lines 3-5 are really simple, and can be skimmed over really quickly, “play every number I can play” is about how the singer is going to use any and all opportunities they can get, “Judgement Day” is a reference to the 1999 movie of the same name, and, finally, “after midnight” is a reference to the Eric Clapton song, from his debut self-titled album, which came out in the early 70s.

The other lines are in reference to how the music from the past has always been easy to find; that it’s just a short walk away, just two doors down.

I’ll bring someone to life - balance the scales
I’m not gonna get involved in any insignificant details

When the singer says they are going to “balance the scales”, obviously, they’re reffering to bringing a balance; evening the odds. It’s balancing out what? That’s not particularly clear. It could be about the music itself, it could be about culture; bringing the past back.

When the singer says they’re not going to get caught up in any “insignificant details” it’s most likely referring to how the culture and past referenced are all quite broad; they’re not going down to specific events or moments neccesarily.

You can bring it to St. Peter - you can bring it to Jerome
You can move it on over - bring it all the way home
Bring it to the corner where the children play
You can bring it to me on a silver tray

The first line references both St. Peter and St. Jerome, again bringing back to Christian references. It, again, inspires images of ancient times and cultures, but also, images of creation; Peter and Jerome were both involved heavily with the early creation of the church and bible respectively.

On the second line, “bring it all the way home”, could be a sneaky reference to Bob Dylan’s very own “bringing it all back home”.

The third and fourth line reference children and a silver plate; both images of purity and sanctity. This helps to expand on the Christian imagery, with purity and sanctity being synoynmous with holyiness and purity; common themes with Christianity.

I’ll bring someone to life - spare no expense
Do it with decency and common sense

Again, this small section only reiterares the singer’s conviction for how far he’ll go, that he’ll “spade no expense”. Furthermore, it also identifies that this isn’t some putrid monster, and that the singer isn’t mad; they’re trying to do this with common sense and decency.

Can you tell me what it means to be or not to be
You won’t get away with fooling me
Can you help me walk that moonlight mile
Can you give me the blessings of your smile

The first line is, obviously, a reference to Shakespeare’s classic line “to be or not to be”. I believe the “you”, in question, refers to the past itself and the culture, so the singer is asking whether the past and culture can answer the question it created. Moreover, it’s saying the answer can’t be found without being from that time it was created; looking through the question as though, we too, were from when it was first created.

“moonlight mile” is a reference to the 1971 Rolling Stones song of the same name.

I want to bring someone to life - use all my powers
Do it in the dark in the wee small hours

Again, the singer tells us of the extent by which they’ll go to bring someone to life. They will use all of the power they have and can use for it.

The usage of “wee” is important to look at, as it’s common slang in Scotland for “small”, and it is known that Robert Burns was Bob Dylan’s greatest influence. By connectin the dots, one could argue that the line has some small relation to Robert Burns.

I can see the history of the whole human race
It’s all right there - its carved into your face
Should I break it all down - should I fall on my knees
Is there light at the end of the tunnel - can you tell me please
Stand over there by the Cypress tree
Where the Trojan women and children were sold into slavery
Long ago before the First Crusade
Way back before England or America were made
Step right into the burning hell
Where some of the best known enemies of mankind dwell
Mister Freud with his dreams and Mister Marx with his axe
See the raw hide lash rip the skin off their backs
You got the right spirit - you can feel it you can hear it
You got what they call the immortal spirit
You can feel it all night you can feel it in the morn
Creeps into your body the day you are born
One strike of lightning is all that I need
And a blast of ‘lectricity that runs at top speed
Show me your ribs - I’ll stick in the knife
I’m gonna jump start my creation to life

The first line is obvious; it’s reinforcing what this entire song is about and what the creating itself actually is; a recollection of the past, of the whole history of humanity, not just the 60s and 70s.

Line 6 is about the famous siege of troy, wherein a large wooden horse was used to infiltrate the Trojans and slaughter them all.

Line 7 and 8 are references to how long ago the history in this monster goes; before the creation of England, one of the oldest countries in the world.

Line 9-12 invokes the hellish imagery, as an opposition to the Christian imagery used thus far. It talks of Karl Marx (writer of Capital and other writings, largely considered the person to discover Communism), and it talks of Sigmund Freud (famous psychologist that introduced the idea of a subconscious into psychology).

The spirit of the monster is referenced as “immortal”, to reinforce the idea already presented in the song, that this culture of the past will last for and be remembered forever.

The talk of “one strike of lightning” is a simple reference to how Frankenstein’s Monster is normally brought to life; by a strike of lightning.

I want to bring someone to life - turn back the years
Do it with laughter - do it with tears

These final line of the song can turn the meaning of the song entirely around.

Laughter and tears seems contradictory, unless you interpret it as the singer being happy they’ve brought this culture and past to life, but still with the constant reminder the they aren’t as immortal as the culture.