Wednesday, August 19, 2015

10,000 Men

10,000 men work.
10,000 women like Bob.
His gal brings him tea.

I find this song unfathomable. Most people just ignored it. "10,000 Men," which I'm assuming has some tip of the hat to Neil Young's "Ten Men Working," is from the 1990 album "Under the Red Sky," which bewildered most people and left them cold. It's not that bad, but you might expect a Dylan fan to say that. Here's what's going on:

1. 10,000 men on a hill. Some gonna be killed.
2. 10,000 men dressed in Oxford blue. They're drumming in the morning, and coming for you later.
3. 10,000 men on the move. And then this riddle of a line: "None of them doing nothin' that your mama wouldn't disapprove." Think about that for a second. The opposite would be: All of them doing something that your mother would approve of. Or are none of them doing something that she would approve of? 
4. 10,000 men digging for silver and gold. They're all clean shaven.
5. Who's your lover? "Let me eat off his head so you can really see."
6. 10,000 women dressed in white.
7. 10,000 men looking weak. Each has seven wives who just got out of jail.
8. 10,000 women sweeping my room. They spill his buttermilk and sweep it up with a broom (You know what he's talking about.).
9. My favorite verse: "Ooh, baby, thank you for my tea! Baby, thank you for my tea! It's so sweet of you to be so nice to me."




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