Showing posts with label Sign on the Window. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sign on the Window. Show all posts

Monday, August 17, 2015

Sign on the Window

The meaning of life:
Family yes, girlfriend no, go
Fishing, catch some trout.

This is a knockout song from an album that I already love from stem to stern, 1970's "New Morning." I've read accounts that say this song is about domestic bliss, and while I think that this is true in part, I sometimes wonder if Dylan's expressing doubt just underneath the sentiment. I don't have any reason to say this other than parsing the phrase that he sings regarding raising some kids, being married, having a cabin in Utah and fishing for trout: "That must be what it's all about." That's an observation more than an affirmation, at least to me. But what about the rest of the song? 

Verse 1:
Signs say the following things: Lonely, no company allowed, You don't own me, Three's a crowd. If this is about marriage, then I suppose all those might apply to various phases of that domestic arrangement.
Verse 2:
A woman and her boyfriend "change their tune" and go to California. Then Bob's best friend says, "Now, didn't I warn you, Brighton girls are like the moon." I guess that this is some reference to the single life and its discontents. Or something else. What do I know.
Verse 3:
The weather report. It's raining tonight on Main Street. Hopefully there won't be sleet.
Verse 4: 
Utah, cabin, wife, kids, trout, life.