Hip Hop Fan Reacts To Mr Tambourine Man by Bob Dylan 

How a young man of 23 could have felt this and written this I don’t know. It feels like the thoughts of a world weary old man who is tired of who he is. This is one of the greatest songs ever written.

"But for the sky there are no fences facing" is the most beautiful way of saying "the sky's the limit" that I've ever heard.

The BBC dj Lauren Laverne lost her mother earlier this year. Lauren posted a beautiful tribute to her on Instagram. She said that her mother had been a teenager in the 60s. Lauren asked her what it was like living through those times as a teenager? Her mother replied "you know that line in Mr Tambourine Man, 'to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free'? It was like that" What a fabulous thing to say. Dylan put that out there for that generation to find. We're still marvelling at his words today.

The verse that begins with “To dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free” is one of my favorite versus in music

The mental pictures he paints on this song are incredible Like a great painting we all go somewhere different when hearing his lyrics,

What I love most about your Dylan reactions is your appreciation of his poetry. Thank you for bringing me back to the magic I felt when I first heard him. His voice is mesmerizing….

I've enjoyed watching you become a Dylan fan so much! For those of us that have already felt and been moved by him, it's wonderful to see you illustrate why he is timeless!

He is young,courageous, imaginative, fearless. He says what he thinks in HIS way. An example of being well read.

He's singing about Woodie Guthrie, synonymed as mister tambourine man. He is admiring, worshiping and wanting his ability to express wisdom and life.

You dont get to win the Nobel Prize for Literarature without some understanding of the true power of words. Dylan has been a source of great joy to me since I was a teenager back in the 60s. Everybody in rock was influenced and inspired by him. And many outside rock too.

Dylan was and is one of a kind. Always original. Lyrics that others can only dream about. Somehow so poetic, yet by just the feel of his phrases one becomes spellbound. The 1960s had a wondrous posse of singer-songwriters. Dylan, Beatles, Brian Wilson, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, the Band, Paul Simon, Gordon Lightfoot, and many more. What a blessed time !!

In these reactions you really get Dylan , I love how you appreciate his lyrical mastery.

Always thought this was about the transporting and transformational power of music itself. That's the love I hear being expressed.

Respect for going straight to the source for this one. And what a source. One of the all-time most beautiful melodies married to some of the all-time most beautiful lyrics.

You are absolutely correct about Dylan being ahead of his time. He was an influence on so many artists of the time. Good job.

Dylan said that this song was inspired by Bruce Langhorne, a folk musician who ended up playing on this one, because of the huge tambourine he played. Dylan said, "He had this gigantic tambourine. It was as big as a wagon wheel. He was playing, and this vision of him playing this tambourine just stuck in my mind."

His voice mesmerises me and gives me goosebumps from the first words he utters .I could weep with joy, and just Thank the Maker for giving us Bob Dylan, and that 60 years on from the start of his career, he still spreads such profound joy .....

This might be the most poetic written song of all time. Brilliant reaction as usual. Hope you do a Dylan full album soon.

There's a clip of Dylan when he was young standing on a street, he looks around at everyday things and busts a rhyme on the spot. It's incredibly impressive!

Saw him live on the Rolling Thunder Review tour , he opened his part of the show with this song all alone on stage in silhouette. It was the most memorable opening I ever saw. Best concert I ever attended

In the liner notes to his Biograph box set, Dylan said, “‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ was inspired by Bruce Langhorne. Bruce was playing guitar with me on a bunch of the early records. He had this gigantic tambourine. It was like, really big. It was as big as a wagon wheel. He was playing, and this vision of him playing this tambourine just stuck in my mind. I don’t know if I’ve ever told him that.” The Byrds cover is a classic and very different from the Dylan version.

Dylan is a well that never runs dry. Can't wait to see you get deeper in his catalogue.

He is a jewel. A beautiful lyricist, poet & artist.

A wonderful song off of what is my favorite Dylan album (not always; very mood dependent). There are so many great tunes on this album: Gates of Eden and It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) being two of the most lyrically impressive songs I've ever encountered (and Pink Floyd is my favorite band!). Dylan is a True Poet!

I saw Dylan and the Dead in '88 in Eugene, Oregon at Autzen Stadium. It was a 5 hr show and Dylan played with them the whole time. He kinda became the lead singer for them and I was amazed that his voice was great. He had a presence on stage. I didn't expect that along with his voice. It was the happiest concert scene that I had even been at. So glad I got to see them all. As a side note, there was torrential rain, lakes in gravel parking lot with thousands of cars and people were allowed to sleep overnight in parking lot. The next day, blue sky with a little cloud in sky and warm. Magical experience!

The 4th verse still lays me flat… I love how the trees are “frightened”, not frightening. Like I commented on another video of yours, there’s a reason he was awarded a Nobel Prize in Literature. “Let me forget about today until tomorrow”.

The Lyrics can have so many different meanings to so many different people. The need to be guided or lead to someone, something or somewhere that makes us feel the comfort ,that we don't have at the moment. We all feel this need at sometime in life. I get a calm feeling every time i hear this song

Bob Dylan "Simple Twist Of Fate" & "Knocking On Heaven's Door"...Nuff Said.

My interpretation of Mr. Tambourine Man has always been that it's an insomniac's anthem or plea. Dylan clearly sets the song late at night (evening's empire has vanished into sand), perhaps the wee hours of the morning, yet he repeatedly sings that he's not sleepy or going anywhere. In this song I think the tambourine man is something like what some people call the Sandman, a mythical figure who will entrance you into a deep restful sleep. In the early verses Dylan sings that he's exhausted (branded on my feet) yet still not sleeping, and he invites the Tambourine Man to take him on a journey into dreams. This world of dreams is described in the last couple of verses. I once read that Dylan actually wrote Mr. Tambourine Man sitting at a piano late at night in the basement of Big Pink, the house in the Hudson Valley (Saugerties, NY) where he and The Band recorded the Basement Tapes. The Band also wrote their debut album in that house, and titled it Music from Big Pink.

to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waiving free. . . i have had that line stuck in my head all my life. i dont even like to dance. but i wish i could be that image.

Verse 4 might be the most poetic thing I've ever heard in my life

Bob just wants to go to sleep. It's all in the lyrics, especially the chorus. Play me to sleep and I'll follow you in the morning.

No one made songs like this in 64. Live at Newport 1964 has a wonderful version of this song. More Dylan 🔥

When I was a kid in school we were introduced to the poets Dylan Thomas and T.S. Eliot. Something in the way they strung their verses together touched in in a way nothing but some music and visual arts do. It buckles my knees. I was mildly embarrassed by my reaction back then, but have since embraced it. I do not care what critics say. I only care if I have this reaction. "Mr. Tambourine Man" has such lyrics, as do many of Dylan's songs do (My all-time favorite: the final verses of "Love Minus Zero/No Limit.") I was immensely pleased with his Nobel Prize. Check out his Academy-Award-winning "Things Have Changed."

My favourite song of all time and in my opinion one of the greatest songs of all time. The dazzling imagery he evokes with his mesmerising command of the English language is unparalleled. Judy Collins tells how she was woken in the middle of the night by the melody drifting upstairs from Dylan's basement studio as he composed the song from scratch. She was drawn downstairs towards the sound, where pulled up a chair at the studio door and sat, alongside a fellow guest at his house, entranced by the poetry and melody....

Best song writer of all time! Brings me to tears

I've never really been a Dylan fan, but boy he could write a song. This shows in how good covers of his songs can be. There are the usual suspects, but a favorite of mine is Father of Night, Father of Day covered by Manfred Mann's Earth Band. Somebody said (?) that after Dylan, you could write a song about anything. He very much inspired early Rock music, with many artists covering his songs in the sixties as if they were already in the public consciousness, like folk songs in the real sense of the word. PS. I appreciate your reactions...

You are so good at these breakdowns… hard to believe it’s your first listen because they’re so insightful, but then again they come across as very genuine. Glad you appreciate Dylan. The deeper you go with him, the more you are rewarded. He’s that good and that prolific.

Many years ago, we discussed this song in a college class. So many diffferent interpretations were shared, but one stuck in my mind. I’ve also read this interpretation that others have given. This is about mortality , a dying person who is reminiscing on life . The Tambourine Man is the Angel of death.

Dylan was at the crest of the wave. The pioneer in the 60's who inspired and empowered others like the Beatles and Joni Mitchell. He's the guy. When these came out in 1964-'65 there was NO ONE else doing this sort of stuff in any genre. He kicked this door open. He did it for subsequent generations of artists too. He did it for Bruce Springsteen--a young kid when this stuff was coming out by Dylan. Bruce has said that for him listening to Like A Rolling Stone and that first crack of the snare drum at the beginning was like the opening of a secret trap door for him. A subterranean opening, which he's "followed" and explored ever since. Patti Smith too--totally influenced and inspired by Bob. Bruce was the one who entered Dylan into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame, and Patti sang his "Hard Rain" at his Nobel Literature and Poetry Prize ceremony in Oslo. The thing about Dylan is that he is not primarily a poet of the page--the written word. His is a poetry of song and music--it's oral. You have to listen to the song, his phrasing and all of the components to "get" (receive) the complete, full impact of his poetry. Which you Syed seem to understand quite well. 💐

His most vivid and poetic storytelling. My favorite Dylan song.

Great song! If you want some of his best lyrics listen to It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding). Pure poetry.

At the time it was written, most of the generation thought it expressed how one felt on acid. The guitar riff was composed and played by Charlie McCoy, the great Nashville session musician.

Wow. Indeed Bob Dylan's lyrics are simple on one saddle but complex labrynth into mind and soul upon another.

The Byrds cover of this song is historic and is much more familiar to listeners in the 60's than Dylan's original. Possibly the first time a Dylan song was arranged with a big electric guitar sound, and Roger McGuinn's 12 string electric was the instrumental star and their harmonies including voices like David Crosby's, were just gorgeous. Their first hit, and it marked the moment that music critics announced the arrival of a new genre, folk rock. I haven't read enough, but I'd guess that it was a part of Dylan's own inspiration to plug-in at Newport - to hear his own music played in an exciting rock form and not only by other minstrels with an acoustic guitar. Hendrix's cover of "All Along the Watchtower" came a few years later and took interpretations of Dylan songs to another galaxy. Thanks for another very interesting reaction Syed!

Just imagine the people who aren't willing to allow their brain to be switched on enough to enjoy the wondrous and mental stimulation of these artistic masterpieces. It's like never having known love. Who would want to be a politician or a narcissist!

Check out the 1964 live version of this song at the Newport Folk Festival. It was just when Dylan was starting to become really big. You can see by the crowd that Folk was really big back then, and Dylan blew them away: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OeP4FFr88SQ.html

I've always loved this, so simple and evocative and really catchy. Sometimes it just appears in my head out of the blue. And I really also like the birds version, and in fact I have a feeling that that cover of it was actually heard quite a bit more often or at least by more people than the original. Kind of like All Along the Watchtower although not quite to that degree.

I think the Tambourine Man just represents to him the power and transcendence of music and art that can transport us past life's misery and brutality. It takes him to a place of perfection..dancing beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free. He even throws shade on the lyricists who can only hint at the beauty of the music itself "if you hear vague traces of skipping reels of rhyme...to your tambourine in time, dont pay it any mind." Will we ever again see pure poetry make such an impact on pop culture as we did with Dylan? I dont think we will...at least not anytime soon.

Still my favourite. The combination of melody and poetry is just sublime and the last verse does it for me every time. Great reaction. The Byrds only do the one verse but it is a great piece of guitar rock which actually inspired Dylan and is in itself an iconic piece of the 60s. As you hinted at it was listening to Dylan that inspired the Beatles to expand their songwriting and it has to be said their music inspired Dylan to push on down the electric road. Great reaction as always

Although Way Later In His Career,, This Track Is Still Sooo Dylan & Is Well Worth Your Ears,, Eyes & Time,, Bob Dylan "Things Have Changed" (Official Music Video A MUST!!)

The Jingle Jangle Morning always reminds me of NYC going to bed late and then waking up early, delivery trucks rumbling down the cobblestone streets of the Village and then as the morning goes on we hear the sound of traffic in the city

This was a genius level song that came seemingly from nowhere, because it was utterly unlike anything that had preceded it in popular music. And it's very beautiful both in its lyrical images and in its melody. Bob's steady girlfriend in the early 60's, Suze Rotolo (the first name is pronounced the same as "Susie") said about the song that she and Bob had had an argument, and he went out for a long walk on the night streets in Greenwich Village, and that the song lyrics had come to him during that walk when he was trying to find inner peace after their argument. That may be. Bob himself has said that the "Tambourine Man" was inspired by Bruce Langhorn, a session musician who had done quite a bit of recording work with Bob. He said that on one occasion Bruce Langhorn was joyfully playing "the biggest tambourine I had ever seen", and that became the image in the chorus. I think the song is about the absolute joy and sense of freedom that sometimes comes when you're playing music and it's all somehow hitting the perfect flow. That sometimes happens and its a wonderful feeling. You want it to last forever. At any rate, it was an extraordinary song and it became hugely popular and covered by many other musicians. This was the first song I learned to play guitar and harmonica to, and I must have played it hundreds of times over the last 5 decades. By the way, Suze is the girl seen walking arm in arm with Bob on the cover of his 2nd album "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan". They were very close in those days. Suze was a very bright and gifted young woman who had a big effect on Bob in his early years in New York. She wrote a book about those times shortly before she passed away in 2011, and it's a great read. It's called "A Freewheelin' Time". Here's some info about that: Susan Elizabeth Rotolo, known as Suze Rotolo, was an American artist, and the girlfriend of Bob Dylan from 1961 to 1964. Dylan later acknowledged her strong influence on his music and art during that period. Rotolo is the woman walking with him on the cover of his 1963 album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, a photograph by the Columbia Records studio photographer Don Hunstein. In her book A Freewheelin' Time: A Memoir of Greenwich Village in the Sixties, Rotolo described her time with Dylan and other figures in the folk music and bohemian scene in Greenwich Village, New York. She discussed her upbringing as a "red diaper" baby; a child of Communist Party USA members during the McCarthy Era. As an artist, she specialized in artists' books and taught at the Parsons School of Design in New York City.

This song contains my favorite Dylan phrase: "To dance beneath the diamond sky...". The picture it paints is magical.

So glad you're doing some Dylan. Im from Sweden and ive been completely in love with this man for 18 years now. This is my all time favourite.

You should add some Joni Mitchell and Buffy Sainte-Marie to your reactions. Buffy has some great songs and does an amazing cover of Neil Young's song Helpless. Looking forward to more reactions with Dylan, The Byrds, The Band, Neil Young, Buffalo Springfield, CSN(Y).

Ballad of a Thin Man, Positively 4th Street, Leopard Skin Pill Box Hat. And of course Masters of War

Verse 4 always gets to me the most too, no matter how many times I hear it, and I've been a fan of his from before this song! There are So many equally poetic lyrics for you to discover. There is such a variety of topics they all cover. Genius. I hope you cover more.

To dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free, silhouetted by the sea....my absolute favorite lines of Dylan's. There have been many great covers of Mr. Tambourine Man, this song just reached out and drew us into its world, and two of my favorites are by Odetta and Abbey Lincoln.

I think this song is about the rhythm of life. To me, Mr Tambourine man represents life.

Hunter S Thompson’s favorite song. I never thought of the lyrics as being about a woman per se, but overall it is certainly one of the most Romantic pieces of writing I’ve ever come acrosss: Romantic as in, “of, characterized by, or suggestive of an idealized view of reality.”

I always got the impression that he was singing about that youthful memory of a day that was so perfect you couldn't let it end and as the people leave and the streets are left dark and silent you wish you could go on dancing forever and forget about everything else.

Agreed about that last verse. The first Dylan song that caught and hooked me for life is One More Cup of Coffee. Just stunning lyricism.

You got to do "It's alright, Ma" next! Most impressive lyrical piece I've ever heard.

So glad you gave this early Dylan masterpiece a spin! It's probably my favourite Dylan song too. Maybe W B Yeats would be a close analogy, as poetry. You can probably see why he (Dylan) won the the Nobel Prize for Literature, a first for a songwriter. I don't see any love story here - at least, not in the romantic sense. There are a number of theories about its meaning, but mine is that Mr Tambourine Man is Dylan's Muse, in the original classical sense of an invisible being that whispers inspiration into your mind, for you to turn into art, poetry or music. You could just call it the human imagination - the ability to create, to conjure incredible images out of nothing. The Magus/Magician's art. He's said that back then, in his younger days, he'd sit down at his (old school, manual) typewriter and the lyrics would just pour out of him, and that he had no idea where they came from. Many other true creative artists/writers have said something similar. It's just you have to wait for this Muse to arrive/come in before you can write anything halfway decent.. I think here, he's had a late night/early morning, comes home dead tired but still wired/ not able to settle or ready for bed...He sits down at the typewriter... and says: Hey Muse, I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to... Thus he summons his genius ...And so, one by one these images unfold in his mind as he follows his Muse wherever it leads - into extraordinary, beautiful pictures, down the foggy ruins of time into deep memory and the subconscious, into revelation, into an almost spiritual inner freedom/ unity with the Universe "Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky With one arm waving free, Silhouetted by the sea.." In this state of 'flow' time appears to stand still and one is in a sort of blissful limbo: "With all memory and fate Driven deep beneath the waves, Let me forget about today, until tomorrow."

I've listened to this tune since it first was released. At every stage of my life, it has meant something different to me. Every interpretation of a Dylan song reflects where the interpreter is at, not where Dylan was/is at.

Doesn't matter what he's saying . What matters is what it means to you . He allows you into words and music. And what it means to you has to be what he's singng about. An incredible gift from wherever.

Great song. I think a lot of Dylan's earlier, popular stuff can get a bit word soupy (something he himself admitted years later) but Tambourine Man is pretty coherent and excellent poetry. There's a video of him singing this in black and white to a crowd that looks like they just came out of the Victorian era and it must have blown their minds.

"Bob Dylan - It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" best Lyrics or "Bob Dylan - Pretty Saro" best dylan voice performance ever""

I was 15 in 1965. (BTW, I love your passion!) I heard the Byrd's version first. I didn't hear Dylan's version till a few years later. It still brings me to tears with its beauty.

When I hear lines like "In the jingle jangle morning" it makes me think of the very small amount of poetry that I know by the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. I read somewhere that Bob Dylan was a fan and I've always assumed that that is where he took his surname from. I saw him perform this on British TV around 1963 and I was blown away with what I was watching. Been a huge fan ever since. Thanks for the video and analysis. I enjoyed it.

i remember singing that last verse to my young brother he asked is it better than any other rhyme i could not express it but its magical iridescent brilliance is clear

I think he may have been the first surrealist singer\songwriter.

THAT LAST VERSE IS EXPLODINGGGGGG WITH IMAGINATION AND CREATIVITY SYED! 😊JUST INSANE STUFF

Cupid, musicians, maybe his dealer. We'll never know, but we've all felt the reality of his words and adapted them to our own then-current situation and lived it. THAT'S the beauty and power of Dylan's words.

So many people have chased after Dylan songs trying to pin a single meaning on them. I so remember bringing this album back home aged 14 ~ the first side is wicked, then on the second side was this song, and It’s Alright Ma … you’ll see … it ended with It’s all over now baby blue, and I felt like a different person.

The magic and genius of Dylan's poetry is that he puts you inside it and it inside you. You decide what it is saying to you and anyone else has to do the same for himself. The meanings are all different. And all equally valid.

„… returned into sand…“ like a castle made out of sand

Great reaction man Just Like Tom Thumbs Blues will blow your mind

The live version of this song from 1966 at The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert is absolutely sublime. Visions of Johanna, as well. I suggest you all check it out. In this performance Dylan has never sounded better.

You really must listen to "Hurricane" to hear Dylan speak out about racism in the United States at the time. It's a song about Ruben "Hurricane" Carter who was a contender for the middleweight champion of the world who was arrested and sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit. Dylan read a book that Carter wrote in prison and befriended him. He spent some time in the prison talking to him and came away impressed. His song was not well received by the establishment at the time. I remember people saying Carter was not a nice guy and probably killed these people, but eventually he was cleared of all charges after spending 19 years in prison. Dylan rips into the racism of the time and it's one of his best songs. He doesn't pull any punches. Make sure you have the lyrics pulled up because it's sometimes hard to understand each word that Dylan delivers machine-gun style the first time you hear it.

I actually don't try to interpret Dylan's songs, except in terms of what the language and melody evokes in terms of mental imagery and emotion. Another couple of great songs that were often covered are "Hard Rain" and "Baby Blue". Definitely worth looking into.

The song is an ode to music's power to carry the soul away to carefree freedom for a while.

Every one sees Bobs songs differently I think that is he’s magic. Genius. G

After a thousand listens of this beautiful poem song over the years, I have come to the conclusion this is a song about spiritual longing. At this point in his career in 1964 Dylan had already moved on into more introspective work. He gave up the mantle of the leader of the protest movement. He lost the relationship with his muse Suzie Rotollo. He was isolated from the street community that he could once disappear into. In spite of the songs medium bright tempo it it is born from loneliness. Dylan wants God or someone to take him away to a better place. He is ready to submit and he is ready to follow. 30 years later he played this song live as weary slow dirge that is so beautifully haunting with the perspective of time. Check it out live from Laguna Beach. I believe it was 1995.

You should check out Girl From the North Country, it’s a collaboration between Dylan and Johnny cash. It really displays a different version of bob as a vocalist. Very beautiful.. great content, keep it up!

Mr. Tambourine man was a weed Dealer in Grenwich Village in early 1960’s

Hes si ging about himself, opening up conciousness to freedom of thought and willingness to live freely. This song was the birth of the 60's.

I love your approach to all this stuff I've been watching you dissect. I'm a 70 year old who grew up with all these these things and to see a young rap lover take all these old tunes apart is wonderful. Dylan's early style in many ways could be interpreted as him being an early rapper in many ways. Please take a look at the Bob Dylan - Subterranean Homesick Blues (Official HD Video)

One of my favorite Dylan songs - loved the reaction and look forward to the next.

We have been trying to understand Bobs songs for 60yrs ,now we just enjoy the wordsmiths work. G

Great reaction Syed to a great song. I agree that it is a very beautiful melody. And the lyrics are out of this world. This Dylan masterpiece has been one of my favorites for years. Underrated in my opinion and kind of overshadowed by "Like a Rolling Stone" and other Dylan tracks. I loved it when I heard you utter the words "I think this is my new favorite Dylan track". Right on. I'm with you my friend. 😊👍 Bytheway, the Byrds version uses only one of the verses. I forget which one. Another amazing track off of the same album (I think), is "Desolation Row". Hopefully you will bless your ears with that masterpiece sometime soon. Thanks again Syed. ✌️😊

The saying goes nobody sings Dylan like Dylan it's his phrasing and delivery and emotion is insane, plus the lyrics are like a film coming out of your speakers the imagery is so strong. People say Bob Dylan can't sing they are wrong you don't have to have a amazing voice to be a great singer for me he is one of the best singers in the world as well as the greatest lyricist. Young singer songwriters need to study Bob Dylan and they won't go wrong. Why ahead of this time he was the first punk first rapper he just got pissed with getting told you have to write a certain way he was not having that. Then he exploded with some of the most important lyrics you will ever hear, songwriting is the way it is today because of Bob Dylan he probably is the most important artist of all time who will still be studied in a thousand years to come, he is the greatest creator of songs ever.

My first ever Dylan favourite. The final verse is my favourite in music.

Also: in the 80s - Dylan really took note and admired a lot of old school hip hop. Big NWA fan. He’s always known what’s up.

Dylan was singular. Thanks for doing this one. Always happy to go down the rabbit hole.

That's why Bob received the Nobel Prize in literature and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, for his songwriting; the voice of a generation.

used to sing this as a lullaby to my kids when they were babies (partly b/c its the only one I could remember all the words, but it also is a beautiful melody). Could never remember all the words to My Back Pages though. That's another masterpiece by Dylan that I don't see very many people react to, and if they do, they react to the live with all the amazing guitarists, which, I get it, but also they miss the lyrics that way b/c they are paying attention to the star power.

I've always thought this is one of Dylan's best lyrics. To me it describes a depressed, isolated man mired in a mundane and uninspired existence; pleading with the tambourine man to help him escape his suffering, to transport him to another world, with nothing but blind hope that he will come to a place where at long last, he can be relieved of his "crazy sorrow" and be able to "dance beneath a diamond sky with one hand wavin' free". See also Steely Dan's "Any world (that I'm welcome to)"

this song hit me when I was 16. It transformed me....totally.