In one beautful song a First Nations man from Toronto perfectly captured the imagined mindset and shattered emotions of a southern man recalling how his whole world fell apart during the Civil War. Levon Helm's vocals brought it all to life. That whole second Band album is a perfect, sepia-toned masterpiece.
The Band produced two of the best songs ever. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down and The Weight. Robbie, Rick, Richard and Levon all gone, just Garth left. Such wonderful music.
Incredibly symbiotic relationship between Robbie's lyrics and Levon's impassioned vocals and performance gave us this all-time classic - two guys who hailed from two completely different backgrounds. Incredible. RIP Robbie & Levon.
Nope, there's a good side and a traitorous side. Let's equate Nazi's and Imperial Japanese as forgetful misunderstood combatants, regardless of what side they were on? The South were phucking traitors. to their oaths and the Constitution. Lee from West Point...? pure rotten traitor.
Yes. Folks who hated slavery fought & died in the Southern army. Young men dying for greedy old men. That had to be such a gut wrenching era. I support it had to be that way. Damn. If the South has abolished slavery , England was ready to jump in on their side . I wonder how many pieces the USA would have been chopped into. Like Europe.
Absolutely heartbreaking… I don’t mind choppin wood( killing)n I don’t care if the money’s no good you take what you need and you leave the rest but they should never have taken the very best… 😢
You have to wonder how a Canadian somehow captured the intensity and passion of the south in such detail and encapsulated it into an epic poetic song where all could feel the poignancy of the South. My, father, a US Marine in WW2, ravaged physically, mentally and emotionally by constant battle, used to stare into space and cry while listening to this song. For him, it answered many questions that he never fully understood. That being, doing his basic training in the Deep South, and facing the bitterness, hate and contempt that his officers and sergeants treated the new Yankee Marines from the north with. Upon the railroad doors opening in Camp Lejeune, the northern Marines were first met by their drill sergeant who initiated their training by saying: “You f-ing Yankees are gonna wish you never were born.” He told me “They we’re still fighting The Civil War,” which was incomprehensible to him at the time, because he thought the only was was overseas. But the song is a confluence of the pain of war, and the southern sentiment, which kind of brought it all full circle for him. My father had a military burial with a 21 gun salute, reminiscent of the burials he witnessed for all his fallen brothers. But, I was always flabbergasted by how a sort of hippie group, never experiencing war could document the saga so precisely. Levon Helm singing it on the drums with his southern demeanor, catapults it to the realm of the surreal.
Amazing history mate. Thanks for sharing. We in the rest of the world have so little understanding of the cultural complexities of the south. It's fascinating to hear more.
@@gtofto I agree with your “empathy” analysis. He did have a sort of sixth sense to feel and relate on an extremely deep level. It came out in his expression of lyrics and storytelling. He was quite expressive and literate.
Right!??? I play piano, and until I saw this today, I've actually never played the song before. Man, it is truly exquisite composition, I must say!! Do you play dude?
@@Bluzian74ok...actually I do "practice" guitar but I'm pretty bad. I've sunk deep into theory which I actually like learning but as far as playing or performing, not so much.
@@EastmanD Get a keyboard, or just try a few other instruments. Got to practice though. I’ve never met anyone, who actually practiced everyday, who couldn’t play well, after even just a couple years. You may not ever be a soloist, or a songwriter, but you can be a musician.
""Just take what you need and leave the rest. But they should never have taken the very best." The flower of the South's young men, from families that traced back to the Founders, and Revolutionary War Heros, fought and died for the Southern - Constitutional cause.
@@deaddocreallydeaddoc5244 Yeah, the traitorous side. Ignoring their oaths to the Constitution and the Union. A despicable culture based on enslaving others for their own profit. Too bad we killed so many Nazis and Japs. Gone easy, they're just slightly misguided. Yeah, sure.
@@f9qothere’s evidence now that the confederates were the ones to actually do the burning and blamed Sherman in order to generate more ill will towards the North. Who knows though. War is so terrible and unnecessary. I wish war would end on our planet.
Robbie Robertson researched the history of the American South and the Civil War and came up with one of the most classiest , superb songs of the popular music genre ....of all time ! To be able to do the story and the history justice takes a very special intellect and understanding of the complete situation . Don't forget that he wrote all of those other well researched and crafted songs with The Band too . He knew all along what he was doing at all times ...nothing was left to chance ! My hero ,my inspiration .RIP Robbie Robertson .
Robbie supposedly wrote one song about Canadian history, something he should know well or be able to research easily, "Acadian Driftwood". There's a lot he got wrong in the song historically, though it's a great song. The battle on the Plains of Abraham don't really have much to do with Acadian History for one and the events are in the wrong order. I'm supposed to believe that he gets his American history and the feel and stories of the South so correct in other songs, all by himself. I'm not buying it, but hey, he was great, RIP. I just think there was a lot more collaboration, even if it was loose and unstructured going on then Robbie wanted to admit. Too bad, they were all so talented and missed today. There should have been more to this story.
Song doesn't take a stance one way or the other, it's from one person's point of view, so not exactly the wrong side of anything. It'll always be a great song, like Huck Finn will always be a great book, never mind what people try to make of them.@@mcfahk
Tears and chills. Robbie. The Band. Even in his speaking voice you feel the majesty of the the incomparable music he and his Band-mates created. Bob, George, Eric, Neil felt it. And everyone else on down the line. Thanks for so much, Robbie. Take care.
@@marcmaschal2897 Come on, bro. How many soldiers died on both sides of the line? And by extension how many families suffered the loss? Where else could Rebel emotions go but towards saving at all cost the side they believed was fighting the righteous and just cause. Blame the politicians and the ruling class. For them, slavery was a boon and a necessity to sustain and grow the Southern economy. But the empirical reality was slavery was THE single most despicable crime in American history! How easy it was and still is, for "leaders" to dupe ordinary people into believing what they're told to believe. These days a President can declare free and fair elections to be fraudulent, prompting a national split into two factions, similar in numbers "warring" sides, like the Union and the Confederacy. One thing's certain, evolution has not made this country smarter. "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" speaks to the dignity and nobility of Man in his suffering at the loss of life and fading dreams, and in the face of being cruelly misled by the most morally reprehensible among us. Nothing changes. And neither does the profound significance of this song. It stands as one of the greatest achievements ever, I believe, in all of popular music!
@@marcmaschal2897That’s a misinterpretation of the song. The song is from the view of an ordinary southerner at that time and place and what those events were like for them. It’s about the affects of war and the suffering that comes with it. That happens to all sides in a war - even the side that deserved to lose. It’s possible to be sympathetic to some of the constituent people caught up in or participating in a conflict without siding with the broader moral implications behind it.
@DSBac Exactly. I once saw a documentary where they were interviewing ordinary German citizens who lived through the allied bombing of Berlin. No matter what side you're on, war is a terrible thing for the average person.
Many people don't realize the song is very nuanced. It's about the waning days of the war just before and after Lee's surrender from an ordinary Southern soldier or layman. He worked on the "Danville Train" (Danville , VA) till "Stoneman's Calvary came, tore up the tracks again" - but Stoneman's Calvary were SOUTHERNERS fighting for the UNION out of nearby Knoxville, TN. (nearly all of East TN stayed in the Union). Stoneman was charged by the Union Army with putting out the last of the Southern Rebellion AFTER Lee's surrender, and they came down hard on fellow Southerners who would not lay arms down. The songs storyteller laments "Chopping Wood but the money's no good". The Union Army put thousands of Southern men to work in the months after the war doing manual labor for little pay. A major job was chopping wood for heating etc.. The song is about the changing and fraying of a society.
The Civil War was anything but cut and dried. I had an ancestor in the Confederate Army, but he was Cherokee. I had another who joined the Union Army. They were both from Mississippi! Talk about complexity…
@@5roundsrapid263 I lived in the "Deep South" for a long time. There they don't call it the "Civil War" they call it "The War of the Northern Aggression." That will give you a hint about their attitude.
I always interpreted the "chopping wood" stanza as being about the Confederacy---confed money became a common synonym for being worthless, & when the cond=fed army got desperate, they started ravaging the southern countryside for food, wood, everything. I think the singer is saying they'd taken the very best the south had to offer, including his brother, in this futile war. Doesn't matter, this song does address the very nuanced situation of the civil war, where families, states, towns were divided. And the message I take away is that no matter which side you are on, war is a stupid, tragic waste. Thanks for the info, by the way.
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down is the quintessential Band song. Levon’s vocal, the story-like quality of the lyrics, everything The Band was about and portrayed is right there. Like many, I love The Weight the most of all their songs. But “Dixie Down” defines The Band.
This song was always a wink to the South - stay true to your vile principles. No need to honor your oaths (Lee from West Point) or revere the Constitution.
@@higgsmerino3925 I don't think it's that simple. The Constitution is not an infallible document, no more than equivalent texts in other countries are. As for Lee, it's less well known that his reasons for rejecting command of the Union Army were personal to him. He knew that his home state would be a theatre of conflict and he felt an obligation to defend his homeland and his people. He was also against slavery and the secessionist movement that was designed to preserve slavery.
It's not about that. It's about the poor, regular working class people who had to be killed and devastated for generations in order to destroy that slave-based society. War is tragic on all sides. Thats my interpretation at least. The songwriter from what I've heard him say sounds like he just wanted to make a southern sounding song that his bandmate, Levon could sing better than anybody else. He drew the inspiration from meeting Levon's dad who was a southerner from an older generation. The fellas in The Band were no sympathizers to the Confederate cause. They loved black people and their culture immensely. Others can interpret the song however they please, but that would be a very confusing sentiment to come from Robbie/Levon given what we know of them as people.
The point of folk music is to understand the folks point of view/experience/ emotions. I bet you don't lament the fall of gangster rappers? Which in many ways is a kind of urban folk music similar in content to the folk music that talked of Jesse James to Pretty Boy Floyd. Or even goes back to the poem The Highwayman and others that have been set to music by folk singers to Metallica.
And gangsta rap would be called horribly racist if done by whites. Yet it is defended as " black culture" : it is black culture as is the song Pretty Boy Floyd is to white culture.
@@NVRAMboi well there’s no shortage of blues and bluesy stories in the South. I’m sure Levon provided a lot of impetus to write about those hardships. Amazing band and almost as distressing as the Badfinger story when realizing what became of all the members. At least The Band made some money and got some accolades from the industry.
just listen to those lyrics..........as a child of the south they have given me the chills since the first time I heard it. What genius as a songwriter. You can just put yourself in Virgil's shoes. Unreal.
It is amazing that an Indigenous Mohawk from Six Nations Reserve could write a song about the Confederate South and the Civil War..the line: "Now I don't mind chppoin' wood And I don't care if the money's no good You take what you need and you leave the rest, But they should have never taken the very best." Sums up how war kills the bravest and youngest of us all. Brilliant song from a very forward thinking man. RIP Robbie
Just love The Band, they were like no other. That's how they got their name, from their peers saying let's go see the band tonight. We listened to and watched video of R.R. last night for 5 hours , both solo and with The Band. RIP Robbie, you were amazing and I hope you are with your bandmates today.
According to a recent documentary, when they lived at Big Pink, friends who wanted to visit them would go to the main town and ask for directions -- the locals would say oh, you mean "The Band", they live over at such and such... They were simply known as "The Band" by their townsfolk, and it stuck. I'm not saying that's the definitive answer, that's just yet another version of the story.
I saw Bob Dylan & the Band back in '74 during his Plant Waves tour. I went with a group of 4. I told them I coudnt wait to see my idol Dylan...& they all responded they couldnt wait to see the Band. I was perplexed...until I saw the concert & then I understood.
I love the talk about the conditions around songwriting. So true. Just an aside remark...in a conversation...can be the impetus..or an associative thought.
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down - is one of the most important songs of people's music. And rock is the essence of people's music in the 20th and 21st centuries.
The left side of my brain loves this song right up until the right side reminds me of the heinous cause of that orgy of killing and destruction that was the Civil War. Just as Robbie said at the end of the video, when he was visiting Levon’s home and his daddy said half jokingly and half sincerely, “Well you know Robbie, the south will rise again.” That forlorn hope encapsulates the tragedy of the south and the cost of believing in the lies of “The Lost Cause”. It fostered the next 100+ years of continuous racism and fed the fallacy that is white supremacy. It’s a shame that 150 years later “southern heritage” still holds onto this evil rationalization and its institutionalized denial of the facts. I’ve been hearing that “the South shall rise again” for all of my 65+ years and it hasn’t happened yet. Instead, this false history, that generations of the children of the south have been taught to believe as gospel, has left them carrying the weight of falsehoods that just won’t die. It leaves the southern states open to the lies of any politician that mentions the dog whistle of “I believe in states rights” and once again the flag of the seditious army of northern virginia is unfurled in public to be joined now with the flag bearing the ungodly Swastika in the accompanying tiki-torch marches. That weight has hung around their necks spawning a self perception of inferiority as well as a feeling of separation from the rest of the Union ever since their defeat at Appomattox and the ratification of the 13th Amendment . That feeling of separateness has influenced the political landscape of our nation from that time and it continues now as one can openly see the damages of the present “polarization”wrought by their willingness to believe in new lies. It’s a contagion that will keep the south from “rising again” until it is excised from the southern consciousness. That, and only that, will allow the south to truly and fully rejoin the Union and “rise again”. I still fervently hope to see that happy day come when the south casts off the weight of the “lost cause”. Semper Fi
As much as I love Robbie and his songwriting and his guitar playing, when it came to singing he could not compete with Levon, Richard and my favorite Rick Danko.@@edhorton2766
"whole new point of view" and it can bring you to tears. I just hear the blues in their music. REAL blues man, because of the sadness it's beautiful. and that is a breath of fresh air.
I have mixed feelings about that song. It's powerfully written and stirring, but it's hard not to think that it kind of sentimentalizes the lost cause. I can understand why some people don't like it.
I know what u mean but it's also just a piece of art that perfectly captures a perspective. Perhaps one you and I disagree with but are better off knowing and understanding rather than just dismissing or worse condemning.
@@canadiancontent352 Exactly! I remember seeing that superb Ken Burns documentary and they recounted how someone asked a young Confederate soldier why he was fighting and he simply said, "Cos the Yankees are down here". To some it was simply an invasion of their territory, their home.
I love this song, and being black it tends to cause problems for me when I want to sing it. I am in a band and we do Folk Bluegrass. Rock and blues. One of the other band members who play the banjo is also black and we had a gig coming up, I had this song on our list of songs we were going to play, I got a call from our banjo player and he told me he had a problem with the song, and if I did it he was going to set out and not play.. So I told him I understood. But I look at it this way, all war is bad. And the Civil War was the worst. I think it is Ironic that this was called the Civil War because in truth there was nothing civil about it at all. This war saddens me for so many reasons. Robbie says Lavon's father declared one day the South will rise again. What does that mean, especially for someone like me? Does this mean I go into shackles and my humanity is taken away from me? Does it mean I become someone's farm animal? The song as I look at it is about my southern brothers, I say brothers because they are of the human race. The poet John Donne wrote "No Man Is An Island." I feel for the soldiers from the south who fell because they were human just like me. I feel for the farmers who lost their land during this conflict. But I say this, it had to happen. Just read Uncle Tom's Cabin and you will know why this had to be. But I can still feel for Robbie's character in the song Virgil Kane because he is human, no matter what his race is. Is the song saying the Union of this nation should have never happened? Is it saying that slavery should still be in practice? I really don't think so. I think it is about a man who got caught up in the Civil War and suffered from the consequences. In truth I think the Band wrote an antiwar song. I shudder to think that it could mean more than that,
I perform My Old Kentucky Home and always get compliments and praised for the way I do it. But occasionally somebody approaches me and says, I can't believe you do that song. Stephen Foster wrote that song After reading Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1851. I think it really captures the sentiment of a black slave being sold down river and separated from his family. A great songwriter can capture the sentiment of Past Times
@RogerKomula-k191b, I'm with you on that! I also very much dislike the comment toward the end about the South rising again. No, but thanks. The revisionist history version of that war being fought for state's rights is absolute BS. Such a shame - men, war, and some godforsaken desire to glorify it. That's pathetic.
@@daddymuggle Rubbish. It's a lament for the suffering of those with no agency, subject to forces beyond their control. It in no way endorses slavery or expresses sympathy for slave owners; something Virgil Caine assuredly was not. To make the point even clearer, Richmond was put to the torch by retreating Confederates, not Grant's occupying Union forces. Ultimately, it is an anti-war song. This (along with the of the album it's from) might help with a less simplistic conception of the South: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1MIztbe1_e8.htmlsi=rh6k617rn_2iGPP1
@@RogerKomula-kl9lb I can recommend a good remedial comprehension teacher, since you obviously need one. The idea that Robbie Robertson was a proponent of the "lost cause" is laughable and moronic. Are you aware that Lee tried to stop Virginia seceding and hoped she would cleave to the Union? He was motivated by loyalty to Virginia, not support for slavery. Nevertheless, such motive does not absolve his culpability as the moral urgency of abolition should have transcended parochial patriotism. Lee is a tragic figure (in the Shakespearean sense) but no hero.
Rest Easy, Robbie.There will never anyone who could fill your shoes.Thanks for lifting me up when I was so very down. I cannot watch the first Scene of The Last Waltz without crying." Good Night and Good Bye..
And The Woke want to eradicate the song. The people who talk about empathy for gangsters in gangsta rap/ crime music; have so little for those they look down on. Folk music is about understanding other's lives.
WOW , I had no idea that Robbie Robertson actually wrote this song ( knowing that Robbie is Canadian ) , I always thought Levon Heim wrote it for some dumb ass me reason ... after all these years finding this video in 2024 😮😅😅
First time i heard The Band. Hard Rain. Dylan's lp. Then i got that Band lp Big Pink. Then i went to see that Scorcese film The Last Waltz. It was a matinee showing....tgere were maybe 8 people in a majestic old theatre....perfectly appropriate to the film. And I left the theatre...very sad...i missed a chapter in history. They were finished. Their songs still stayed with me. I loved Rick Danko and Levon Helm. Each member was essential to their overall sound. But Danko was a favorite. His vocals and stage presence. Classic strong support.
It is hard to pick favorites when it comes to The Band. When it comes to looks (I'm female and of their generation) Robbie was the best looking, but there was something special about Rick Danko, especially when he sings "It makes no difference", so I would say Rick is my favorite, due to his soulful singing, his endearing peronality and look, and Robbie a close second, due to his songwriting and guitar playing, and looks, and oh his storytelling skills.
I just watched the movie Carny with Robbie Robertson and Gary Busey. The movie was good, not great, but watching Robbie was a great pleasure, I have never seen him look that good, I guess in movie they know how to bring out the best. Jodie Foster was also in the movie. If you are a fan of Robbie you might want to watch it, like I said not bad.@@heathergibson3590
So many people celebrating this song. I believe Sherman said something like “war is hell”. He was right. And although I certainly sympathize with dirt farmers who had everything taken from them, probably from their own side in the war, and starving, they were and still are missing the point of the Civil War. Using pride and “honor”, leaders in the Southern states had persuaded southerners that they should give their lives for a cause that was not just wrong but actually evil. Slavery. 150 years later they still blame the North for their fate during and after that time. “The South will rise again?” There’s only one thing a statement like that could mean. Reinstalling human slavery. All southerners that fought for the Confederacy were traitors to the United States of America. What they should be saying is “Never Again”. Never again will we be talked into supporting and fighting for a cause that is at its most fundamental-evil. Right now in our history people are starting down that road. Supporting Trump and Fascist Kleptocracy. Another evil. Destroying our democracy. Breaking their oaths to protect and defend the Constitution. For what. Is this a new Confederacy? I hope not.
I wish more people could appreciate the meaning of "The NIght They Drove Old Dixie Down". This beautiful song is not really about the South or "the old South". It's about the romantic sentiments of just one group in the South, white supremacists. Black and Brown people, Native American people don't sing or play this song. It's helpful to be aware that a significant portion of the people who live in the former Confederate States we call "the South" are Black, Red, and Brown; social justice advocates, progressives, hippies, and Democrats. What a rich irony that these demographics don't register in the minds of most people who love this song. Doug Pratt, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Way back yonder when Music from big pink first played on my turntable, I knew this was something special. I still dug the Zepplin, Kinks CSN&Y ETC ETC. But the BAND, they were the cat's meow. "When I paint my masterpiece" tells a story, the story is their music is THE MASTERPEICE.
It is an extraordinary song, and one of my all time favorites. But after years of loving it I have come to realize that it also celebrates a part of the south -- perhaps a good part -- without recognizing that it ignores the terrible imposition made by the leaders of the South, who supported the evil condition of slavery. Part of our current politics depends on those still living that evil, and I would like this song to not give it any support. If I had been able, I would have asked Robbie to write additional verses, from both the viewpoint of a slave, and of a white man or woman (I think of Joan Baez singing this) not wanting to be forced to support slavery nor to be denied his or her friends.
I love Robbie but I’m sorry I don’t have sympathy for those who wanted to continue the brutalization of black people. Like romanticizing Johnny Reb, it just doesn’t fly when you know what was really going on.
I don't think Virgil was a slave owner. There were poor people in the south too. War has its effects on the lives of everyone, the poor more than the rich.
@@joekavanagh7171 the poor of the south were convinced to fight the war of the wealthy. They were told it was about states rights and they believed that's what they were fighting and dieing for. What states rights did they not have? The states in that time were almost completely autonomous. The founders had the chance to start this country off on the right path by doing away with slavery but greed lead these men to the sin that our country and every generation will have to live with.
I'm ashamed to admit that the first version of this song I heard was the Joan Baez version. When I heard the original, l was blown away. I also realized that she screwed up the lyrics.
Slavery was also legal ion the Northen states. At the start of thew war there were 4 Northen states that owned slaves. At the end of the war only 3 Northen states owned slaves.And owned those slaves for an additional 2 years.
Absolutely loved the Band and rate this song so highly as a masterpiece of storytelling. But the phrase 'the South will rise again' for me has become real in the sight of Trump supporters. Today in England I walked down the street behind a man wearing a denim jacket displaying an American eagle; the confederate flag on it's wings - and wanted to call him out for what that represents today - a new tribe valuing philistinism, hatred, racism, bigotry and violence. I didn't of course because this is England and I didn't want to make a scene in the street.
Ah yes, the good ole days when black people were slaves. Just another one of those Canadians who mythologized the US while having no idea of what the place was really all about.
Ah yes, the good old yankee who thinks they know everything. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that."
Current events would tell us that Old Dixie was not driven down deep enough as it is now, as it was then, one of the the greatest perils facing western democracy and human decency.
As it is now, weee gonna have to save the country from stupid and “1 full year as a girl”, tampons in men’s rooms, etc. long list of things to do as you squat to pee and then wipe ur..Py….! 😂😂😂
Stoneman’s Cavalry came to my hometown. Came for the gun works but was misled by a child. Raided the armory instead. Dumped two wagon loads of rifles into Deep River before taking off to Salisbury POW camp.
It's probably more anti-war song (Jack Hamilton in Slate) than a paean to slavery (Ta-Nehisi Coates), but the line "You can't raise a Caine back up when he's in defeat" just looks like a hideous attack on Reconstruction. It really ruins what could be a solid class critique of the Civil War era.
Periodically this black guy tunes in to the last part of gone with the wind. I do that just for the fire scene. Periodically when I lived in Atlanta I would ask a local witch Way is Sherman Street . I also do this for the last part of they died with their boots on with Errol Flynn. Anthony Quinn who was of Hispanic decent was the young actor on horseback. He had to anglicized his last name to work in Hollywood. The irony of him putting a cap in Custer's ass Still thrills me. Guess what I still like the weight and up on cripple go figure huh. PS I know that's the fictional account of the Little bighorn don't care.
The song takes you on an emotional journey that is hard to explain. The tune is so powerful I am sure I've sung it hundreds of times. As I sing it there is such a powerful feeling that comes over me, it's as if I am transported back to the Civil War and a feeling comes over me actually being there caught up in all it's act!
I’m surprised the establishment hasn’t came for this song yet. I’m sure making something not negative about the civil war era South offends these people.
Love this song!! Well done Robbie! So, I never understood the lyrics about seeing the steamboat Robert E. Lee passing by. Wasn't this boat owned by the Confederates? But they lyrics seem to say it was a Union boat even though Robert E. Lee was the top general of the Confederate army.
So much depth to this song, when I moved to Mississippi, I learned that “my people” in the Old South meant my slaves. Several people I knew in the South said the chorus of this song is about African American emancipation. I have accepted this interpretation, although it does not get discussed much. Either way, the song is a masterpiece.
