“All Along the Watchtower(s)”: Reimagining the Prophetic and the Apocalyptic in Bob Dylan’s Lyrics

Abstract

The article presents an overview and analysis of the connections between one of the most famous lyrics by Bob Dylan, “All Along the Watchtower” (1967) and a constellation of passages in the Bible. Employing a functionally simplified notion of intertextuality as the operational methodology, these links are demonstrated through references to specific textual argumentation, showing how much Dylan’s text shares with its Biblical sources in terms of imagery, conceptualizing, and even the wording of concrete excerpts in King James Version specifically. The central proposal is that the notoriously puzzling poetic miniature can be interpreted in terms of continuing the literary traditions of the Scripture, with a special focus on the prophetic and the apocalyptic. While discussion of the sources in the prophetic books, the Gospels, and the Epistles builds directly upon the earlier studies, supplementing them with new observations, the original claim of the article is that “All Along the Watchtower” exhibits strong intertextual ties with the Book of Revelation as well. The assertion is supported by argumentation flowing from concrete textual material.