An Exegesis by Stu Levitan
In late January and early February, 1964, when the number one song in America was “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” here’s what Bob Dylan was writing:
Through the mad mystic hammering of the wild ripping hail
The sky cracked its poems in naked wonder
That the clinging of the church bells blew far into the breeze
Leaving only bells of lightning and its thunder
Striking for the gentle, striking for the kind
Striking for the guardians and protectors of the mind
For the poets and the painters who reflect their given time
An’ we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing