Expecting Rain

That fiddle reference made me think of Nero, the Roman Emperor who legend says, played the fiddle as Rome burned.

Benny, when you say narrators, do you mean the Dylan experts?? The people and writers who know exactly what Bob means when he writes a song or says anything??? I know I am not among those so I do find that lyric rather unpalatable myself, but then again I am not an expert. Nothing is clear to me anymore so don't worry if you are suffering from that malady also and I would like a thread like you mentioned! Love, Joanna XOXO

No - the narrator is the character doing the singing in the song when the first person 'I' is used or implied....

Bennyboy is right, it's a horrible line. It doesn't imediately spring to mind, but isn't there a similar line in Thinder On The Mountain (another weedy lazy blues number undeserving of the praise heaped upon it)? I'm too lazy to look it up... the thought just occurred then vanished.

Or this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLt7FCRxyY8

If you see me comin' and you're standing there
wave your handkerchief in the air

I can just see all the hags and bitches waving their colorful rags in the air at upcoming concerts.. it's going to be the newest thing after waving lighters.
The narrative reminds me of that film with Al Pacino, where he's playing the Devil..."The Devil's Advocate". He's playing just that kind of guy.
Listen to this, f.i.:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGR4SFOimlk

morrisey mitchell and cohen, public accountants.

Sounds pretty grim to me but I would be surprised if he means it.

In a lot of blues songs, the narrator is putting on a front (and rap I suppose, although rap is not a genre that I like). Your more general point about the violence in his recent lyrics is an important one, but I think it is all part of an act.

To quote a Leonard Cohen song (Closing time): "my very sweet companion gets me fumbling, gets me laughing; she's 100, but she's wearing something tight" - that's pretty grim too.

Blues: I live in a shack; my woman left me; all I have is this bottle ...
Rap: I'm going to kill you; I have lots of bit*hes; you're a p*ssy.

All about making an impression.

i shot a man in reno just to watch him die. thats country.
bob is the gangster of love.

What Mitchell song?

Comparing 'Fulsom Prison Blues' with 'Early Roman Kings'?

Mate, you're flying so far below the radar of mental it's untrue.

"This world is ruled by violence,
But I guess that's better left unsaid."

No, he's just pointing to a tradition that's always existed in American song.

joni mitchell leonard cohen and morrisey, masters of gangsta rock to put you to sleep a new category.

he probably thinks edith and the kingpin is the comparison.
i think hes admitted to being lackadasical when it comes to musicology so hes not to blame.
as its obvious that Folsom Prison Blues and Early Roman Kings are blood cousins.

The word y'all are looking for is bravado. I think gerardv had it right, and I think it's clear it was not an accident or arbitrary choice that he set this to the tune of I'M A MAN/MANNISH BOY.

Bravado or, with the accordions, machismo. No?

correct, it would have been accident if it would have been set to the tune of 'the more you reject me the closer i get.'(sp)

love accordions with angel hair pasta.

youre probably thininking of "some lazy slut has charmed away my brains"

Bravado - yes, spot on.

With the earlier reference to the House of Death, I thought of Orpheus, who played the lyre to open the gates to Hades. The lyre and fiddle are sometimes used interchangeably, like in the story about Nero, who would have played the lyre.

Thank you; I am getting really confused these days!!! I don't know who is who or what is what anymore and of course, I know what a narrator is! Love, Joanna XOXO

Benny raises a fair point. I too find the line off-colour, particularly because it strikes me as so uncharacteristic. The song, despite featuring some exquisite turns of phrase, also contains the sort of virile bravado you would expect from a hip-hop track, not from Dylan. Let's hope it's a one-off.

Bob's been accused of misogyny since the beginning, though it reached a peak in the 80's.

"A woman like you should be at home, that's where you belong."
(Bitch)

Si.