Oh sister when I come to lie in your arms
You should not treat me like a stranger
Our Father would not like the way that you act
And you must realize the danger.
Oh sister am I not a brother to you
And one deserving of affection ?
And is our purpose not the same on this earth
To love and follow His direction ?
We grew up together
From the cradle to the grave
We died and were reborn
And then mysteriously saved.
Oh sister when I come to knock on your door
Don't turn away you'll create sorrow
Time is an ocean but it ends at the shore
You may not see me tomorrow.
--Bob Dylan
The Phantom had never heard Bob Dylan's "Oh Sister" until Maud alluded to it. Discovering a Dylan album and work is akin to the recent news a trove of paintings, apparently stolen by the Nazis, or hidden from them or simply lost was discovered in good condition.
What joy.
Accompanied by Emmy Lou Harris, it's a wonderful piece of music, beyond the words. According to Wikipedia, it was a favorite on concert tours, but the album was released in 1976, when the Phantom was not available for concert going and there was no iTunes, so the Phantom had been unaware of it, until Ms. Maud cited it for its relevance to a discussion of the pressure mortality puts on living.
What is intriguing about this song is the Christian imagery. There is also the profound ambiguity of what he is talking about, not unusual in Dylan, but this one confuses the Phantom. For one thing, it does echo, "To A Coy Mistress," which is an effort to persuade a desired lover into bed. But this is pretty clearly addressed to a sister, and not a sister in the sense a Black man might call an unrelated Black woman, "sister." This is a woman he grew up with, presumably a biologic sister. And he wants to lie in her arms and he wants "affection." None of this means he is talking about sex, but the ambiguity lays across the big brass bed. On the other hand, he says our Father (capitalized) would want her to show him affection, and presumably, our Father is not a great fan of incest.
On the other hand, perhaps the Phantom has sex on the mind when, in fact, Dylan is talking about another sort of love entirely, the love we ought to show our neighbor, our family.
The internet is rife with comments about this song and the range of interpretations is broad, often derived from what fans know about Dylan, his love life, and everyone fro Joan Baez to Emmy Lou is mentioned.
Whatever the words mean, it's a lovely song, peculiar, but lovely.
Phantom,
ReplyDeleteAs you've said earlier, it's surprising how people can listen to a song, view a painting etc. and draw vastly different conclusions. I think "Oh Sister" is a love song, but not one about biological brother and sister which would be profoundly creepy, but "brother and sister" in the biblical sense-that we're all God's children. So I disagree when you say Dylan doesn't mean "sister" in the same way a black man would, I think he does. To my mind, when he sings "Our Father would not like the way that you act, And you must realize the danger"-the danger isn't that they'll act on their love, but that they won't. I haven't read the various interpretations on-line but I would imagine there are a boatload-perhaps you could give Dylan a call and ask which interpretation more closely matches his intent..
Anyway, guess my secret is out-I can indeed see electromagnetic waves, but it's a skill that's never gotten the proper recognition or respect. Everyone knows Bat Girl and Cat Woman, but who remembers Bird Girl?
Maud
Maud,
ReplyDeleteIf you think it's the biblical thing, I would not disagree. Who am I to doubt a woman with bird vision?
Phantom