By Larry Fyffe
The ‘Song Of Solomon’, of the Old Testament Bible, can be interpreted thusly.
The narrator, God (Jesus, if you prefer) is speaking to His beloved, His faithful;
He tells her that she can find Him in the big house by the shepherds’ tents:
If thou know not, O thou fairest among women Go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock And feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents I have compared thee, O my love To a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots (The Song Of Solomon 1: 8,9)
Singer/songwriter Bob Dylan updates the analogy. He transforms it into American street lingo – the Almighty’s a cowboy in the sky; she’s a pony named ‘Lucifer’; she calls herself ‘Rosie’, but you can call her Mary Jane if you wanna:
Well, I was sleepin' with the devil In this crowbar hotel Well it won't be satisfied If I remember where (Bob Dylan: One more ride)
https://youtu.be/JJ2BfbrH4oM
Oh you know, baby Just tie myself together May you never leave The 'lectric chair (Bob Dylan: One more ride)
The faithful Rose of Sharon responds dutifully to God’s demands for love:
I sat down, under His shadow with great delight And His fruit was sweet to my taste (The Song Of Solomon 2: 3)
Street-smart Rosie's hip; she's earthy, and talks salty: Well, let's roll, baby, roll (Roll down there) Roll, baby (Roll, take a dive down there) Can't you feel I'm feelin' steel (Bob Dylan: One more ride)
She got plans of her own:
What's ya doin' up there You a-gonna take A dive Baby-o?
(Bob Dylan: One more ride)
The holier-than-thou Almighty One says He’s going to give the Rose all of His love; claims He wants to free her from prison.
However, she doesn’t want to go:
I held Him, and would not let Him go Until I brought him into my mother's house And into the chamber of her that conceived me (The Song Of Solomon 3:4)
Says he, ‘Then, you can just stay put down’:
Well, you take my love, and take your time I think I must be on it And blow this stuff goin' down The hand of God is upon it
(Bob Dylan: One more ride)
In fact, he prefers things the way they are – all mixed up:
Take you to myself, Don't you do it, doggone it I can't get nowhere Without you there
(Bob Dylan: One more ride)
The Merry-Go-Round goes around and around – reverses Time:
Well, let’s roll, baby, roll ….