By Larry Fyffe
And he carries a reminder Of every glove that laid him down (Simon & Garfunkel: The Boxer)
The above song about a boxer gets changed a bit by Bob Dylan:
And he carries a reminder Of every blow that laid him low (Bob Dylan: The Boxer ~ Simon & Garfunkel)
Beneath a line quoted from Shakespeare:
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow Creeps in this petty pace from day to day (William Shakespeare: Macbeth)
Dylan spoofs the difficulty in remembering some lines from Shakespeare:
Tomorrow, tomorrow & tomorrow lights this petty grace from blow to blow (Bob Dylan: Tarantula)
Baseball is America’s national pastime; a ‘grand slam’ – hitting a home run with bases loaded.
New York Yankees Roger Maris, a native of Hibbing, Minnesota, won the race against teammate Mickey Mantle for the most home runs in a season.
The excitement generated during the match depicted below:
(B)ut his voice is drowned out by mickey mantle hitting a grand slam (Bob Dylan: Tarantula)
Joe DiMaggio, a baseball hitter, came to metonymically symbolize the old values of America; his marriage to Marilyn Monroe being of short duration, seriously harmed his reputation:
Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio A nation turns its lonely eyes to you (Simon & Garfunkel: Mrs Robinson)
Joseph Jefferson Jackson, a powerful hitter, got barred for life from professional baseball and the hall of fame because he was associated with some players who took bribes (“Shoeless Joe” was redeemed after he died).
Joe named one of his bats “Black Betsy” after a nickname given the whip used to punish slaves:
(B)lack betty, black betty, blam de lam (Bob Dylan: Tarantula)
Jim ‘Catfish’ Hunter, a famous baseball pitcher; Regge Jackson famous for his baseball hits and home runs but also known for striking out lots of times:
Reggie Jackson at the plate Seeing nothing but the curve Swing too early or too late Got to eat what the Catfish serve (Bob Dylan: Catfish ~ Dylan/Levy)
Dylan, as the lines directly above indicate, be fond of cooking up mixed-food metaphors ~ below into an other-worldly ”gumbo” stew, ie: including “limbo”, that mysterious abode for innocent souls departed from the earth before Jesus was around.
Thusly, there’s an obvious religious aspect to the lines quoted beneath:
I play the gumbo limbo spirituals I know all the Hindu rituals (Bob Dylan: Key West)
Skipping earthy and clay-like, albeit uplifting, lines such as:
I play the gumbo hobo spirituals I know all the Hindu rituals
Lines that could easily be derived from the simple metonymic rhyme that’s about a toothless person: Gumbo the Hobo
(Bob Dylan: Tarantula)
In his own words and music, Bob sometimes wonders if he, as a personification of William Blake’s Tiger, is losing his bite.
But he’s able to get over that:
Never no more do I wonder Why you don't never play with me anymore
(Bob Dylan: Drifting Too Far From Shore)
No doubt, inspired Bob be by another ‘song and dance’ man, the quick-on-the-draw Oklahoma Kid:
I don't like you anymore You'll be sorry when you see me Sliding down our cellar door
(James Cagney: I Don’t Want To Play In Your Yard Anymore ~ Petrie/Wingate)