Visions of Johanna
Bob Dylan
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Ain't it just like the night to play tricks when you're tryin' to be so quiet? We sit here stranded, though we're all doin' our best to deny it And Louise holds a handful of rain, temptin' you to defy it Lights flicker from the opposite loft In this room the heat pipes just cough The country music station plays soft But there's nothing, really nothing to turn off Just Louise and her lover so entwined And these visions of Johanna that conquer my mind In the empty lot where the ladies play blindman's bluff with the key chain And the all-night girls they whisper of escapades out on the D-train We can hear the night watchman click his flashlight Ask himself if it's him or them who should be insane But Louise, she's all right, she's just near She's delicate and seems like the mirror But she just makes it all too concise and too clear That Johanna's not here The ghost of 'lectricity howls in the bones of her face Where these visions of Johanna have now taken my place Little boy lost, he takes himself so seriously He brags of his misery, he likes to live dangerously And when bringing her name up He speaks of a farewell kiss to me He's sure got a lotta gall to be so useless and all Muttering small talk at the wall while I'm in the hall Oh, how can I explain? It's so hard to get on And these visions of Johanna, they've kept me up past the dawn Inside the museums, infinity is goes up on trial Voices echo "this is what salvation must be like after a while" But Mona Lisa musta had the highway blues You can tell by the way she smiles See the primitive wallflower freeze When the jelly-faced women all sneeze Hear the one with the mustache say, "Jeez, I can't find my knees" Jewels and binoculars hang from the head of the mule But these visions of Johanna, they make it all seem so cruel The peddler now speaks to the countess who's pretending to care for him Sayin', "Name me someone that's not a parasite and I'll go out and say a prayer for him" But like Louise always says "Ya can't look at much, can ya man?" As she, herself, prepares for him And Madonna, she still has not showed We see this empty cage now corrode Where her cape of the stage once had flowed The fiddler, he now steps to the road He writes "ev'rything's been returned which was owed" On the back of the fish truck that loads While my conscience explodes The harmonicas play the skeleton keys and the rain And these visions of Johanna are now all that remain
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Written by: BOB DYLAN
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
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3 facts about this song
Bob Dylan"Visions of Johanna" is one of Bob Dylan's most acclaimed and iconic songs. It was included in his seventh studio album, "Blonde on Blonde" in 1966.
- The song is known for its complex imagery and surreal lyrics. Dylan described it as a song that came to him in a "vision" during a bout of insomnia while he was touring.
- This song is often speculated to be about Dylan's disillusionment with his former lover, Joan Baez, symbolized as "Johanna".
- Rolling Stone magazine ranked it number 404 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
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Grateful DeadA rock band known for their eclectic style, Grateful Dead performed covers of "Visions of Johanna" in their concerts.
- Their rendition of the song was embraced by fans, becoming a staple in their live performances in the late 1980s.
- Their version of the song is noted for its long solos and improvisations, typical of the band's music style.
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Marianne FaithfullA British singer, songwriter, and actress, Marianne Faithfull also performed the song, with her version appearing on her 1981 album, "Dangerous Acquaintances".
- It was one of the several songs on the album where Faithfull experimented with different genres outside her usual folk music.
- Her rendition of "Visions of Johanna" is significant because Faithfull was a prominent figure in the 1960s music scene, the same period when Dylan originally released the song.
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