How can I explain? It’s so hard to get on/
And these visions of Johanna, they kept me up past the dawn.

In Bob Dylan’s “Visions of Johanna” we learn that Johanna is gone. Dylan compares her to his friend Louise and other women in the song. Louise is fine, but does she have to always be all over her new boyfriend? Is that what is causing him to think of Johanna again? This guy that Louise is seeing seems to make mention of Johanna and it does not please Dylan—even if it was an off-hand comment. It is things like this that make it hard to move past her.

As he travels through streets he sees whore-houses (Johanna is nothing like that) and museums (Johanna flowed across the stage so gracefully)…it just become all too much. The thoughts haunt him, they are hurtful, but still, they are the only thing he has left of her.

“Visions of Johanna” is just…different than almost anything else you will find in music. It is a haunting portrayal of a man obsessed with an ideal of a woman. You can hear it in his voice, and it comes across in the lyrics. For the best version I recommend the Live at Free Trade Hall, from May 17, 1966.

For more great Dylan songs.

Visions of Johanna Lyrics

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 that’s insane
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

Now, 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
How can I explain?
It’s so hard to get on
And these visions of Johanna, they kept me up past the dawn

Inside the museums, infinity 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”
Oh, 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

written by Bob Dylan

I heard that your dreams came true/
Guess she gave you things, I didn’t give to you.

Adele reminisces about an old lover and the good times in “Someone Like You”. She remembers the promises they made to each other when they were in love. She decides to seek out this former lover and has come to discover that he is with someone new. Even worse—he is happy—and married.

Still, she shows up and surreptitiously bumps into him. They once had great rapport but now he is acting differently. That’s strange—he was never the type to be shy. I think she was expecting a miracle to happen, though she doesn’t mention it. Perhaps she envisioned he’d immediately dump his wife and run away with her, but it doesn’t turn out that way. In the end she just asks him not to forget her. He says he won’t.

Life can hurt.

As with most Adele songs, the first thing we notice in “Someone like You” is her amazing voice. It is truly unique and once in a generation. The piano arrangement sounds more complex than it is. It fits the song perfectly but is relatively easy to play. I don’t hear any other instruments for most of the song.

There is some voice doubling, but other than that the song is light on effects. One thing that doesn’t get brought up often enough is that this song was released on her 21 album…meaning that Adele wrote this great song at the age of 21. The song sounds like it was written by someone older; someone with more life experience than a 21 year old.

More great songs by Adele.

Someone Like You Lyrics

I heard that you’re settled down,
That you found a girl and you’re married now.
I heard that your dreams came true.
Guess she gave you things, I didn’t give to you.
Old friend, why are you so shy?
Ain’t like you to hold back or hide from the light.

I hate to turn up out of the blue, uninvited
But I couldn’t stay away, I couldn’t fight it.
I had hoped you’d see my face
And that you’d be reminded that for me, it isn’t over.

Never mind, I’ll find someone like you,
I wish nothing but the best for you, too.
“Don’t forget me, ” I beg.
I remember you said,
“Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead”.
“Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead”.

You know how the time flies,
Only yesterday was the time of our lives.
We were born and raised in a summer haze,
Bound by the surprise of our glory days.

I hate to turn up out of the blue, uninvited
But I couldn’t stay away, I couldn’t fight it.
I had hoped you’d see my face
And that you’d be reminded that for me, it isn’t over.

Never mind, I’ll find someone like you,
I wish nothing but the best for you, too.
“Don’t forget me, ” I begged.
I remember you said,
“Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead”.

Nothing compares, no worries or cares,
Regrets and mistakes, they’re memories made.
Who would have known how bittersweet this would taste?

Never mind, I’ll find someone like you,
I wish nothing but the best for you.
“Don’t forget me, ” I beg,
I remember you said,
“Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead”.

Never mind, I’ll find someone like you.
I wish nothing but the best for you, too.
“Don’t forget me, ” I begged,
I remember you said,
“Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead”.
“Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead”.

Written by Adele

We both know what memories can bring/
They bring diamonds and rust.

“Diamonds and Rust” is the song that Joan Baez wrote about her relationship with Bob Dylan. Baez was not a great songwriter; she was a great singer. “Diamonds and Rust” was the exception. It is such a personal tale with unique details that help bring the story to life with universal observations that solidify the song as applicable to any relationship.

Ten years after their breakup, Joan gets a phone call from Dylan. It is random: out of the blue. It brings about a flood of thoughts and emotions. What does she mean by “Diamonds and Rust”? Well, some of her memories of him have aged like diamonds, some like rust. Her description of the onslaught of her feelings and her recollection of their relationship is great songwriting.

They decide to meet after all these years. The scene is described in one of the best bridges of all time: At first it is as magical as the movies. Her description is poetic. All the loving memories rush over her. The music swells to a crescendo…

Then they start talking. And it becomes clear why they broke up. It appears he may even want to give the relationship another go–but for her it is a hard no.

“Diamonds and Rust” is another song that I cannot believe does not get more airplay. It is so beautiful, and it is an icon at her absolute best. The guitar part is unique, as is the chord progression. Again, the bridge is amazing. She changes the sound as the scene is changed and we can hear the lightness and happiness of their reuniting. Followed by the abrupt return to the sad minor key when they start to talk again. Joan’s voice is amazing. She tends to go slightly overboard on the vibrato, but it bothers me less with her than others who do this.

Diamonds And Rust Lyrics

Well, I’ll be damned.
Here comes your ghost again,
But that’s not unusual,
It’s just that the moon is full,
And you happened to call.
And here I sit
Hand on the telephone,
Hearing a voice I’d known
A couple of light years ago,
Heading straight for a fall.

As I remember your eyes
Were bluer than robin’s eggs.
My poetry was lousy you said.
Where are you calling from?
“A booth in the Midwest”.
Ten years ago
I bought you some cufflinks.
You brought me something;
We both know what memories can bring-
They bring diamonds and rust.

Well, you burst on the scene
Already a legend.
The unwashed phenomenon;
The original vagabond-
You strayed into my arms.
And there you stayed,
Temporarily lost at sea.
The Madonna was yours for free,
Yes, the girl on the half-shell.
Could keep you unharmed.

Now I see you standing
With brown leaves falling all around
And snow in your hair.
Now you’re smiling out the window
Of that crummy hotel
Over Washington Square.
Our breath comes out white clouds,
Mingles and hangs in the air.
Speaking strictly for me
We both could have died then and there.

Now you’re telling me
You’re not nostalgic.
Then give me another word for it-
You who are so good with words,
And at keeping things vague.
‘Cause I need some of that vagueness now
It’s all come back too clearly.
Yes, I loved you dearly.
And if you’re offering me diamonds and rust,
I’ve already paid.

written by Joan Baez