Aretha with no goals, eternally single & one step soft of heaven/ let it be understood that she owns this melody along with her emotional diplomats & her earth & her musical secrets
Bob DylanRead
I march in the parade of liberty But as long as I love you I’m not free How long must I suffer such abuse Won’t you let me see you smile one time before I turn you loose?
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses the conflict between personal freedom and the pain caused by unreciprocated love.
In this quote, Bob Dylan conveys the idea that while he desires the freedom that comes with liberty, his love for someone complicates that sense of freedom. The suffering mentioned reflects the emotional turmoil that comes from a love that is not fully reciprocated, suggesting that to be truly free, he needs to find resolution in his feelings and witness the joy of the person he loves. The plea to see a smile underscores the yearning for happiness, both for himself and the beloved, highlighting the emotional burden love can impose.
Themes
LoveFreedomSufferingHappinessLiberty
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about love and sacrifice, I quoted Dylan to illustrate the complexity of relationships.
More from Bob Dylan
All quotes →If I wasn't Bob Dylan, I'd probably think that Bob Dylan has a lot of answers myself.
Bob DylanRead
Some formulas are too complex and I don't want anything to do with them.
Bob DylanRead
I'm the oldest son of a crazy man, I'm in a cowboy band.
Bob DylanRead
My songs are personal music, they're not communal. I wouldn't want people singing along with me. It would sound funny. I'm not playing campfire meetings. I don't remember anyone singing along with Elvis, Carl Perkins or Little Richard.
Bob DylanRead
I wish that for just one time you could stand inside my shoes. You'd know what a drag it is to see you.
Bob DylanRead
Similar quotes
It doesn't have to be on Valentine's Day. It doesn't have to be by the time you turn eighteen or thirty-three or fifty-nine. It doesn't have to conform to whatever is usual. It doesn't have to be kismet at once, or rhapsody by the third date. It just has to be. In time. In place. In spirit. It just has to be.
David LevithanRead
Perfect love casts out fear. Where there is love there are no demands, no expectations, no dependency. I do not demand that you make me happy; my happiness does not lie in you. If you were to leave me, I will not feel sorry for myself; I enjoy your company immensely, but I do not cling.
Anthony De MelloRead
When you love someone deeply, you know secrets they haven't told you yet. Or secrets they aren't even aware of themselves. ... She was also the person I wanted to share the trivia of my life with, because that too is part of the magic of concern: Whatever you live is important to them and they will help you through it.
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The important thing is not the object of love, but the emotion itself.
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Wooing, wedding, and repenting is as a Scotch jig, a measure, and a cinque-pace: the first suit is hot and hasty like a Scotch jig--and full as fantastical; the wedding, mannerly modest, as a measure, full of state and ancientry; and then comes repentance and with his bad legs falls into the cinque-pace faster and faster, till he sink into his grave.
William ShakespeareRead
I want to write stories that are different from the ones I've written so far, Junpei thought: I want to write about people who dream and wait for the night to end, who long for the light so they can hold the ones they love. But right now I have to stay here and keep watch over this woman and this girl. I will never let anyone-not anyone-try to put them into that crazy box- not even if the sky should fall or the earth crack open with a roar.
Haruki MurakamiRead