4th Time Around - Music

Frogtoon Music - Song Info: 4th Time Around

Bob-Dylan - Blonde On Blonde

"4th Time Around" Is A Song By Bob Dylan On His 1966 Album Blonde On Blonde. With Lyrics That Contrast The Mundane With The Absurd "4th Time Around" Is Suggestive Of A Young Romance. The Song Revolves Around The Actions And Brief Spoken Phrases Of A Man And A Woman Who Are Presumably In The Midst Of A Lover's Quarrel. It Opens With What Could Be Interpreted As The Climax Of An Argument "When She Said/ Don't Waste Your Words They're Just Lies/ I Cried She Was Deaf." The Narrator Refers To The Woman As "she" Throughout The Song But In The Last Stanza Begins To Address Someone Directly Using The Pronoun "you" I.E. "you Took Me In /you Loved Me Then". Musically Speaking The Simple Folk Melody Of The Song Contrasts With The More Blues-Rock Oriented Sound Of Most Of Blonde On Blonde. "4th Time Around" Was Commonly Speculated To Be A Response To The Beatles' Song "Norwegian Wood" - Written By John Lennon And Credited As Were All Lennon & McCartney's Beatles Songs To Lennon/McCartney For The 1965 Album Rubber Soul - As The Two Tracks Share A Reasonably Similar Melody And Lyrical Premise. "Norwegian Wood" Was Considered An Artistic Leap For Lennon As It Was His Earliest Story-Song And Showed An Obvious Dylan-Influence. "4th Time Around" Has Been Seen As Either A Playful Homage Or A Satirical Warning To Lennon About Co-Opting Dylan's Well-Known Songwriting Devices. Lennon Expressed A Range Of Opinions On This Topic In Interviews Between 1970 And 1980. He Initially Felt It To Be A Somewhat Pointed Parody Of "Norwegian Wood" But Later He Considered Dylan's Effort To Be More A Playful Homage. Still The Last Line Of "4th Time Around" "I Never Asked For Your Crutch / Now Don't Ask For Mine." Played Into Lennon's Deep But Misplaced Paranoia About Dylan In 1966-67 When He Interpreted This Line As A Warning Not To Use Dylan's Songs As A "crutch" For Lennon's Songwriting.
However This Line Can Also Be Read A Comment Aimed At Joan Baez. During His Early Career Baez Had Championed Dylan As A Rising Talent And Regularly Called Him On Stage With Her When Touring. As Dylan Became The More Popular Artist She Expected The Same Treatment But Dylan Was Reluctant To Share The Spotlight. In "4th Time Around" Dylan May Have Been Commenting On Their Break-Up And The Feeling That He Had Never Relied On Her Support Or "crutch" While Baez Was Now Leaning On Her Dylan Connection For Credibility.