Using the Bible as a Key to
Unlock
the Meaning of Bob Dylan's "Jokerman"
© copyright 1999 by Skylar
Hamilton Burris
The enigmatical nature of Bob Dylan’s song "Jokerman" makes it subject to many wildly different interpretations. It has been argued that the Jokerman represents Christ, an antichrist, Israel, and Bob Dylan himself. In the light of such varied readings, it may seem ludicrous to attempt to pin down the symbolic nature of the Jokerman. However, if we look at the song in the context of its biblical allusions and of the general teachings and events in the Bible, perhaps the most consistent interpretation we can make is that the Jokerman does indeed represent Christ, while the "idol" of the first stanza and the "prince" of the last both serve as antichrist figures.
Robert Zimmerman, a.k.a. Bob Dylan, grew up in a home "with intense Jewish feelings" (Pickering 81-2). In January of 1979, two pastors of the Vineyard Fellowship in California spoke to Dylan. He accepted Christ into his life, and in February, he was baptized (Heylin 206). Three powerful gospel albums followed: Saved, Slow Train, and Shot of Love. Yet before releasing his 1983 album Infidels, which contains the song "Jokerman," Dylan had spent some time studying at the Lubavitcher Hasidic center in Brooklyn (Heylin 242). This caused many to speculate that he had renounced Christianity. However, as James W. Earl writes, asking whether Dylan "hasn’t gone back to being a Jew" is, in fact, the wrong question: "After the first flush of his rebirth he rediscovered and reabsorbed his Jewishness in new and personal ways" (53-4). This "Jewishness" is apparent on Infidels, but Dylan has not abandoned Christian imagery, and "Jokerman" can not be fully deciphered outside of a Christian context.
It may seem strange to argue that someone called "Jokerman" could represent Christ, but there is precedent for the use of such a name. John Henry has pointed out that in the deck of Tarot cards, the Creator is most often associated with the Joker (24). Dylan must have been conscious of this; he portrays his Jokerman with "a small dog licking [his] face" (line 33). Similarly, in the Tarot deck, "[t]he Joker is generally portrayed [ . . .] with a small dog nipping at his leg" (Henry 24). Nor is this necessarily the first time Dylan has used a Joker figure to represent Christ. It may be argued that the Joker of "All Along the Watchtower" represents Christ, who was crucified between two thieves: one which refused to "talk falsely" and one which mocked Christ as though "life [were] but a joke" (Dylan 6-7; Luke 23).
At the beginning of the song, we see the Jokerman "Standing on the waters casting [his] bread" (1). We know that Jesus Christ said He was "the bread of life" (Henry 1; John 6.48). He also commented that "[m]an shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4.4). The Jokerman casting his bread, therefore, may be symbolic of Christ’s sharing his Word, since he "is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die" (John 61.50). Most explicitly, this verse of the song refers to Ecclesiastes 11:1: "Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days" (Henry 2). The implied hope, then, is that Christ’s teaching--which He has "cast" upon the people--will breed loyal disciples.
But the hope is an insecure one. While Jokerman is casting his bread, "[d]istant ships" are "sailing into the mist" (3). This is part of the general apocalyptic scene of the first stanza of the song. In Daniel, it is said that "the ships of Chittim shall come against" Antiochus Epiphanes, an early type of the Antichrist; "therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant" (11.30; Henry 5; Hindson and Kroll 1657). Furthermore, while Jokerman stands on the water, "the eyes of the idol with the iron head are glowing" (2). Although no specific idol is described in the Bible as having an "iron head," Daniel does see a beast with "teeth of iron" who "war[s] with the saints" (7.19-21; Henry 3-4). This beast has also been connected with the Antichrist (Hindson and Kroll 1647).
In this same stanza, Jokerman is described as being "born with a snake in both of [his] fists while a hurricane was blowing" (4). When the Greek mythological figure Herakles was born, "Hera put two great snakes in [his] crib, hoping they would crush him to death. But the child used his superhuman strength and strangled the snakes" (Wilkinson 65). In Christian literature, Herkales is sometimes associated with Christ because the former was also a son of god (in this case Zeus) and because the Bible prophesied that Christ’s birth would destroy the serpent: "And I will put enmity between thee [the serpent] and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel" (Gen. 3.15; Henry 5).
Later, the listener is told that freedom is "just around the corner" for the Jokerman, "[b]ut with the truth so far off, what good will it do?" (6-7). Christ often appeared to feel suffocated in His life on earth. "O faithless and perverse generation," he said, "how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you?" (Matt. 17.17; Henry 5). This cry is like that of the Joker/Christ figure in "All Along the Watchtower," who says, "There must be some way out of here" (1). Freedom is just around the corner because it is not long before Christ will ascend into heaven. But despite this impending escape, Christ remains disappointed because He knows that truth is far off. "Nevertheless," he asks, "when the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18.8; Henry 6).
As the sun "swiftly [ . . . ] sets in the sky," Jokerman rises "up and say[s] goodbye to no one" (10-11). The sun setting can be seen as the Son dying, and the Jokerman rising up can be seen as Christ’s resurrection. When He is first resurrected, Christ sees no one. When the women enter the tomb, He is already gone. "Fear ye not," an angel tells them, "for I know that ye seek Jesus [. . .] He is not here: for He is risen" (Matt. 28.5; Henry 6). Jesus eventually does see His disciples again, and he does speak with them, but he says goodbye to no one. Instead, He says, "[A]nd lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world" (Matt. 28.20; Henry 7).
The next few lines of the song may also be related to Christ:
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread,
Both of their futures, so full of dread, you don’t show one.
Shedding off one more layer of skin,
Keeping one step ahead of the persecutor within. (12-15)
Christ can be said to show no future because "of that day and hour knoweth no man"(Matt. 24.36). But how can Christ be described as shedding skin? Paul became "all things to all men, that [he] might by all means save some," and this is a type skin shedding which is entirely consistent with Christianity (1 Cor. 9:22). Christ may be said to shed off skin in the sense that he gradually revealed His divinity. Christ certainly had persecutors without, but "the persecutor within" is more difficult to pinpoint. Perhaps this refers to Christ’s temptation or, more likely, to His desire--which He mastered--to escape his Father’s painful plan: "take away this cup from me" (Mark 14.36).
Jokerman is further described as "a man of the mountains" who "can walk on the clouds." He’s a "[m]anipulator of crowds" and "a dream twister" (19-20). Christ spent time in the mountains. A mountain was the sight of the Transfiguration. And the Bible says that "[w]hen he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him" (Matt. 8.1; Henry 8). In this one verse, Christ is associated with both the mountains and crowds. Although "manipulator" generally carries a negative connotation, we can apply it to Christ. He was, in a sense, a manipulator of crowds. He intentionally spoke to the people in parables so that they would not understand the mysteries He was revealing: "Therefore I speak to them in parables: because they seeing see not: and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand" (Matt. 13.13). At Pentecost, Christ "manipulated" the crowd, pouring out his Spirit upon them and causing them to speak in tongues so that they might bear witness to Him (Acts 2). Pentecost is also evidence of Christ as a "dream twister." Joel prophesied Pentecost in these words: "I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions" (2.28; Henry 8). Christ is also a man of the clouds because "the Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet" (Nah. 1.3; Henry 8).
Jokerman is a "[f]riend to the martyr, a friend to the woman of shame" (23). These characteristics may easily be associated with Christ. Just before Stephen was stoned, Christ proved himself a friend, strengthening the martyr for his final moments:
But [Stephen], being full of the Holy Ghost looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God." (Acts 7.54-60; Henry 11).
Christ is certainly friend to the woman of shame. He showed compassion to the woman taken in adultery, to the Samaritan woman who had had multiple husbands and was living in sin with a man not her husband, and to the "sinner" who washed His feet with her tears (John 8.3-11; John 4; Luke 7.36-39; Henry 11-12). Another obvious New Testament reference occurs when Dylan says that the Jokerman "look[s] into the fiery furnace, see[s] the rich man without any name" (24). In the parable of Lazurus the beggar, the rich man, who is sent to the fiery furnace of hell, has no name (Luke 16.19-26; Henry 13-14).
But soon after these lines, Dylan turns back to the Old Testament. He addresses the Jokerman, saying, "Well, the Book of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, / The law of the jungle and the sea are your only teachers" (28-29). Larry Yudelson sees this Old Testament reference as evidence that the Jokerman does not represent Christ, "Leviticus and Deuteronomy being the most legalistic books of the Pentateuch, the least meaningful for Christians." He asserts, "These are certainly not the ‘only’ teachers of Jesus" (1). Yuddelson seems to have a valid point, but we must remember that Christ taught that "the first and greatest commandment" is "[t]hou shalt love the lord thy God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind [. . .] And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Matt. 22:35-40). The first of these commandments can be found in Deuteronomy 6:5, the second in Leviticus 19:18. And upon these two commandments, Christ claims, "hang all the law and the prophets" (Matt. 22.40; Henry 15). If the entire Old Testament can be encapsulated in these two commands alone, then it might be argued that Leviticus and Deuteronomy are among Christ’s only teachers. The law of the jungle, Jokerman’s other teacher, is the law of survival, and it too can be applied to Christ, who had to survive the traps of the Pharisees until His appointed hour.
Still more evidence of Jokerman’s association with Christ can be found in the next few lines:
In the smoke of the twilight on a milk-white steed,
Michelangelo indeed could have carved out your features.
Resting in the fields, far from the turbulent space (30-32).
Christ rides a white steed in Revelation: "heaven opened, and behold, a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called faithful and true, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war [. . . ] and his name is called The Word of God" (19.11-13; Henry 15-16). Christ often retired to the desert or fields to pray and to escape the turbulent crowds. One example occurs in Mark 6:31-32, when Jesus tells His disciples, "Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while" (Henry 16). Christ could also be resting in the fields and half-sleeping "near the stars" because He is homeless: "[T]he foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the son of man hath not where to lay his head" (Matt. 8.20; Dylan 33).
At this point, Dylan begins to depart from his focus on the Jokerman. The scene shifts to a portrait of the fallen world we inhabit (and, no doubt, of Israel in a period of unrest):
Well, the rifleman’s stalking the sick and the lame,
Preacherman seeks the same, who’ll get there first is uncertain.
Nightsticks and water cannons, tear gas, padlocks,
Moltov cocktails and rocks behind every curtain,
False-hearted judges dying in the webs that they spin,
Only a matter of time until night comes stepping in. (37-42)
In this world, where "[n]one calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth," where "[t]hey hatch cockatrice eggs, and weave the spider’s web," it is only a matter of time until "the day of the Lord" comes "as a thief in the night" (Isa. 59.4-6; I Thess. 5.1-6; Henry 18-19). It is also against this backdrop of war and deception that antichrists will arise and lead men astray.
Thus, the final stanza of "Jokerman" turns to address an antichrist. Even Yudelson must confess that this imagery is drawn from the Book of Revelation (2). "A woman just gave birth to a prince today," sings Dylan, "and dressed him in scarlet" (47). Christ was certainly not dressed in scarlet; rather, he was dressed in swaddling clothes. The "mother of harlots" described in Revelation, however, sits "upon a scarlet coloured beast" and is "arrayed in [ . . . ] scarlet colour" (17.3-5; Henry 19-20). It is likely, therefore, that this is the harlot Dylan intends when he writes that the prince will "take the motherless children off the street / And place them at the feet of a harlot" (49-50). Dylan’s prince appears to do good by taking motherless children off the street, but he is not doing it for their sakes; he is delivering them over to a harlot, probably the Whore of Babylon. Likewise, antichrists appear to do good while in fact working evil. The beast of Revelation heals himself of a deadly wound (Rev. 13.2-3). Daniel prophecies an antichrist who will appear to do good: "And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand." He will seem peaceful, but by "by peace shall destroy many" (8.24-25; Henry 20). Dylan’s prince "put[s] the priest in his pocket;" he manipulates and deceives the religious leaders of his day (45). And while all this happens, Jokerman doesn’t "show any response" (52). Christ, too, remains silent while the Antichrist of Revelation wars on the saints: "[I]t was given unto him to continue forty and two months" (13.5).
It is also possible to interpret these verses as referring to the Catholic Church. Bishops in the Church are called princes and they wear scarlet robes. This stanza, then, would be akin to a fundamental Protestant attack on the Catholic Church as the "Whore of Babylon." But I see little evidence in Dylan’s other songs that would lead me to believe that he has any particular prejudice against Catholics. If Dylan is referring to the Catholic Church in this stanza, then he is probably doing so in a general way, using the Church as a symbol for religious hypocrisy in all denominations whatsoever, for "[a]ll non-believers and men stealers / talking in the name of religion" (Dylan, "Slow Train" 23).
To Dylan, religious hypocrisy is perhaps the worst conceivable sin. "But the enemy I see," he said, "wears a cloak of decency" ("Slow Train" 23). The true adversary is not the nonbeliever outside the Church, but rather the nonbeliever within. In "Foot of Pride," Dylan lambasts religious hypocrisy in a scene that is more likely to be associated with Protestant televangelists than the Catholic Church:
Up on the stage they’ll be trying to get water out of rocks
A whore will pass the hat, collect a hundred grand and say "Thanks"
They like to take all this money from sin
Build big universities to study in
Sing Amazing Grace all the way to the Swiss banks. (39-43)
Like Moses who brought forth water from the rock in a manner consistent with glorifying himself rather than God, these hypocrites take a religious posture for their own benefit, not God’s (Num. 20.10).
This is a very Christian--as well as a very Jewish--view of religious hypocrisy. The prophets of the Old Testament were constantly condemning the priests for having the form of religion without the substance, for, as Christ would later say, omitting "the weightier matters of the law" (Matt. 23.23). When Christ says, "[G]o ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice," he is quoting Hosea 6:6 (Matt 9.13). Christ forgave the adulterous woman and the woman with five husbands, but He repeatedly cursed the religious hypocrites of His day: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! [ . . . ] Woe unto you, ye blind guides" (Matt. 23.14-17). So although the last stanza of "Jokerman" may possibly be interpreted to refer to the Catholic Church, it is not Catholicism Dylan opposes but religious hypocrisy. Whoever he may represent specifically, the prince of "Jokerman" is a type of antichrist.
Given all the evidence linking the prince and the idol with antichrists and the Jokerman with Christ, why are there so many different interpretations of the song? The catch is that Dylan seems to intentionally choose some images that obscure these associations. The prince can easily be associated with an antichrist, but there is one uncertain image connected with him. Dylan says he will "put the blade to the heat" (48). But it is Christ and not an antichrist who will do this deed; Christ will separate the wheat from the chaff and burn the chaff (Luke 3.17). The idol of the song also seems to be an antichrist figure, but it is said to have "eyes" that "are glowing" (2). Again it is Christ, and not an antichrist, who is described thus. In Revelation, He is said to have eyes "as a flame of fire" (1.14-15). Finally, some of the terms used to describe Jokerman--a "manipulator" who sheds off layers of skin like a snake--might more readily be associated with an antichrist.
By blurring the line between Christ and antichrists, Dylan may be attempting to emphasize the danger posed by false prophets. One recurring theme of Dylan’s is the idea that it is difficult to tell false prophets from true, because false prophets come "in the name of religion" ("Slow Train" 24). This theme is clearest in his song "Man of Peace," which appears on the same album as "Jokerman." "You know, " Dylan sings, "that sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace" (5). Satan could be the Führer--an obvious evil--but he could just as well be "the local priest" (3-4). Satan, false prophets, antichirsts, or evil men in general may appear to be doing good religious things, but "[g]ood intentions can be evil / Both hands can be full of grease" (8-9). The flip side of this equation is the nonbeliever’s readiness to misinterpret the acts of Christ, to attribute His works to Satan (Matt. 12.24). If some of the characteristics of the Jokerman resemble those of an antichrist, and vice versa, this is because it is all too easy for man to confuse false religion with true religion. One might reject Christ as a false prophet or accept an antichrist as a true one. "And no marvel," as the Bible tells us, "for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light" (2 Cor. 11.14).
Bob Dylan’s "Jokerman" is multilayered. It paints an apocalyptic portrait of antichrists--the "idol" and "prince"--who reek havoc while Christ--the "Jokerman"--stands by, waiting for His appointed time. But it also (by blurring the line between Christ and these antichrists) serves as a call for discernment and as a warning against false prophets. This richness is only revealed when the song is examined in a biblical context.
Works Cited
Dean, Paul. "Jokerman." 5 September 1999 <http://www.geocities.com/3035/jokerman.html>.
Dylan, Bob. "All Along the Watchtower." Lyrics 1962-1985. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1985.
Dylan, Bob. "Foot of Pride." 23 November 1999 <http://www.punkhart.com/dylan/lyrics/foot_of_pride.html>.
Dylan, Bob. "Jokerman." Lyrics 1962-1985. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1985.
Dylan, Bob. "Man of Peace." Lyrics 1962-1985. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1985.
Dylan, Bob. "Slow Train." Lyrics 1962-1985. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1985.
Earl, James W. "Beyond Desire: The Conversion of Bob Dylan." University of Hartford Studies In Literature 20.2 (1988): 46-63.
Henry, John. "Links of Jokerman and Scripture." 5 September 1999 <http://funnelweb.utcc.utk.edu/~wparr/henryjokerman.html>.
Heylin, Clinton. A Life In Stolen Moments: Day by Day 1941-1995. New York: Schrmer Books, 1966.
Hindson, Edward E. and Woodrow Michael Kroll, eds. The KJV Parallel Bible Commentary. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1975.
Pickering, Stephen. Bob Dylan Approximately: A Portrait of the Jewish Poet in Search of God (A Midrash). New York: David McKay Company, 1975.
Wilkinson, Philip. DK Illustrated Dictionary of Mythology. New York: DK Publishing, 1998.
Yudelson, Larry, "Jokerman Explicated and Unenchanted." Dylan and the Jews. 8 October 1999 <http://www.wll.com/user/yudel/Jokeralt.html>.
Note: While it is certainly true that modern day Israel (a place where we find "nightsticks and water cannons, tear gas, padlocks, / Molotov cocktails and rocks behind every curtain") is the setting of "Jokerman," I do not think the Jokerman himself is necessarily symbolic of Israel. The Jokerman appears to be a person, not a nation, although his actions are set against the backdrop of the nation. The metaphors and allusions attributed to Jokerman find numerous parallels in Christ, as I will argue in this paper. It may simply be that Dylan is using Christ as an adequate symbol of the persecution and alienation Jews have suffered throughout history, culminating in the modern day animosity toward the nationhood of Israel. [Back]