"I wanted to start in the world of someone who doesn't have Mr. Tambourine Man, and who is lost... and then... after that, I begin the theme... and then... suddenly the mood changes and... this person who was so dispirited suddenly says, 'Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me', and all of a sudden the world lights up and we're into the wonderful world of the sixties."

Funny, because when I used to do Tambourine Man I always started with the evening's empire returning into sand ect ect, partly to take the audience by surprise and partly to get myself immersed in the song. I never thought the speaker was either lost or dispirited, just exhausted and a bit zonked ("left me blindly here to stand, still not sleeping"). The other thing about approaching it that way is that to begin with the chorus does nothing, melodically - the melody only resolves at the end of a pair of nagging repeats, when you get to "I'll come following you". It's not a restful song, apart from those few notes. To me it's the sound of someone drifting into a dream after they've been awake all night.

to dance beneath a diamond sky with one hand waving free
Silhouetted by the sea
Circled by the circus sands
With all memory and fate
Driven deep beneath the waves
Let me forget about today until tomorrow







(And then thinking "Whoopee! It's the wonderful world of the 1960s!" Obviously.)