Dylan sings "standin' on a corner, just ringin' my bell". Why? Because it SOUNDS good. It makes less sense than "reading the bills", but it sounds absolutely great! This is how Dylan often uses lyrics. He tends toward a mysterious use of language, which suggestsmany things, and confirms nothing ("and muttered underneath his breath, "Nothing is revealed."). That leaves it free to the individual interpretation. That's very democratic art. Joan Baez says that he is good at "keeping things vague". That is one reason why he writes such powerful songs. The layers of possible meaning and interpretation are endless, and they are up to the listener.

Is this a sidewalk Santa ringing his bell? No, definitely not. It's not anyone ringing an actual physical bell at all, it's something else. It is highly unlikely that it refers to anything sexual...but how about the inner voice of the man, the voice of the heart, the unspoken desires, the voice of the soul?

Could those not be characterized as a ringing bell?

How about the cry of loneliness, anger or despair? That's a ringing bell.

There you go. Sing it either way...but "ringing my bell" is more powerful and packs a keener punch.

I love Dylan's slower version of "In Search of Little Sadie". It's a killer, on an album with a few lousy tracks and a bunch of great ones.