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Refer to the lyrics at www.bobdylan.com
David B. Smith wrote:
Have you every been around a woman using an atomizer? You know, a perfume bottle with a rubber bulb attached. She squeezes the rubber bulb and the liquid perfume is forced through a valve that turns it into a mist or fine spray. Many women spray perfume in front of them and then walk into the cloud, mist or fog of perfume. At least that is what I think of each time I hear Dylan sing of "her fog, amphetamine and her pearls."
Pearson66 wrote:
As one who who used pills etc. in 1964/65 [ they were all legal then and the cops didn`t know anyway] , fog was code for dope and pearls were white spherical tablets that kept you going all night. When I heard "fog, amphetamines and pearls " I assumed it referred to the New York drug culture , especially around the avant guarde/ Warhol scene. >Subject: whats her fog?
Unknown wrote:
the "fog, amphetamine and pearls" could be the things she clings to, thinking they protect her, but which actually make her vulnerable and seperate her from lovers and friends, ie, her mental state ("fog"), her drugs ("amphetamines"), and her wealth ("pearls").
Margaret Andreas wrote:
I've been enjoying everyone's ideas on this thread... it is simply wonderful the myriad of images that Dylan's writing evokes....
My own images come from the time when I first heard the song and what it conjured up in my soul... Dylan wrote it around the mid-60's when "a woman" was supposed to be something quite specific. Culturally, little girls and teenagers were schooled to become not just women, but "sophisticated ladies."
"..with your fog, your amphetemine, and your pearls." This phrase always seemed to conjure up those "lessons in ladylike behavior" that were foisted upon me for most of my growing years.... lessons like, "A Lady is reed-thin." (take amphetimines!!!) "A Lady never wears any garish jewelry... only a classic string of pearls for elegance." And along with this, a kind of "unspoken" rule that a Lady really has no opinions of her own... she is simply there to "reflect" the male world, like a perfect full moon reflects the sun. Therefore, her own thoughts are perfectly "foggy," giving off a faint glamour and magnetism that, if a man were drawn into them, would render him dangerously lost and subject to her femme fatale "power."
Kinda silly, ain't it?
Yet, that's the kind of stuff a young girl would just eat up back then.
Not me, though...
Patrick wrote:
Just like a woman is by far Dylan's saddest song. It makes me treasure my own life more when I see how terrible his was. Consider this lyric: She takes just like a woman, yes, she does She makes love just like a woman, yes, she does And she aches just like a woman But she bakes just like a little girl. (I'm pretty sure I got the transcription right) We all know Dylan was a hard workin' man and he deserves a hard workin' woman. When he comes home from a hard day at the studio or touring he expects soft, chewy, yummy cookies and brownies. But does he get it? no. That's where the tragedy lies. I've seen a little girl bake and believe me, they're not too good at it. They're cookies, cakes, and brownies (much like Dylan's girlfriend's) are burnt and inedible. This brilliant comparison is another example of his genious. I can actually taste the crackly, black, chocolate chip cookies in my mouth right now. He deserved better, Patrick[Editor's note: For the humor impaired, the post above is a joke!]
dino wrote:
... I'm suggesting that "as friends" is a mistake, like "tea preacher."[Ed. note: the "tea preacher" line comes from "Stuck Inside of Mobile". "Teen preacher" would make more sense.] All the 1966 tapes i've heard are "by friends," with the lone exception of the album studio take. Maybe if more takes turn up we'll know for sure. it's certainly a strong enough performance that Bob could easily have decided to let the vocal mistake slide and release the take instead of trying to recut another version. Even with the nashville pros, i imagine it would be hard to duplicate (or improve on) the playing that's on the BOB cut.
unknown responded:
Anyway, "as friends" always made sense to me in the sense that they once were lovers, and the as friends to me was always sarcastic in a gentle sort of way.
dino responded:
Hmm. i'd never thought of it that way. i always saw it as a fairly mean-spirited song, and always heard the "friends" bit as being cut from the same cloth as the "friend" from Positively 4th Street.
Michael Justin Kahn wrote:
I like the "Introduced as friends line better." It signifies how they are no longer going out and they are just aquaintances. I picture it as a scene where two people who had this relationship and rough breakup are randomly introduced to each other at a party by the host, who assumes they don't know each other, and because they don't want to relieve the past and/or open up a can of worms in front of the host, they simply play along with the host's introduction.
[Ed. note: I think the song works better this way too.]
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