Narrow Way

Album: Tempest (2012)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This seven and a half minute grinding, riff-driven blues tune finds Dylan suffering with woman trouble. He scorns his unfaithful lady with such lines as, "You're an idiot, babe. It's a wonder that you still know how to breathe," only to hear a voice at song's end telling him, "Be gentle brother, be gentle and pray."
  • The song's refrain of it being "a long road" and a "long and narrow way," is perhaps a reference to Jesus' teaching in his Sermon on the Mount concerning the narrow road that his followers travel on. Rather than going on the broad road that many go on, which leads to destruction, Jesus said the more difficult and unpopular way is the narrow one that leads to life.
  • According to Will Hermes' review in Rolling Stone, the song borrows its chorus from the Mississippi Sheiks' 1934 blues "You'll Work Down to Me Someday."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Tommy James

Tommy JamesSongwriter Interviews

"Mony Mony," "Crimson and Clover," "Draggin' The Line"... the hits kept coming for Tommy James, and in a plot line fit for a movie, his record company was controlled by the mafia.

Steely Dan

Steely DanFact or Fiction

Did they really trade their guitarist to The Doobie Brothers? Are they named after something naughty? And what's up with the band name?

David Gray

David GraySongwriter Interviews

David Gray explains the significance of the word "Babylon," and talks about how songs are a form of active imagination, with lyrics that reveal what's inside us.

JJ Burnel of The Stranglers

JJ Burnel of The StranglersSongwriter Interviews

JJ talks about The Stranglers' signature sound - keyboard and bass - which isn't your typical strain of punk rock.

Tim McIlrath of Rise Against

Tim McIlrath of Rise AgainstSongwriter Interviews

Rise Against frontman Tim McIlrath explains the meanings behind some of their biggest songs and names the sci-fi books that have influenced him.

George Clinton

George ClintonSongwriter Interviews

When you free your mind, your ass may follow, but you have to make sure someone else doesn't program it while it's wide open.