# Bob Dylan's \[b\]Rainy Day Women #12 & 35\[/b\]
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-dylans-b-rainy-day-women-12-35-b/7464
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 5, 1999, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-dylans-b-rainy-day-women-12-35-b/7464 "1999-04-05T23:38:00Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2000, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-dylans-b-rainy-day-women-12-35-b/7464/21 "2000-02-16T14:26:00Z")
I’ve also seen it explained that the name of the Dylan song is arbitrary and was named after two women who were in the studio when it was recorded. The source was Al Kooper, who was present.
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“What we have here is failure to communicate.” – Strother Martin, anticipating the Internet.
[www.sff.net/people/rothman](http://www.sff.net/people/rothman)
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### Author:  [@Beruang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beruang)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2000, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-dylans-b-rainy-day-women-12-35-b/7464/22 "2000-02-17T01:50:00Z")
There’s a realy great book called “Voice Without Restraint” (I forget the author), investigating Dylan’s lyrics as poems. The bottom line: every song Dylan ever wrote was about himself. Makes sense to me.
Chief Crunch: Using those same techniques of poetic analysis (and who says a liberal arts education is useless!), I investigated The Beatles’ ouerve. I cam to the conclusion that “Lucy…” probably _isn’t_ about drugs. I forget the entire argument (my God, it’s been almost 15 years!), but one of the big points – which you can take seriously or use as bird-cage lining – is that through the entire song, John never once comes into contact with Lucy. He follows her, but they never connect. If she is a symbol for acid, and he never touches her, how can she be causing all these hallucinations. Seems another explanation is called for.
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“The dawn of a new era is felt and not measured.” Walter Lord
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### Author:  [@Beruang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beruang)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2000, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-dylans-b-rainy-day-women-12-35-b/7464/23 "2000-02-17T01:54:00Z")
There’s a realy great book called “Voice Without Restraint” (I forget the author), investigating Dylan’s lyrics as poems. The bottom line: every song Dylan ever wrote was about himself. Makes sense to me.
Chief Crunch: Using those same techniques of poetic analysis (and who says a liberal arts education is useless!), I investigated The Beatles’ ouerve. I cam to the conclusion that “Lucy…” probably _isn’t_ about drugs. I forget the entire argument (my God, it’s been almost 15 years!), but one of the big points – which you can take seriously or use as bird-cage lining – is that through the entire song, John never once comes into contact with Lucy. He follows her, but they never connect. If she is a symbol for acid, and he never touches her, how can she be causing all these hallucinations. Seems another explanation is called for.
* * *
“The dawn of a new era is felt and not measured.” Walter Lord
---
### Author:  [@Beruang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beruang)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2000, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-dylans-b-rainy-day-women-12-35-b/7464/24 "2000-02-17T02:01:00Z")
There’s a realy great book called “Voice Without Restraint” (I forget the author), investigating Dylan’s lyrics as poems. The bottom line: every song Dylan ever wrote was about himself. Makes sense to me.
Chief Crunch: Using those same techniques of poetic analysis (and who says a liberal arts education is useless!), I investigated The Beatles’ ouerve. I cam to the conclusion that “Lucy…” probably _isn’t_ about drugs. I forget the entire argument (my God, it’s been almost 15 years!), but one of the big points – which you can take seriously or use as bird-cage lining – is that through the entire song, John never once comes into contact with Lucy. He follows her, but they never connect. If she is a symbol for acid, and he never touches her, how can she be causing all these hallucinations. Seems another explanation is called for.
* * *
“The dawn of a new era is felt and not measured.” Walter Lord
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### Author:  [@Beruang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beruang)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2000, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-dylans-b-rainy-day-women-12-35-b/7464/25 "2000-02-17T19:51:00Z")
There’s a realy great book called “Voice Without Restraint” (I forget the author), investigating Dylan’s lyrics as poems. The bottom line: every song Dylan ever wrote was about himself. Makes sense to me.
Chief Crunch: Using those same techniques of poetic analysis (and who says a liberal arts education is useless!), I investigated The Beatles’ ouerve. I cam to the conclusion that “Lucy…” probably _isn’t_ about drugs. I forget the entire argument (my God, it’s been almost 15 years!), but one of the big points – which you can take seriously or use as bird-cage lining – is that through the entire song, John never once comes into contact with Lucy. He follows her, but they never connect. If she is a symbol for acid, and he never touches her, how can she be causing all these hallucinations. Seems another explanation is called for.
* * *
“The dawn of a new era is felt and not measured.” Walter Lord
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### Author:  [@Edward\_J\_Cunningham\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_J_Cunningham_1)
#### Post date: [February 18, 2000, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-dylans-b-rainy-day-women-12-35-b/7464/26 "2000-02-18T09:49:00Z")
I’m amazed that the thread I started last year is **still** active. Thanks!
Oh, Beruba–I think you may have just unintentionally set a new record by most simultaneous posts…
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### Author:  [@Edward\_J\_Cunningham\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_J_Cunningham_1)
#### Post date: [February 18, 2000, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-dylans-b-rainy-day-women-12-35-b/7464/27 "2000-02-18T09:50:00Z")
Damn. I meant Beruang…
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