I had this Rod Stewart album when I was young - so this is the version I’m most familiar with. But I never understood the opening lines. Not the words, really, or the meaning of the words I could understand.
The Lyrics as most lyric sites offer: Perhaps it’s the color of the sun cut flat An’ cov’rin’ the crossroads I’m standing at Or maybe it’s the weather or something like that But mama, you been on my mind
Alternately, I found: "Perhaps it’s the color of the sun caught flat, uncovering, The crossroads I’m standing at, Maybe it’s the weather or something like that, But mama you’ve been on my mind."
And: "Perhaps it’s the color of the sun cut flat, out covering,
Or (as Stewart sings): "Perhaps it’s the color of the sun cut flat owl covering,
But none makes sense to me. What is a sun cut flat?
I mean, interpreting poets (particularly Nobel Laureates) is a nervy game, but the first visuals I got were of a cross section of the sun laid flat across the land, rendering it a hot yellow, and then I thought maybe the sun was just rising/setting and giving a hazy sunrise/sunset glow to the crossroads.
I’ve never heard (or heard of) this song so my thinking might change if I listen to it, but the image that comes to my mind is of a grayish day where the sun is visible but muted.
As to the meaning, I guess he’s just reminiscing about his former love; comparing the absence of said love to the muted sunlight(?)
I like the other suggestions, though. Isn’t it interesting how our mental images are all so different from one another?
Rod Stewart is one of the finest Dylan interpreters, and he’s always had a knack for picking unknown, but great songs from Dylan’s catalog. I just wanted to note that Joan Baez also did a fine version:
I’ll grant you that it’s certainly not one of his bigger hits but it’s been covered by:
Johnny Cash
Joan Baez
Judy Collins
Kingston Trio
Linda Ronstadt
Rod Stewart
Ricky Nelson
Jeff Buckley
We Are Augustines (one of my favorites!)
Jack Johnson
Dion
(and, finally, no less than) George Harrison
So a few people have heard of it.
ETA: I’m not a huge Dylan fan, but he really hit it out of the park lyric-wise with this one.
“Mama You’ve Been On My Mind” isn’t only not one of Dylan’s hits (he didn’t have many chart hits anyway), but his original version from 1964 was unreleased until 1991’s “Bootleg Series 1-3”, but got picked up by others because they recognized that it is a great song. There are dozens, maybe hundreds, of Dylan songs like this, for instance “Tomorrow Is A Long Time”. Dylan felt greatly flattered that Elvis covered it:
If you have trouble with these lyrics, god forbid you try to parse any of Bob’s “psychedylanic” phase.
Upon four-legged forest clouds the cowboy angel rides/
With his candle lit into the sun, though its glow is waxed in black…
Her silver-studded phantom cause the gray flannel dwarf to scream/
As he weeps to wicked birds of prey who pick upon his bread crumb sins.
(Gates of Eden)
I know this is an older post, but I think the line should be read as:
“Perhaps it’s the sun, cut flat, and covering the crossroads I’m standing at…”
To cut, means to diminish, whether coffee with creamer ir water, or putting something in drugs or alcohol to make it weaker.
Dylan was from rural MN, and to cut something is a common rural term: “Could you please cut my coffee with some hot water? It’s too strong for me.”
In the song, the sun isn’t as brilliant as it is normally - it’s appearance is flat, not brilliant, and the weather is (probably) bleak; which leads him to ponder his lost love…which can be a bleak experience.
Additionally, the “crossroads” may also be a turning point in his life, instead of a physical location.
