Position:Home>Poetry> Can anyone explain visions of Johana by Bob Dylan?

People can discuss the meaning of Dylan's songs for lifetimes and never know what IF ANYTHING Dylan actually meant!.

I will tell you this about Visions of Johanna!. The song as many know, was originally going to be called, "Freeze out" or "Seems Like A Freeze Out"!. (It actually is listed by one of those names on some bootlegs!.) This song was written for Dylan's first secretary whose name in fact was "Johanna"!. Anyone who knew Dylan and who frequented his office at the time this song was written before Dylan was married to Sara will know that this is in fact true [that Dylan's first secretary was named Johanna]!. What is the song about!? Even Johanna doesn't know!. I asked her who Louise was and she said she believed that Bob used the name Louise to represent any woman as in the phrase "Jeeze Louise"!. The reason the song was going to be called "Freeze Out" was cause Dylan had been making passes at Johanna but she insisted that their relationship be strictly professional and so gave him the "Cold" shoulder!. The song is basically about how Dylan couldn't get Johanna off his mind ("these visions of Johanna kept me up past the dawn" from last line in verse 3) and from that thought he just embellished it with all sorts of side thoughts and poetic phrases that may or may not have any real meaning & that were more than likely written for the sake of the song [or for the sake of hiding it's real meaning or message] than for any other reason!.

Consider the expression Dylan also mentions in the lyrics in the final verse of the song: "While my conscience explodes"
Funny he should use this phrase!. Seems to indicate the situation that Dylan found himself in: making passes at Johanna while he was in fact engaged to Sara - certainly enough to make his conscience explode!. Dylan cleverly hid everything he was writing about in this song to protect his own relationship with Sara!. Johanna knows the song is about her or at least written for her; not just because her name is in it but because she knew Dylan had been making passes at her and Dylan himself came into the office after writing the song and whispered in her ear, "I wrote a song for you!."
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By the way you left out verses 3 and 4 below

Now, little boy lost, he takes himself so seriously (lost = wandering about where he shouldn't)
He brags of his misery, he likes to live dangerously (making passes at Johanna while being engaged to Sara is living dangerously)
And when bringing her name up
He speaks of a farewell kiss to me (the "little boy" and "me" are both Dylan giving himself a good talkin' to)
He's sure got a lotta gall to be so useless and all (it takes a lot of gall to be doing as he is while engaged to Sara and then to write a song about it)
Muttering small talk at the wall(at Johanna who is like a firm wall who won't give in) while I'm in the hall (wedding hall with Sara)
How can I explain!?
Oh, it's so hard to get on
And these visions of Johanna, they kept me up past the dawn

Inside the museums, Infinity goes up on trial [love, which is suppose to be forever, too goes up on trial]
Voices echo this is what salvation must be like after a while (voices of temptation perhaps!?)
But Mona Lisa musta had the highway blues
You can tell by the way she smiles
See the primitive wallflower freeze ("primitive wallflower" could be Johanna with her primitive virtue)
When the jelly-faced women all sneeze
Hear the one with the mustache say, "Jeeze
I can't find my knees"
Oh, jewels and binoculars hang from the head of the mule
(Could the "mule" be Dylan himself with jewels representing his financial success and binoculars representing how he still seeks to look at other women while he is engaged to Sara as through binoculars!. He behaves this way stubbornly as a mule!?)
But these visions of Johanna, they make it all seem so cruel
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As for the verse by verse meaning of the verses you posted with your question!. Now that you have this information, you should be able to figure out at least some of what it's saying!.
For instance these lines:
!. But like Louise always says
!. "Ya can't look at much, can ya man!?"
!. As she, herself, prepares for him
could be Louise here represents Sara who as most girlfriends would say "Ya can't be looking at other women" & as she "prepares for him" could be a reference to their wedding preparationsWww@QuestionHome@Com

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