Jimi Hendrix - All Along the Watchtower - Lyrics Meaning

All Along the Watchtower was written by Bob Dylan and has been recorded by many artists. The most well-known version is by Jimi Hendrix, who recorded it in 1968

The song is a conversation between the joker and the thief. In analyzing the verses, one will find that the song is sung in the reverse of what happened. In the first verse, the joker is expressing his frustration with society. The thief tells the joker that he isn't alone in his thinking and that there are many other people who feel the same way.

In the second half of the second verse, the thief tells the joker, "...we've been though that and this is not our fate". This means that the joker and the thief are not going to allow themselves to be stuck in the confusion and the worthlessness. When he says, "let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late". This foreshadows that something is about to happen.

The third verse is a change of scene. We find out that there is a castle filled with women and servants. Princes are guarding the castle. They hear a wildcat and the wind howl as two figures approach - the joker and the thief - and we are transported back to the beginning of the song.