The Third Eye

It’s a psychedelic trip into the counterculture, with all the idealistic ramblings of a prophet painting the perfect picture of the bohemian dream. With an opening like a children’s story, “Once upon a time, you dressed so fine,” it contrasts the status quo and cuts down the ideals of the age by depicting it as imagination and not as ideals. It’s seeing the hypocrisy as it is not intended to be that is the divine reality, and that is what Bob was calling out in this song. It’s more of a song of warfare, and the truth is that in this political game of cultural warfare, the perfect picture is still being painted.

“Go to him now he calls you; you can’t refuse. When you ain’t got nothin’, you got nothin’ to lose.”

It’s a phrase of endearment for all who can’t refuse. I suppose I could say it’s too good of a picture. There’s a lot of freedom in it. It’s almost spiritual to some and divine for others. In having nothing, you have everything. So, does this mean that the pie in the sky dream left us feeling all alone and without a soul to sell? And where do we go from here?

“You say you never compromise with the mystery tramp, but now you realize he’s not selling any alibis as you stare into the vacuum of his eyes.”

So, has this movement continued, or has it already taken over? Who is this mystery tramp who doesn’t sell alibis?  That’s the guise of society being broken down. Now, we get a realistic glimpse at it. And it’s tempting as we stare into the vacuum of his eyes. The vacuum sounds dark, and as it’s the mystery tramp and not a businessman or a lawyer complete with a Louis Vuitton suit, somebody presentable that fits the perfect mold like a Harvey Dent, it calls out the breaking of that ideal mold.

“You’re invisible now; you got no secrets to reveal.”

And now, do we stop caring about that perfect mold entirely? Is that what Dylan was putting on display as he wrote this mystical line? It was never the ideal pursuit and was displayed as a rather dark picture. However, saying that a group of idealistic dreamers hellbent on pursuing a bohemian utopia are invisible depicts these dreamers as completely exiting the show.

And with these people who are here but have become unseen and unheard, who have a presence without having a presence, I suppose they could be looked at as divine messengers who we have access to but don’t have access to.

A world was painted with the brushstrokes of genius as Dylan displayed an American Dream that stood in contrast to the romantic American Dream. It’s a lifestyle for people who see hypocrisy as not being as intended and have lost all interest in that pie-in-the-sky dream.

Upon exiting the show, we realize it has been warfare this whole time. You know it’s warfare when it leaves you broken. A free man is free, but we have a forty-hour work week in this nation that competes with our freedom. It’s idealistic enough to rob the soul of the youth. Back-breaking work doesn’t break the body. It breaks the minds, hearts, and souls of all who chase that dream. Upon seeing this hypocritical picture, Dylan idealized the disenfranchised youth as they set off on their own path—dreamers who have nothing to lose and, with that, have a whole new world.

“After he took from you everything he could steal.”

And the harsh reality is that is where we are at. We have nothing to lose because we have lost everything already. The freedom comes from a fresh start, a new reign, and a new reign it is. With the melodic rhythm of the guitar, bass, and harmonica, Dylan drew us into a reality that has lost all alibis and is not due to sell them.

So I suppose we could say that Dylan put on display a shift in the culture as we drew away from highly upheld ideals, which at this point looks childlike, “once upon a time you dressed so fine.” We used to think highly of ourselves for upholding those ideals. Some people still do, I suppose, but I believe society is seen as society needs to be seen for the perfect picture to be painted. An alibi might let you off the chain of the law, but it never paints the perfect picture. It just gets you out of harm’s way. Seeing the image as it’s painted helps shift the culture at large healthily.

We tried to control, but all we did was rebel. We tried manipulation and went with it; we all did, but now that dream has failed in every way. So, what are we left with? I could say that society is headed down a dark road. Society has always been a dark reality for some of us. But where did those ideals and beliefs founded on those ideals come from? It may have been the divine right to rule.

But what does divinity look like? I could tie perfection into this. So, are there people meant to rule and reign who divinely know how we should all live our lives? People are people, and that freedom looks different to everyone. So, where does belief come from? 

And the truth is that the world keeps spinning as it has always spun. And Mother Mary still whispers her sweet nothings as we drift into the cosmos and the dance of all dances. I don’t think anything questions their existence as man does. Why did storytelling become so demonic? If it’s all a story, then there’s no reason to get so excited.

But everyone wants to tie belief into reality, and the reality is that man is part of the world we live in, and there is no changing it. So, in possessing nothing, we have everything, and in not taking ownership of the world, we take ownership of ourselves and stop believing in the hype.

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This article was written by Bryan Montijo, a writer who primarily focuses on music, spirituality, and psychedelics. Bryan has written a few novels which can be found at wattpad@CraftedTales. He also has his own blog where he discusses everything he loves from music to nature and writing. You can find it here at medium@bmontijo555.