Bob Dylan – All Along The Watchtower lyrics

Probably Bob Dylan's most prophetic song and fully exalted by Jimi Hendrix

"There must be some way out of here" said the joker to the thief
"There's too much confusion", I can't get no relief
Businessmen, they drink my wine, plowmen dig my earth
None of them along the line know what any of it is worth.

It is a conversation with the devil and Jesus. the devil is the joker and Jesus is the thief

Mark chapter thirteen -watch i shall come as a thief in the night refers to Jesus as the thief
The Joker has been a reference to the devil from the time of the first deck of cards

The devil is complaining that he has a bad deal (must be some kind of way out)
all the confusion (chaos) brings no relief (satisfaction)
business men (elite power structure) and plowmen (non elites) use and enjoy the material rewards of the world.
none along the line...the generational line since Noah (humans) have not appreciated it as much as the old devil had hoped

"No reason to get excited", the thief he kindly spoke
"There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke
But you and I, we've been through that, and this is not our fate
So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late".

No reason to get excited Jesus says kindly to the devil
many people everywhere have no clue (think everything is a joke)
But Jesus tells the devil, we have been through this and this is not our fate (deal) now destiny
(The Devil already tried to make a deal with Jesus when he tried to tempt him on the mount and was rejected by Jesus)
So stop all the lies (talking falsely) and whining because the time is limited (hour is getting late) is Jesus telling the devil you already sealed your fate.
the next lines refer to his (God's) princes keeping a watch for his return to take back the earth

All along the watchtower, princes kept the view
While all the women came and went, barefoot servants, too.

The Princes are God's Chosen watchers to watch and wait for Christ's return
The Women and the barefoot servants go about their daily business the barefoot servant represents a humbling is due to a prideful nation and the women are protected by the princes who keep a vigil in their watchtower.

Outside in the distance a wildcat did growl
Two riders were approaching, the wind began to howl.

Refers to the book of Revelations and the coming of the great battle against the antichrist.

The joker is implying that the world is too confusing to be anything other than a joke, too opposite that it's borderline madness. "Businessmen they drink my wine plowmen dig my earth" meaning everything is stolen from the mighty businessman's wine to the lowly plowman's earth but nobody cares about anything other than simply living, no one cares to even treat the stolen world with respect. The irony is he is talking to the thief which by definition steals, but he properly understands the way of things, a thief sees through the facade. He tells the joker not to waste time in despair that "the hour is getting late. The watchtower is a high up place where you can see the world as it really is. All the "princes" keep up appearances or "the view" but the women and servants are the ones who keep things running. As for the last line whenever Bob Dylan goes off theme you can just say he's "adding imagery".

First paragraph. The Joker is every man. We all spend our lives with an internal struggle, each different (Plowman and businessman represent grounded and abstract feelings)
Second paragraph. The thief is time, and he tells the Joker death is near.
Third paragraph. Earthly pleasures.
Fourth paragraph. Danger/death are always getting closer as time passes.

Exercise truth and judgement in the gate and let no man imagine evil against his neighbor. And love no false oath... I will watch from my tower to see what i will say when i am reproved. The stone in the wall will cry out and the beam of the timber will answer it... Rev 21:13, One answers. East north south west... ONE Philadelphia. Time will tell the mystery of God in the history of Jesus' bloodline of the endtimes deadline. Headlines: "He IS." Rev 10:5... and it was so. In amen. First and last second.

I don’t think this song has anything to do with God/Jesus and Satan. “There must be some way out of here,” and “too much confusion” make me think that the writer is plagued by troubles and needs to extricate himself from them, to resolve things so the confusion will go away. The joker and the thief could refer to two individuals in Dylan’s life - it wouldn’t be the fitst time he put friends or exes in a song. The remainder of the song evokes a dystopian future - some men get to be princes (they have all the power), “the women came and went” which suggests that they have no power but are subject to the whims of the princes, and most people are plowmen or servants. Concern for our planet and concern about lack of human caring and connection are in this song, right there between the lines.