Bob Dylan – Tears Of Rage lyrics

This piece of lyrical art reflects the dylanesque notion of loss of freedom. The references to 'we carried you in our arms on independence day' aims at birth, the flag, a parade celebrating freedom and life's opportunity, contrasting tragically with 'wait upon him hand and foot, always tellin' no' or denying that freedom so respected in all of dylan's work, a commonly heralded feature of attitudes in the 60s.
The scene in the second verse with a name scratched in the sand with the object of the piece, the child grown older, failing to see the importance of recognizing the brevity and value of life her own self - echoed with 'just a childish thing to do.
The final verse captures the weakness of an education that fails to appreciate the higher worth of life, emphasizing 'false instruction' and 'heart is filled with gold as if it were a purse\'.
But the haunting beauty rests in the repetitive chorus of 'tears of rage, tears of grief' the weeping of a family, of a nation of a people over the devaluing of individual respect for the basic freedom that fathered such a lost soul whose values have forsaken and abandoned the purity of human decency, the innate connection to our birthright.
The refrain 'why must I always be the thief? ' admits the sense of stealing the attention, as if the mother of a selfish child has felt the scorn of rejection and the role of taking what is not hers - the stealing of rightfully obligations to honor the blessing of freedom.
The theme of brevity of life and sense of loss of connection are paramount throughout the piece with heightened intensity as this picture unfolds one piece at a time, reflecting the tragedy of failed family ties and lack of gratitude for our heritage as free and respectful people.