894 Bob Dylan “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35” 1966

“…determining Dylan’s motivation behind the song has always been a bit of a head-scratcher. There are two camps here: Those who see Dylan as advocating the use of drugs as a way to solve problems, and those who detect a streak of dark sarcasm in his use of the double meaning of the word ‘stoned’ to throw listeners off track. The songwriter himself has given mixed messages on the subject. He has vehemently denied in interviews that this or any of his other compositions were intended to be about drugs, nor has he ever advocated the use of drugs as a way of enhancing the listening experience. Yet, by all accounts, he insisted that he would have nobody playing on the session for the song who wasn’t stoned, which can account in part for the woozy yet wondrous recording” (Jim Beviglia, Counting Down Bob Dylan, 2013). 

Bob Dylan “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35”