It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry
| It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry | |
|---|---|
| Bob Dylan | |
| publication | July 1965 |
| length | 4:09 |
| Genre (s) | Blues rock , folk rock |
| Author (s) | Bob Dylan |
| Label | Columbia Records |
| album | Highway 61 Revisited |
It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry is a rock ballad by Bob Dylan . It first appeared on his album Highway 61 Revisited in 1965 and was produced by Bob Johnston .
music
The slow ballad is structured as an acoustic blues song and therefore differs significantly from the other pieces on the album.
text
The song is about both resignation and sexual frustration (“Well, if I die // On top of the hill // And if I don't make it // You know my baby will”). It is possible that Dylan uses “to die” as a synonym for orgasm . At the end of the second stanza there is another possible sexual allusion: "Don't my gal look fine // When she's comin 'after me?" The possibilities of the lyrical ego to report on its reluctance are also shattered because it cannot overcome its inhibitions to speak (“I went to tell everybody // But I could not get across”). The title implies that it takes a lot to make you laugh, but a train ride - e.g. B. a separation - enough to make you cry. The song's sad, melancholy atmosphere is very different from the other works such as Like a Rolling Stone .
Others
The second line of lyrics of the song became the 1972 album title Can't Buy a Thrill by Steely Dan .