Bob Dylan: Lay, Lady, Lay Meaning

Song Released: 1969

Lay, Lady, Lay Lyrics

Lay, lady, lay, lay across my big brass bed
Lay, lady, lay, lay across my big brass bed
Whatever colors you have in your mind
Ill show them to you and you'll see them shine

Lay, lady, lay, lay across my big brass bed
Stay, lady, stay, stay...

1.  

   anonymous

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   Jul 15th, 2016 7:22pm report

   
   

   Heard the song was about a beloved og named lady

   
   
   
   

2.  

   anonymous

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   Apr 18th, 2016 4:35am report

   
   

   For me it's about the singer, a guy called Bob Dylan, using fairly poetic language to ask some lady who's just popped round, to lay across his bed which just happens to be relatively big and also made for the most part of brass.
   
   He also apparently thinks her head is filled with m&m's and he's going to prove it to her, too, perhaps with a small but powerful torch he keeps for just such occasions and which he intends to use to bring light to the proceedings!
   
   Beyond this, Bob seems to hope she'll stay for more than just 'a bit' and even, hopefully, to amuse him until he has to get up (apparently, pretty early), maybe because he's unhappy about how dirty he's let his one shirt get, lately, and so intends to finally wash it. His hands, he points out in his defence, bear no such grime.
   
   He also thinks she's 'the best thing that he's ever seen' (quite possibly because of the m&m's in the ear trick!).
   
   He also questions why she would wait any longer 'for the world to begin' and even entices her with the promise of a actually being able to eat the slice of cake he'd kindly brought to her bedside table (more m&m's on it?).
   
   Further, he questions why she should wait any longer for the 'one she loves' (himself or m&m's cake?.. unclear) although Bob himself is apparently hovering bedside hoping for a positive outcome.
   
   To boot, he's also fairly insistent that the laying (across) should start NOW, early on in the night, or evening time if you like, whilst he percieves that the rest of the night is still to come (or 'is still ahead', indeed.) Seeing her in the morning would also actually be quite welcome, especially after a night of possibly reaching out, maybe to check she's still there! (a bit of insecurity there?)
   
   Well, its a thought! No disrespect meant, all just for laughs, and anyway it's actually my favourite Dylan song. I also think its pretty self explanatory as is most of his work. He doesn't hide much, really, story-teller and preacher that he is. Legend. I'm also just learning this on the ukulele. Hope I do it at least a modicum of justice!

   
   
   
   

3.  

   anonymous

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   Apr 14th, 2016 4:09pm report

   
   

   While in college, I met someone who aspired to become a singer. He knew people that knew Bob Dylan. According to him the song is about a dog named Lady. Don't know if Dylan had a dog.

   
   
   
   

4.  

   har0462

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   Aug 28th, 2009 8:05am report

   
   

   I read that, indeed the director of Midnight Cowboy wanted use the song, but Dylan exercised his mechanical right to the song and refused permision.

   
   
   
   

5.  

   anonymous

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   Mar 5th, 2009 3:02pm report

   
   

   Dylan wrote this song for the movie, Midnight Cowboy. He was not able to finish the song in time so it was not used.So it's about prostitution. But the pet chicken theory was a good one hahaha.

   
   
   
   

6.  

   USMC69

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   Feb 7th, 2009 2:26pm report

   
   

   Lay Lady Lay was written about Dylans pet chicken. He was trying to get her to lay an egg.I put an air conditoner in the chicken coop that had a marble floor. His dad ran a hardware store north of Diluth. Spent some time talking to him about Dylans songs. This was in the mid `70`s. His dad said he was waisting his time - he should be taking over the hardware store. Now, a true ledgen in his own time.

   
   
   
   

7.  

   anonymous

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   Oct 3rd, 2007 10:39pm report

   
   

   What friend would tell you that???!
   Just read the lyrics again; you were on to something with romantic.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
   
   
   
   

8.  

   GoodtimeCharlie

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   Jun 4th, 2007 6:12am report

   
   

   I thought this was a nice romantic sort of song...
   Which a friend ruined for me when he said it was about a DOG!!
   Since then, I never hear it without thinking of that...

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway