I Wrote This About 5 Years Ago...

At the time I had the song memorized.

My Song Analysis - Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts by Bob Dylan

The festival was over, the boys were plannin' for a fall
The cabaret was quiet, except for the drilling in the wall
The curfew had been lifted, and the gamblin' wheel shut down
Anyone with any sense had already left town, he was standin' in the doorway
Lookin' like the Jack of Hearts

He moved across the mirrored room
"Set it up for everyone" he said
Then everyone commenced to do what they were doing before he moved their heads
And he walked up to a stranger, and he asked him with a grin
"Can you kindly tell me, son, what time the show begins?"
And me moved into a corner, face down like the Jack of Hearts

Backstage the girls were playin' 5-card stud by the stairs
Lily had two queens and she was hopin' for a third to match her pair
Outside the streets were fillin' up, and the window was open wide
A gentle breeze was blowin', you could feel it from inside
Lily called another bet, and drew up from the Jack of Hearts

Well, Big Jim was no one's fool, he opened the town's only diamond mind
And he made his usual entrance, lookin' so dandy and so fine
With his body-guards and silver cane and every hair in place
He took whatever he wanted to and he laid it all to waste
But his body guards and silver canes were no match for the Jack of Hearts

Rosemary combed her hair, and took a carriage into town
She slipped in through the side door, lookin' like a queen without a crown
She fluttered her false eye lashes and whispered in his ear,
"Sorry, darlin' that I'm late" but he didn't seem to hear
He was gazin' into space, over at the Jack of Hearts

"Well, I know I've seen that face somewhere" Big Jim was thinkin' to himself
Maybe down in Mexico, or a picture upon somebody's shelf
But then the crowd began to stomp their feet and the house-lights did dim
And in the darkness of the room there was only Jim and him
Starin' at the butterfly, who just drew the Jack of Hearts

Lily was a princess, she was fair-skinned and precious as a child
She did whatever she had to, she had that certain flash every time she smiled
She'd come away from a broken home and lots of strange affairs
With men in every walk of life, that took her everywhere
But she'd never met anyone, quite like the Jack of Hearts

The hanging judge came in, unnoticed and was bein' whined and dined
The drillin' in the wall kept up, but no one seemed to pay it any mind
It was known all around that Lily had Jim's ring, and nothin' would ever come between Lily and the King
No, nothing would ever come, except maybe the Jack of Hearts

Rosemary started drinkin' hard, and seein' her reflection in the knife
She was tired of the attention, tired of playin' the role of Big Jim's wife
She had done a lot of bad things, even once tried suicide
She was lookin' to do just one more good deed before she died
She was readin' on the future, thinkin' 'bout the Jack of Hearts

Lily washed her face, took her dress off and buried it away
"Has your old luck run out?" she laughed, well I guess you musta known it would someday
Be careful not to touch the wall, there's a brand new coat of paint
I'm glad to see you're still alive, you're lookin' like a saint
Footsteps were heard comin', comin' for the Jack of Hearts

The backstage manager was pacing, all around by his chair
"There's something funny goin' on" he said, I can just feel it in the air
He went to get the hangin' judge, but the hangin' judge was drunk
As the leading actor hurried by in the costume of a monk
But there was no actor anywhere, better than the Jack of Hearts

This verse isn't actually in the version of the song I have:
(Lily's arms were locked around the man that she dearly loved to touch
She forgot all about the man she couldn't stand who hounded her so much
"I've missed you so," she said to him, and he felt she was sincere
But just beyond the door he felt jealousy and fear
Just another night in the life of the Jack of Hearts)

No one knew the circumstance, they say it had happened pretty quick
The door to the dressing room burst open and a cold revolver clicked
Big Jim was standin' there, you couldn't say surprised
Rosemary right beside him, steady in her eyes
It was with Big Jim, that she was leanin' on the Jack of Hearts

Two doors down the boys finally made it on through the wall
They closed out the bank safe, it's said that they got off with quite a haul
In the darkness by the riverbed, they waited on the ground
For one more member who had some business back in town
They couldn't go no further, not without the Jack of Hearts

The next day was hangin' day, the sky was overcast and black
Big Jim lay covered up, killed by a pen-knife in the back
And Rosemary on the gallows, she didn't even blink
The hangin' judge was sober, he hadn't had a drink
The only person they could not find, who was missing, was the Jack of Hearts

The cabaret was quiet, the sign said closed for repairs
Lily had already taken all od the dye out of her hair
She was thinkin' bout her father who she very rarely saw
Thinkin' 'bout Rosemary, and thinkin' bout the law
But most of all, she was thinkin' bout the Jack of Hearts


Now, tell me if I miss something here-My Interpretation of This:
It's pretty self-explanatory, so I'm gonna point out lines I like.

Verse 1: "drilling in the wall" they make a continuos reference to this throughout the song, but at this point, you can say for sure why.

Verse 2: the 1st character is introduced-the Jack of Hearts, and he immediately takes control of the area and draws attention

Verse 3: the 2nd character is introduced-Lily, who picks up the Jack of Hearts card, unluckily

Verse 4: a 3rd character now: "Big Jim" who is extremely wealthy, a businessman with a rather negative image who can have everything "he took whatever he wanted to and he laid it all to waste" He is, surely, the kind of person Dylan's not a fan of in real life.

Verse 5: Rosemary is introduced taking a carriage into town, which was something only the wealthy could afford "lookin like a queen without a crown" (Big Jim is referred to as "the king" Rosemary and Jim have some sort of relationship that's unofficial. She is also portrayed negatively, "she fluttered her false eyelashes"

Verse 6: Jim has seen the Jack of Hearts before, and when thinking of where he suggests "a picture upon somebody's shelf" implying that either Rosemary or Jim had a relationship with the Jack of Hearts before (he's most likely an ex-boyfriend)though Jim isn't bright enough to figure this out yet. Later Jim and the Jack of Hearts are both "starin' at the butterfly" (Lily) so they both have interest in her for some reason

Verse 7: a glance into Lily's past-she's had a hard life, she's rather angelic, she gets whoever she wants, until the Jack of Hearts came along (we know now it was Lily that knew him beforehand)

Verse 8: the judge is introduced, "the drillin' in the wall kept up, but no one seemed to pay it any mind" again, the drilling is brought up, and again, we don't knwo why for no one is paying attention due to the distraction of the Jack of Hearts. "Lily had Jim's ring" Lily and Jim are married. Nothing can come between them "excpet maybe the Jack of Hearts" this is also the verse that refers to Jim as "the King"

Verse 9: We learn of Rosemary's character: she's rather upset, therefore she starts drinking. She's "done a lot of bad things" including suicide, but means to do something meaningful before she dies, which makes it sound as though it will be in the near future.

Verse 10: Lily's in her hotel room, she "burries" (as in, what we do to the dead) her dress. She's now talking to the Jack of Hearts because he has come back to her, given up on whatever things he had to leave her to do. She believes he is out of luck.

Verse 11: The manager gets suspicious of something bad happening, so he goes to find the judge, who is drunk. (At this point, it's implied that he drinks quite often) "There was no actor anywhere better than the Jack of Hearts" we find out he is up to something.

Verse 12: Lily has gone back to the Jack of Hearts because she loves him although he betrayed her. He feels as if someone is coming for him. (jealousy suggests it would be her husband)

Verse 13: No one knows what happened, but Jim and Rosemary (who had an affair) came into the hotel room while Lily was with the Jack of Hearts. the rest of the verse is self-explanatory.

Verse 14: "the boys finally made it on through the wall" referring to the drilling. Here we find that "they got off with quite a haul" and know that the drilling in the wall was to break through for a robbery, which turned out being successful. "They waited on the ground for one more member who had some business back in town. They couldn't go no further, not without the Jack of Hearts" The Jack of Hearts was their distraction in the robbery, and he succeeded. The show he put on for Lily and everyone else was successful.

Verse 15: "Big Jim lay covered up, killed by a pen-knife in the back, and Rosemary on the gallows" Rosemary stabbed Jim with a penknife (a sharp writing incriment in between a pen and a quill...basically a feather pen with ink in it...not something you would normally use to commit murder) the hanging judge, in this case, is sober, and makes the correct decision in hanging Rosemary for her sin. Thus, she has done the "good deed before she died" The Jack of Hearts left with the robbers, thus he is missing from the scene.

Verse 16: The cabaret is "closed for repairs" They're fixing the hole in the wall from the robbery. Lily is reflecting on her past, and the hanging, and mostly, the Jack of Hearts, who has once again fooled her.