Under the Red Sky

A little-known song on an often (and many feel unfairly) overlooked album, Dylan's "Under The Red Sky" marks the first time Dylan was ever recorded playing accordion for a studio production. It also features George Harrison on slide guitar and Al Kooper on Hammond organ, and instrument he famously played on Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone."

"Under The Red Sky" is a sing-song fairy tale about a little boy and a little girl who "lived in an alley under a red sky." That "red sky" portion was identified by some critics at the time of the album's release as an environmentalist statement, but Dylan squashed that, saying, "It's about people who got trapped in [my] hometown." Though he was born in Duluth, Dylan's likely referring to Hibbing, Minnesota, which is where he grew up from age six onward.

The song hides some Biblical references that become pretty obvious once identified. Matthew 16:1–3 reads: "The Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. But He replied to them: 'When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.' And in the morning, 'There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the time?'" Taking the Biblical reference in hand, "Under The Red Sky" may be about a couple living through the last stages of the End Times. If true, this lends an interesting interpretation to the lyric, "Some day little girl, everything for you is gonna be new." In typical Dylan fashion, though, we are quickly brought back down to Earth with, "Some day little girl, you'll have a diamond as big as your shoe." It's generally best with Dylan not to read much into his allusions, which are usually artistic devices to add layers of meaning more than they are literal statements.