Name: What Does 'The Ghost of 'Lectricity' Even Mean?
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What Does 'The Ghost of 'Lectricity' Even Mean?

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Skip to contentToday, we look at a brilliant Bob Dylan lyric that it as mysterious as it is awesome.This is To Quote a Phrase, a spotlight on notable pop culture quotes.October is a Month of To Quote a Phrase, both here and at Comics Should Be Good!Generally speaking, you’ll drive yourself nuts if you try to get literal meanings out of all of Bob Dylan’s music, and that’s just normal. Obviously, even songs that are otherwise fairly straightforward in terms of just telling a story about someone’s life (think something like Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well,” about her relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal) will have SOME lines that are not 100% direct references to a real life incident. You’d go crazy if you tried to take very single last line of a song to a specific incident in someone’s life.So obviously, the same goes for Bob Dylan songs, but in the case of Dylan, he was so famous that not only does everyone in fandom do it, but even people who KNEW Dylan would do it. This brings us to “Visions of Johanna,” which appears to be a story of a man who is with one woman, but dreaming of a former love. Bob Dylan wrote the song in November 1965, right before he married his then-girlfriend, Sara Lownds, when they were both living in the Chelsea Hotel (nominally in separate rooms).Throughout the song, there is a “Louise,” who is the woman the song’s narrator is currently with, but there is also “Johanna,” who the song’s narrator can’t stop thinking about. Dylan’s former girlfriend, Joan Baez, always believed that SHE was “Johanna,” and, hey, what do I know? Maybe she’s right. However, I think a more likely guess is that “Johanna” is just a symbol for all the women Dylan is ostensibly putting aside once he settles down with “Louise.” Again, do note that this song was written, like, literally the same MONTH that Dylan got married to Sara Lownds, who he would remain married to for about a decade, having four children with her (and adopting her first child, as well).So if I had to guess, I’d say it’s a general lament for a guy with a lot of girlfriends questioning whether his current girlfriend is “enough” for him to settle down. But whatever, maybe it’s a lament for Baez. It really doesn’t matter SO much for the line that I’m going to spotlight, which is nestled into a section that shows the song’s narrator up late at night with “Louise,” listening to the sounds of New York City late at night from the windows:In the empty lot where the ladies play blindman’s bluff with the key chainAnd the all-night girls they whisper of escapades out on the “D” trainWe can hear the night watchman click his flashlightAsk himself if it’s him or them that’s insaneLouise, she’s all right, she’s just nearShe’s delicate and seems like the mirrorBut she just makes it all too concise and too clearThat Johanna’s not hereThe ghost of ‘lectricity howls in the bones of her faceWhere these visions of Johanna have now taken my placeOkay, so, “The ghost of ‘lectricity howls in the boens of her face” is an amazing lyric, right? And yet, what do you think it MEANS? Is he watching someone on television? Is Joanna on TV? Is he referencing the way light can reflect off of a person’s face? Is he just referring to some sort of “magical” (quotes because I don’t mean literal magic, but like the way someone can make you feel butterflies in your stomach when you’re around them. Stuff like that) electricity?Either way, the line is beautiful, but hey, if you all want to play along with your guesses, feel free to leave a comment!Okay, folks, if you have notable quotes from TV, movie or music that you’d like to see me spotlight this month, drop me a line at brian@poprefs.com!Who Was the Garage Band Singing ‘Daddy Cop’ in the Latest Episode of The Rookie?Do Christina Applegate and Ed O’Neill Have a Good Relationship?How Did The Big Bang Theory Film Howard in Outer Space?Ed O’Neill Adorably Surprises His Former TV Daughter, Christina ApplegateAll Ten of the Only Murders In The Building Opening Title Easter EggsTaylor Swift’s New Song is Breaking People With ‘I Wouldn’t Marry Me Either’The ‘I Know’ Scene in Empire Strikes Back Epitomized Han Solo’s Convention-Breaking CharacterMichael Explains What Gives Him Hope on The Good PlaceHarry Lime Uses the Cuckoo Clock to Defend His EvilIf you’re interested in any of the shows, albums or movies I mention, you can help support the site by buying them via the Amazon ad links in the articles. You can also support the site by using the ad links to then purchase other items. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.ArchivesClick here to see our twice-weekly update of a master archive of TV shows and when they jumped the shark (if they did jump the shark at all)

Skip to contentToday, we look at a brilliant Bob Dylan lyric that it as mysterious as it is awesome.This is To Quote a Phrase, a spotlight on notable pop culture quotes.October is a Month of To Quote a Phrase, both here and at Comics Should Be Good!Generally speaking, you’ll drive yourself nuts if you try to get literal meanings out of all of Bob Dylan’s music, and that’s just normal. Obviously, even songs that are otherwise fairly straightforward in terms of just telling a story about someone’s life (think something like Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well,” about her relationship with Jake...

What Does 'The Ghost of 'Lectricity' Even Mean?

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