According to Seth Rogovoy , this opening echoes the Book of Ecclesiastes , where the author states ( 1:17 ) " I observed all deeds beneath the sun , and behold all is futile . " There are echoes of Ecclesiastes throughout the song . Another example is : The author of Ecclesiastes laments ( 2:15 &ndash; 16 ) " The fate of the fool will befall me also ; to what advantage , then , have I become wise ? But I come to the conclusion that this , too , was futility , because the wise man and the fool are both forgotten . The wise man dies , just like the fool . " One of the most famous lines from the song reminds listeners that even the most powerful people will ultimately be judged : These lines seemed particularly prescient when Dylan performed the song on his 1974 tour with the Band , a few months before Richard Nixon resigned as President of the United States as a result of the Watergate crisis . After the song has confronted sex , religion and politics , it ends with the lines : Dylan 's preoccupations in the lyrics extend beyond socio-political commentary , and touch on urgent matters of personal experience — the challenge to live and grow in the face of uncertainty . Jimmy Carter would later refer to the line in his presidential nomination speech at the 1976 Democratic National Convention , though it addresses matters of the self which supersede politics , in the process displaying certain themes associated with existentialism . Throughout the song , the words pour out quickly , with Dylan barely taking a breath between lines , so that the intricate rhyming structure is often missed : AAAAAB CCCCCB DDDDDB in the verses and AAB in the chorus
1976 Democratic National Convention
1976 Democratic National Convention
It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)