Yeah, we've had some pretty good discussions about this one in the past, some parts of this song are pretty black and white in terms of their interpretation & others are real gray...anyway, here's my blow by blow fwiw:
"Magdalene is trembling Like a washing on a line Trembling and gleaming Never before was a man so kind Never so redeeming" the term Magdalene refers to a woman from the area of Magdala. This could be a reference to Mary Magdalene, or it could be a reference to the woman who was caught in the act of adultery and about to be stoned, and Jesus told the crowd that "whoever of you is without sin can cast the first stone", which of course dispersed the crowd and would have left the woman in awe as well as trembling. This was also a case where the Pharisees were trying to trip Jesus up & he foiled them. "I am up a sycamore Looking through the leaves A sinner of some position Who in the world can this heart healer be This magical physician" This is a reference to Zaccheus the tax collector, a small man who had to climb a sycamore tree to see Jesus as he passed. Jesus noticed him in the tree, called him down, had dinner with him, and so converted Zaccheus' spirit that he returned the monies he had conned people out of. "Enter the multitudes The walking wounded They come to this diver of the heart of the multitudes Thy kingdom come Thy will be done" This always reminds me of the scene in Jesus Christ Superstar where Jesus can hardly move for the people grabbing on to him, in search of healing for their disablility...but it could just be a simple reference to the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus preached to the multitudes and where he teaches the Lord's Prayer to the crowd (Matthew 6: 9-13). "Oh climb down climb down he says to me >From the middle of unrest They think is light is squandered But he sees a stray in the wilderness And I see how far I've wandered" This verse seems to simply state that the person singing the song is seeking the same direction and/or redemption as the biblical characters that Jesus interacted with in the beginnings of the song. I wouldn't go so far as saying that it's *Joni* stating this as she's not prone to so openly embrace Christianity. (Matter of fact, given her earlier musical references to Jesus & The Bible, this song has always stuck out like a sore thumb to me). "Oh all around the marketplace The buzzing of the flies The buzzing and the stinging Divinely barren And wickedly wise The killer nails are ringing" Divinely Barren - wickedly wise to me describes the Pharisees, the "holy men" who were threatened by Jesus power over the "slaves" who were doing the dirty work of the day, and were kept in place by the Pharisees enforcing of religion as law rather than love. The "killer nails" refer to the crucifixion of Jesus. OK, so that leaves us with the chorus, which to me is a bit more puzzling... "Enter the multitudes In Exxon blue In radiation rose" Could refer to the colors of the costumes of those in a modern-day passion play...could be equating the "slaves" of Jesus' day to the people who are employed in the gas & nuclear industries...could mean something else entirely! Then you get the 4-word chain: "Ecstasy - Misery - Apathy - Tragedy" Which for me breaks down Jesus' fulfillment of his mission on Earth...the early ecstasy of the miracles, healing, preachings, etc. with his ministry. The Misery of his capture & treatment (crown of thorns, etc) by Herod & the Romans, the Apathy of the crowd as they turned on Jesus and commanded that the prisoner Barrabas be set free and supported the crucifixion, and ending in the Tragedy of his death on the cross, killed not just out of the fear of the jealous leaders but also from those who betrayed him like Judas & Peter. "Now you tell me Who you gonna get to do the dirty work When all the slaves are free? (Who're you gonna get)" Again, this closing part of the song descibes the rationalization that drove the Pharisees to act as swiftly as they did, when they realized that the masses were being awakened and changed. That's my take on it....like I say, for what it's worth. Bob NP: The Bird Sisters, "Woodstock"
