--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Some times I think this whole world Is…" description: "\"Some times I think this whole world Is one big prison yeard Some of us are prisoners The rest of us are guards\" — Bob Dylan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/876/bob-dylan-168_bigs_some-times-i-think-this-whole-world-is-o_588672.jpg" --- # Some times I think this whole world Is one big prison… ![“Some times I think this whole world Is one big prison yeard Some of us are prisoners The rest of us are guards” quote by Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/876/bob-dylan-168_bigs_some-times-i-think-this-whole-world-is-o_588672.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/876/bob-dylan-168_bigs_some-times-i-think-this-whole-world-is-o_588672.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/876/bob-dylan-168_bigs_some-times-i-think-this-whole-world-is-o_588672.jpg) > “Some times I think this whole world Is one big prison yeard Some of us are prisoners The rest of us are guards” [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society is depicted as a prison where many are confined, and others enforce control, highlighting oppression. **In simple terms:** Society can feel imprisoning, with some as oppressors. Key Takeaway Question and resist oppressive structures. Themes oppression freedom social critique power dynamics Mood reflective serious Type political philosophical When to use this quote - activism - education - community building Key Concepts political theory psychology Questions to Reflect On - Who are the guards in your life? - How can you reclaim freedom? A Different Perspective Not all individuals have equal agency to change the system. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison/) [Prisoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prisoner/) [Prisoners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prisoners/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Whole world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole-world/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“It is all one big prison, Sheida. We are all in one big prison.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sahar-delijani/it-is-all-one-big-prison-sheida-we-are-all-in-one-big-prison/) [Sahar Delijani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sahar-delijani/) > [A friend of mine is chief of staff at a big prison in Georgia. Along with giving me a tour of the prison, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-c-moore/a-friend-of-mine-is-chief-of-staff-at-a-big-prison-in-georgia-along/) [Adrienne C. Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-c-moore/) > [Without history we are the prisoners of the accident of where and when we were born.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-kagan/without-history-we-are-the-prisoners-of-the-accident-of-where-and/) [Donald Kagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-kagan/) > [Most men in a concentration camp believed that the real opportunities of life had passed. Yet, in reality, there was an opportunity and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/most-men-in-a-concentration-camp-believed-that-the-real-opportunities/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [Prisoners learn how to make do with less, and many of them want to take this ingenuity that they've learned to the outside ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-smith/prisoners-learn-how-to-make-do-with-less-and-many-of-them-want-to/) [Jeff Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-smith/) > [Yes. And release prisoners who are incarcerated for pot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-cuban/yes-and-release-prisoners-who-are-incarcerated-for-pot/) [Mark Cuban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-cuban/) > [What a tragic realm this is, he reflected. Those down here are prisoners, and the ultimate tragedy is that they don't know it; they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/what-a-tragic-realm-this-is-he-reflected-those-down-here-are/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [We are all conceived in close prison; in our mothers wombs, we are close prisoners all; when we are born, we are born but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/we-are-all-conceived-in-close-prison-in-our-mothers-wombs-we-are/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [The West has political prisoners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/the-west-has-political-prisoners/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [ Of course, no state accepts \[that it should call\] the people it is imprisoning or detaining for political reasons, political prisoners. They don't call… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/of-course-no-state-accepts-that-it-should-call-the-people-it-is/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [This is what happens in prisons I think you're not giving the prisoners the credit for how ingenious they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-davies/this-is-what-happens-in-prisons-i-think-you-re-not-giving-the/) Philip Davies > [What a strange world it is, where prisoners are left their weapons and the written word is a mortal danger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-whalen-turner/what-a-strange-world-it-is-where-prisoners-are-left-their-weapons-and/) [Megan Whalen Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-whalen-turner/) > [Prisoners at the bar, have you anything to say in your defence?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/prisoners-at-the-bar-have-you-anything-to-say-in-your-defence/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [They came to know the incorrigible sorrow of all prisoners and exiles, which is to live in company with a memory that serves no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/they-came-to-know-the-incorrigible-sorrow-of-all-prisoners-and-exiles/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The same things that we hurray and support in other places, like people like Nelson Mandela, our prisoners were doing the same thing, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sekou-odinga/the-same-things-that-we-hurray-and-support-in-other-places-like/) [Sekou Odinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sekou-odinga/) ## More by Bob Dylan > [The hollow horn plays wasted words, proves to warn that he not busy being born is busy dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-hollow-horn-plays-wasted-words-proves-to-warn-that-he-not-busy/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Don't forget to support your public library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/don-t-forget-to-support-your-public-library/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [You don't count the dead, when god's on your side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/you-don-t-count-the-dead-when-god-s-on-your-side/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [She makes love just like a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/she-makes-love-just-like-a-woman/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Silvio, I gotta go, find out something only dead men know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/silvio-i-gotta-go-find-out-something-only-dead-men-know/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [I don't really have a retirement plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-don-t-really-have-a-retirement-plan/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Just a reminder, if you tell anyone about what happened with Jonah last night, I'll destroy all of my writing and never play music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/just-a-reminder-if-you-tell-anyone-about-what-happened-with-jonah/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Little red wagon, little red bike, I ain’t no monkey but I know what I like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/little-red-wagon-little-red-bike-i-ain-t-no-monkey-but-i-know-what-i/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Twenty years of schooling and they put you on the day shift - look out out kid, they keep it all hid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/twenty-years-of-schooling-and-they-put-you-on-the-day-shift-look-out/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [The drunken politician leaps upon the street where mothers weep, and the saviors who are fast asleep, they wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-drunken-politician-leaps-upon-the-street-where-mothers-weep-and/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Your eyes are like two jewels in the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/your-eyes-are-like-two-jewels-in-the-sky/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [I gotta friend who spends his life, stabbing my picture with a bowie knife. Dreams of strangling me with a scarf, when my name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-gotta-friend-who-spends-his-life-stabbing-my-picture-with-a-bowie/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [She speaks with a stutter and she and she walks with a hop. I don't know why I love her, but I just can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/she-speaks-with-a-stutter-and-she-and-she-walks-with-a-hop-i-don-t/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [The man in the coon skin cap in the pig pen wants eleven dollar bills, you've only got ten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-man-in-the-coon-skin-cap-in-the-pig-pen-wants-eleven-dollar-bills/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Don't put my faith in nobody, not even a scientist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/don-t-put-my-faith-in-nobody-not-even-a-scientist/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) [Explore all 1,018 Bob Dylan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) ## More Bigs quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [I'm a true believer in prayer, a big believer in prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-jackson/i-m-a-true-believer-in-prayer-a-big-believer-in-prayer/) [Janet Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-jackson/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [I'm a big fan of all the Boston guys that are acting - Matt Damon , Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg - they made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-wormald/i-m-a-big-fan-of-all-the-boston-guys-that-are-acting-matt-damon-ben/) [Kenny Wormald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-wormald/) > [The only regret I have in my career, is my managers wanted a big payday, and I wanted four or five more fights before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-cooney/the-only-regret-i-have-in-my-career-is-my-managers-wanted-a-big/) [Gerry Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-cooney/) > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [Okay, so I'll admit I'm curious. Big deal. We both know what that leads to. Dead cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/okay-so-i-ll-admit-i-m-curious-big-deal-we-both-know-what-that-leads/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [I don't want this to be a distraction. This has been distracting enough. I'm not going to rehash this going forward. I'm sure other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayson-werth/i-don-t-want-this-to-be-a-distraction-this-has-been-distracting/) [Jayson Werth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayson-werth/) > [I didn't get how big it was until I went home, turned on the television and saw it on all the news, and later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/i-didn-t-get-how-big-it-was-until-i-went-home-turned-on-the/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [It’s a small thing to help one animal, but to that one animal it’s a big thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-baur/it-s-a-small-thing-to-help-one-animal-but-to-that-one-animal-it-s-a/) [Gene Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-baur/) > [Since I was a little child, my nose - I think it's too big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celine-dion/since-i-was-a-little-child-my-nose-i-think-it-s-too-big/) [Celine Dion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celine-dion/) > [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I turn a lot of stuff down - big, big movies, the kind I wouldn't want to go to the cinema to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/i-turn-a-lot-of-stuff-down-big-big-movies-the-kind-i-wouldn-t-want-to/) [Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/) > [I got in trouble my whole life for having a big mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-tyler/i-got-in-trouble-my-whole-life-for-having-a-big-mouth/) [Steven Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-tyler/) Browse all 15,539 Bigs quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Some times I think this whole world Is one big prison yeard Some of us are prisoners The rest of us are guards", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bob Dylan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/some-times-i-think-this-whole-world-is-one-big-prison-yeard-some-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bigs" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/some-times-i-think-this-whole-world-is-one-big-prison-yeard-some-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/876/bob-dylan-168_bigs_some-times-i-think-this-whole-world-is-o_588672.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/876/bob-dylan-168_bigs_some-times-i-think-this-whole-world-is-o_588672.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/876/bob-dylan-168_bigs_some-times-i-think-this-whole-world-is-o_588672.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Some times I think this whole world Is one big prison yeard Some of us are prisoners The rest of us are guards” — Bob Dylan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bob Dylan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Some times I think this whole...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/some-times-i-think-this-whole-world-is-one-big-prison-yeard-some-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/some-times-i-think-this-whole-world-is-one-big-prison-yeard-some-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```