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Was there a meaning to the song used in the Battlestar Galactica episode "Crossroads Part II"?


Starting with the episode "Crossroads Part II" the



final five Cylons begin to hear Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" in their heads.



Have the creators/writers ever stated why they picked that song in particular and what it might mean to the story?



Answer




There are themes throughout BSG that are part of our culture and past ("All Along the Watchtowers", Greek Gods, the expression "All of this has happened before, and it will all happen again." (From Peter Pan of all places). The idea is that these themes exist within the re occurrence of the universe and will reoccur along with the type of events of the story (creation of robots, rebellion of robots etc.)


One of the ideas is that the song itself is embedded into our existence, as supported by comments by Bob Dylan, and how many times it has been redone.


Some notes from the BSG Wiki




  • The song is apocalyptic in nature.

  • Christopher Ricks has commented that "All Along the Watchtower" is an example of Dylan's audacity at manipulating chronological time: "at the conclusion of the last verse, it is as if the song bizarrely begins at last, and as if the myth began again."

  • Over 25 notable bands have performed cover versions of "All Along The Watchtower"; the definitive cover was performed by The Jimi Hendrix Experience . Many people are unaware that his version was not the original

  • Ron D Moore's point of view actually mirrors what Bob Dylan himself had said about his songwriting early in his career: "The songs are there. They exist all by themselves just waiting for someone to write them down. I just put them down on paper. If I didn't do it, somebody else would.'"




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