Explicating Dylan.

[Thomas Eckhardt]

> So, remember and go back and listen to MURDER MOST FOUL and renotice the 
> lines about "the rising sun'
> which seemed okay enough in sorta alluding to a new (conceptual) 
> America, right?

> Well, the chair that Geo Washington sat on at the convention is called 
> the Chair of the Rising Sun.

A possible reference, but rather obscure, I believe. Much less obscure 
is the song "The House of the Rising Sun", covered by Dylan to great 
effect on his first record.

As I see it, the phrase "altar of the rising sun" alludes both to a 
ritual slaughter and to "The House of the Rising Sun" which in turn 
points us to New Orleans, a key place in assassination lore.

FWIW, I also believe that the "banister" mentioned earlier in the song 
is a reference to Guy Banister.