Wondered what the line "I laid traps for troubadours who get killed before they reached Bombay" actually is about. Honestly I don´t know. Do you?

Hi, Smilingsun. these lyrics are indeed quite puzzling, and there has been some discussion about their meaning in newsgroups over the net; The main theories on it are the followings:

1) It has something to do with the Beatles visit to the Yogi.

2) It references British exploits in India/Afghanistan in the late
1800s. Apparently a large group of British solders were wiped out by
local resistance fighters in one of the most humiliating defeats in
British military history.

3) There was a serial killer who operated in the mid to late sixties in
India who preyed on itinerant hippies, killing them and stealing their
possessions (not worth much) and passports.

I still can't tell which one is more believable...

"got to be worked on
don't have no bark nor bite..."

Could it be about the times of Marco Polo and their various unsucessful trips for gold and spices?

I believe the lyric is really "laid tracks for troubadours who get killed before they reach my domain"

I read it's an oblique reference to the Stones' busts at Redlands and Brian's busts, with, at times, dubious evidence against them.

Quote
wayno
I believe the lyric is really "laid tracks for troubadours who get killed before they reach my domain"

Actually, it's "there's a bathroom on the right". It just sounds different because of the english accent.

Ghandi was killed on his way to Bombay. I believe it is a reference to Ghandi.

I always thought that it was from the book that influenced the song - The Master and Margarita.

We had a long discussion about it here:

[www.iorr.org]

-but nobody came up with any convincing answers. Lots of weird and wonderful theories.