Recently on this site….
- 20 years of Theme Time Radio part 3.1: Drinking
- Bob Dylan in concert 1962. The final entry in the concert series (for now)
A full index to the previous articles in this series is given at the foot of this piece.
By Tony Attwood
This is episode 51 of “No Nobel Prize for Music” reflecting on the music Bob Dylan has composed, rather thean focussing totally on the lyrics as some writers who consider the work of Dylan have tended to do. And in this series, I have been looking particularly at the way Bob Dylan changed his style of writing music as he progressed through the 1970s, as well as changing the subject matter of his lyrics.
In the last episode, we reached “Tough Mama” written in 1973, which leaves us with just two more songs from that year to consider: “Dirge” and “Wedding Song” – which, when one sees those two titles next to each other, really makes one wonder what Bob was thinking as he composed them.
If we listen to the lyrics of “Dirge” it can on occasion be quite hard to get through the song. Just the opening two words (“I hate”) tell us where we are going. The piano accompaniment of the right hand does nothing but play chords on the four beats of each bar without any rhythmic variation, and that really tests our desire to keep going with the song. Thankfully, the lead guitar gives us a bit of relief.
But what really does rescue this song musically is the melody – and the improvised lead guitar part.
However there is more to this song, because although it is strophic in construction (that is to say verse, verse, verse etc), both the melody and the chords pounded out by the piano (I am guessng it was Bob playing), give us a chord sequnece that is quite unlike anything Bob has ever produced elsewhere (at least as far as I can remember – do tell me if I have forgotten something!)
The song is written in the key of D minor, and as you may know, minor chords tend to generate a feeling of negativity and sadness for most listeners brought up on Western musical culture.
So we can understand why Bob ventured into a minor key in writing a song that opens,
I hate myself for loving you and the weakness that it showed
Indeed, just reading that first line shows exactly why that song has never been played by Bob in public – although there have been cover versions.
But what Bob does is take us through a chord sequence of D minor, G minor and onto A minor, which is all very confusing not just because there is no key that has those thrree chords in it, but also because it turns out that in as much as the song is in a key, that key is G minor – not the D minor that it starts in.
The effect is either haunting or depressing, depending on where you are coming from, and perhaps because of this, and the fact Bob has never performed it, the song has been largely ignored – although as noted above, there have been covers.
But let us come back to the key for a moment. If we were to say it is in G minor, which is the concluding chord of the piece (and it certainly has the feel of being the key chord), then we have a real oddity, of the second line ending with the cadence of D minor to A minor (or in musical shorthand V – II) which is so far from normal, I am tempted to say it is unqiue for a compositioin in the popular style).
Dm Gm Dm Gm
I hate myself for loving you and the weakness that it showed
Dm Gm Dm Am
You were just a painted face on a trip down to suicide road
Bb Dm Gm
The stage was set, the lights went out all around the old hotel
Bb Eb Gm Cm Gm
I hate myself for loving you and I'm glad the curtain fell.
Indeed in the classical descriptions of cadances which 99% of pop, rock and blues music follows there is no such thing as a cadence (that is the ending of a line in terms of chords) which goes from chord V (D minor in this case) to chord II (A m,inor).
The effect is incredibly disconcerting, and leaves one feeling that one is on the very edge of everything, about to be pushed over into something else. Indeed, that is the feeling of the entire song, making it incredibly difficult to listen to without becoming utterly depressed or upset in some other way.
In short, this is not a song that is going to get the composer more fans, nor is it a piece of music that one is likely to put on when friends come round for a meal.
In fact, it raises the question, when would anyone put this piece of music on and sit listening to it? Apart from when wonering how on Earth Bob managed to get these effects and what chords he is actually using, I am not at all sure.
Elvis Costello had a bash at the song – I am not convinced, but I include it below in case you find it helpful in understanding the song.
But to compensate for that, I will include once more this version, which to me really does bring the song to life.
So what was Bob up to, writing a song of this nature? The general feeling is that Bob is addressing an ex-lover, but then this song came not long after “You Angel You” – which makes it all rather confusing, or perhaps unnecessary.
But consider this for a moment. The key issue I have been trying to suggest in this series is that at this time Bob was deliberately trying to break away from the type of music he had become known for in his earlier years of composition. He was, in short, in an experimental stage of his work. And surely that is shown with the sheer range of compositions in this year.
This was Bob’s 13th composition of the year. And this song begins, as we have seen,
"I hate myself for loving you and the weakness that it showed"
And yet Bob wrote one more song in 1973. It has the opening line
"I love you more than ever, more than time and more than love,"
Apart from the time we might spend contemplating that contradiction (presumably the songs were written about two different ladies) we might also contemplate the extraordinary musical genius that allowed Bob to create the music for two such contradictory pieces in such a short space of time. Indeed, I would argue that this truly was the time when Bob was exploring exactly what he could do with music. Three chords, one musical line repeated and over over…. musically and lyrically the utter contrast to Dirge.
Previously in this series….
- We might have noted the musical innovations more
- From Hattie Carroll to the incoming ship
- From Times to Percy’s song
- Combining musical traditions in unique ways
- Using music to take us to a world of hope
- Chimes of Freedom and Tambourine Man
- Bending the form to its very limits
- From Denise to Mama
- Balled in Plain
- Black Crow to All I really want to do
- I’ll keep it with mine
- Dylan does gothic and the world ends
- The Gates of Eden
- After the Revolution – another revolution
- Returning to the roots (but with new chords)
- From “It’s all right” to “Angelina”. What appened?
- How strophic became something new: Love is just a four letter word
- Bob reaches the subterranean
- The conundrum of the song that gets worse
- Add one chord, keep it simple, sing of love
- It’s over. Start anew. It’s the end
- Desolation Row: perhaps the most amazing piece of popular music ever written
- Can you please crawl out your window
- Positively Fourth Street
- Where the lyrics find new lands, keep the music simple
- Tom Thumb’s journey. It wasn’t that bad was it?
- From Queen Jane to the Thin Man
- The song that revolutionised what popular music could do
- Taking the music to completely new territory
- Sooner or Later the committee will realise its error
- The best ever version of “Where are you tonight sweet Marie?”
- Just like a woman
- Most likely you go your way
- Everybody must get stoned
- Obviously 5 Believers
- I Want You. Creativity dries up
- Creativity dries up – the descent towards the basement.
- One musical line sung 12 times to 130 worlds
- Bob invents a totally new musical form
- There is a change we can see and a change we can’t see
- A sign on the window tells us that change is here
- One more weekend and New Morning: pastures new
- Three Angels, an experiment that leads nowhere
- An honorary degree nevertheless. But why was Bob not pleased?
- When Bob said I will show you I am more than three chords
- Moving out of the darkness
- The music returns but with uncertainty
- Heaven’s Door, Never Say Goodbye, and a thought that didn’t work…
- Going going gone
- Bob goes for love songs
- On a night like this and Tough Mama