Bob Dylan And The Cowboy Jesus

by Larry Fyffe

A theme expressed in the song lyrics of Bob Dylan, given no one can escape from the certainty of death, at least an individual, or even a group of people, as in the movie ‘The Magnificient Seven’, can escape from a life of slavery.

It’s a theme drawn from songs of old as in the lyrics below:

Oppressed so hard they could not stand
Let my people go
Go down, Moses
Way down in Egypt's land
Tell old Pharoah
To let my people go
(Paul Robeson: Go Down Moses ~ traditional)

The theme which in turn is taken from the Holy Bible:

And afterward Moses and Aaron went in
And told the Pharaoh
Thus saith the Lord God of Israel
"Let my people go
That they may hold a feast unto in the wilderness"
(Exodus 5:I)

A theme repeated in pre-American Civil War America in a spiritual sung by black slaves who escape to Canada:

No more auction block for me
No more, no more
No more auction block for me
Many thousands gone
(No More Auction Block~traditional)

The theme, along with the tune adapted somewhat from the song above, repeated in the Civil Rights era of America; there be the ‘rhyme twist’ ~ ‘me’/’me’; ~’sea’/’free’/’see’:

How many years can a mountain exist
Before it is washed to the sea?
How many years must some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
And how many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn't see?
(Peter, Paul, and Mary: Blowing In The Wind ~ Bob Dylan)

The claimed ‘murder most foul’ of Christ on the cross is twisted too by some biblical interpreters – Jesus escapes.

Says He:

Greater love hath no man than this
That a man lay down his life for a friend
(Book Of St. John 15:13)

Apparently a Libyan takes the place of Jesus, and unbeknownst to Roman guards, does just that – he gives up his life for a friend:

And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian
Who passed by, coming out of the country
The father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear His cross
(Book Of St. Mark 15: 21)

What supposedly happens is that Jesus and the Cyrenian change identities, a conspiracy theory that’s hard to resist by any writer of ‘noir’ tales:

There is nothing you can do or say To make me think I’m wrong Well I’m going off to Libya There’s a guy I gotta see He’s been living there three years now In an oill refinery (Bob Dylan: Got My Mind Made Up)

(Editor’s note, the video below is the only one I can find for this song, but it doesn’t appear to work in all countries – if you can find an alternative please write in below and I’ll add it)

The idea has been floated before – below, Jesus, ‘the drifter’, gets away!:

"Oh, stop that cursed jury"
Cried the attendant to the nurse
"The trial was bad enough
But this is ten times worse"
Just then a bolt of lightning
Struck the courthouse out of shape
And while everybody knelt to pray
The drifter did escape
(Bob Dylan:The Drifter's Escape)

Indeed, it’s all there in the Holy Bible – Christ is not dead after He’s supposedly crucified; He appears to Mary Magdalene as alive as you or me:

Jesus saith unto her, "Why weepest thou; whom seekest thou?"
She supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him
"Sir, if thou have borne Him hence, tell me where thou hast laid Him
And I will take Him away"
Jesus saith unto her, "Mary"; she turned herself, and saith unto Him
"Rabboni", which is to say, "Master"
(Book of St. John 20: 15, 16)

A conspiracy theory that is kept alive in the following song lyrics:

As I walked out in the mystic garden
On a hot summer day, on a hot summer lawn
"Excuse me, ma'am, I beg your pardon
There's no one here, the gardener's gone"
(Bob Dylan: Ain't Talking)

https://youtu.be/Hx6fHd99SxA

It’s a story that won’t die, and is repeated somewhat differently – given a cowboy western flavour – in the song lyrics below:

Hot chili peppers in the blistering sun
Dust on my face and my cape
Me and Magdalena on the run
I think this time we shall escape
(Bob Dylan: Romance In Durango)

https://youtu.be/-NBWMK0CV0Y

Twisted around is another tale of a cowboy’s escape:

The next day was hanging day, the sky was overcast and black
Big Jim lay covered up, killed by a penknife in the back
And Rosemary on the gallows, she didn't even blink
The hanging judge was sober, he hadn't had a drink
The only person on the scene missing was the Jack Of Hearts
(Bob Dylan: Lily, Rosemary, And The Jack Of Hearts)

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