Bob Dylan And Patti Page (Part IV)

 

By Larry Fyffe

Patti Page’s rendition of the following song is the romantic antithesis of “Romeo” George Sanders saying to Eve (Anne Baxter) in the movie starring Bette Davis – “you agree now completely you belong to me” (All About Eve):

Just remember til you're home again
You belong to me

(Patti Page: You Belong To Me ~ Price/King/Stewart)

In the song lyrics below, the sentiment expressed is anything but romantic:

And puts her hands in her back pockets
Bette Davis style
And in comes Romeo
He's moaning, "You belong to me"

(Bob Dylan: Desolation Row)

In biblical lore, Adam’s first wife flees from Eden to escape her husband’s domination; he feels that she belongs to him like a piece of property.

Wife number one does not receive good press; she’s depicted as a screech owl, a night demon:

The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet
With the wild beasts of the island
And the satyr shall cry to his fellow
The screech owl shall also rest there
And find for herself a place of rest
(Isaiah 34:14)

Her new abode sounds a lot like Hollywood in Los Angeles to where modern Lilith flies from Broadway in New York City:

This place ain't doing me any good
I'm in the wrong town, I should be in Hollywood
Just for a second there, I thought I saw something move
Gonna take dancing lessons, do the jitterbug rag
Ain't no shortcuts, gonna dress in drag
(Bob Dylan: Things Have Changed)

Loyalty is the focus in the song lyrics beneath:

Hollywood's got movie stars, and movie czars
Cocktail bars, shiny cars, and a wonderful climate they say
But it hasn't got the handy subway trains
You seldom find a taxi when it rains
New York's my home sweet home
(Patti Page: New York's My Home Town ~ Jenkins)

https://youtu.be/Qwcgs7RE0G0

And best it be that loyalty is returned in kind:

I was dancing with my darling to the Tennessee Waltz
When an old friend I happened to see
Introduced her to my loved one, and while they were dancing
My friend stole my sweetheart from me
(Patti Page: The Tennessee Waltz ~ King/Stewart)

As the song above indicates, loyalty often isn’t returned

– satyrs await:

He looked into her eyes when she stopped him to ask
If he wanted to dance, he had a face like a mask
Somebody said from the bible he'd quote
There was dust on the man in the long black coat
(Bob Dylan: Man In The Long Black Coat)

Nevertheless, hope springs eternal:

Like the mountain laurel in the grove, dear 
My love, dear, is ever green
Like the mountain laurel finds the grove, dear
I'll find you again
(Vaughn Monroe : The Mountain Laurel ~ C. Price)

That’s just how it goes:

Forty-eight hours later, the sun is breaking
Near broken chains, mountain laurel, and rolling rocks
She's begging to know what measures he will be taking
He's pulling her down, and she's clutching onto his long golden locks
(Bob Dylan: Changing Of The Guards)

Money doesn’t talk; it swears:

Laurel's playing for money
On your ribbon wide
(Bob Dylan: Patty's Gone To Laredo)

 

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