By Tony Attwood
Bob Dylan’s book, The Philosophy of Modern Song, was written, as I understand it, after he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. It is not a book I feel I can comment upon, largely because I don’t understand much of what Bob is saying, which of course is a failure on my part, not on Bob’s.
And so after a hesitant start in reviewing the book, I abandoned the concept If you feel you could write a review of the whole book, or individual chapters, please do send me an article – as ever it is Tony@schools.co.uk
But while waiting for someone else’s review of the book, I was drawn back to it by the notion of listening again to the songs Bob picked and seeing if I could find anything to say about them, which might be of interest.
So far we’ve had
And now it is “There Stands the Glass”
There Stands the Glass” is self-evidently a country song, and it was written by Russ Hull, Mary Jean Shurtz, and Audrey Grisham. Hearing it for the first time my initial thought was, “Why does it take three people to write such a song?” I guess it was one for the lyrics, one for the music of the verse and one for the music of the middle 8 but I could be wrong.
First recorded in 1952, it was a hit for Webb Pierce in 1953. Wiki tells me he was “one of the most popular of the genre, charting more number-one hits than any other country and western performer during the decade. It was Pierce’s fifth release to hit number one on the country chart. It spent 27 weeks on the chart and was at the top for 12 weeks.”
They also note that Bob said, “The star of this song is the empty bourbon glass, and it’s built around the same kind of crack guitar sound as on a Hank Williams record, as well as the magical open-string, strummed chord.” Rolling Stone put it at 127 in the list of the greatest country songs of all time. (Which perhaps explains why I don’t really take to country music).
But moving on: the crack guitar sound: I’m told the “crack” guitar sound on Hank Williams records can be heard on songs such as “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,”
It was created by using the electric guitar as a rhythm instrument, emphasizing the pulse without percussion. The guitarist plays the lowest strings on the guitar but with the sound deadened by the fingers touching the string as soon as it has been played. The resultant pulse defines the beat of the song.
At least that is what I have read. The trouble is however I can’t hear that in “There Stands the Glass” at all, which means as a reviewer I am lost. Maybe it is the fact that I don’t like songs that celebrate using alcohol to avoid facing the real world (not least because it doesn’t work but instead leads to habituation), so I approach the song with a prejudice, and as a result perhaps can’t hear what I am listening to. Besides which, I guess no radio station (at least in the UK where I live) would be allowed to play this song these days… Here is the full set of lyrics:
There stands the glass that will ease all my painThat will settle my brain, it's my first one todayThere stands the glass that will hide all my fearsThat will drown all my tears, brother, I'm on my way I'm wondering where you are tonightAnd I'm wondering if you are all rightI wonder if you think of me in my misery There stands the glass, fill it up to the brimUntil my troubles grow dim, it's my first one today
So I start with a prejudice about the subject matter, and I am lost on the subject of what sounds we are listening to. Not very conducive to writing a review! But worse, I think I have a reaction these days against songs where the music and lyrics are so simple – I am tempted to write “excessively simple” although I am not sure one can say that. But I still am pondering why three people were needed to write this!
Is my problem that of writing about alcohol? I do enjoy a drink, but only a few nights a week with a meal, and I wouldn’t have said I had a problem with the subject within songs. Although thinking further on this I can only think of one Dylan song about alcohol – although of course there may be more that slip my mind at the moment. The song I recall is “Moonshiner” – a song which Bob has adapted from a piece normally accredited as “trad”.
But as others have pointed out before me, in his radio selections on the radio show he had included “A Quiet Whiskey,” “Whiskey Blues,” and “I’ve Been Drinking.” He also included songs that referenced specific types of alcohol like “One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer,” demonstrating an appreciation for the variety of music and lore surrounding alcohol, (at least according to Far Out Magazine)
So really I need help. Not with my drinking, but with my understanding of why Bob included “There Stands the Glass” in the “Philosophy of Modern Song”. Is it that popular songs have emphasised drink constantly? I mean yes of course there are many songs on the subject but no more than on most other subjects, and certainly far fewer than on the topics of love, lost love and dance.
But I certainly can think of quite a few off the top of my head
- Have a Drink on Me
- One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer
- One Mint Julep
- Red Red Wine
- Tequila
and there are many many more of course. But to come back to “There Stands the Glass” maybe it was the original that Bob liked. I don’t know if that is so, but here it is…
My answer would be, don’t drink, go dancing. But that’s just me.
Many such songs. Also, the Persian drunkard follows him.
“I’m wondering where you are tonight” from Schultz, etc. (There Stands The Glass) becomes “Wondering where you are tonight, Sweet Marie” from Bob Dylan.
You may be overthinking Bob’s “master plan”, he might just plain like the song. Many of his listeners over analyze many of his moves, he has said that many times. He’s a big reader that also relies on instinct and intuition, that’s probably why he sometimes says he doesn’t know where his songs come from. However, his improvised story about the character in the song being a soldier trying to wash his war crimes away does merit further attention.
Turtle, yes I fully agree, he might just like the song. But I am fascinated by why he likes the song.