What’s it gonna be when it comes up? Dylan does the New York Jazz Scene.

By Tony Attwood

Disc five of the Complete Basement Tapes album has some gems on it but also a range of oddments.  Not as odd as some of the earlier discs in the six disc set certainly, because the Band clearly are much more together and Bob has told the guys a bit about what to expect as each song comes along, but even so, what to expect is often rather odd.

Of course if you are in the business of knowing what to expect you can try netbet.co.ukwhere your ability to predict the future will come in very handy, but otherwise listening to track after track of the Basement Tapes can leave one sometimes feeling that one of two eventualities can explain what is going on.

Either you are on another planet or else Bob and the band were, when they recorded some of these tracks.

And if there is another such planet to be on, and it is a planet that has some vague connection to Planet Earth, then that is not necessarily the Planet Earth that I know.

For example, when I tell you that the Haiku 61 for this song goes like this

Animal instinct:
If Bob were a chicken, he’d
Want to hear his sneeze.

you will know we are into a strange, strange land indeed.

In fact Bob is doing a take off of the 1960s New York jazz club in this song, probably in just such a club at 3am.   I can’t say that for sure of course, for as old as I am I am not old enough to have been in such a joint at such a time in such a decade.  But having been there later and indeed in some of the jazz clubs in Soho in London as well, I think I can see where he was at the time.

There’s little on the internet to help us here decode this song, just the lyrics provided by Haiku 61, so with any sort of commentary we are cutting new ground.

NobodysingsDylanlikeDylan also has the a set of lyrics –  but I suspect that site has copied them from Haiku 61 but without acknowledgement.   At least I admit where I got them from – although here I’ve added quite a few variations of my own.  It just depends how you hear the piece.

I see you but, no no no don’t live no more
Yes oh baby oh baby doll baby doll oh no more
Well you’re so far away from my holy land
Gotta hold the door man she’s too much I tell you

Yes I’m on this one-room Cadillac, just er taking in the breeze
If I was a chicken now, I’d just want to hear myself sneeze
Mmmm, somethin’ sure looks good goin’ down boys 

But what’s it going to do when it comes up

Bb-b-b-b-bba-ba-boo mmmmmm
So good to see you again still looking good

Mmmm, gonna tell you when it hurts, it hurts
Now dog get out of hear quick before my master comes
ba-da-da-da-da-do (etc etc).

Oh yeah! (Applause)

I trust you found that illuminating.

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