Untold Dylan

Dylan PL. “There is no need for a weatherman to know the direction of the wind”

Posted on August 17, 2022 by TonyAttwood

by Tony Attwood

If you have read any of my ramblings about cover versions of Bob Dylan’s music in the “Dylan Cover a Day” series, you might just recall regular comments about the recurring problem with Dylan.

We all know each song off by heart – we know the lyrics inside out, and many of us, if pushed (or after a few beers) could probably have a bash at singing along.

So faced with this situation, the cover artist really needs to re-think the song, bring in something new, find a different approach, give it a new twist, that sort of thing.

In which case singing the song in a language which a) 99% of your audience won’t understand a word and b) through its use of sounds gives an utterly different feel to the piece, is an advantage. One is immediately in new territory. Expectations are removed. The listener’s mind opens.

And that is what we have with the “Dylan.pl” double CD: 29 Dylan classics performed by a brilliant band and sung in (what is for me, and will I suspect be for most of my readers) an utterly incomprehensible language: Polish.

Which brings me back to the title of this little piece. “Dylan.pl” is the title but on the front cover there is another text printed sideways which says “Niepotrzebna pogodynka, zeby znac kierunek wiatru”. Actually I am missing a couple of accents in there, and I may have made some spelling mistakes, but I am hoping any errors don’t matter too much…

But more to the point, my translation program tells me, the phrase means “There is no need for a weatherman to know the direction of the wind” which of course you will immediately have translated back into Proper Dylan Speak as the phrase “You don’t need…” etc etc.

Now this really is my point: poetry is damn hard to translate, just as colloquial language can be tough going. Not because each word in Polish doesn’t have an equivalent in English, but because the phrases have meanings beyond the words.

Just consider “There is no need for a weatherman to know the direction of the wind”. That is of course NOT what Dylan wrote in terms of words, but nor is it the meaning of what Dylan wrote. He wrote “…to know which way the wind blows” which normally has an utterly different meaning from “to know the direction of the wind”.

Of course, none of that is to say that Dylan.pl got anything wrong – translate from English to Polish and then use a machine to translate back to English and it is bound to get a bit screwed – and that is absolutely not their fault. But I think it makes the point. There’s more to this “translating the songs” lark than simply looking up the words.

But I don’t want to get bogged down in language, for there is so so so much more here, because the band has, like the very best cover bands, delivered their own interpretation of the music. And this brings me back to my opening point… those of us who don’t speak the language are getting a new interpretation of the songs, without (and this is the main point) the distraction of already knowing all the lines.

And that is interesting, because as I listened to the album I immediately forgot about the originals. It was as if I were listening to new songs. OK familiar tunes, yes, but still something quite new, which I rarely get when listening to covers in English.

And that because a) the lyrics were not there to remind me (as I have so labouriously pointed out) of Dylan’s version, but also because the musical realisation of each piece is not just original but also so highly inventive. These are not Dylan songs sung in Polish but Dylan songs afresh: a completely new look at Dylan’s music in almost every case.

So for me this opens up a whole new area of understanding of Dylan. By performing the songs in a language I do not comprehend, I can strip away all preconceptions and listen to the new interpretations utterly afresh. And that is an incredibly valuable thing to be offered.

I contain multitudes, parts 7 and 8

Posted on August 16, 2022 by TonyAttwood

by Larry Fyffe

Part 5

According to prophet Isaiah if proper love is not shown to God, He’s going to make the wayward Hebrews suffer for their ungratefulness.

They’ll be overtaken by their enemies; many will flee elsewhere, or be exiled:

And many among them shall stumble
And fall and be broken
And be snared and be taken
(Isaiah 8:15)

Time and space collapse in the song “Changing Of The Guards” by musician Bob Dylan.

Therein, he becomes the new Isaiah (and just as confusing as the old) in the new Babylon of America.

It’s back to the Bible ~

Before the coming of the Romans, Greeks under Alexander the Great establish a Hellenistic Empire; taken over is Judea; the Persian Empire defeated.

Greek mythology with statues of gods like Zeus(Jupiter) and Apollo idolize the ideal beauty of the naked ‘human’ body.

Under Judaism, the image of the one Hebrew G-d is not permitted; Adam and Eve clothe themselves.

In Hellenistic Judea, deadly battles break out over the covenant-symbolism of circumcision; some Jews get the procedure reversed; traditionalists enforce it on those who don’t want it (in order to make Christianity distinct, apostle Paul insists instead on baptism by water).

History, according to Bobisaiah, repeats itself.

Though the Devil’s in the details.

Allegorical chaos reigns in America; it’s mixed-up confusion, everything is broken.

Could be entertained that in a “flash forward” episode of the song below, the narrator therein chooses to take the middle path between no-idol-worshipping Judiac “spiritualism”, and the marble-headed addiction to Hellenistic “materialism”.

There’s really nothing to turn off:

I stumbled to my feet
I rode past destruction in the ditches
With the stitches still mending
'Neath a heart-shaped tattoo
Renegade priests, and treacherous young witches
Were handing out the flowers that I'd given to you
 (Bob Dylan: Changing Of The Guards)

Nothing is revealed, except perhaps that the history of black slavery haunts America; “Captain” John Brown’s dead, a-moulding in his grave:

Bearer of a flaming torch on a tower, the mask of the white-faced Statue Of Liberty is lifted; the “other America” with an ebony face revealed:

A messenger arrived with a black nightingale
I seen her on the stairs, I couldn't help but follow
Follow her down past the fountain where they lifted her veil
(Bob Dylan: Changing Of The Guards)

Or so the ambiguous wording of the song above can be decoded to mean.

But certainly the song is not senseless and meaningless ~ as the Sound School of Dylanology would likely declare it to be.

Part 6

According to the Old Testament, prophet Daniel, captive in Babylon, has a dream that involves four animals – a lion, an eagle, a bear, and a leopard:

And four great beasts came up from the sea
Diverse  from one another
(Daniel 7:3)

Referred to in the following song lyrics:

Beat a retreat up them spiral staircases
Past the tree of smoke, past the angels with four faces
Begging God for mercy in unholy places
(Bob Dylan: Angelina)

Taken by some biblical interpreters at the time to mean the Assyrian; the Babylonian; the Persian; and the Grecian empires; by later interpreters to mean Britain; United States; Russia; and Germany.

A blast to the past:

Judas Maccabeus, a Jewish traditionalist priest, considers that not only the statues of Greek gods in Judea have to be destroyed, but also the repressive leopard that erected them.

Judas is sure that he has Yahweh on his side.

The armed revolt eventually leads to a semi-independent Jewish state that lasts up to the time when Herold becomes King of Judea, backed by Roman Empire.

Maccabeus, the Jewish ‘Robin Hood’, is inspired by the brave words and deeds of biblical heroes like Joshua and David:

Now therefore fear the Lord
And serve Him in sincerity, and in truth
And put away gods your fathers served ...
And serve ye the Lord
(Joshua 24: 14)

Below, a verse of similar sentiment written and sung by the new Judas Maccabeus from the New Babylon:

You're gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil, or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody
(Bob Dylan: Gotta Serve Somebody)

Isaiah’s “Immanuel” has cometh:

The neighbourhood bully just lives to survive
He's criticized and condemned for being alive
He's not supposed to fight back, he supposed to have thick skin
He's supposed to lay down when his door is kicked in
(Bob Dylan: Neighbourhood Bully)

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A Dylan cover a day: Meet me in the morning

Posted on August 15, 2022 by TonyAttwood

By Tony Attwood

“Meet me in the morning” is the only 12 bar blues on Blood on the Tracks, and is itself a cover of sorts, being akin to “Call Letter Blues” which of course Bob recorded, and which appeared later on “More Blood on the Tracks”

So it is not going too far off the rails to say that “Meet me in the morning” is itself a cover. In which case we are listening out for covers of a cover. A cover squared. A square cover. A…

The question for the cover artist is, do you go further (ie ever more bluesy) or somewhere else (hardly a blues at all). This is the former which is what generally happens with this song (although not always – please keep reading). One chord change, otherwise its just heavy

So compare and contrast with Clas Yngström & Big Tex Three which has taken off in a completely different direction to give a sense of mystery and almost threat.

I really like this, simply because it does take us in a new direction, while retaining all the essence of the song. OK after a while it becomes another 12 bar but that doesn’t matter too much because of the opening.

Of course most of the time the quest is just how far one can actually take the bluesiness and Carolyn Wonderland have a bash at going as far as one can

But it really doesn’t have to go that way. What I was really looking for was a version that turns it back into a ballad. I didn’t really find one, but this is on its way, and I do enjoy angel Snow

And finally just to show it really is possible to take even a 12 bar blues into another territory with a totally different feel, and come to that a totally different message we have Drew Emmitt. I think this is the version that I found most refreshing this search. Maybe that’s because I tend to write my Dylan piece in the mornings, and today is very hot in my part of the world. And as soon as I have finished this I am off to meet one of my daughters, and my twin grandsons, to celebrate their birthday. For such a moment Drew Emmitt has the sound I want.

The Dylan Cover a Day series

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Crossing the Rubicon part 6: I got my head on straight

Posted on August 14, 2022 by TonyAttwood

by Jochen Markhorst

What are these dark days I see in this world so badly bent
How can I redeem the time - the time so idly spent
How much longer can it last - how long can this go on
I embraced my love put down my head and I crossed the Rubicon

In early 2007, certified Dylan fan and one of the world’s most widely read authors, Stephen King, writes a column for Entertainment Weekly in which he announces and explains his ten Top Music Picks for 2006. It’s a nice list that shows a preference for rock, “straight puke-on-your-Dingo-boots rock & roll,” as King says, for sentimentality (“If that makes you want to call me a sap, I can take it”) and country. And Stephen King also appears to have a good feeling for songs that stand the test of time. At least: “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol we still play today, just like Johnny Cash’s “God’s Gonna Cut You Down”, number 2 in King’s Top 10, commented on with words that still ring true:

“You could argue that Cash saved the best for last and get no disagreement from me. This is the voice of an Old Testament prophet on his deathbed, eerie and persuasive, full of power and dust and experience. The entire album (American V: A Hundred Highways) is a masterpiece, but this and ”Like the 309” are the ones I keep coming back to.”

King’s number one of 2006 is the only one on the list that is not a single song, but an entire album: The Animal Years, Josh Ritter’s masterpiece. “An amazing accomplishment,” says the Master of Horror, and he even equates an album highlight, the strange and gorgeous “Thin Blue Flame”, with Dylan: “This is the most exuberant outburst of imagery since Bob Dylan’s A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall.” And the other song that King singles out is the perfect opening track:

“Mysterious, melancholy, melodic…and those are only the M’s. Songs like “Girl in the War” simply do not leave the consciousness once they’re heard.”

King is not the only one who in 2006 has a soft spot for Josh Ritter. In the same year, the versatile Idaho native was chosen by Paste magazine as one of the “100 Greatest Living Songwriters”. Which is already an understandable choice for the song “Bright Smile” alone (Hello Starling, 2003), but Paste has also heard “Girl In The War”, with its wonderful opening words:

Peter said to Paul
"All those words that we wrote
Are just the rules of the game and the rules are the first to go"

Also an example of that “exuberant outburst of imagery”. A reference to the Letters of Paul is not only unusual in rock music, but even in gospel. After all, these are not the most exciting books of the Bible, Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians, Galatians, Corinthians and all those others. Many exhortations, many tiresome do’s and don’ts, a few painful slips here and there smelling penetratingly of anti-Semitism (1 Thess 2:15: “[The Jews] are not pleasing to God, but hostile to all men”), a lot of redundancy (“Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good”, Rom 12:9) and little action. No, the Pauline epistles are no Ezekiel or Revelation.

But Dylan seems to have retained a few things anyway – perhaps thanks to the Bible study lessons at the time, the three-month discipleship course run by the Association of Vineyard Churches in 1979. As evidenced by this third verse, which does seem to echo the otherwise not very exciting Epistles to the Ephesians, in particular chapter 5. Therein, especially Great Truths can be found (such as the profound truth “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife,” 5:22), but in Dylan’s Rubicon of consciousness, echoes from the “Children Of Light” paragraph (5:8-21) are now apparently flooding in:

“Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. […] See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”

The rather evangelical concept of “redeem” is, of course, found often enough in the Bible, and in psalms and in gospel music in general, but the combination with “time”, “evil days” and “darkness” is only found here… and in the third verse of “Crossing The Rubicon”, of course.

The verse gives a fascinating glimpse into that meandering flow in the creative part of Dylan’s brain. The song depicts the state of mind of an emotional storyteller at a crossroads in his life, and Dylan’s point of departure is probably that Little Walter riff over which he lays his lyrics. Where those echoes from Paul’s letters come from is impossible to pinpoint, but it is likely that the peculiar phrase in the opening line, this world so badly bent, comes via Little Walter, via “Dead Presidents”, the Willie Dixon song that Dylan plays in Little Walter’s version in his Theme Time Radio Hour (episode 68, Presidents’ Day);

Them dead presidents
Them dead presidents
Well I ain't broke but I'm badly bent
Everybody loves them dead presidents

Well, somewhat likely anyway. Although it is more appealing to think that Dylan is winking at the enchanting Angaleena Presley, who, in between her work with the successful country trio Pistol Annies, recorded two solo albums. The second, 2017’s Wrangled, stands out for its collaboration with greats like Guy Clark, with whom she writes “Cheer Up Little Darling”. A heartbreaking, sentimental song with an irresistible Tex-Mex flavour and the goosebumps moment when Guy Clark reports to the microphone, at the second verse:

You can't fix the world, girl, it's so badly bent
But you can help it along if you save your own skin
The first thing you do, honey, is make you a list
Of the things that you've done and the things that you've missed

It is one of the highlights of Angaleena’s Wrangled. Another is “Good Girl Down”, which Angaleena wrote with living legend Wanda Jackson. Great song, but its main merit is that, against all odds, it animates Wanda Jackson into a final burst of her impressive career. “Right around the time I retired from performing and what I thought was the end of my career, I found myself back to writing songs with some of the great writers in Nashville,” as Wanda says on the occasion of that unexpected bonus, the wonderful and moving album Encore (2021). “Good Girl Down” is track 4, a re-recording now with Wanda as lead singer and co-author Angaleena Presley on backing vocals.

I'm not just a pretty face
Not a flower in a vase
It's a man's world, and I'm a lady
And they'll never appreciate me
They don't take the time to get to know who I am
Frankly, boys, I don't give a damn
I got my head on straight

… Wanda does not let her head hang down as she crosses the Rubicon.

To be continued. Next up Crossing The Rubicon part 7: Je est un autre

Jochen is a regular reviewer of Dylan’s work on Untold. His books, in English, Dutch and German, are available via Amazon both in paperback and on Kindle:

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I contain multitudes, Parts 5 and 6

Posted on August 13, 2022 by TonyAttwood

by Larry Fyffe

Part 5

King Ahaz makes a deal with the Assyrians, already occupiers of parts of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, in order to protect Judah from foes trying to conquer the southern kingdom; pays the Assyrians gold and silver, allows worship of their idols (David be the lusty King who spies Bathseba bathing on the roof of his palace).

The Judean/Assyrian alliance lasts sixteen years before it falls apart:

Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began to reign
And he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem
And did not that which was right in the the sight
Of the Lord his God, like David his father
(II Kings 16: 2)

In the song lyrics below, the historical biblical times under which Isaiah lives are alluded to.

The prophet foretells of the coming invasion of Judah by the Assyrian Empire,

"and the stretching out of his wings"(Isaiah 8:8)

Sixteen years, sixteen
Banners united over the field
While the good shepherd grieves
Desperate men, desperate women, divided
Spreading their wings 'neath the falling leaves
(Bob Dylan: Changing Of The Guards)

Prophet Isaiah foretells of the coming invasion of Judah by the Assyrian Empire, “and the stretching out of his wings” (Isaiah 8:8)

Isaiah figuratively interprets God’s message that’s delivered unto him ~ Yahweh expects any servant of His to follow His command as when to open the door to the coffers, and when to close it; symbolic of doing so with the door of Heaven.

Most importantly, it’s God decision alone to make, and the decision rendered is completely at His pleasure:

And the key to the House of David
Will I lay upon his shoulder
So he shall open, and none shall shut
And he shall shut, and none will open
(Isaiah 22: 22)

The narrator in the song lyrics below is really happy he receives a favorable judgement as to whether or not he can enter the door to Heaven ~ the door is open wide.

Rhetorically, he asks the Creator what He’d like in return; i.e., the narrator knows the answer is “love”:

Pulled me out of bandage
And You made me renewed inside
Filled up a hunger that had always been denied
Opened up a door no man can shut
And You opened it up so wide
And You've chosen me to be among the few
"What can I do for You?"
(Bob Dylan: What Can I Do For You)

At least according to the opponents of the later rebellious prophet John Calvin (opponents like John Wesley who holds it a duty on the part of all faithful followers of God to please Him)’ Calvin insists that God’s already made up his mind who’ll be among the “chosen few”; rather mischievous is this Protestant Calvinist God ~ supposed repentance certainly not good enough to gain salvation, but God keeps his followers guessing as to exactly what is.

I Contain Multitudes (Part 6)

As already conjectured, the “Immanuel” referred to by prophet Isaiah might be the son of King Azah of Judea.

King Hezekiah does his best to undo the damage caused by his father’s alliance with the Assyrians; he fortifies the capital, smashes foreign idols, and closes the door to Judah’s coffers.

The Assyrians ferociously attack, but are unable to take Jerusalem.

Isaiah writes, or has it written down, that the Hebrew God is pleased, and so He casts a devastating plague upon the invading army led by King Sannacherib of Assyria.

Yahweh reverses His decision to severely punish the southern kingdom for its misdeeds.

Below, a poem by one of Bob Dylan’s favorite Romantics:

Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown
Thar host on the morrow lay withered and strown
(George Byron: The Destruction Of Sennacherib)

The Judeans are uplifted:

Spreading their wings 'neath falling leaves
(Bob Dylan: Changing Of The Guards)

The song by the singer/songwriter/musician might be considered a codified biblical narrative concerning Isaiah’s prophecies ~ Judah portrayed as feminine when ruled by Apollo-like Ahaz; as masculine when ruled by his Jupiter-like son Hezekiah.

She's caught betwixt and between Apollo and Jupiter.

King Hezekiah is first compared to tough-minded Jove; there’s trouble behind; now there’s trouble ahead ~ the Babylonians are moving in next door.

The Judean king begins to look more like Apollo, the lyre-playing Sun-God, than he-man Jupiter:

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

Judah, personified as feminine, gets captured by Jupiter archetype King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon: he holds tightly the key that bolts her in Captivity.

An Apollo archtype Persian King Cyrus unbolts the door, and lets the Hebrews go back home to Judah.

Jupiter archetypes Roman Emperor Constantine and his wife make Christianity the state religion; a political tool to hold the Empire together without resorting to war.

Expressed below:

Peace will come with splendor on the wheels of fire
But will bring us no reward when her false idols fall
A cruel death surrenders with its pale ghost retreating
Between the King and Queen of Swords
(Bob Dylan: Changing Of The Guards)

In the New Testament, Jesus gets painted the whitish colour of the Moon, the twin sister of mythological Apollo:

His head and his hairs were white like wool
As white as snow
And His eyes were as a flame of fire
(Revelations 1:I4)

Obviously, the crucified Christ is no moon to be fooled with.

Jesus boasts that He doesn’t have the keys to the treasury, but says, “I” am eternally eternal:

“And have the keys of hell and of death” (Revelation 1:18).

As noted previously, Friedrich Nietzsche criticizes Christianity for its focus on death, and on what happens to us mere mortals in the Afterlife.

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Other people’s songs: Canadee-I-O

Posted on August 13, 2022 by TonyAttwood

By Aaron Galbraith in USA, and Tony Attwood in UK

Details of other articles in this series are given at the end.

Aaron: Canadee-I-O is a traditional English folk ballad. It is believed to have been written before 1839.

Tony: … although Wiki does one of its regular tricks in confirming that date but also in the same article claiming it was written before 1700. But of course these songs circulated throughout the British Isles for hundreds of years being passed on through performance and never written down. The composers in the classical-romantic tradition considered them primitive and unworthy of reference, and it is only in the last 100 years that their true worth and merit has been understood – at least in England (I’m sorry, I’m not well informed about American folk music and its recognition, so I can’t comment there).

When her lover goes to sea, a lady dresses as a sailor and joins (his or another’s) ship’s crew. When she is discovered, the crew decide to drown her as having a woman on a ship is considered bad luck. The captain saves her and they marry.

Aaron: Perhaps the most popular/well-known version is by Nic Jones– appearing on his fantastic 1980 album Penguin Eggs – voted the second best folk album of all time, second only to Liege & Lief.

Tony: This is one of those annoying videos that is available in different parts of the world at different URLs. Hopefully one of these two videos will work in your location. If not enter “Canadee I O Nic Jones” into your search engine and with luck you’ll find one.

Tony: There is something so utterly exquisite about this performance that it is hard to describe it. Every guitar note, every word sung, is perfection. And it sounds so natural – including the way he occasionally delays the start of the line. It is, for me, an utterly overwhelming performance. What an astounding talent. Please listen all the way through to the end, even if this is not normally your taste in music.

Aaron: Dylan’s version appears on Good As I Been To You, borrowing the arrangement from Jones… uncredited on the album sleeve notes.

Tony: Bob can’t compete with Nic Jones for the simple reason that no one can. The guitar accompaniment does not have the utter perfection of Nic’s version, again simply because no one else can create and play accompaniments like this for this type of music. That’s not to say Bob’s version isn’t a good performance, but it is being compared with perfection.

Bob simply suffers from the fact that his singing doesn’t reach the standard of Nic’s – which is not Bob’s fault, since we can all do more than sing with the voice we have been given – although professional tuition can help.

I think the point is also that Nic’s version is irresistible through to the end, whereas Bob’s diction doesn’t help unless you already know the lyrics by heart, so he doesn’t carry the story through.

And above all, the song still holds its own. Which is pretty amazing for a folk song.

Aaron: Here are a couple of other recent versions that came out after Dylan’s take

American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs released their version on 2015 album Twice Told Tales:

Tony: I think this majestic song deserves a better musical introduction than we get here – and worse than we have it repeated between the verses. It is so simplistic and obvious, and this song deserves so much more than this. Maybe I just hear the music differently but that simple rise and fall of notes at the start of each verse is just trivial, and it destroys everything. Take that out and it would be a very reasonable performance. Worse, however, with the instrumental break, they try to make something out of nothing. Not a good idea in my view.

Aaron: Shirley Collins – Another folk legend, over the years she has worked with Ewan MacColl, Alan Lomax, Davey Graham, Richard Thompson and others… as well as being married to Ashley Hutchings.

This version is from her 2020 album Heart’s Ease

Tony: As I understand it, if one takes out the accompaniment this is pretty much as the song would have sounded in the mid-19th century, and the accompaniment here is very acceptable, leaving the melody and lyrics to take centre stage.

A piece to choose Aaron. Thanks for this one.

Footnote:Aside from this blog, Untold Dylan also has a very active (and excellently moderated) Facebook page. If you don’t know it just go to your search engine and type in Facebook Untold Dylan.

Previously in this series…

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A Dylan Cover a Day: Masters of War

Posted on August 12, 2022 by TonyAttwood

by Tony Attwood

I’m sure everyone knows that “Masters of War” originated with the English folk song Nottaman Town. The earliest recording of that song that I can lay my hands on is by Jean Ritchie in 1954 but the version on the internet is not particularly fine – and indeed the recording I found jumps at one point. But if you want to go back it is here. However thankfully a later recording by the same artist is available.

And of course singers still venture back to our musical history to reconsider the work in contemporary terms. Here’s a rather inventive approach by Jowe Head. I’m not sure I would want to go back and play it again – I rather feel the vocalist tries too hard – but in terms of re-imagining the song it is most certainly worthy of note.

Judy Collins was one of the first to make a cover version of the Dylan song, and used the gentle repeating string-based accompaniment which very slowly grows. It is a rather obvious effect to use, but nonetheless incredibly effective, simply because it is such a simple idea, and one that is used with delicacy.

Indeed it is very hard to build a piece that slowly and make it work – although of course the exquisite lyrics help enormously, but it still needs the beautiful musicianship that we have here.

But there is a problem, as we can see here – because we all know the lyrics so well, and the impetus to let the song build is so strong, not much else is allowed to enter the song. When the acoustic guitar has reached a powerful almost frenetic level, where does one go next?

Don McLean took the song as slowly as anyone could – at least in his on stage solo rendition – it is a very brave try indeed. I’m not at all sure it works for me completely because of that old problem of us all knowing every syllable so well, but it is certainly an interesting approach.

And of course, eventually, the idea started to catch on that this did not have to be one singer and one instrument. Valérie Lagrange tried this but perhaps discovered that lots of pounding of the beat and voice emphasis isn’t quite enough.

One of the most interesting points from a musical point of view is how reluctant subsequent artists have been to change the time signature. The song is written in what musicians would call 6/8 – two groups of three beats which allows two words in every line to have a strong accent, followed by six beats of music but no vocals.

Come you masters of war
You that build the big guns
You that build the death planes
You that build all the bombs

While Pearl Jam keep the essence of that, after the first verse the accents change so that it also feels at times like a conventional four beats in a bar. It’s a clever trick – change, but not quite a change. Definitely worth a listen.

Of course, as ever there is the problem that we all know the song so well that it is hard to retain the essence of the song and its frightening message and yet do something different. However thankfully musicians tend to be an inventive lot, and they will keep trying, and just sometimes, something rather exciting and chilling emerges. For that accolade, I’d offer the Swedish singer/songwriter Daniel Östersjö.

And I would add a PS, for even after playing through multiple versions of the song, it still sends a chill through me. Maybe because I heard the song first of all in my teens, grew up knowing that I was an only child, only to find in recent years that all this time I had an older brother who I never knew about, while also having my own children and grandchildren…. maybe all that makes the song still so important to me on a personal level as well as appreciating it as a great work of art. “Fear to bring children” indeed.

The Dylan Cover a Day series

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Crossing The Rubicon (2020) part 5

Posted on August 11, 2022 by TonyAttwood

by Jochen Markhorst

V One step from the Shadow Kingdom

The Rubicon is the Red River, going gently as she flows
Redder then your ruby lips and the blood that flows from the rose
Three miles north of purgatory - one step from the great beyond
I prayed to the cross and I kissed the girls and I crossed the Rubicon

Dante, whom we can trust as a guide after that abandon all hope quote in the first stanza, explains quite precisely where the Mount of Purgatory is located. On an island in the Pacific. Even more precisely: right under Jerusalem – the island in question is Jerusalem’s antipode. Not coincidentally; the island came into being as a result of Lucifer’s fall from heaven. The rebellious angel was thrown out of heaven with such force that his landing near Jerusalem caused a crater right down to the centre of the earth, where hell is now. The rock that was displaced, pushed a mountain out of the ocean on the other side of the earth: the Mount of Purgatory. Thanks to Google Earth, we can now see it with our own eyes, but that turns out to be a bit of a disappointment.

Jerusalem lies at 31° 47′ N, 35° 13′ E, so Purgatorio should be visible at 31° 47′ S, 144°87′ W. But alas: water, water, water. Nor does Dylan’s specification, “three miles north of purgatory”, bring any land in sight; the nearest island, Rapa Iti, the only inhabited island of the Bass Islands in French Polynesia, is about 280 miles north.

Thus, Dante is no longer a reliable guide.

The alternative location of the Mountain and its purgatorial fire produces a more spectacular, and puzzling, result. A century and a half before Dante’s geolocation in Purgatorio, the second part of La Divina Commedia, we thought we knew the location fairly precisely thanks to the Tractatus de Purgatorio Sancti Patricii (written around 1180): Station Island or St Patrick’s Purgatory in the lake of Lough Derg, County Donegal, Ireland. The treatise was written by a monk and tells of the journey of the Irish knight Owein to paradise via Purgatory. More satisfying than Dante’s location, in any case, as Station Island does exist. It is really in Lough Derg, in the current Republic of Ireland, near the border with Northern Ireland, Van Morrison’s native country. And that’s where it gets a bit weird: Dylan’s treasure map-like addition “three miles north” is exactly, to the metre, the border with the United Kingdom. Dylan’s next addition “one step from the great beyond” would therefore mean: The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is equivalent to “the great beyond”.

Weird. Too weird even, so let’s just attribute it to a strange coincidence. It’s not likely, anyway, that Dylan would have been fooling around on his laptop with Google Maps’ distance-measuring function to find out the exact distance from Station Island to the Irish/Northern Irish border. And even more unlikely is that Dylan feels a poetic need to use cryptic clues to lead us to the politically sensitive border of the European Union with post-Brexit United Kingdom.

Just before that, we get a first clue as to what drives the narrator, and with it a hint of an underlying plot. “Redder then your ruby lips” at the very least suggests that he has a love story to deal with – whereby his immediately following association, “blood that flows from the rose”, is a little disconcerting. Uncomfortably brooding like, say, Shutter Island or, to stay with the rivers, Clint Eastwood’s Mystic River. And a little less ambiguous than metaphors like “crossing the Rubicon” or “the most dangerous month”. But not completely unambiguous. Blood + rose… traditionally, it symbolises defloration – but given the quite violent continuation in the next stanzas, it seems to be a build-up to love and crime, to the two strongest, indestructible themes through the ages: sex and murder.

The combination really is indestructible. The Oedipus myth, whose plot is driven by sex (with the mother) and murder (of the father), is already mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey, so we have been telling each other this story for about thirty centuries now. Centuries before that, in the very oldest stories we have, the Gilgamesh, the storyteller also recognises the attention-grabbing power of sex and murder, and that does not change in the centuries that follow. The oldest Babylonian stories, Canaanite folk tales institutionalising temple prostitution and child sacrifice, Greek and Roman mythology, the Old Testament, the Nibelungenlied up to and including Shakespeare: sex and murder. And if it is not explicit already, then scientists like Freud and Bruno Bettelheim prove from the nineteenth century onwards that all those old stories like Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella are also “actually” about sex and murder.

Especially in his later oeuvre, Dylan seems to succumb to the magnetic attraction of that golden combination as well. Quite structurally even, approximately from “Man In The Long Black Coat” (Oh Mercy, 1989) onwards. Before that, in songs like “New Pony” (Street-Legal, 1978), the first verse of “Idiot Wind” and in “Lily, Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts” (Blood On The Tracks, 1975), it comes up occasionally as a plot-driving theme, but from Oh Mercy onwards it seems to become a regular feature of Dylan’s output. With the emphasis on seems – many of Dylan’s later songs insinuate sex and murder, but remain nebulous enough to see other, more innocent, plots. On Time Out Of Mind (1997) in songs like “Dirt Road Blues”, “Cold Irons Bound” and “Million Miles”, the narrator alarms us through small, ambiguous hints like the last thing you said and that girl who won’t be back no more, and it doesn’t stop there.

In the twenty-first century, these veiled hints of underlying sex and murder, develop into a stylistic feature. Though they do get in more and more explicitly too, by the way. Tempest‘s “Tin Angel” (2012) is an old-fashioned, full-blooded sex-and-murder ballad. Just like other songs contain increasingly more explicit wording. I’m gonna ring your neck in “Someday Baby”, for example, “Early Roman Kings” and “Pay In Blood”, and They’re lying there dying in their blood in “Soon After Midnight”. But just as often it remains subcutaneous, as in “Moonlight” and in “Red River Shore” – the theme, explicit or subcutaneous, has now made it into the Top 3 Most Used Themes. And when Dylan rewrites an oldie from his catalogue – 1969’s “To Be Alone With You” for his corona surprise Shadow Kingdom, 2021 – the fairly simple-minded, cloudless song suddenly becomes a menacing, homicidal, murder insinuating thriller about a sinister protagonist intent on luring his victim to a castle high in a gothic, nineteenth-century shadowy kingdom setting.

https://youtu.be/9XG9bRMb0x8

At the same crossroads now stands the narrator in “Crossing The Rubicon”. The closing line of this second verse continues the accumulation from the first couplet. After I painted my wagon and abondoned all hope, the narrator now says I prayed to the cross and I kissed the girls. Symbolic, farewell-suggesting actions of a protagonist who is on the verge of a life-changing, irrevocable action – who is about to cross the Rubicon.

To be continued. Next up Crossing The Rubicon part 6: I got my head on straight

—————-

Jochen is a regular reviewer of Dylan’s work on Untold. His books, in English, Dutch and German, are available via Amazon both in paperback and on Kindle:

—————-

Untold Dylan has its own Facebook group with over 11,000 members – if you would like to join please just type into your search engine Untold Dylan Facebook.

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I contain multitudes Part 3 and 4

Posted on August 10, 2022 by TonyAttwood

I Contain Multitudes – Part 1 and 2

By Larry Fyffe

God’s no wimp, as expressed metaphorically in the following biblical verse:

For He put on righteousness as a breastplate
And an helmet of salvation upon His head
And He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing
And was clad with zeal as a cloke
(Isaiah 59:17)

Echoed in the song lyrics below:

Well, the word of God is sharper
Than any double-bladed sword
He's the hammer of salvation
The breastplate of righteousness
(Bob Dylan: Cover Down, Pray Through)

A lion be on the Israeli flag, a symbol of Judah’s masculine strength:

For thus hath the Lord spoken unto me
Like a lion and the young lion roaring on his prey
When a multitude of shepherds is called forth against
He will not be afraid of their voice
(Isaiah 31:4)

Indeed, the biblical prophet Isaiah’s upset that kings like Ahaz turn over and show their bellies to aggressive lions ~ the Assyrians, for example.

As Eve does for Adam, the Hebrews at this time act like lambs; not like lions; nor like knights; not even like screech owl Lilith.

Isaiah’s upset because God is upset; having made Man in His image, Yahweh informs the prophet that He’s uncomfortable at His Jungian feminine side being exposed at this particular time in history.

The lion-hearted Assyrians are in the Northern Kingdom, and the Babylonians are on their way.

Isaiah accuses the Judeans as being like women at the bloody time of a month:

But we are all as an unclean thing
And all our righteousness are as fifthy rags
And we all do fade as a leaf
And our iniquities, like the wind
Have taken us away
(Isaiah's 64: 6)

In the subtle, but satirical, song lyrics beneath, so agrees the narrator who dons a “he-man” mask just like Isaiah does.

He’s a modern prophet in the New Babylon of America.

Yes, there’s trouble – months in and months out, there’s lots of trouble:

You can't get to glory by the raising
And lowering of the flag
Put your goodness next to God's
And it come out like a filthy rag
In the city of darkness, there's no need for the sun
And there ain't no man righteous
No not one
(Bob Dylan: Ain't No Man Righteous)

Part IV

Interpreted it can be that more than previous Jewish prophets, Isaiah asserts that the Judeans at this time in biblical history seek salvation through rational means; they’ve abandoned the caring “spiritual” side of the Lord; this causes the Almighty One to become weary, and His frustration sometimes leads to anger.

God has feelings.

Poet William Blake picks up on the idea that rationalism has come too much to the fore – at the expense of emotionally driven love.

The prophet Isaiah takes the weight on his shoulders to explain how Almighty God can be considered a tough guy with an unchangeable mind, but can also act like a doting and delicate father who spoils his children.

For example, the Heavenly Father permits King Ahaz down on Earth to play ball with the likes of Baal-worshipping Assyrians (The latter-day prophet Emanuel Swedenborg one morning sees Plato in the mirror; and claims that the Assyrians represent rationalism).

Isaiah attempts to deliver the meaning of God’s message that he believes is given to him ~ simply put, the Almighty has a feminine need to be comforted:

Remember this, and show yourself men
Bring it again to your mind, O ye transgressors ....
I am God, and there is none like me
Declaring the end from the beginning
And from ancient times the things that are not yet done 
Saying,  my counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure
(Isaiah  46: 8,9,1O)

With the gates of Eden now barred, the Christ child (thought by Christians to be the Immanuel that Isaiah mentions), after He grows up, turns out a lot like His father ~ ready to be rough on those who refuse to please Him.

So claimed, apparently, in the song lyrics below:

Oh child, why you wannna hurt me
I'm exiled, you can't convert me
I'm lost in the haze of your delicate ways
With both eyes in a glaze
(Bob Dylan: We Better Talk This Over)

There is a somewhat similar sentiment, expressed, on the micro-level, by a troubled New Romantic singer ~ in the lyrics beneath:

Give me time to realize my crime
Let me love and steal
I have danced inside your eyes
How can I be real
Do you really want to hurt me
(Boy George: Do You Really Want To Hurt Me ~   O'Dawd, et.al.)

Apparently, to Isaiah, the all-powerful male Creator possesses aspects of two sexes ~ which He passes on, in varying degrees, to all earth-dwellers.

Biblical words matter.

But they can be Jung-like; that is, mixed up, and confusing:

So God created Man in His own image
In the image of God created He him
Male and female created He them
(Genesis 1:27)

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NET, 2007, Part 3, One foot on the platform

Posted on August 10, 2022 by TonyAttwood

The Never Ending Tour complete series index

By Mike Johnson (Kiwipoet)

It is not surprising that in 2007 Dylan sang ‘House of the Rising Sun’ in Newcastle, home of The Animals, a band even harder and gutsier than the Rolling Stones. Dylan did the song on his first album, and was reportedly very excited on hearing The Animals now famous version.

Dylan doesn’t play any tricks with the song, which is suited to his harsh tones, and we get another reminder of the roots of Dylan’s music.

House of the Rising Sun

Dylan didn’t do a lot of covers in 2007, but one song he returned to is Robert Hunter’s ‘Friend to the Devil’ (1970). Another no-frills performance (Orilla,19^th July)

Friend to the Devil

I think that much of the reaction to the 2006/7 tours lies not so much with the music but the stage performances. Never one to bound up to the mic and yell, ‘Hello New York, we love you,’ Dylan nevertheless unnerved audiences with his silence, and how, at the end of a concert, before leaving the stage, the band would stand in a row and stare back at the people who had been staring at them. Perhaps more importantly, the way the band arranged itself on stage, in a semi-circle, left the centre stage unoccupied, with Dylan hunched over his keyboard, often playing with a portion of the audience behind him. (Which one is Dylan…?)

While his contemporaries, particularly Bowie and Jagger, grasped that a rock concert is a spectacle and a performance, Dylan’s anti-performance performances and anti-spectacle spectacles left audiences bemused and sometimes disappointed. It just wasn’t such a fun night out.

Dylan’s performances are all in the sounds he makes. He performs with his voice, his instruments and his band. He doesn’t act out his songs, but his voice does.

However, if you’re looking for some failed renditions of the songs, I think I’ve found something for you. Despite my traitorous tapping foot, I did not enjoy this performance of ‘It Ain’t Me, Babe’ from Birmingham. The lack of flow, the dumpty-dum, the dissonance, the effort to turn this into a mid-tempo rock song (as Dylan did more successfully with ‘You Belong to Me’ – See NET, 2007, part 1) adds up to a less than thrilling experience for those who know the song and some of the wonderful performances from the 1990s. It just ain’t him, babe. I do appreciate that this is a very personal response. Others may enjoy where I have not.

It Ain’t Me Babe

To set my mood a-right, I turn to this bleak, minimal and powerful performance of ‘The Ballad of Hollis Brown.’ This is more like it. There’s some brilliant slide guitar and a stark vocal performance from Dylan. He doesn’t let the ball drop for a second, and there are no instrumental fillers. All hail the blues!

Hollis Brown

With the same stark tones and minimal backing, Dylan delivers another compelling performance of ‘Masters of War’ (Florence). I still prefer the 2005 performance with piano (see NET 2005, part 5), and this one is marked by a little of the rinky-dink, dumpty dum, but there is no escaping the power of the song.

Masters of War (A)

While I enjoy the more muted Florence performance, it’s probably this one from Birmingham that takes the prize for the year. Rougher and more forceful than the Florence performance, it’s full of power and menace.

Masters of War (B)

As early songs go, ‘Don’t Think Twice’ fares a lot better than ‘It Ain’t Me Babe.’ The simple guitar picking takes us back to the earliest versions while Dylan’s vocal is unaffected and full of feeling. This one from Stockholm is a tender reminiscence.

Don’t Think Twice (A)

However, I rather like this half spoken version from Orilla. I miss the harmonica in both of these performances. Neither of them become the rousing celebration we have heard in previous years. Keep it simple, keep it plain, works fine for this song.

Don’t Think Twice (B)

While most of these early songs survive the years well enough, it is in the later songs that we find Dylan at his most inspired in 2007. I covered most of these songs in the last post. The contrast is evident in this complex and fascinating performance of ‘Things have Changed’ from Florence. Dylan’s vocal is in line with previous performances, that is excellent, but it is the backing that provides the real interest. Both baroque and jazzy, with a bit of a swing, the song’s never been done quite this way before. One thing that hasn’t changed is Dylan’s commitment to this song. He used to care and still does.

Things have changed (A)

Good as that is, fans of the St Louis concert will enjoy this one. I thought they were both equally good.

Things have changed (B)

Similarly, ‘Love Sick’ provides an interesting instrumental backing. Here Dylan’s ‘one-finger’ organ playing can be heard at its most effective. The heaviness of the backing has been complemented by a sound more whimsical and dreamlike. The song walks and doesn’t drag its feet. Once more Dylan is in excellent voice. This one’s from St Louis.

Love Sick

‘Blind Willy McTell’ came to prominence along with the songs from Time Out of Mind. In a few years this song will undergo a major overhaul, and be re-presented as a jazzy, swing number. But in the meantime, here it is, pretty much the same as we heard in 2006 (See NET, 2006, part 3). This is from London, 15^th April.

Blind Willy McTell

In Part 3 of my Master Harpist series I included this performance of ‘Under the Red Sky.’ I’m repeating it here, not just for the wonderful opening harp break, but Dylan’s vocal performance, which is dark and chilling. Despite the rather aimless instrumental break in the middle, this one has become my ‘best ever’ performance of the song. (Sorry, lost the date of this one.) The song points us towards the dream world of childhood, and its inevitable end. And it reminds us of the inherent violence of some of those old fairy tales and rhymes in which children might be baked in a pie, and we might be deceived by unreal promises of wealth. Whimsical, sad, provocative, a neglected song from a neglected album.

Under the Red Sky

The other song from Under the Red Sky to persist is ‘Cat’s in the Well.’ Dylan would sometimes use it as an opening song to replace ‘Maggie’s Farm.’ This performance from Stockholm isn’t anything special. It bumpity-bumps along but to my mind it sounds very much like a warm-up. There are better performances of this one.

Cat’s in the Well

two songs from Oh Mercy that have survived the attrition of the years are ‘Man In the Long Black Coat’ and ‘Shooting Star.’ The former was played only once in 2007, in Copenhagen 2^nd April, but the recording is too poor for us to enjoy here. Not so with ‘Shooting Star.’ We have an excellent recording from Morrison (19^th July) which does full justice to the song. I got hooked on the 2000 versions which generate much intensity, and at first thought that this 2007 performance was a bit too laid back. I was wrong. It starts gently enough, with a soft, nostalgic backing, but Dylan soon ups the ante with his vocal performance, piling on the lines. My only complaint is that the instrumental interludes don’t add much and have the feel of fillers.

Shooting Star

‘Serve Somebody’ disappeared between 2002 and 2008 and I thought it might have gone forever. It has had a remarkable revival in 2021/22, but in 2007 the only surviving song from the gospel era is ‘Every Grain of Sand.’ This song is still evolving and is becoming a showcase for Dylan’s harmonica. This gentle performance, again from Morrison, is a pleasure to listen to. My favourite lines:

I hear the ancient footsteps like the motion of the sea
Sometimes I turn there’s someone there, at times it’s only me

Every Grain of Sand (A)

There is an equally beguiling performance from Florence, without harmonica.

Every Grain of Sand (B)

This brings us to our old friend ‘Tangled up in Blue,’ a song which never fails to get our feet tapping. Note the lyrical variation: ‘She was working at the Tropicana…’ The Birmingham performance is top notch in terms of Dylan’s vocal performance, but I find the Crystal Cat recording a little harsh with this one, and the closing harp break pretty perfunctory. Still, no complaints.

Tangled up in Blue (A)

Those who prefer the song in a softer, gentler vein will enjoy this one from Orilla. The bootlegger at Orilla had some problem with his mic, so there is a little scratching here. Not enough, however, to spoil our enjoyment of the performance. I prefer this one to Birmingham, but that’s a personal choice.

Tangled up in Blue (B)

This brings us back to the 1960s again and those songs that are never too far from Dylan’s setlist. I’d like to finish this post with a relaxed rendition of ‘I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight’ from Florence, and a ‘Tears of Rage’ from St Louis in which Dylan fan Elvis Costello joins Dylan onstage to do the singing. I don’t hear much of Bob at all, but that could be him joining in the chorus.

I’ll Be your Baby Tonight.

Tears of Rage

That’s all for now. I’ll be back soon to wrap up our account of 2007.

Kia Ora

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I Contain Multitudes – Part 1 and 2

Posted on August 9, 2022 by TonyAttwood

by Larry Fyffe

And what I assume, you shall assume (Walt Whitman).

Another ghost of a biblical prophet that floats around in the back of Bob Dylan’s Jungian mind is Isaiah.

Isaiah’s a prophet, a prophet with a feminine side, who puts a different slant on the Almighty.

Isaiah condemns King Manasseh of southern Judea because he appeases the worshippers of Baal, the Golden Calf, in order to create trading partners (As the earlier prophet Elijah condemns King Ahab of Northern Israel for doing).

According to Isaiah, however, God’s in need of shelter and love:

Thus saith the Lord, "The heaven is my throne
And the earth is my footstool
Where is the house ye built unto me
And where is the place of my rest?"
(Isaiah 66:I)

In the song lyrics beneath, the narrator therein is likewise in need of love and shelter:

Oh well, I love you pretty baby
You're the only love I've ever known
Just as long as you stay with me
The whole world is my throne
(Bob Dylan: Beyond Here Lies Nothing)

It’s tough all over.

In heaven:

We all roar like bears
And mourn sore like doves
We look for judgment but there is none
For salvation, but it is far from us
(Isaiah 59: 11)

And down on earth:

I've heard newborn babies
Wailing like a mourning dove
And old men with broken teeth
Stranded without love
Do I understand your question, man
"Is it hopeless and forlorn?"
(Bob Dylan: Shelter From the Storm)

In order to work, says the prophet, it has to work both ways;

For thou has been a strength to the poor
A strength to the needy in his distress
A refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat
When the blast of the terrible ones
Is as a storm against the wall
(Isaiah 25: 4)

Come in, she said, I’ll give you shelter from the storm.

Part 2

I Contain Multitudes (Part II)

by Larry Fyffe

Later Christian speakers go along with an Isaiah, but assert that he’s talking about the coming of Jesus Christ; that is, when a babe to be called Immanuel gets mentioned.

It’s not just a nonspecific sign that a worldly assistant is on the way to lend a hand to the Heavenly Father Who has to deal with trouble, trouble that’s springing up here, there, and everywhere.

In an effort to show King (Jeho)Azah of Judah that Yahweh has lots of powers at His disposal, Isaiah prophesies that a son called Immanuel will be born among the Hebrews to free the southern kingdom from the likes of the Assyrians, and all others who worship idols such as the Golden Cafe.

The Assyrians, after the reign of Azah, attack Judah; we are told it’s God using tough love in order to punish its wayward inhabitants .

Whether or not the prophet Isaiah means the son to come will be his own or one sired by the King of Judah is not made clear.

Rather like the ambiguous poet he be:

Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign

Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son

And call his name Immanuel

(Isaiah 7:14)

In any event, in the following song lyrics, the narrator thereof ponders if Azah has been given bad press from both Judists and Christians for trying to deal with matters that seem hopeless and forlorn.

To make matters worse, Christ gets crucified; His Father stands aloof; His male

followers can’t be trusted; most of the females who attended Jesus desert Him.

After all, the latter be descendants of Eve who made a deal with the Devil:

In a little hilltop village, they gambled for my clothes

I bargained for salvation, and she gave me a legal dose

I offered up my innocence, I got repaid with scorn

(Bob Dylan: Shelter From the Storm)

Or so it might be interpreted.

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Price of love: Dylan song number 627 (now with added lyrics)

Posted on August 9, 2022 by TonyAttwood

By Tony Attwood

It has been a long time since anyone told us that we had missed a Bob Dylan composition on this site, but it seems we have done: “The Price of Love”. Jochen spotted the omission, so here I am adding it to the list. The full alphabetical list with links to articles on this site is given here.

And I have to admit I am bemused by this because I felt sure I had written about it in the past, and yet I can’t find and record of that. So, the old man (me) has finally lost it, and the memory’s tricks have taken over. If I ever did write about this song the commentary has vanished into the darkness.

But the official Dylan site has it listed, so that’s a starting point and it turned up on volume 16 of the bootleg series. So all things considered we really should be listing this song. It takes Bob’s total songwriting to 627 separate works.

The song was recorded in 1980 and is one of the Shot of Love outtakes.

And what do we have? Well, a Bo Diddley beat complete with the echo on the rhythm guitar – not something that Bob uses very often. At first, the verses have just one chord behind them in the Bo Diddley style, but with two extra chords (the flattened 7th and the 4th) in the repeated one line of the chorus.

At least that’s how it starts, but this is Bob Dylan, so he has some surprises.

The first two verses follow the pattern above, but then after a single chord instrumental verse with the saxophones getting a little more to the fore it changes.

For in the third verse an extra chord is added and then we get a completely new sequence. But such is the dominance of the Diddley rhythm that it is hard to realise quite what variations are being added.

The instrumental break is completely on one chord, and from here on the sections get mixed up.

The point is that this is on the surface an incredibly simple piece, but actually, because of these slight variations at different points that view is deceptive. It is a song that is tangled up within itself, and must have been rehearsed a number of times before this take was made.

And historically there has been something strange going on, because on the website Songtexte there is a set of lyrics for Price of Love which have nothing to do with this recording above although at the head of the page it quite clearly says

Now of course there may be a complete set of lyrics that we actually hear on the recording above, available somewhere and I have completely missed them – so if you can find them could you write in with the link to the relevant page where they are provided.

Meanwhile, perhaps a kind reader would like to transcribe the lyrics for publication here. And as ever no harm in having several versions for where the lyrics are not exactly clear. Larry, are you reading me?

FOOTNOTE

Larry was indeed reading me and has provided a transcript of the lyrics

Seeing my baby on a Wednesday night
I have a felling time is right
Ohh, time to love, going up
Ohh, the price of love, going up
Ohh, the price of love, going up
Ohh, the price of love, going up

Two dollar, one dollar, where do ya pay
How much you got with you today
Two dollar, one dollar, two dollar bill
If you don't, somebody else will
Ohh, the price of love, going up
Ohh, the price of love, going up

Come down, baby, I'm bark to wood
Found a snake in the neighbourhood
Might a-been old master Wool
Met him on my way to school
Two dollar, one dollar, where do ya pay
How much you got on you today 

Two dollar, three dollar, three dollar bill
You know somebody else will
Ohh, the price of love, going up
Ohh, the price of love, going up
Ohh, the price of love, going up
Ohh, the price of love, going up

Leave the valley, and across the ridge
Write up a note that I need your head
Well, I gotta run to serve
Wave on by me in the neighbourhood
Two dollar, one dollar, where do ya pay
How much you got on you today

Two dollar, two dollar, one dollar bill
If you don't, nobody else will
Ohh, the price of love, going up
Ohh, the price of love, going up
Ohh, the price of love, going up
Ohh, the price of love, going up

Two dollar, one dollar, two dollar bill
You know somebody else will
Two dollar, two dollar, where do ya pay
How much you got on you today
Ohh, the price of love, going up
Ohh, the price of love, going up
Ohh, the price of love, going up
Ohh, the price of love going up

Footnote from Larry: Sources

Fifty dollar, fifty dollar

Give me a hollar fifty dollar

Who will bid it at a fifty dollar bill

(LeRoy Van Dyke: The Auctioneer ~ Van Dyke/Black)

(2)

But never met this fellow

Attended or alone

Without a tighter breathing

And zero at the bone

(Emily Dickinson: A Narrow Fellow In the Grass)).

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Crossing The Rubicon (2020) part 4

Posted on August 8, 2022 by TonyAttwood

by Jochen Markhorst

IV Red River Shore 2: The Guy Strikes Back

The Rubicon is the Red River, going gently as she flows
Redder then your ruby lips and the blood that flows from the rose

We have, alas, only a finite number of Tolkiens, Mario Puzos, Ian Flemings, Stephen Kings and Stan Lees, a finite number of exceptionally talented storytellers who produce filmable masterpieces. On the other hand, there is an infinite need, a demand that exceeds supply many times over. Hollywood has been solving this discrepancy for decades in an obvious way: the movie companies pay less talented storytellers to milk the master stories. And feed the insatiable market with prequels, sequels, retellings, remakes and adaptations. Which doesn’t always end badly, by the way. The Jungle Book, Apocalypse Now, The Joker, Bram Stoker’s Dracula… there are plenty of remakes and adaptations that surpass or at least match the source.

But much more often, of course, it leads to unsatisfactory, flaccid dilutions – after all, the film scripts are not written by those exceptionally talented storytellers. So the video stores are full of horrors like Around The World In 80 Days, the 2016 remake of Ben-Hur, and embarrassing sequels like Grease 2 and Blues Brothers 2000.

And then there are the failures with a golden edge: the film adaptations that disfigure the original book, but still do have something. A memorable scene, for example, or a starring role, or spectacular special effects, something like that. The Da Vinci Code is a cramped, nervous adaptation from which all the creeping tension of the book has evaporated, but in the meantime offers a breathtaking journey through Rome and its art treasures. The Hobbit is an unbearable stretch of Tolkien’s little masterpiece with added storylines bordering on sacrilege (such as the pathetic subplot involving the impossible love of the dwarf Kili and the elf Tauriel), but also has the brilliant scenes with the dragon Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch). And the gruesome rape of the ancient Beowulf story in 2007 (despite the script by master storyteller Neil Gaiman) has as its golden edge the music of Alan Silvestri, especially the one song sung by actress Robin Wright-Penn:

Lips, ripe as the berries in June
Red the rose, red the rose
Skin, pale as the light of the moon
Gently as she goes

… “Gently As She Goes”, a short song with medieval allure, which perfectly hits the simplicity and elegance that takes us back twelve hundred years, to a throne room full of rough warriors at a meal while a frail damsel with a lute sings her song. With a poetic sheen, of course, through the magical, immaculate elegance of the title line gently as she goes – which apparently also touches Dylan, who then transfers it to his “Crossing The Rubicon” with a minor adjustment: gently as she flows.

It seems to be a formula that always works. Dylan’s mate Jack White scored his first hit with his hobby project The Raconteurs with “Steady, As She Goes” (2006), but the formula has been around since 1961, since songwriter Hal Shaper translated the Italian canzone “Piano” into “Softly, As I Leave You”. After Matt Monro scored his hit with it, the song quickly made its way into the canon. Andy Williams, Bobby Darin, Doris Day, Shirley Bassey… when Sinatra recorded the song in ’64 and named an entire album after it (Softly, As I Leave You, the first album to which Sinatra allowed rock ‘n’ roll, or at least pop), the song was definitely ennobled. Elvis demonstrates the inspirational power of the formula in ’75 when, introducing the song on stage, he makes up an origin story. Written, the King tells us, by a dying songwriter while his wife sat at his deathbed dozing off. He felt he was dying, didn’t want his sleeping wife to see it, and wrote these words down. “And it’s a true story.”

Hogwash, of course. Writer Giorgio Calabrese lived happily ever after writing the song, long enough to work with Charles Aznavour for years (the original of “She”, “Lei”, is also his), long enough to witness the success of “Softly, As I Leave You”, and even to outlive Elvis: Calabrese dies in 2016, at the age of 86, forty years after Elvis declared him dead. In Rome, about 300 km south of the Rubicon.

But the elegance of that gently as she flows is not the most remarkable thing about this opening line of the second stanza. “The Rubicon is the Red River,” Dylan sings, and when we hear the song for the first time, we notice “the”. And when we read the official lyrics (on the site) we also notice: “Red River”, capital letters. So it is a name. But “the” Red River does not exist – there is not one Red River, after all. In the United States alone, there are eleven. All over the world, there are hundreds of Red Rivers, Colorados, Rubicons, Ipirangas, Krasnayas, Llobegrats, and all those other variants that all mean “red river”.

Not to mention all those Red Rivers in Dylan’s jukebox. Woody Guthrie’s “Red River Valley” of course, the ancient Western song sung in the nineteenth century near the Red River of the North, the Red River that flows not so far, some 200 miles, from Dylan’s childhood in Hibbing, the song that Johnny Cash meant when he recorded “Please Don’t Play Red River Valley” in 1966. “Red River Shore” by the Kingston Trio, Guy Clark’s “Red River”, Buck Owens’ “Sweet Rosie Jones” (I met her out in Oklahoma down where the old Red River flows), Porter Wagoner’s “Where the Old Red River Flows”, Charley Patton’s “Hammer Blues” (I went up Red River, crawlin’, on a log, 1929, unfortunately only a well-worn recording exists)… well, the walking music encyclopaedia Dylan undoubtedly shakes off ten more sung-about red rivers effortlessly.

Meaning, we can hardly escape intertextuality – however desirable it may be to regard a work of art as a work in itself. But then: it’s a narrator in a Dylan song who doesn’t say something like “The Rubicon is a red river” or “Rubicon means ‘red river’”, but who says: “The Rubicon is the Red River”… seeing a link to the rejected, dusty, never performed “Red River Shore”, the brilliant Time Out Of Mind outtake from 1997, is almost inevitable. All the more so because the next line, as the only line in “Crossing The Rubicon”, sings of the beauty of a lady (“your ruby lips”), as the whole song “Red River Shore” is steeped in the desire for the girl from the Red River shore (with capitals).

Has “Crossing The Rubicon” been set up as a remake? Or as a prequel or a sequel? Something like “Red River Shore 2: The Guy Strikes Back”? Or: “Return To The Red River Shore”? Nah. Dylan isn’t a less talented storyteller who milks his own master narratives.

But still. “The Rubicon is the Red River”, capital letters….

To be continued. Next up Crossing The Rubicon part 5: One step from the Shadow Kingdom

Jochen is a regular reviewer of Dylan’s work on Untold. His books, in English, Dutch and German, are available via Amazon both in paperback and on Kindle:

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The legendary next tour (part 2)

Posted on August 7, 2022 by TonyAttwood

Dylan’s next tour will be legendary (part 1)

What about Stockholm? Too many things to mention but here’s a few.

What about the the 2009 live debut and only performance to date of Billy?

Or the 2017 one-off performance of Standing In The Doorway, first since 2005?

Or the additions of Can’t Wait and Girl From The North Country in 2019, first performances of the songs since 2012 and 2014 respectively?

Gothenburg?

In 2014, Gothenburg was one of the rare 2013/2014 locations where Bob did not perform a single song from his then latest album Tempest, and has played rarities of that era like Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues.

London?

From 2003, you have rare performances of Jokerman, Dear Landlord, Yea! Heavy And A Bottle Of Bread, Romance In Durango.

From 2005, you have rare performances of Million Dollar Bash, Waiting For You, London Calling.

In 2013, he did play a rare Roll On John, didn’t he?

What about other locations?

Glasgow could be special as well, as he has been kind to Scottish audiences, especially in the late 80s and early to mid 90s, but probably even after that.

Amsterdam could be interesting as well. It might not bring out the rarities, but some of his Amsterdam shows, like the ones in 2003 and 2009, have produced some superb sound quality concerts and performances altogether. I don’t see why it wouldn’t be like that again?

The Paris shows could be in for a treat as well.

I don’t want to disregard the German shows and the one in Brussels and such. I’m sure they’ll most likely have special performances to.

But, if you want possible surprises or rarities, or permanent setlist changes, they’ll happen in one of the locations I’ve mentioned most likely.

I want to make myself clear that I don’t expect setlist changes on every show. But I do expect the setlist to be different than it was so far and I believe that there might be a few more songs added to the list of songs played.

And this is not a wishlist. This is based on legitimate research, even though I still could be wrong. I’m never saying that that’s not the case.

I’ve been asked recently why I even bother researching this?

Well, I want to encourage people to keep close attention. Because, if they don’t, they might be shocked when something happens. If they want to be shocked, great, they don’t have to read what I have to say.

I do believe I contribute somewhat to the excitement of people. At least I try to.

How much has the list of songs shortened?

In 2013, usually refered to as the static year and one of the most static ones, because it was the first, has had about 60 songs played across the year.

In 2014 and 2015, it was around 40-45.

In 2016, it was around 35-40 I believe.

In 2017 and 2018, it wasn’t different compared to 2016, but in 2019, I believe, it was barely over 30. Yet, 2019 is always praised and rarely criticized. A rare year that where the “static setlist” argument never gets brought up.

Even though in 2013 Bob played two times more songs than in 2019.

So, when are people going to just stop talking in generalities, without checking the facts first?

We don’t have to be specific about everything, but we could at least not tell each other lies, and then keep repeating them to death until it becomes the truth.

In 2022, Bob has played 19 songs so far only. That’s the reality.

We’ve also had the longest running same setlist streak this year, which is the reason for that.

I expect him to play at least 4 more songs, if not more, which would then make it 23 or more. But, that’s just me.

What’s also the story of 2022?

No songs from Time Out Of Mind, Love And Theft, Modern Times, Together Through Life and Tempest were played, giving more room for the Rough And Rowdy Ways songs to shine.

Will this continue in Europe? Possibly. But I wouldn’t bet completely against that.

If Bob was to bring any songs back to the set, it’s hard to say at this point which ones would they be. Will it be really old material or something newer? Hard to say as well.

That’s why the anticipation should be very high.

We don’t know which songs in the current set are safe.

I wouldn’t even count on the Rough And Rowdy Ways ones. Just because Bob used to, in 2013 and 2014, have concerts where he completely disregarded the Tempest songs, not playing a single song from there on multiple shows in those two years. Which of course was a laughable number compared to the number of concerts that did feature Tempest songs in those years. But about 10 concerts had 0 Tempest songs, and two of them happened on the European Fall Tour, the same tour that also had two concerts with 7 Tempest songs in the set. Talk about extremes and talk about contrasts.

No song is safe.

No song is sure to be played, and no song is safe not to be played at this moment.

There might still be many similar songs in the set, but the order of the setlist might change drastically.

The band members might be featured on different instruments more often, particularly multi-instrumentalist Donnie Herron, who might be featured more on violin this time compared to previous tours, or he might bring his accordion again, or he might even bring his trumpet after a while.

For anyone able, and who’s not attending the shows at all, I recommend getting on the internet, particularly Expecting Rain or maybe a YouTube live setlist discussion premiere (if one occurs at all) and follow the setlist from the very first Oslo concert on September 25.

Witnessing the songs one by one in order being reported by presumably trustworthy people, may not be as exciting as actually being there in attendance, but I guarantee it’s the best experience you can ask for outside of attending the actual show.

Can’t wait to see you there!

What are my personal setlist guesses…?

Maybe I’ll let Tony Attwood know in September, when we’re much closer to kick-off. I’ll know better by then.

Until then, I’ll be enjoying my break and I’ll also do some research when the time is right, but I won’t tire myself with it at this moment.

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Buckley-Eyed Dylan

Posted on August 6, 2022 by TonyAttwood

by Larry Fyffe

Members of the Sound School of Dylanology dwell on rejigged, allusion-filled, viewpoints about the trials and tribulations of human existence; even on the paste-up method employed by Post Modernist writers; though underplayed is the obvious fact that the creative author plays the part of a unifying god when he re-arranges randomized scraps of paper to suit him/herself.

True believers like Christianized Saint Paul warns about these wicked people a long time ago.

About their messing around with the teaching of the “narrow way”, with the faith (not works) demand by Jesus of Nazareth:

From which some having swerved
Have turned aside into vain jangling
Desiring to be teachers of the law
Understanding neither what they say
Nor whereof they affirm
(I Timothy 1: 6,7)

A motif taken up by Charles Dickens with his wayward “Scrooge” character – later satirized by the comedian/author beneath ~ the “Nazz” pictured on the “Bringing It All Back Home” album cover:

He looked like seventeen gas-light stove pipes
Come together with jingle-jangle bells all over
(Lord Buckley: Scrooge)

“Jangling”, can you believe it, that’s carried on to this very day by the care-free narrator in the song lyrics below:

Hey, Mr, Tambourine Man, play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning, I'll come following you
(Bob Dylan: Mr. Tambourine Man)

The far-too-long ‘narrow way’ to salvation demanded by Apostle Paul for one, gets scrambled up good in the following song lyrics:

I'm going to walk across the desert 'til I'm in my right mind
I won't think about what I left behind
Nothing back there that I can call my own
Go back home and leave me alone
It's a long road, it's a long and narrow way
If I can't work up to you
You'll surely have to work down to me someday
(Bob Dylan: Narrow Way)

The Buckley-eyed RAZ flees the future of an inevitable death that’s blowing in the wind.

Robert Allen Zimmerman, at least as the narrator in the lyrics below, seizes the now-moment:

Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky
With one hand waving free
Silhouetted by the sea
Circled by the circus sands
With all memory and fate
Driven deep beneath the waves
Let me forget about today until tomorrow
(Bob Dylan: Mr. Tambourine Man)

Wicked!!

Footnote

We also have a very active moderated group on Facebook: just type in Untold Dylan Facebook.

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Other people’s songs: Step it up and Go

Posted on August 6, 2022 by TonyAttwood

Songs selected By Aaron Galbraith; commentary by Tony Attwood

Aaron: Bob Dylan recorded “Step It Up and Go” for his 1992 album “Good as I Been to You”. His interpretation has been described as being similar to Blind Boy Fuller’s version, although writer Brian Hinton believes “he probably knew it via the Everly Brothers”.

Tony: The introductory guitar part was taught to me as “Boogie Woogie” and was the first piano music beside that from the classical romantic repertoire (that I learned because I came from a musical family, although my dad was a dance band musician as well as knowing the classical repertoire). It is a the accompaniment to millions of songs.

Now as it happens just as I had written that little paragraph above my phone rang and in passing I mentioned what I was currently writing and to my surprise my pal didn’t fully know what the boogie woogie style was, and actually accused me of making the phrase up! As if I would!!

But anyway, here’s some piano work that I would call boogie Incidentally once they get going around the 2 minut mark, the two guys clapping their hands are actually doing it properly on the off beats – the second and fourth beat of the bar. Many people wrongly clap on beats 1 and 3.

Anyway back to Bob,….

Aaron: Originally the song was called Bottle It Up and Go – I was going to include a very early version however some of the lyrics are a little bit unsavory.

Tony: That’s never stopped us before unless they are racist, in which case I’m with you Aaron – and besides this column is your show, so I follow your lead…

Aaron: Here is Blind Boy Fuller’s version

Tony: Oh I love this – it really takes me back to my early days trying to make a living in music. I love the accompaniment too – is that a washboard and spoons?

Aaron: The Everly Brothers recorded an uptempo version of the song, which is the opening track on their 1962 album Instant Party!

Tony: I do still adore the Everley’s harmonies, but so often I feel that sometimes they could have done with a better arranger who just let them do their thing. The drumming is fine, but the guitar is a bit too plinky plonk for my taste. And the seemingly obligatory key jerk upwards seems unnecessary. All a bit of a rush.

Aaron: Leon Redbone released it on two albums in a row in the early 80s… I couldn’t decide which one was best so I included both! (Tony- feel free to just include the one you like best!). From Branch To Branch in 1981

Tony: Aaron – I’d never dare remove one of your choices, unless it was because it is only available for you in the US and not for me in the UK.

From Branch To Branch in 1981

This really has an authentic sound even though the style of the arrangement is not something you would have found in the earlier days. Love the clarinet: what a clever idea.

Aaron: From Mystery Man in 1982

Tony: That’s a surprise at the start, when we have got so used to everything moving at hyper speed. But then we get going and it sounds to me as if they even speed up a bit – but my time keeping has become notoriously awful as the years advance, so maybe not.

This has been great fun – one of the best. It is such a simple song, but it really challenges the musicians to show that they can keep up the pace while making it entertaining throughout. It is much harder than it sounds.

Actually I just went back and played the Dylan version again – in the light of what we have heard here, it sounds positively sedate – if you have a moment having got this far, do go back and listen again. It really does show the song from a different point of view.

And that’s a thought Aaron: maybe we ought to look at the Dylan song last, so we hear the antecedents that Bob would have heard and which drove him to his version.

I’ll leave that with you – you’re the boss on this series.

Previously in this series…

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Dylan’s next tour will be legendary (part 1)

Posted on August 5, 2022 by TonyAttwood

by mr tambourine

Bob Dylan hasn’t stepped on European ground for more than three years, which will be his first time here since the world has changed drastically.

His touring so far that was limited only to the States hasn’t brought much diversity, as Bob got into a comfort zone and hasn’t gone out of it much. Which has nothing to do with what might happen in Europe this fall.

Keep in mind this is the first fall tour in Europe since 2015 as well, which is also a big deal, since that was seven years ago.

Europe used to bring out the most surprising faces of Bob that he could offer to the lucky audience in attendance, and it’s become a very common thing. Especially those surprising faces of his were brought out on European tours in the fall. Why exactly? I haven’t researched deeply enough to understand that and I never will probably. But this much I am sure, that there is always some reason.

Especially certain locations of this tour that Bob will be playing are special to Bob in one way or another. It has happened too many times by now for it to be an accident.

As for what I meant with my diversity comment earlier in the text, that relates to the fact that the variety of songs so far on the Rough And Rowdy Ways tour was really limited. At least when we compare it to some previous Never-Ending Tour years. Since 2013, the variety of songs played by year has dropped significantly. How much exactly? We’ll get into that a little bit later.

But let’s first mention that there has been much more variety than people realize. Multiple songs in the setlist have gone through arrangement changes and tweaks, with Key West leading the charge in that regard, having gone through more than five arrangement changes already. Not to mention how many in-concert rehearsals there were in front of a paying audience where you could see the band working on the song on the spot and perfecting it.

One thing that nobody has ever said about Bob’s previous years, where the setlist was changing all the time, there was a reason how and why Bob could pull it off so easily way back.

You were getting a lot of unrehearsed performances even back then, where the band was perfecting the song in front of a paying audience. The only difference was that Bob had more songs on the list that he was ready to attack. He also gave a certain number of songs a very similar melody and arrangement, so that the band wouldn’t just keep learning new melodies and arrangements all the time, which made it easier to work. And this has been the case since Dylan was way younger.

So, I don’t think things have changed much, it’s just that Bob for years now has a particular setlist that he wants to keep working on, until he feels he’s reached a peak with it or is dissatisfied with it and needs to change it eventually.

Tony Attwood, I believe, has written many great articles that I used to read constantly back in the day about how does Dylan choose which songs to play and which songs not to play. He also tried to understand why he never played certain songs at all in his career so far.

Since reading those articles, my research for setlists has become a pleasurable experience of personal education and analysis, where I feel comfort and joy.

How do I, as a researcher of setlist, dare to make any guesses before certain tours?

I don’t like to make guesses, but I sometimes do them anyway, since I can’t understand why more Dylan fans aren’t making them.

And when you make guesses, you need to put your personal feelings towards certain songs of Bob and be realistic.

I’m not here to make many guesses, but I’m here as a researcher, not a fan, to tell you that all the odds suggest that the setlist will most certainly be different compared to so far. How different? That’s hard to say.

But new songs, that weren’t played on the Rough And Rowdy Ways tour so far, are almost certainly going to be added to the list of played songs. Which ones will those be? That’s also hard to say.

We can start doing the “most likely” songs with the “most likely” odds, but we could be here all day probably with that argument, an argument I’ve been trying to make for so long that I don’t think the majority of people can comprehend completely.

Nonetheless, we can look at past examples, if anything.

And this is not a wasted look at the past, where I’m trying to suggest something opposite of what Dylan’s nature truly is, which is the fact that Dylan is an in-the-moment person, which I’m quite aware of.

I’m just trying to show you a history of repetition. Don’t you think that if something repeats itself, doesn’t suggest it’s accidental? Right?

Well, here it is and here I’m specifically looking at four locations: Oslo, Stockholm, Gothenburg and London, among others.

The most recent example of Oslo had Dylan bringing out a still-to-this-day rare and special performance of Boots Of Spanish Leather in 2019, which back then hadn’t been played since 2013, meaning 6 years.

Oslo was also a kick-off show for the 2015 fall tour, Dylan’s last fall tour in Europe so far, as already mentioned. What did Dylan do that night? He played half of the setlist with songs from the great American songbook, for the first time ever he played that many songbook covers in his show, including ones that weren’t even released on any of his studio albums yet, like Melancholy Mood, which was released a few months later in 2016 on the Fallen Angels album. This multiple standards in the setlist approach lasted for quite a few years and has frustrated many of his fans.

Long And Wasted Years, by the way, was debuted in Oslo in 2013.

To be continued…

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Bob Dylan Is Los (parts I and 2)

Posted on August 4, 2022 by TonyAttwood

by Larry Fyffe

Taken as a whole, the metonymic motifs in the songs of Bob Dylan are not nearly as fragmented as they first appear.

Mythologists, poets, writers, and other artists, speak up for the languageless, for the ‘silent’, Cosmos – once thought made up of the basic elements of wind, water, fire and earth.

The Sun in ancient Greek/Roman mythology is personified as Apollo; he’s masculine, rational, fiery and prone to war.

Influenced by Emanuel Swedenborg, poet and engraver William Blake goes further; presents Apollo as Urizen; gnostic-like, he’s a sinful and bloodied Demiurge who overlooks dark Satanic Mills down on earth.

He’s grouped in with Deists, and with Satan of the Holy Bible:

Then the Divine Vision like a silent sun appeared above

Setting ... in clouds of blood
(William Blake: Jerusalem)

Los (Sol spelled backwards) represents fallen man; he’s a blacksmith, an artist, who struggles in the prison of a dark world to spread some light:

The blow of his hammer is justice
The swing of his hammer mercy
(William Blake: Jerusalem)

Dominant-seeking Venus, from mythology, for Blake be disharmonious Eniharmon.

She has a motherly side that’s revealed in the song lyrics below:

My love she speaks like silence
Without ideals or violence
She doesn't have to say she's faithful
Yet she's true, like ice, like fire
(Bob Dylan: Love Minus Zero)

According to Blake, the modern world has been led astray by rationalists, corrupted – imagination lost.

There’s a dark earthy side to Enilhamon that fails to console under such circumstances:

Well, the road is rocky, and the hillside's mud
Up over my head nothing but clouds of blood
I found my own, I found my one in you
But your love hasn't proved  true
(Bob Dylan: Cold Irons Bound)

Los is lost in Blake’s poetry, locked outside as he is with the once-perfect Eve who’s been seduced by Satan, both locked outside the Gates of Eden:

The silent sun
He's got me on the run
Burning a hole in my brain
I'm dreaming of you
That's all I do
But it's driving me insane
(Bob Dylan: Dreaming Of You)

Perhaps it’s just William Blake’s esoteric poetry that Los is dreaming about, and his trying to untangle what the preRomanic poet is getting at, that’s driving Bob Dylan insane.

Bob Dylan Is Los (Part II)

An American Neo-Transcendentist poet accepts noisy modern city life for the most part; it’s a sign of human progress.

But has fond memories of the presentation by forgoing Transcendentalist writers of a peaceful countryside where the beauty of Nature inspires them.

No way is there a reason to become a dark Existentialist:

Give me the splendid silent sun
with his beams full-dazzling
(Walt Whitman: Leaves Of Grass)

In the following song lyrics quoted, the narrator therein, Mani-like, casts a sceptical eye on an idealistic pastoral place of light wherein awaits a caring, loving woman, a Diana symbolized by the white moon.

Dylan takes an obverse view of such an Eden (preRomantic poet William Blake even dresses sun-god Apollo, Diana’s twin brother, in the cloak of Satan).

Below, for all intents and purposes, music-loving Apollo is missing; he neither sings nor plays his lyre, makes not a sound.

Trapped inside the gates of Paradise Lost is not a nice place to be:

The silent sun
Has got me on the run
(Bob Dylan: Dreaming Of You)

According to the Holy Bible, even when short, silence be a harbinger of worse things to come:

And when he opened the seventh seal
There was a silence in heaven
About the space of half an hour
(Revelation 8:1)

Similarly in the following song lyrics – the narrator’s been stranded alone with Diana. Alas, she has a dark side as well as a light side.

No more an inspiring female muse, she’s gone missing too:

The light in this place
Is really bad
(Bob Dylan: Dreaming Of You)

—————-

Untold Dylan also runs an active moderated Facebook group with over 11,000 members – you can find us by typing Facebook Untold Dylan into your search engine.

There are details of some of our series on this site, at the top of the page immediately under the picture of the record store.

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Patty Gone to Laredo: the recordings

Posted on August 3, 2022 by TonyAttwood

By Tony Attwood. Lyrics transcribed by Larry Fyffe

“Patty gone to Larado” has always annoyed me in the sense that there is no recording of it on the internet which is readily – or at least easily – available. I’m sure there are other Dylan songs that are likewise not available, but this one always sticks in my mind largely because I rather like the piece.

There is a recording that is part of the Rolling Thunder Review 1975 Live Recordings package, and that is still available on Amazon at £50 in the UK, so I guess about $60 in the US, which is quite a lot if you are just after one track.

But quite some time ago, I found a recording of Dylan (I think) performing it, and that is still on this site here. You need to go to around the five minute mark on the video.

And that is the recording you need to listen to if you are interested in the song unless you want to buy the complete album, but… there is a danger of course that it might be removed at some time. And given there is only one…

Therefore a while back I made a recording myself, just to keep one available.

Then Larry did a new transcription of the lyrics recently…

Patty gone to Larado
Everything in the blue
Patty gone to Larado
Bring on that tune

Gonna think in a bar room
Have to figure it soon 
I don't drink alone 
Within the hollow

And don't anything in a wedding
By an old eye happen tonight
But the door is still locked
And it's so

Patty gone to Laredo
But she be back soon
Left Jamaica this morning
On a boat Bonnie Lou

Born in 'Liz Texas timber
Up where the eagles fly
Then makes him tell it never
But she don't cry

And Laurel's playing for money
On your ribbon wide, get on his side
Yes, the doorway, the door is locked
But the key's inside

And so following on from that I thought I would have another bash at singing it. Now you’ll probably only want to listen to this after a few stiff ones, but given the paucity of copies that are available (what with no artists wanting to have a go themselves, probably because it is near impossible to make any sense of the lyrics) I thought I would try again.

Please don’t take this to mean I am offering this as a recording you need to listen to, but rather just to try and make sure that at least one version remains available.

Recordings of other Dylan songs by readers of Untold, plus our efforts at using an artificial intelligence program to create new Dylan songs, can be found at the foot of the most recent episode of Bob Dylan Showcase

And just in case you are a real glutton for punishment, and in case it vanishes, here is a copy of the first recording that appeared on this site some years ago.

You might also like to note that we have an active Facebook site which you can find by typing Untold Dylan Facebook into your search engine (or words to that effect). It has over 11,000 members and very interesting discussions too – which do stay on track.

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Crossing The Rubicon (2020) part 3: So many things that we never will undo

Posted on August 3, 2022 by TonyAttwood

by Jochen Markhorst

III So many things that we never will undo

I crossed the Rubicon on the 14th day of the most 
         dangerous month of the year
At the worst time at the worst place - that’s all I seem to hear
I got up early so I could greet the Goddess of the Dawn
I painted my wagon, abandoned all hope and I crossed the Rubicon

A leading candidate for the crushing artist in “Tangled Up In Blue”, that Italian poet from the thirteenth century, is Boccaccio, the poet who lived at the worst time at the worst place. Which is, obviously, yet again a vague place and time designation, as ambiguous as “the most dangerous month”, but in our history few focal points are worse than Italy in 1347, when the Black Death enters the port of Messina. On board a Genoese merchant ship is Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that is estimated having wiped out about 60% of Europe before it had run its course. So: if we were to ignore poetic license and take imagery literally, we would have to set the scene, the where and when of Dylan’s “Crossing The Rubicon” on Northern Italy, 14 April 1348. Just before the plague reaches Florence, becoming Boccaccio’s instigator for the Decamerone.

Still – the premise that we then take both “Rubicon” and “the 14th day of the most dangerous month” and “at the worst time at the worst place” as factual indications is of course quite shaky. And is definitely knocked down when we get to verse 3. He greets the “Goddess of Dawn”? Right, it is a poem – it doesn’t say what it says.

No, after the brilliant opening line, the promise of a narrative is not yet fulfilled. Indeed, the foggy who-where-when of the opening line is only made foggier. So the narrator reports, again only seemingly informatively, that it was the “worst time” and the “worst place”. And he had apparently to be told so by others (“that’s all I seem to hear”) – which may explain the clichéd nature of the choice of words.

In any case, in songwriting there are quite a few variants of worst time, worst place that express approximately the same thing. Dr John’s “Right Time, Wrong Place”, for example, and the response of English post-punkers The Fall (“Wrong Place, Right Time”, 1988), “Could be the right time, but it sure is the wrong place,” sing Mike + The Mechanics (“I Get The Feeling”, 1985), and the best of them all, Gene Clark’s brilliant “Train Leaves Here This Morning”. Which we all know in the Eagles’ brilliant rendition on their 1972 self-titled debut album, but the 1968 Dillard & Clark original has Gene Clark, so there’s that.

I lost ten points just for being in the right place 
At exactly the wrong time 
I looked right at the facts there, but I may as well have 
Been completely blind

And although the word combination right time / wrong place (or vice versa) has an attractive inner tension, and thus more dramatic power, there are at least as many, and probably more, songs that choose exactly the same words as Dylan’s narrator: the double negative. U2’s “The Refugee”, Neneh Cherry’s “Heart”, Depeche Mode’s “Wrong” (okay, everything is wrong in that song), Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bryan Ferry, Donna Summer, Iron Maiden… you can find songs with this wrong time / wrong place word combination in every corner of the record shop. And even the greats are not ashamed of its cliché – already in 1953 Cole Porter wrote one of his Very Great Songs, “It’s All Right With Me”, for the musical Can-Can:

It's the wrong time and the wrong place
Though your face is charming, it's the wrong face
It's not her face, but such a charming face
That it's all right with me

A monument that has been polished by Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Brenda Lee, Oleta Adams and all them other giants – but seldom as idiosyncratically as by the indestructible Tom Waits (for Red, Hot + Blue, 1990).

After these two lines of verse with a much-suggesting, but ultimately nondescript depiction of the scenery, plus the small bridge in the third line in which the narrator poetically declares that he has risen before dawn, it is clear that this is the work of a lyrical song poet. After all, the sound trumps the content. Repetitio (at the worst-at the worst), vowel harmony (seem-hear), alliteration (got-greet-Godess), assonance (crossed-Rubicon-on-of-month-of)… this is a poet who uses all the stylistic devices in the handbook to achieve euphony. And in fact tells not much more than I woke up this morning and dusted my broom.

In that spirit, the beautiful, enigmatic, purely poetic closing line of this quatrain may be understood. I painted my wagon, abandoned all hope and I crossed the Rubicon… melodiousness by inner rhyme (wagon-bandon) and assonant o-sounds, and loaded, archaic metaphors transcending the centuries by combining them. No less than twenty centuries; “painting the wagon” does indeed come up once in Fagles’ translation of the Odyssey (in Book VI, the Nausicaa episode; “Folding the clothes, she packed them into her painted wagon”), but proverbial status, or at least metaphorical quality, was only given to the expression in the nineteenth century, courtesy of the settlers of the Wild West. At least, that’s how Alan J. Lerner, the writer of the hit musical Paint Your Wagon (the one with the singing Clint Eastwood), explains the meaning – according to Lerner, it refers to the practice of settlers to paint phrases like “California or Bust” on the sides of their wagons when heading out West.

In line with the Dante quote abandon all hope – after all, that is the last thing you read when your soul leaves this world. And in line with both the metaphorical and literal meaning of Julius Caesar’s action of crossing that shallow, insignificant river in north-eastern Italy; taking a drastic, irrevocable step.

The poet Dylan thus explores the beauty and eloquence of the accumulatio, the enumeration of equivalents, his own variant of the “list-song”. List-songs Dylan writes often enough, of course – lyrics that rely on the power of repetition. “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”, “Forever Young”, “Everything Is Broken”, “Blowin’ In The Wind”, just to name a few of the better known. But it is to the related accumulatio that he increasingly turns in the later stages of his career. A first variant is explored in “Subterranean Homesick Blues” (with that accumulation of short imperatives), in some songs, like “Idiot Wind”, Dylan piles up antitheses, which you could call with some good will a kind of accumulatio, but later it does become more explicit. “Cold Irons Bound”, with all those misty expressions that seem to want to articulate “goodbye to life”, is already a better example, and, by the way, very similar to “Crossing The Rubicon” in this respect too. But “Mississippi” is perhaps the best example (well, at least the best song, arguably), in which Dylan chooses to fill a verse with accumulatio three times.

Not coincidentally, perhaps, also a narrator crossing the river. And who also already has made an irrevocable decision in an Inferno-like setting, and all hope seems to have been abandoned as well; “So many things that we never will undo / I know you’re sorry, I’m sorry too.”

To be continued. Next up Crossing The Rubicon part 4: Red River Shore 2: The Guy Strikes Back

Jochen is a regular reviewer of Dylan’s work on Untold. His books, in English, Dutch and German, are available via Amazon both in paperback and on Kindle:

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