(Personal reflections
inspired by Bob Dylan songs)
Song: “Señor”
Album: Street Legal
Release Date: June,
1978
A tradition in my household during the Christmas season has been
to watch one or more of the many film adaptions of Charles Dickens’ “A
Christmas Carol”. I’d say we have
probably watched about eight in all, most on numerous occasions, and have found
that you really can’t go wrong with any of them (although our favorite and most
watched is the 1970 musical staring Albert Finney as Scrooge). There’s something about the story that brings
out the best in the actors, directors and producers, no matter the film era or
the budget.
However, one piece of the plot I have been a bit confused about over
the years was the purpose of the ghost of Jacob Marley. Here’s the dilemma: If you are accursed, as Marley
apparently was, then why bother to reach out to Scrooge? What was in it for Jacob Marley? I mean, with all those money boxes and chains
he’s lugging around, and all the moaning and groaning, and his own doomed self-analysis,
one can’t help but conclude that this ghost is a lost soul, damned for all
eternity.
On top of these personal afflictions, there is, in at least one
movie adaptation - the one starring Finney – a scenario that has Scrooge and
Marley drifting above the night streets of London amongst truly hapless
apparitions, all of whom are floating about aimlessly in a torturous haze. And later in that same film, Marley welcomes
Scrooge to hell, which will presumably play out, if, in the words of the Second
Spirit, “these shadows remain unaltered by the future”. It appeared that Jacob Marley was in a very bad
place, with no chance for parole, so how is he out and about in the first
place? This all seemed a bit flawed.
After reading Dicken’s original tale however, I have come to
believe that the author probably meant for Marley to be in some sort of purgatory
- in pursuit of atonement - and not hell.
Alas, purgatory is not heaven, not by any stretch of the imagination. But it isn’t hell either. After all, despite the impression of
forlornness that Jacob Marley exudes, he does in fact have an affiliation with
the three spirits, who he forebodes to Scrooge. And the spirits are there to try to make
matters right, so they can only be coming from a good place. With this in mind, maybe, just maybe, Dickens
meant for Scrooge’s salvation to be Marley’s salvation too; a high stakes Christmas
Eve, not for one, but for both of these former business partners.
Ok, enough about Jacob Marley.
To get to my Bob Dylan connection in this entry I need to round this out
and move on to the 3 spirits; the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. There is no mistaking their purpose in Charles
Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”, which is resolute and clear. All bring ominous tones in their messages to
Scrooge, with the 3rd spirit’s message the most dreaded of all, not
only to Scrooge, but also to many of us who connect with this story. This is at least partly because, unlike the
other 2 spirits, the 3rd spirit is rooted in Christian theology. He’s the Grim Reaper, the Angel of Death.
Bob Dylan’s own tale of purgatory and journey with death appears
to play out in transcendent fashion in his majestic song “Señor” ( https://vimeo.com/223957330 ). I have to say up front, I’ve never read
anything where Dylan has actually come out and stated this as being what the
song is about, but I’ve suspected it for some time. It was a recent Bono cover story in Rolling Stone, one where the U2 front
man basically states the same thoughts, which pretty much confirmed my interpretation,
at least for me (Bono adds in his interview that the subtitle
of the song “Tales of Yankee Power”, is Dylan pulling the listener off the
trail).
The title of “Señor” is Bob Dylan’s name for the Angel
of Death, whom the central figure in the song is imploring from start to finish,
and much like Ebenezer Scrooge, receiving nary a reply. Also, much like Scrooge’s tone by the time he
meets the 3rd Spirit, the protagonists tone in this song toward Señor is one of awe-inspiring respect,
albeit a respect also interspersed with confusion and consternation. As the song plays out, this yearning soul
takes a mind-boggling ride with this reverential figure, not knowing the why or
the where to, but getting an endless parade of glimpses into his life’s journey,
along with what appears to be occasional glimpses into mankind’s journey. As with Scrooge, what he is shown is of a very
serious nature.
There are seven stanzas in “Señor”,
with the fifth being the most intense:
“Well, the last thing I remember before I
stripped and kneeled
Was that trainload of fools bogged down in
a magnetic field
A gypsy with a broken flag and a flashing
ring
He said “Son, this ain’t a dream no more,
it’s the real thing”
Yow!
I interpret the first half of this stanza as the protagonist seeking
Divine Mercy, with a terrified eye on those who have rejected it. The second half comes at you from a different
angle. One image that flashes through my
mind as I listen is that of a homeless person, a soul who remains firmly
planted in terra firma, and yet who alone can actually see what is playing out
in this spirit-world of a journey, and respond in kind, as the central figure and
the Angel of Death drift past. It’s so unique of a plot twist, and with such
specific detail, that I can’t help but believe it really happened.
“Señor” is a
truly open, honest, extraordinary song. One thing that separates Bob Dylan from
many of his contemporaries - which plays out here - is that he’s willing to
face his own mortality (George Harrison was another). Other musicians can come across this way, but
they don’t express it in the way Dylan does.
Often, their expression is through self-destruction, which in reality is
not really facing the music. Dylan does
face the music however, because his expression is founded upon a never-ending
quest for redemption.
The very beginning and ending of “Señor” is
identical; a slow methodical series of guitar notes, which has me pondering
that nothing has changed – despite the supernatural sojourn. Nothing yet,
anyway. The album Street Legal -
aside from “Señor” an otherwise average album by Bob Dylan standards - was released just
prior to Dylan’s “Gospel Years” (see Master Blueprints # 3), and so this kinda
makes sense. Dylan was stuck in a sort
of purgatory at that stage in his life, but soon he would be ready to break that
mold.
There is much to mull over when
listening to “Señor”. Yes, this is likely Bob Dylan’s
purgatory, but as with any great work of art, there is a piece of all of us in
there too.
- Pete
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