(Personal reflections
inspired by Bob Dylan songs)
Song: “Tangled Up in
Blue”
Album: Blood on the Tracks
Release Date: January,
1975
It was precisely four years ago this upcoming week when I made my
first and (to date) only foray to the frigid northern outpost town of
International Falls, Minnesota for a work meeting. You can’t go further north without crossing over
the Rainy River into the equally far-reaching wilderness of western Ontario,
Canada. This is Lake of the Woods
country, where timber wolves and woodland caribou roam. It’s where I took one of my favorite wildlife
photos, that being of a Great grey owl, a bird of the great north woods, and largest
owl species on the planet, sitting on a branch by the railroad in the middle of
nowhere and refusing to budge as I inched my way closer and closer for a near-perfect
snapshot.
The easiest way to get to International Falls is to fly into Duluth,
on the western-most border of Lake Superior, and then drive due north for 3
hours. The trek takes you through rugged
back country and super-sized wetlands, particularly as you get close to the
destination. This is partly because International
Falls abuts the vast watery world of Voyageurs National Park, much of which is
inaccessible by car. Yes, this U.S.
border town is about as remote as you are going to get in the lower 48, and the
feeling of isolation had me sucking in every minute of my visit.
With a small detour on that drive north, you can also check out a musical
landmark of sorts: Hibbing, Minnesota,
Bob Dylan’s childhood home. I did just
that on that late winter 2014 work trip, in order to see for myself this, the initial
source-locale of Dylan’s creative juices.
I liked Hibbing (even though I’m not sure Bob Dylan would say the same). It had a classic American feel, including the
primary retail street, E Howard, which easily reminds you of the downtown scenes
in It’s a Wonderful Life. I parked my rental car and strolled the icy sidewalks,
popping into a few stores, taking in the old-townie feel.
The only sour note on that self-guided tour was when I came upon a
restaurant I was looking forward to visiting called “Zimmy’s” which had to my
dismay closed shop just days before; a makeshift sign on the front door alluded
to a tax burden, making clear this unfortunate fact. I took a peak through the windows. There were all sorts of memorabilia visible
on the interior walls from that vantage point alone. It looked like a Hard Rock
Café, but dedicated solely to one musician.
Other than Zimmy’s however, which at that moment appeared to me more
like a structural apparition than a restaurant, there was very little to give a
Bob Dylan fan much of a pilgrimage feel.
Hibbing, a tough blue collar mining town in days gone by, presumably
still has a ways to go to accept its place in American history as the childhood
home of this iconic, Nobel Prize winner, who at the same time, remains an often-misunderstood
figure.
As a longstanding employee of the US Geological Survey who works
regularly with all things topographic, Hibbing also happens to connect with me
in a significant geographical way as well:
The town sits at the junction of 3 major North American watersheds. It’s a distinction Hibbing shares with just a
few other locations on the continent. Rain
falling on the Southeastern side of town makes its way into small tributary
streams that flow south to Lake Superior, then into the other Great Lakes, and
eventually over Niagara Falls and up the St. Lawrence River to the North
Atlantic Ocean. On the Northern side of
Hibbing, the flow heads north to the Rainy River, then west for a spell to Lake
of the Woods, then to Lake Winnipeg and from there due north up the Churchill
River to Hudson Bay and the Northwestern passage, which wind its way to the
Arctic Ocean. And finally, on the Southwestern
side of town, raindrops will find their way south to the mighty Mississippi
River, which in this headwater region of Minnesota, is a mere figment of
itself: Not much more than wetlands
connected by rivulets.
Pretty cool when you think about it: A musician with such a reverberating effect
on American culture, beginning his life’s journey at a geographical crossroads,
including the source of the Mississippi, which along with Highway 61, makes its
way downstream through such renowned Rock and Blues haunts as St Louis and Memphis
and eventually into the deep south of the Mississippi Delta and New Orleans. That journey down Ol’ Man River and Highway
61 is a story for another time though.
For now, I’d like keep my thoughts focused on the North Star State.
There’s a specific reason why I bring all this up in this entry: Next week I’ll be heading back to
International Falls for a second - and likely final - work-related trip there. I am sure to be stopping in Hibbing again on
the way north from Duluth (which also has Dylan ties, being his birthplace and
closest good-sized city during his upbringing).
This time, the side trek will be a bit different, however, because now I
am of course actually writing about Robert ‘Zimmy’ Zimmerman – as Bob Dylan was
known in Hibbing before changing his name - and the effect that his music has
on my memory and my psyche (four years ago my writing was being inspired by the
music of Neil Young).
When not actually working, I’ll be looking for local inspiration for
my next blog entry on this coming week’s journey, from the minute I step off
the plane to the minute I settle back into the familiar confines of my Pepperell,
Massachusetts home. I’m very much
looking forward to it. Oh, and I’ll be
including International Falls in that quest for inspiration too. After all, from a geographer’s point of view,
I can’t think of any place more fitting near Hibbing that fits the Bob Dylan lyric
“if you’re travelling in the north
country fair, where the winds hit
heavy on the borderline” from his early beloved song “Girl From the North
Country” (I reserve the right not to commit to that song as next week’s Master
Blueprint just yet).
Bob Dylan, not known for his strong ties to his home state, did
head back there on at least one fairly well documented visit in late 1974 to
re-record 5 songs for what was to become one of his most critically acclaimed
albums, Blood on the Tracks. The story goes that his brother, David, heard
the original recordings and convinced big bro Bob to rework a handful of the
songs with a local Minneapolis band. We
all get to hear some of those original recordings now on Bob Dylan’s bootleg
series, and although they are good, it’s pretty clear that brother Dave was on
to something. Side note: Hardly known in
Dylan circles as an RFK to his brother’s JFK, Dave Dylan is a nice
additionally-unique piece of storyline on the history of Blood on the Tracks.
After quite a lengthy period since Bob Dylan had last released a
truly classic beginning-to-ending album (I personally would go back to 67’s John Wesley Harding), how and why did Blood on the Tracks work out so well? Sure,
there’s something to be said for the spontaneity of enlisting a solid, no-frills
local band to back him for those Minnesota re-recordings. And of course Dylan’s then rocky marriage
contributed to his emotional edge too.
However, my thinking is that Bob Dylan was at least equally inspired
with his surroundings after being summoned back to his home state. Similar to the ’67 Basement Tapes ‘Big Pink’ recordings with The Band in the Catskills
of New York (I’ll be getting to that one in the weeks ahead), I believe the
location of those final 5 cuts for Blood
on the Tracks had quite a bit to do with taking what was a solid product
already, and turning it into an all-time rock and roll gem.
I’d like to think we all have a childhood hometown somewhere out
there, be it literal or figurative; a place where we can reflect, and hopefully
get inspiration from on a return visit.
Like any source of inspiration, one can’t tap into that well too
frequently or they’ll lose it. But
there’s a time and place for everything, and seizing the moment with an
occasional revisit to the home of your formative years certainly ranks right up
there. It’s all about finding that right
mood. And however that mood was drawn
out of Bob Dylan for Blood on the Tracks,
be it connecting with old friends and family, walking through intimate woods or
neighborhoods, visiting where he may have “worked as a cook for a spell”, or strolling
along a set of familiar train tracks (be
they bloody or otherwise), we get to hear the mood that was meant to be for Blood on the Tracks, an album which
captures the essence of a deep thinking man in his mid-30’s, baring his soul,
which was at the time in a state of turmoil.
Of the 5 tracks that Bob Dylan re-recorded in Minneapolis, one was
to prove to be among his greatest songs, “Tangled Up in Blue” ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4OHOGMeNOM ). Even those who do not
have an ear for Dylan have shown an affinity for this masterwork. “Tangled Up in Blue” is a song with a
universally emotional appeal. You can hear
that appeal in the lyrics, in the vocals, and in the music itself. The song is all over the place in terms of
reflections, but that’s part of what makes it so captivating. It’s as if the flood gates of bittersweet memory
opened wide in Bob Dylan’s mind, overflowing in this song. We the listeners can only hang on tight as
the images fly on past. When I listen it
has me thinking, how did he do that? And
yet, even more uncannily, it’s the mood heard on the record that I believe had
to be even more difficult to capture than the barrage of lyrical memory and imagery.
Perhaps I’m overdue for my own reconnect to some of the
intricacies that made my upbringing in my hometown of Franklin, Massachusetts
so vibrant and alive (which I believe now more than ever). Yes, maybe it’s time to take a stroll down my
own magical set of train tracks, to see if I can recapture some lost parts of
me, while at the same time, reach out when those images go flying by, to capture
that elusive mood, and then hold on tight.
And so it goes, Duluth, Hibbing, and International Falls for now, and
Franklin not far behind.
- Pete
Saturday, March 3, 2018
Saturday, February 24, 2018
Master Blueprints # 8: “It Was Raining From the First and I Was Dying There of Thirst, So I Came in Here”
(Personal reflections
inspired by Bob Dylan songs)
Song: “Just Like a Woman”
Album: Blonde on Blonde
Release Date: June, 1966
Note: This is the 2 of 2 conclusion of the last write up (Master Blueprint # 7). If you have not read the introduction to that entry, read it first before reading on here, otherwise a full connection with this entry will escape you ( http://pete-gemsandbeyond.blogspot.com/2018/02/master-blueprints-7-struck-down-by.html ).
Carrying on now with my top 10 covers of the Bob Dylan The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration at Madison Square Garden, New York City, October 16, 1992. # 10 up to # 6 were reviewed in that 1 of 2 link above. Here I tackle the top 5, working my way up to # 1:
# 5. “Mr. Tambourine Man” sung by Roger McGuinn, Tom Petty, and the Heartbreakers ( http://www.dailymotion.com/video/ximopy ) . I think I’ll simply paraphrase here on a paragraph from my Master Blueprints # 1 entry ( http://pete-gemsandbeyond.blogspot.com/2018/01/master-blueprints-1-magic-swirlin-ship.html ), which was written with this song in mind:
“I recall as I listened to it thinking at the time that Roger McGuinn and Tom Petty both had in mind Dylan himself as they sang the lyrics. Near the end of the magical rendition of this song, Tom Petty catches McGuinn’s eye and offers a knowing wink. At that moment, I felt a kinship with these musicians. A common sense of wonder in relation to the man they were honoring, not only through a song written by him, but now being interpreted as also being about him”.
Not much more needs to be said other than to suggest reading that fist Master Blueprint entry, inspired by the beauty that is “Mr. Tambourine Man”.
Ok, no more pushing folks off to other entries.
#4. “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight”, sung by Kris Kristofferson ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlvN2nr5MZw ). I’ve rarely seen a performer so elated singing as Kris Kristofferson is here. Other musicians on the stage included Willie Nelson (who did an admirable job just prior with “What Was It You Wanted”) and Don Was on bass, who had produced Bob Dylan’s then-most recent studio album Under the Red Sky (I once read a review of those sessions where one of the musicianS who was there was reflecting on Don Was’ fascination in finally having a change to work with Bob Dylan, at one time asking him “So, Bob, did you ever wonder, y’know: ‘Why me?’”, and getting no reply).
A quick listen and one could easily conclude that “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” is a simple love song. But nothing is simple with Bob Dylan. Years ago I interpreted this song as being from the perspective of an infant, singing to a parent (hmmm….I’ll add a grandparent to that short list). Others have concluded this too, because subsequently I read a gratifying Dylan reply to an interviewer, stating that he supposed it could be construed that way (that’s about as good as you are going to get from him).
So I’m going to run with that, as I am sure this angle was on Kristofferson’s mind too. His elation is the pure joy emanating from the memory and perspective of a man blessed to have been a father, as I believe Kristofferson (and of course Bob Dylan) was. Picture a young Dad, any young Dad, seemingly after a weary, long day at work. I mean, my goodness, from that perspective there is just no beating the line “Kick your shoes off. Do not fear. Bring that bottle over here. I’ll be your baby tonight”…...baby bottle that is.
Yes, it’s no wonder Kris Kristofferson was on such a high. If you leave a song up for interpretation, as Bob Dylan always does, it must be so much fun to figure it out for yourself, and then go out and perform it, knowing you’ve got the inside scoop.
# 3. “License to Kill”, sung by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CEfNY02n5E ). You’d think there would be nothing that could top Kristofferson’s performance, but in my opinion there were three such instances. # 3 on the list is this (see link above) killer rendition of “License to Kill” covered by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, a song about the misinformation that can fill a man’s mind, and a woman’s lament to be unable to do anything about it. It’s a brave and insightful song for a man to write, and should put no doubt in any equal-rights-minded woman that Bob Dylan has their back (including the Boston waitress who confronts Dylan in an incredibly summarized exchange, which can be heard on the song/novella that is “Highlands” off of Time Out of Mind). One could also easily envision the “woman” in the song to be any peacemaker, giving “License to Kill” some affiliation with “Watching the River Flow”, which was the focus-song for Master Blueprints # 6.
Anyhow, after a warm greeting to the crowd, Tom Petty’s smile turns into something completely different, which stays with him for the entirety of his intense performance. Mike Campbell adds a brilliant lead guitar during the instrumental bridge near the end. The lyrics are poignant and, in comparison to many of Bob Dylan’s songs, relatively easy to interpret. With that said, if you have never heard this number off of Infidels (or even if you have) give it a listen: “License to Kill” is always worthy of further contemplation.
# 2. “Seven Days”, sung by Ronnie Wood ( https://rutube.ru/video/9f7fd5902d1c72e4d3a6d57d38440814/ ). First off, I love that Ronnie Wood got his own slot at the Dylan 30th; he and Ringo Starr, often there for the party at these mega rock events over the years, but consigned to only getting on stage for the end-of-show jam fests (think The Last Waltz). Not so here, Ronnie Wood delivering the goods in this gem of a rarity, which he covered on his 1979 album Gimme Some Neck (there are perks to being a beer connoisseur buddy with Bob Dylan). Recently I’ve been reading this song as being about a son’s reunion with his long lost mother.
Oh, and did I say jam? Yeah, well, I’ve rarely enjoyed one as much as the magnificently drawn-out instrumental bridge that plays out here. Ronnie Wood comes across as a well-versed conductor, spontaneous to boot, pointing to various members of the Booker T and the MGs band to take lead during the jam. At one moment, at the 2:55 mark of the link above, Wood appears so zoned in as he backs away from Booker T, that I can’t help but think he’s as close to vaporizing into a big ball of music as anyone who has ever played in a band. G.E. Smith, the normal conductor for much of the evening, adapts masterfully on the fly, working closely with the rhythm section (check out G.E. when Ronnie calls out Booker T to take the 2nd lead transition during the jam). The fourth and final lead (back to Ronnie Wood) is a classic moment too, with Steve Cropper aping Wood’s chords 2 seconds behind, like only a seasoned professional could.
My number 2 and number 1 choices were performed back to back that magical evening; a solid one-two punch. Number 1 you ask? …….
# 1. “Just Like a Woman”, sung by Richie Havens ( https://vimeo.com/198166747 ). My sister Amy is in the know on this one; the most transcendent moment in the concert as far as I am concerned. This Richie Havens’ performance of “Just Like a Woman” swung wide open for me the door to connecting with the depth of the beauty in this song, and is that not the intention of any musician, whether singing their own song or someone else’s? To blow away the crowd, not just with the musical element, but with the narrative and reflective one too? It all adds up to a strong emotional bond when the stars align.
When a casual listener thinks of Bob Dylan I believe they relate to him mostly as a folk singer, or a protest singer, or going electric, or his faith journey, or contributing to the weaving of the American narrative. One normally does not associate him with love songs. But when you dive into Dylan’s music, you realize that love - and love loss - are the most prominent sources for his creative inspirations. In turn, when you have someone with the prolific abilities of a Bob Dylan who is willing to open up in this way, you can make some pretty profound connections to your own life experience in relation to this the sweetest – and most painful - of all feelings.
“Just Like a Woman” comes across to me as a two part account of a relationship achingly nearing its end. The first 2 verses focus on the woman and her delicate state of mind at the time of the break up. As I listened to Richie Havens cover this week, I thought of the Counting Crows song “Round Here”, which I now believe was at least partly inspired by “Just Like a Woman” (heck, on the same album - the solid and well balanced August and Everything After – the Counting Crows even mention Bob Dylan in the lyrics to “Mr. Jones“). The second two verses, from the man’s view, are even more painful. There’s not a wasted word in these lyrics, each line making clearer that the songwriter is dealing with heavy heartache. But at the same time, there is a tenderness and a universality that underlies the entire song, lifting it from the ashes.
I am grateful to have attended a Richie Havens concert, and one of the big take home messages I got from that show was the buildup. Havens was slow out of the gate in terms of enthusiasm when Nancy and I saw him, but he knew how to work a crowd, and before long we were all caught up the aura of his musical tapestry. By the end the entire crowd was enraptured. The amazing thing about Richie Havens’ performance at the Dylan 30th was that he took that skill for building up a concert and condensed it into one song. Watch that buildup play out in the link. It’s more than talent. It’s genuine empathy.
Well, that’s my Bob Dylan The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration top 10 list. Honorable mentions include George Thorogood singing “Wanted Man” (what a surprise that was, and it didn’t even make the cd release), The Band singing “When I Paint My Masterpiece”, and Neil Young’s cover of “All Along the Watchtower”.
- Pete
Song: “Just Like a Woman”
Album: Blonde on Blonde
Release Date: June, 1966
Note: This is the 2 of 2 conclusion of the last write up (Master Blueprint # 7). If you have not read the introduction to that entry, read it first before reading on here, otherwise a full connection with this entry will escape you ( http://pete-gemsandbeyond.blogspot.com/2018/02/master-blueprints-7-struck-down-by.html ).
Carrying on now with my top 10 covers of the Bob Dylan The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration at Madison Square Garden, New York City, October 16, 1992. # 10 up to # 6 were reviewed in that 1 of 2 link above. Here I tackle the top 5, working my way up to # 1:
# 5. “Mr. Tambourine Man” sung by Roger McGuinn, Tom Petty, and the Heartbreakers ( http://www.dailymotion.com/video/ximopy ) . I think I’ll simply paraphrase here on a paragraph from my Master Blueprints # 1 entry ( http://pete-gemsandbeyond.blogspot.com/2018/01/master-blueprints-1-magic-swirlin-ship.html ), which was written with this song in mind:
“I recall as I listened to it thinking at the time that Roger McGuinn and Tom Petty both had in mind Dylan himself as they sang the lyrics. Near the end of the magical rendition of this song, Tom Petty catches McGuinn’s eye and offers a knowing wink. At that moment, I felt a kinship with these musicians. A common sense of wonder in relation to the man they were honoring, not only through a song written by him, but now being interpreted as also being about him”.
Not much more needs to be said other than to suggest reading that fist Master Blueprint entry, inspired by the beauty that is “Mr. Tambourine Man”.
Ok, no more pushing folks off to other entries.
#4. “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight”, sung by Kris Kristofferson ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlvN2nr5MZw ). I’ve rarely seen a performer so elated singing as Kris Kristofferson is here. Other musicians on the stage included Willie Nelson (who did an admirable job just prior with “What Was It You Wanted”) and Don Was on bass, who had produced Bob Dylan’s then-most recent studio album Under the Red Sky (I once read a review of those sessions where one of the musicianS who was there was reflecting on Don Was’ fascination in finally having a change to work with Bob Dylan, at one time asking him “So, Bob, did you ever wonder, y’know: ‘Why me?’”, and getting no reply).
A quick listen and one could easily conclude that “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” is a simple love song. But nothing is simple with Bob Dylan. Years ago I interpreted this song as being from the perspective of an infant, singing to a parent (hmmm….I’ll add a grandparent to that short list). Others have concluded this too, because subsequently I read a gratifying Dylan reply to an interviewer, stating that he supposed it could be construed that way (that’s about as good as you are going to get from him).
So I’m going to run with that, as I am sure this angle was on Kristofferson’s mind too. His elation is the pure joy emanating from the memory and perspective of a man blessed to have been a father, as I believe Kristofferson (and of course Bob Dylan) was. Picture a young Dad, any young Dad, seemingly after a weary, long day at work. I mean, my goodness, from that perspective there is just no beating the line “Kick your shoes off. Do not fear. Bring that bottle over here. I’ll be your baby tonight”…...baby bottle that is.
Yes, it’s no wonder Kris Kristofferson was on such a high. If you leave a song up for interpretation, as Bob Dylan always does, it must be so much fun to figure it out for yourself, and then go out and perform it, knowing you’ve got the inside scoop.
# 3. “License to Kill”, sung by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CEfNY02n5E ). You’d think there would be nothing that could top Kristofferson’s performance, but in my opinion there were three such instances. # 3 on the list is this (see link above) killer rendition of “License to Kill” covered by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, a song about the misinformation that can fill a man’s mind, and a woman’s lament to be unable to do anything about it. It’s a brave and insightful song for a man to write, and should put no doubt in any equal-rights-minded woman that Bob Dylan has their back (including the Boston waitress who confronts Dylan in an incredibly summarized exchange, which can be heard on the song/novella that is “Highlands” off of Time Out of Mind). One could also easily envision the “woman” in the song to be any peacemaker, giving “License to Kill” some affiliation with “Watching the River Flow”, which was the focus-song for Master Blueprints # 6.
Anyhow, after a warm greeting to the crowd, Tom Petty’s smile turns into something completely different, which stays with him for the entirety of his intense performance. Mike Campbell adds a brilliant lead guitar during the instrumental bridge near the end. The lyrics are poignant and, in comparison to many of Bob Dylan’s songs, relatively easy to interpret. With that said, if you have never heard this number off of Infidels (or even if you have) give it a listen: “License to Kill” is always worthy of further contemplation.
# 2. “Seven Days”, sung by Ronnie Wood ( https://rutube.ru/video/9f7fd5902d1c72e4d3a6d57d38440814/ ). First off, I love that Ronnie Wood got his own slot at the Dylan 30th; he and Ringo Starr, often there for the party at these mega rock events over the years, but consigned to only getting on stage for the end-of-show jam fests (think The Last Waltz). Not so here, Ronnie Wood delivering the goods in this gem of a rarity, which he covered on his 1979 album Gimme Some Neck (there are perks to being a beer connoisseur buddy with Bob Dylan). Recently I’ve been reading this song as being about a son’s reunion with his long lost mother.
Oh, and did I say jam? Yeah, well, I’ve rarely enjoyed one as much as the magnificently drawn-out instrumental bridge that plays out here. Ronnie Wood comes across as a well-versed conductor, spontaneous to boot, pointing to various members of the Booker T and the MGs band to take lead during the jam. At one moment, at the 2:55 mark of the link above, Wood appears so zoned in as he backs away from Booker T, that I can’t help but think he’s as close to vaporizing into a big ball of music as anyone who has ever played in a band. G.E. Smith, the normal conductor for much of the evening, adapts masterfully on the fly, working closely with the rhythm section (check out G.E. when Ronnie calls out Booker T to take the 2nd lead transition during the jam). The fourth and final lead (back to Ronnie Wood) is a classic moment too, with Steve Cropper aping Wood’s chords 2 seconds behind, like only a seasoned professional could.
My number 2 and number 1 choices were performed back to back that magical evening; a solid one-two punch. Number 1 you ask? …….
# 1. “Just Like a Woman”, sung by Richie Havens ( https://vimeo.com/198166747 ). My sister Amy is in the know on this one; the most transcendent moment in the concert as far as I am concerned. This Richie Havens’ performance of “Just Like a Woman” swung wide open for me the door to connecting with the depth of the beauty in this song, and is that not the intention of any musician, whether singing their own song or someone else’s? To blow away the crowd, not just with the musical element, but with the narrative and reflective one too? It all adds up to a strong emotional bond when the stars align.
When a casual listener thinks of Bob Dylan I believe they relate to him mostly as a folk singer, or a protest singer, or going electric, or his faith journey, or contributing to the weaving of the American narrative. One normally does not associate him with love songs. But when you dive into Dylan’s music, you realize that love - and love loss - are the most prominent sources for his creative inspirations. In turn, when you have someone with the prolific abilities of a Bob Dylan who is willing to open up in this way, you can make some pretty profound connections to your own life experience in relation to this the sweetest – and most painful - of all feelings.
“Just Like a Woman” comes across to me as a two part account of a relationship achingly nearing its end. The first 2 verses focus on the woman and her delicate state of mind at the time of the break up. As I listened to Richie Havens cover this week, I thought of the Counting Crows song “Round Here”, which I now believe was at least partly inspired by “Just Like a Woman” (heck, on the same album - the solid and well balanced August and Everything After – the Counting Crows even mention Bob Dylan in the lyrics to “Mr. Jones“). The second two verses, from the man’s view, are even more painful. There’s not a wasted word in these lyrics, each line making clearer that the songwriter is dealing with heavy heartache. But at the same time, there is a tenderness and a universality that underlies the entire song, lifting it from the ashes.
I am grateful to have attended a Richie Havens concert, and one of the big take home messages I got from that show was the buildup. Havens was slow out of the gate in terms of enthusiasm when Nancy and I saw him, but he knew how to work a crowd, and before long we were all caught up the aura of his musical tapestry. By the end the entire crowd was enraptured. The amazing thing about Richie Havens’ performance at the Dylan 30th was that he took that skill for building up a concert and condensed it into one song. Watch that buildup play out in the link. It’s more than talent. It’s genuine empathy.
Well, that’s my Bob Dylan The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration top 10 list. Honorable mentions include George Thorogood singing “Wanted Man” (what a surprise that was, and it didn’t even make the cd release), The Band singing “When I Paint My Masterpiece”, and Neil Young’s cover of “All Along the Watchtower”.
- Pete
Sunday, February 18, 2018
Master Blueprints # 7: “You Know What They Say About Bein' Nice to the Right People on the Way Up, Sooner or Later You Gonna Meet Them Comin' Down”
(Personal reflections
inspired by Bob Dylan songs)
Song: “Foot of Pride”
Album: Unreleased from the Infidels sessions
Release Date: October, 1983
Out of the gate for this series, I mentioned an early breakthrough I made with Bob Dylan’s music, listening to the Rolling Thunder Review version of “Shelter from the Storm” off of the live Hard Rain album. That was back in the mid-80s. There were a number of leaps forward not long after that, a significant one being the release of Oh Mercy in 1989 (I’ve yet to tackle a song from that album, but this is imminent). One particularly large leap was made several years later while watching a live simulcast of Bob Dylan: The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration at my good friend Jeff’s apartment. The actual event, a tribute show, took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City that same evening; October 16, 1992.
As I’ve mentioned before, Bob Dylan gets covered more than any other musician I know…. by a country mile. I’ve also mentioned that the best Bob Dylan covers are those where a musician finds a song that suits his/her style. There is something in his vast catalog for everyone, and I’ve always believed this availability of his music to be intentional on his part (again, it’s why I call the series Master Blueprints). This all played out brilliantly in the 30th Anniversary Concert. Virtually every musician who performed that night played a song suitable for them.
What an incredible night of music and gathering of musicians that was (I could even feel the vibes via simulcast, and I’ve been to many concerts in my lifetime - where the real vibes preside). If you ask me it was right up there with Woodstock, Monterey, Live Aid and the 2016 “Desert Trip” concert for star power and talent. I recall Eddie Vedder stating in a pre-concert interview that he felt as if he were hanging with seven of the twelve apostles. The set list was pretty incredible too: A perfect cross section of songs from every phase of Bob Dylan’s songwriting career; the choices of deep cuts and hits balancing out nicely. What an honor it must have been for Dylan to get such a profound tribute, and at a relatively young age (51).
There were a few marquee performers that night who got to perform 2 songs including Neil Young, George Harrison, Eric Clapton, John Mellencamp, Tom Petty and the man of honor himself. All were memorable, but it was primarily a handful of the one-off acts who stole the show (as well as Petty, a marquee performer who truly rose to the occasion). As I watched and listened for the umpteenth time this week (but the first time in over a decade), I was glad to see my sense of wonder still persists (although it was tough to take in how many of these performers are no longer with us).
I’ve put together a personal top 10 list of the most stirring performances from this event below. I’ll be working my way from # 10 up to # 1, with commentary on each, including how the song worked so well for the musician who covered it. # 10 up to # 6 are in this entry. The top 5 are in the next.
# 10. “The Times They Are A-Changin’”, sung by Tracy Chapman (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCZWv5U5wJ4 ). Several young bucks covered Bob Dylan’s early protest songs in this show (including Vedder, who performed “Masters of War” quite admirably). Chapman gets the nod though. She sounds sincere and earnest here, not having the appearance of being starry eyed in the least. Politics was in the air on this evening, only 2 weeks away from a presidential election (Bill Clinton vs. George H.W. Bush). I had just turned 30 years old two months earlier and I remember the build-up to that election well (it was the first time in four attempts that I would end up voting for the winner, and unlike prior elections, I could feel victory in the air). The protest songs were fitting in my mind, and Chapman was classy in her delivery (alternatively, I felt Stevie Wonder was a bit over the top with his drawn-out, politically-charged introduction comments and subsequent rendition of “Blowin’ in the Wind”… one of the only energy drains of the evening). “The Times They Are A-Changin” has and will continue to endure the test of time.
# 9. “It Ain’t Me Babe”, sung by June Carter Cash and Johnny Cash ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=253pRcqSl1M ). Admittedly past their prime, but there is some beautiful passion and sincerity here, particularly in June Carter Cash’s singing the refrain. Today when I watch it, I think of Walk the Line, a fantastic movie that I have sat through on at least three occasions (more often I have just fast-forwarded to the classic Folsom State Prison scene at the end, one of my favorite movie moments of all time). After getting that insight into their life together (the movie coming out 13 years after the Dylan 30th event), the passion in June Carter Cash’s vocals now makes more sense.
In Walk the Line, the character of Johnny Cash (Joaquin Phoenix) comes across as doting in his endless advances toward June Carter (Reese Witherspoon), which was understandable: Cash was smitten. With all the issues Johnny Cash was dealing with (substance abuse, marriage break up) - which was not sugar coated in the movie – June Carter was rather measured in her response. So now when I listen to this performance, I get out of Johnny Cash’s singing the sense that he is respecting June Carter Cash’s rather stoic (albeit door ajar) reaction to his advances during their long courtship, and June Carter Cash is belting out how she dealt with him in reply. Yes, the lyrics to “It Ain’t Me Babe” reflects June Carter Cash’s approach to their relationship to a tee.
# 8 “Rainy Day Woman # 12 & 35”, sung by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8NocHFec8I ). It’s too bad I could only track down the audio here, because if there is any performance in this top 10 list where you get the full effect with the visual, it is this one. Here we see Tom Petty (a shocker of a passing this past year) and crew add a little fun to the mix (although virtually the entire event was exhilarating). Prior to watching Petty’s rendition, I’d been pretty ambivalent with this song. Now I get a big kick out of it, which I believe was Bob Dylan’s intention all along. Having toured with Dylan in 1986 - a rabble-rousing tour from the accounts I’ve read - Petty knew this as well as anybody. And boy does it come out on that Madison Square Garden stage. Indeed, no matter which way Bob Dylan turned when he wrote the song back in 1966 he likely had some form of mind altering substance shoved in his face. I envision an animated music video being dreamed up for this song someday. It will be a hoot.
# 7 “Highway 61 Revisited”, covered here by Johnny Winter ( http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xpdsck ). When Johnny Winter walked out on the stage I was transfixed. For a split second, I thought I was looking at Freddy Krueger! Was this guy going to start shooting lightning bolts out of his fingers at the crowd and bring the house down in a big ball of flame? I soon recovered my senses, with a bit of help from Johnny Winter’s Texan brother, Jeff, sitting in the chair next to me, who’d seen Winter on numerous occasions. But then Johnny Winter preceded to do just that! His performance, particularly his guitar playing, was the most on-the-edge, high flying moment in the show that evening. The fast pace of his playing and singing did such a great honor to “Highway 61 Revisited”, a truly bizarre tale of that middle of America Blues Highway, which generally winds along the Mississippi River from Dylan’s home State of Minnesota to New Orleans, Louisiana (I’ll have much more to say about this North/South blues linkage for Bob Dylan when I review some of the more conceptual elements from Time Out of Mind). The euphoric instrumental wrap up alone would have been worth the price of admission. This song is going to have to get its own Master Blueprint at some point, if only for the opening verse (I’ll leave those not in the know to either try to interpret Mr. Winter or find the lyrics).
# 6 “Foot of Pride”, covered here by Lou Reed ( https://ok.ru/video/96938101297 ). Probably the closest-to-perfection of the alignment of a Bob Dylan song and a musician covering it that I have ever heard (ok, I’ll grant that Jimi Hendrix cover of “All Along the Watchtower” is right up there too). Dylan has never performed this song live, despite having been on that truly never-ending ‘Never Ending’ tour for decades now, where he is always rolling out nuggets. This avoidance is understandable, however. “Foot of Pride” is HEAVY (even by Dylan standards), extremely complex in vocabulary (including the exclamations), and to date no one has aptly explained the meaning other than in the generality that the song is an indictment on significant chunks of humanity, personified in the lyrics by a handful of well justified character attacks (whether these seriously flawed characters be real or fictitious is of little consequence).
Regardless of all this, Lou Reed pulls the song off masterfully here, despite the use of teleprompters. In fact, I think his use of teleprompters actually adds to my fascination in how he nails it, seeing as Reed’s phrasing and his raw emotions are absolutely tuned in to the spirit of the original recording. In other words, Sweet Lou is nowhere near auto pilot. There are numerous examples of the unbridled force in this very rare live rendition of “Foot of Pride” including Reed’s delivery of one of my all-time favorite Bob Dylan lines: “You know what they say about bein’ nice to the right people on the way up. Sooner or later you gonna meet them comin’ down”. To this day I still recall the chilling feeling of hearing those lyrics for the first time at Jeff’s apartment that night (which was the first time I heard this at-the-time unreleased gem of a song from the 1983 Infidels sessions).
One other note about Lou Reed in relation to Dylan’s 30th: Before the show Reed was interviewed and he prophetically stated that Bob Dylan had not even done his best stuff yet. It was quite a statement, considering that so many contemporary musicians prove to be well past their prime by the time they hit middle age. What was to come for Bob Dylan over the next 20 years was much more in line with Lou Reed’s vision.
It’s a wrap. See you next entry for the top 5.
- Pete
Song: “Foot of Pride”
Album: Unreleased from the Infidels sessions
Release Date: October, 1983
Out of the gate for this series, I mentioned an early breakthrough I made with Bob Dylan’s music, listening to the Rolling Thunder Review version of “Shelter from the Storm” off of the live Hard Rain album. That was back in the mid-80s. There were a number of leaps forward not long after that, a significant one being the release of Oh Mercy in 1989 (I’ve yet to tackle a song from that album, but this is imminent). One particularly large leap was made several years later while watching a live simulcast of Bob Dylan: The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration at my good friend Jeff’s apartment. The actual event, a tribute show, took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City that same evening; October 16, 1992.
As I’ve mentioned before, Bob Dylan gets covered more than any other musician I know…. by a country mile. I’ve also mentioned that the best Bob Dylan covers are those where a musician finds a song that suits his/her style. There is something in his vast catalog for everyone, and I’ve always believed this availability of his music to be intentional on his part (again, it’s why I call the series Master Blueprints). This all played out brilliantly in the 30th Anniversary Concert. Virtually every musician who performed that night played a song suitable for them.
What an incredible night of music and gathering of musicians that was (I could even feel the vibes via simulcast, and I’ve been to many concerts in my lifetime - where the real vibes preside). If you ask me it was right up there with Woodstock, Monterey, Live Aid and the 2016 “Desert Trip” concert for star power and talent. I recall Eddie Vedder stating in a pre-concert interview that he felt as if he were hanging with seven of the twelve apostles. The set list was pretty incredible too: A perfect cross section of songs from every phase of Bob Dylan’s songwriting career; the choices of deep cuts and hits balancing out nicely. What an honor it must have been for Dylan to get such a profound tribute, and at a relatively young age (51).
There were a few marquee performers that night who got to perform 2 songs including Neil Young, George Harrison, Eric Clapton, John Mellencamp, Tom Petty and the man of honor himself. All were memorable, but it was primarily a handful of the one-off acts who stole the show (as well as Petty, a marquee performer who truly rose to the occasion). As I watched and listened for the umpteenth time this week (but the first time in over a decade), I was glad to see my sense of wonder still persists (although it was tough to take in how many of these performers are no longer with us).
I’ve put together a personal top 10 list of the most stirring performances from this event below. I’ll be working my way from # 10 up to # 1, with commentary on each, including how the song worked so well for the musician who covered it. # 10 up to # 6 are in this entry. The top 5 are in the next.
# 10. “The Times They Are A-Changin’”, sung by Tracy Chapman (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCZWv5U5wJ4 ). Several young bucks covered Bob Dylan’s early protest songs in this show (including Vedder, who performed “Masters of War” quite admirably). Chapman gets the nod though. She sounds sincere and earnest here, not having the appearance of being starry eyed in the least. Politics was in the air on this evening, only 2 weeks away from a presidential election (Bill Clinton vs. George H.W. Bush). I had just turned 30 years old two months earlier and I remember the build-up to that election well (it was the first time in four attempts that I would end up voting for the winner, and unlike prior elections, I could feel victory in the air). The protest songs were fitting in my mind, and Chapman was classy in her delivery (alternatively, I felt Stevie Wonder was a bit over the top with his drawn-out, politically-charged introduction comments and subsequent rendition of “Blowin’ in the Wind”… one of the only energy drains of the evening). “The Times They Are A-Changin” has and will continue to endure the test of time.
# 9. “It Ain’t Me Babe”, sung by June Carter Cash and Johnny Cash ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=253pRcqSl1M ). Admittedly past their prime, but there is some beautiful passion and sincerity here, particularly in June Carter Cash’s singing the refrain. Today when I watch it, I think of Walk the Line, a fantastic movie that I have sat through on at least three occasions (more often I have just fast-forwarded to the classic Folsom State Prison scene at the end, one of my favorite movie moments of all time). After getting that insight into their life together (the movie coming out 13 years after the Dylan 30th event), the passion in June Carter Cash’s vocals now makes more sense.
In Walk the Line, the character of Johnny Cash (Joaquin Phoenix) comes across as doting in his endless advances toward June Carter (Reese Witherspoon), which was understandable: Cash was smitten. With all the issues Johnny Cash was dealing with (substance abuse, marriage break up) - which was not sugar coated in the movie – June Carter was rather measured in her response. So now when I listen to this performance, I get out of Johnny Cash’s singing the sense that he is respecting June Carter Cash’s rather stoic (albeit door ajar) reaction to his advances during their long courtship, and June Carter Cash is belting out how she dealt with him in reply. Yes, the lyrics to “It Ain’t Me Babe” reflects June Carter Cash’s approach to their relationship to a tee.
# 8 “Rainy Day Woman # 12 & 35”, sung by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8NocHFec8I ). It’s too bad I could only track down the audio here, because if there is any performance in this top 10 list where you get the full effect with the visual, it is this one. Here we see Tom Petty (a shocker of a passing this past year) and crew add a little fun to the mix (although virtually the entire event was exhilarating). Prior to watching Petty’s rendition, I’d been pretty ambivalent with this song. Now I get a big kick out of it, which I believe was Bob Dylan’s intention all along. Having toured with Dylan in 1986 - a rabble-rousing tour from the accounts I’ve read - Petty knew this as well as anybody. And boy does it come out on that Madison Square Garden stage. Indeed, no matter which way Bob Dylan turned when he wrote the song back in 1966 he likely had some form of mind altering substance shoved in his face. I envision an animated music video being dreamed up for this song someday. It will be a hoot.
# 7 “Highway 61 Revisited”, covered here by Johnny Winter ( http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xpdsck ). When Johnny Winter walked out on the stage I was transfixed. For a split second, I thought I was looking at Freddy Krueger! Was this guy going to start shooting lightning bolts out of his fingers at the crowd and bring the house down in a big ball of flame? I soon recovered my senses, with a bit of help from Johnny Winter’s Texan brother, Jeff, sitting in the chair next to me, who’d seen Winter on numerous occasions. But then Johnny Winter preceded to do just that! His performance, particularly his guitar playing, was the most on-the-edge, high flying moment in the show that evening. The fast pace of his playing and singing did such a great honor to “Highway 61 Revisited”, a truly bizarre tale of that middle of America Blues Highway, which generally winds along the Mississippi River from Dylan’s home State of Minnesota to New Orleans, Louisiana (I’ll have much more to say about this North/South blues linkage for Bob Dylan when I review some of the more conceptual elements from Time Out of Mind). The euphoric instrumental wrap up alone would have been worth the price of admission. This song is going to have to get its own Master Blueprint at some point, if only for the opening verse (I’ll leave those not in the know to either try to interpret Mr. Winter or find the lyrics).
# 6 “Foot of Pride”, covered here by Lou Reed ( https://ok.ru/video/96938101297 ). Probably the closest-to-perfection of the alignment of a Bob Dylan song and a musician covering it that I have ever heard (ok, I’ll grant that Jimi Hendrix cover of “All Along the Watchtower” is right up there too). Dylan has never performed this song live, despite having been on that truly never-ending ‘Never Ending’ tour for decades now, where he is always rolling out nuggets. This avoidance is understandable, however. “Foot of Pride” is HEAVY (even by Dylan standards), extremely complex in vocabulary (including the exclamations), and to date no one has aptly explained the meaning other than in the generality that the song is an indictment on significant chunks of humanity, personified in the lyrics by a handful of well justified character attacks (whether these seriously flawed characters be real or fictitious is of little consequence).
Regardless of all this, Lou Reed pulls the song off masterfully here, despite the use of teleprompters. In fact, I think his use of teleprompters actually adds to my fascination in how he nails it, seeing as Reed’s phrasing and his raw emotions are absolutely tuned in to the spirit of the original recording. In other words, Sweet Lou is nowhere near auto pilot. There are numerous examples of the unbridled force in this very rare live rendition of “Foot of Pride” including Reed’s delivery of one of my all-time favorite Bob Dylan lines: “You know what they say about bein’ nice to the right people on the way up. Sooner or later you gonna meet them comin’ down”. To this day I still recall the chilling feeling of hearing those lyrics for the first time at Jeff’s apartment that night (which was the first time I heard this at-the-time unreleased gem of a song from the 1983 Infidels sessions).
One other note about Lou Reed in relation to Dylan’s 30th: Before the show Reed was interviewed and he prophetically stated that Bob Dylan had not even done his best stuff yet. It was quite a statement, considering that so many contemporary musicians prove to be well past their prime by the time they hit middle age. What was to come for Bob Dylan over the next 20 years was much more in line with Lou Reed’s vision.
It’s a wrap. See you next entry for the top 5.
- Pete
Sunday, February 11, 2018
Master Blueprints # 6: "People Disagreeing On All Just About Everything, Yeah, Makes You Stop and Wonder Why, Why Only Yesterday I Saw Somebody on the Street Who Just Couldn't Help But Cry"
(Personal reflections
inspired by Bob Dylan songs)
Song: “Watching the River Flow”
Album: Released as a single
Release Date: June, 1971
My office walls are adorned with a number of the masterly art-works of my daughter, as well as a handful of classic maps (being close to the vest in relation to my profession, I’d be remiss not to include a sampling of cartographic gems). Tucked among all of this is a relatively modest exhibit, a short poem by the late American poet James Dillet Freeman called “Rivers Hardly Ever” ( https://www.scrapbook.com/poems/doc/15695.html ). This framed verse was a gift from my Mom, who handed it to me at the tail end of a visit home several years back.
At first glance “Rivers Hardly Ever” comes across as a simple yet poignant take on earth’s sinuous, flowing sensations, and as with anything expressed eloquently, it is worthy of pondering from that angle alone. But even after just a quick read, this poem is not too difficult to construe the deeper meaning: Freeman is using the physical traits of a river’s morphology as a metaphor for some of our better human traits, including perseverance, adaptability, and fortitude (for more on rivers and humanity, see http://pete-gemsandbeyond.blogspot.com/2016/03/ ).
If not for “Rivers Hardly Ever”, I may never have come to a fully satisfactory interpretation of Bob Dylan’s 1971 single, “Watching the River Flow”, one of the multitude of Dylan’s underrated, lesser-known songs, which I have enjoyed for some time, but had never grasped in a thoroughly gratifying manner. That changed early this week as I drove into work. I had only the day before picked up Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Vol. II at a local library, for the sole purpose of listening to this song (friends and family may recall that I’m not one for “Greatest Hits” compilations, but seeing as this was the only album I could find this ditty on, I had no other recourse). Not long after slipping the disk into the CD player, I got a nice little light bulb moment - the kind of moment I always hope for in relation to this blog series - as I listened to track 1, the song focus of this entry.
At that moment, I came to the realization that “Watching the River Flow” shared very similar metaphorical analogies to Freeman’s poem. As the work week progressed I went back and forth between poem and song, and with each cycle that proverbial light bulb illuminated a bit more. And so, much of the remainder of this entry I’ll be elucidating on this commonality in meaning by breaking down “Watching the River Flow” into digestible chunks. But first things first: Thanks, Mom!
Ok, before I dive into “Watching the River Flow” I need to take a slight meander (pun intended). Those of us graced to have children are never short of sound advice for them, but one bit of guidance that can be very difficult is in explaining the importance of not getting caught up in the power struggles of life. We do, as young adults, make this connection in a loose sort of way with our peers, which plays out around our senior year of high school as we eyeball promising but uncertain prospects for the future. Just take another glance at your dusty old yearbook. How many comments from fellow graduates advise us in one way or another to avoid “plasticity” (aka fakeness) by staying true to ourselves?
These are but stepping-stone tips to understanding the core effects of straying from who we really are, but it’s all still sound advice; I’d even go as far as to say its right near the top of the list really. And many of us as adolescents got this advice in a roundabout way from adults as well. But when you are young, it’s still be a bit of a leap to connect plasticity to all the vices that can crop up if we allow it to seep in, including that aforementioned vice of getting caught up in power struggles. That’s where the adult experience really needs to factor, in a way our young peers can’t yet envision. All that being said, I’ve been graced with parents who in some way knew how to get me to mostly avoid those pitfalls. I’d like to think my wife and I have found ways to relay the same wisdom to our children.
Thinking a bit more about power struggles though, there are likely a handful of reasons for a lack of direct advice, first and foremost being that we as parents may come to believe this to be too hard a concept to get across to our sons and daughters until they have truly lived it. Much of our advice to our children is offered up while they are living under our roofs. In our minds we may feel this reality is keeping them somewhat ‘sheltered from the storm’. But the fact of the matter is that they are already seeing power struggles all around them, even during this period in their young lives. And it’s all having an effect on them. The seeds are already being sown.
A second reason is that we want our kids to be ambitious. Teenagers often come across as ambivalent, even rebellious toward most anything authoritative and entrenched. And so, we are caught in a conundrum. To guide them to go out and seize their piece of the pie or to steer them away from the tangled web-weave of materialism? To empower or to humble? For many of us, it’s a never ending balance, not only in the ways in which we advise our children with these fundamental questions, but also in the ways in which we advise ourselves.
Avoiding plasticity and the related power struggles that come with it is a cornerstone of the rock ‘n’ roll message, inherited from folk music (Bob Dylan the key bridge by the way). It is the biggest reason why this music will always be considered by the over-the-top power-hungry types to be subversive. But I digress. It’s time to dig into “Watching the River Flow”, one of those rock ‘n’ roll cornerstone-message sorts of songs. I’m going to do this by breaking it down verse by verse, with commentary interspersed.
The song (see below for url link) starts out with Bob Dylan in a rural all night café in the wee hours. I imagine a truck stop. This out-of-the-gate setting and mood is already telling:
Song: “Watching the River Flow”
Album: Released as a single
Release Date: June, 1971
My office walls are adorned with a number of the masterly art-works of my daughter, as well as a handful of classic maps (being close to the vest in relation to my profession, I’d be remiss not to include a sampling of cartographic gems). Tucked among all of this is a relatively modest exhibit, a short poem by the late American poet James Dillet Freeman called “Rivers Hardly Ever” ( https://www.scrapbook.com/poems/doc/15695.html ). This framed verse was a gift from my Mom, who handed it to me at the tail end of a visit home several years back.
At first glance “Rivers Hardly Ever” comes across as a simple yet poignant take on earth’s sinuous, flowing sensations, and as with anything expressed eloquently, it is worthy of pondering from that angle alone. But even after just a quick read, this poem is not too difficult to construe the deeper meaning: Freeman is using the physical traits of a river’s morphology as a metaphor for some of our better human traits, including perseverance, adaptability, and fortitude (for more on rivers and humanity, see http://pete-gemsandbeyond.blogspot.com/2016/03/ ).
If not for “Rivers Hardly Ever”, I may never have come to a fully satisfactory interpretation of Bob Dylan’s 1971 single, “Watching the River Flow”, one of the multitude of Dylan’s underrated, lesser-known songs, which I have enjoyed for some time, but had never grasped in a thoroughly gratifying manner. That changed early this week as I drove into work. I had only the day before picked up Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Vol. II at a local library, for the sole purpose of listening to this song (friends and family may recall that I’m not one for “Greatest Hits” compilations, but seeing as this was the only album I could find this ditty on, I had no other recourse). Not long after slipping the disk into the CD player, I got a nice little light bulb moment - the kind of moment I always hope for in relation to this blog series - as I listened to track 1, the song focus of this entry.
At that moment, I came to the realization that “Watching the River Flow” shared very similar metaphorical analogies to Freeman’s poem. As the work week progressed I went back and forth between poem and song, and with each cycle that proverbial light bulb illuminated a bit more. And so, much of the remainder of this entry I’ll be elucidating on this commonality in meaning by breaking down “Watching the River Flow” into digestible chunks. But first things first: Thanks, Mom!
Ok, before I dive into “Watching the River Flow” I need to take a slight meander (pun intended). Those of us graced to have children are never short of sound advice for them, but one bit of guidance that can be very difficult is in explaining the importance of not getting caught up in the power struggles of life. We do, as young adults, make this connection in a loose sort of way with our peers, which plays out around our senior year of high school as we eyeball promising but uncertain prospects for the future. Just take another glance at your dusty old yearbook. How many comments from fellow graduates advise us in one way or another to avoid “plasticity” (aka fakeness) by staying true to ourselves?
These are but stepping-stone tips to understanding the core effects of straying from who we really are, but it’s all still sound advice; I’d even go as far as to say its right near the top of the list really. And many of us as adolescents got this advice in a roundabout way from adults as well. But when you are young, it’s still be a bit of a leap to connect plasticity to all the vices that can crop up if we allow it to seep in, including that aforementioned vice of getting caught up in power struggles. That’s where the adult experience really needs to factor, in a way our young peers can’t yet envision. All that being said, I’ve been graced with parents who in some way knew how to get me to mostly avoid those pitfalls. I’d like to think my wife and I have found ways to relay the same wisdom to our children.
Thinking a bit more about power struggles though, there are likely a handful of reasons for a lack of direct advice, first and foremost being that we as parents may come to believe this to be too hard a concept to get across to our sons and daughters until they have truly lived it. Much of our advice to our children is offered up while they are living under our roofs. In our minds we may feel this reality is keeping them somewhat ‘sheltered from the storm’. But the fact of the matter is that they are already seeing power struggles all around them, even during this period in their young lives. And it’s all having an effect on them. The seeds are already being sown.
A second reason is that we want our kids to be ambitious. Teenagers often come across as ambivalent, even rebellious toward most anything authoritative and entrenched. And so, we are caught in a conundrum. To guide them to go out and seize their piece of the pie or to steer them away from the tangled web-weave of materialism? To empower or to humble? For many of us, it’s a never ending balance, not only in the ways in which we advise our children with these fundamental questions, but also in the ways in which we advise ourselves.
Avoiding plasticity and the related power struggles that come with it is a cornerstone of the rock ‘n’ roll message, inherited from folk music (Bob Dylan the key bridge by the way). It is the biggest reason why this music will always be considered by the over-the-top power-hungry types to be subversive. But I digress. It’s time to dig into “Watching the River Flow”, one of those rock ‘n’ roll cornerstone-message sorts of songs. I’m going to do this by breaking it down verse by verse, with commentary interspersed.
The song (see below for url link) starts out with Bob Dylan in a rural all night café in the wee hours. I imagine a truck stop. This out-of-the-gate setting and mood is already telling:
What's the matter with me
I don't have much to say
Daylight sneakin' through the window
And I'm still in this all-night cafe
Walkin' to and fro beneath the moon
Out to where the trucks are rollin' slow
To sit down on this bank of sand
And watch the river flow
I don't have much to say
Daylight sneakin' through the window
And I'm still in this all-night cafe
Walkin' to and fro beneath the moon
Out to where the trucks are rollin' slow
To sit down on this bank of sand
And watch the river flow
Dylan is in search of inspiration and not finding it. The river remains..... a river. At this stage the song slows to a grinding
halt. But then Leon Russel’s boogie
piano kicks the rest of the instrumentation back in and we move on to the
second verse, where the mood in the lyrics begins to change:
Wish I was back in the city
Instead of this old bank of sand
With the sun beating down over the chimney tops
And the one I love so close at hand
If I had wings and I could fly
I know where I would go
But right now I'll just sit here so contentedly
And watch the river flow
Instead of this old bank of sand
With the sun beating down over the chimney tops
And the one I love so close at hand
If I had wings and I could fly
I know where I would go
But right now I'll just sit here so contentedly
And watch the river flow
I love how in the 2nd line above, Dylan adds the word
“old” in describing the bank of sand he is sitting on. He’s a bit angry at it, because nothings
coming to him. But later in this verse,
his mood is beginning to change. Note
the second-to-last line, the word “contentedly” is included to describe his
changing mood as he watches the river flow (in the second-to-last line in the
first verse this adverb is absent). I
believe what Dylan is insinuating here that inspiration is beginning to kick
in. Here’s where things get much deeper:
People disagreeing on all just about everything, yeah
Makes you stop and all wonder why
Why only yesterday I saw somebody on the street
Who just couldn't help but cry
Oh, this ol' river keeps on rollin', though
No matter what gets in the way and which way the wind does blow
And as long as it does I'll just sit here
And watch the river flow
Makes you stop and all wonder why
Why only yesterday I saw somebody on the street
Who just couldn't help but cry
Oh, this ol' river keeps on rollin', though
No matter what gets in the way and which way the wind does blow
And as long as it does I'll just sit here
And watch the river flow
I recall that when I first began to love this song, it was this
series of lines that did it for me. Have
you ever seen a stranger break down in a public place? I don’t mean in an obvious way, for all to
see, but a moment you just happened to catch yourself, maybe sitting on a bus,
plane or train and glancing across the aisle over at another passenger weeping
silently. Anyhow, it’s happened to me on
a few occasions. In these cases I left well enough alone, because I got the
sense that whatever emotions I saw were meant to be private. But these moments can have you thinking about
how life can catch up to people sometimes.
Bob Dylan channels these type of thoughts a bit, directing the listener
toward why the person he’s alluding to in this verse is crying, which he blames
on disharmony in the world, due to a seemingly endless dispute between factions
on what is right and what is wrong. This
one line is why I meandered for several paragraphs earlier to write about power
struggles.
However, the central point to “Watching the River Flow” is the anthropomorphism of the river, which really begins to get driven home here. As with “Hard Rain’s A Gonna Fall” (see Master Blueprints # 4) Bob Dylan dips us down near despair, but in the end pulls us out again with a positive closing message. In this case its’ by pointing to those great human characteristics inherent in all of us – but not always utilized - that are also referred to in Freeman’s poem: Perseverance, adaptability, and fortitude.
After a great instrumental bridge, the last verse kicks in:
However, the central point to “Watching the River Flow” is the anthropomorphism of the river, which really begins to get driven home here. As with “Hard Rain’s A Gonna Fall” (see Master Blueprints # 4) Bob Dylan dips us down near despair, but in the end pulls us out again with a positive closing message. In this case its’ by pointing to those great human characteristics inherent in all of us – but not always utilized - that are also referred to in Freeman’s poem: Perseverance, adaptability, and fortitude.
After a great instrumental bridge, the last verse kicks in:
People disagreeing everywhere you look
Makes you want to stop and read a book
Why only yesterday I saw somebody on the street
That was really shook
But this ol' river keeps on rollin', though
No matter what gets in the way and which way the wind does blow
And as long as it does I'll just sit here
And watch the river flow
Makes you want to stop and read a book
Why only yesterday I saw somebody on the street
That was really shook
But this ol' river keeps on rollin', though
No matter what gets in the way and which way the wind does blow
And as long as it does I'll just sit here
And watch the river flow
It’s a repeat on the talking points in the 3rd verse,
but that’s fine by me, seeing as this fourth verse reaffirms the core messages.
To get the most out of this song, I believe you need to hear the original studio version, but it’s impossible to find on YouTube (there are several live Dylan versions and a number of covers, but no original to be found). I did find it on a Japanese video-sharing website called Ninonico, but I had to sign up (it’s quick however, and free of charge): http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm10123061.
Bob Dylan and James Dillet Freeman each found ways to give praise to the steady-as-you-go peace makers of the world through the metaphor of a river. The notion of righteousness, ultimately besting immorality. We shall overcome indeed. As one other songwriter once put it, “Ol’ Man River, he just keeps on rolling. He just keeps on rolling along”.
- Pete
To get the most out of this song, I believe you need to hear the original studio version, but it’s impossible to find on YouTube (there are several live Dylan versions and a number of covers, but no original to be found). I did find it on a Japanese video-sharing website called Ninonico, but I had to sign up (it’s quick however, and free of charge): http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm10123061.
Bob Dylan and James Dillet Freeman each found ways to give praise to the steady-as-you-go peace makers of the world through the metaphor of a river. The notion of righteousness, ultimately besting immorality. We shall overcome indeed. As one other songwriter once put it, “Ol’ Man River, he just keeps on rolling. He just keeps on rolling along”.
- Pete
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)