I am utterly convinced of this. I don't care if he is sixty-nine years old, wrinkly and dying of old man disease. I don't care. I will always remember the Dylan of the '60s, young and skinny and adorable in his dark sunglasses. That is the Dylan I will marry in my mind.
Anyway.
I saw Dylan in concert on the 29th of August. I'd already seen him twice before (while I was unknowingly ill with swine flu--sorry, other concert goers), but its still an amazing, unique experience every time. People say that Bob Dylan is awful live, particularly because his voice is croakier than ever and he changes the arrangements of his songs so they sound completely different from the recordings. To these people I say: IT'S EFFING BOB DYLAN. QUITE COMPLAINING! This is the same man who was accused of being "JUDAS!" for turning electric; this is also the same man who reacted to this accusation by turning to his band and yelling "Play it fucking loud!" Bob Dylan is wonderful because he is sassy, because he is a brilliant poet, because he plays harmonica, and because the same people who felt so betrayed by his electric guitar still showed up at his concerts; even those who "loathe" him can't stay away from him, and it's because he's irresistible, and he doesn't give a shit.
While at this concert, I was struck by the brilliance of Dylan's lyrics. I've always known he was an amazing poet, but being at a Dylan concert, in a Dylan atmosphere, allowed the essence of the words to really hit me. This is stuff I couldn't dream of writing; and, out of Bob Dylan's mouth, it dribbles like vomit.
In tribute to Bob Dylan and my disgusting simile, I decided to extract some lines from various Dylan songs, arrange them and patch them back together into a poem-like quilt (A quilt-like poem?) The songs I used lines from appear at the end of this post, in order of line appearance. I hope you enjoy!
Visions of Tangled, Leopard Skin Memphis Blues
I'm going on the run,
I'm going to Acapulco
Where flowers on the hillside bloom crazy
beneath the Panamanian moon.
My love, she laughs like the flowers.
She's delicate like the mirror,
and can take the dark out of the nighttime and
paint the daytime black.
I could stay with her forever, and never realize the time.
She opened up a book of poems, and handed them to me.
and everyone of those words rang true,
and glowed like a blue river,
running slow and lazy through my soul.
She slipped out of the side door,
(she forgot to close the garage door)
looking like a queen without a crown.
Goodbye is too good a word,
So I just said 'fare thee well.'
Now people just get uglier,
and I have no sense of time.
It's alright, its life and life only,
and I'll feast on her eyes,
but I'll dream about the door.
"Goin' to Acapulco"
"You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go"
"Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again"
"Love Minus Zero/No Limit"
"Visions of Johanna"
"She Belongs to Me"
"Tangled Up in Blue"
"Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts"
"Leopard Skin Pill Box Hat"
"Don't Think Twice, It's Alright"
"It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)"
"I'm Not There"
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