December 11 - Blind Willie McTell

Bob Dylan just won the Nobel prize in literature, and his song Blind Willie McTell was an outtake from Infidels from 1983, which was produced by Mark Knopfler from Dire Straits. Now, I am not one of Dylan's superfans, but I eventually arrived at a place where I even like his singing on some of his music. I used to say that he was one of the world's greatest songwriters, but that he should leave the singing to others.

Now, Blind Willie McTell was a song I heard about long before I heard it. It was finally released in 1991 on Bootleg Series Vol 1-3, the first in a long series of releases with outtakes and live recordings. In my days at Radio Ung, I had at least two significant Dylan fans in Svein Ola and Leif Roger, and I believe they were the ones who talked about Blind Willie McTell with reverence. When it finally was released, I believe Leif Roger played it for me, and while I did appreciate it, I didn't quite see the greatness. However, that is now rectified, and I truly love this brilliant song - and I hope you will like it too!

The question today is as follows: Bob Dylan had a backing band that also performed on their own. One of Dylan's songs ended up being first recorded by this band as the last track on their debut album. I want the name of the band, the album, the song, the year, and I want to know what the title of their final concert was.


Bob Dylan & Mark Knofler- Blind Willie McTell (Acoustic version) from Abhilash Baruah on Vimeo.

October 13 (Nobel Prize in Literature Edition) - Dignity

So it did happen this year. Robert Allen Zimmerman, better known as Bob Dylan (a surname he took after the poet Dylan Thomas) earned the Nobel Prize in Literature. I am very thrilled about that, not just because I like Bob Dylan's lyrics, but because it is an official recognition of lyrics in general and rock lyrics in particular as a literary genre. I have waited for this for about 25 years.

When I was a senior in high school, we all had to write a term paper in Norwegian (language arts) related to some sort of literature. I remember being very excited about what I wanted to write about, and when my teacher gave me the go ahead, I attacked the project with fervor. My term paper was called Rocketekster - Mer enn meningsløse fraser?, which translates into Rock Lyrics - More Than Meaningless Phrases?. I remember sweating over it, tracing the evolution of rock lyrics from the beginning to where they were in 1991. I used English lyrics, showing how Norwegian lyricists had followed the English tradition. My analyses were not sophisticated, but I am immensely proud of what I did then - and I am very happy for the recognition of this literary genre today. And while I don't think I used much of Bob Dylan's work in my term paper, but he was so clearly there even if it was in spirit. I remember writing about The Beatles, whose change in lyrics was greatly inspired by Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen, whose storytelling also can be traced back to Dylan, but I don't remember if I included Dylan himself (although it would be dereliction of duty to the genre if he wasn't included).

But let's celebrate Dylan's prize. I believe it is well deserved, and I think that the song I picked will demonstrate that. I included the lyrics below the video, just so you can read them for yourself, because they do read as poetry. Here is to Bob Dylan and his Dignity.

Dignity

Written by: Bob Dylan

Fat man lookin’ in a blade of steel
Thin man lookin’ at his last meal
Hollow man lookin’ in a cottonfield
For dignity

Wise man lookin’ in a blade of grass
Young man lookin’ in the shadows that pass
Poor man lookin’ through painted glass
For dignity

Somebody got murdered on New Year’s Eve
Somebody said dignity was the first to leave
I went into the city, went into the town
Went into the land of the midnight sun

Searchin’ high, searchin’ low
Searchin’ everywhere I know
Askin’ the cops wherever I go
Have you seen dignity?

Blind man breakin’ out of a trance
Puts both his hands in the pockets of chance
Hopin’ to find one circumstance
Of dignity

I went to the wedding of Mary Lou
She said, “I don’t want nobody see me talkin’ to you”
Said she could get killed if she told me what she knew
About dignity

I went down where the vultures feed
I would’ve gone deeper, but there wasn’t any need
Heard the tongues of angels and the tongues of men
Wasn’t any difference to me

Chilly wind sharp as a razor blade
House on fire, debts unpaid
Gonna stand at the window, gonna ask the maid
Have you seen dignity?

Drinkin’ man listens to the voice he hears
In a crowded room full of covered-up mirrors
Lookin’ into the lost forgotten years
For dignity


Met Prince Phillip at the home of the blues
Said he’d give me information if his name wasn’t used
He wanted money up front, said he was abused
By dignity

Footprints runnin’ ’cross the silver sand
Steps goin’ down into tattoo land
I met the sons of darkness and the sons of light
In the bordertowns of despair

Got no place to fade, got no coat
I’m on the rollin’ river in a jerkin’ boat
Tryin’ to read a note somebody wrote
About dignity

Sick man lookin’ for the doctor’s cure
Lookin’ at his hands for the lines that were
And into every masterpiece of literature
For dignity

Englishman stranded in the blackheart wind
Combin’ his hair back, his future looks thin
Bites the bullet and he looks within
For dignity

Someone showed me a picture and I just laughed
Dignity never been photographed
I went into the red, went into the black
Into the valley of dry bone dreams

So many roads, so much at stake
So many dead ends, I’m at the edge of the lake
Sometimes I wonder what it’s gonna take
To find dignity

Copyright © 1991 by Special Rider Music