Essensen av Bob Dylan

Jada, han har kommet opp med det ene legendariske albumet etter det andre. Gjennom fire tiår, faktisk. Han befinner seg der oppe – sammen med The Beatles, Rolling Stones, U2 og R.E.M. Han skremte vettet av den amerikanske vise-bevegelsen (folk, på engelsk) da han fant det mer funksjonelt å plugge gitaren i en forsterker. Han har lagd ”The Times They Are-a-Changing”. Han har lagd ”Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” – som yngre generasjoner bare kjenner gjennom den destruerte Guns ’n Roses-utgaven. Han er mannen bak ”Masters Of War”. Han har til og med ansvar for ”Blowin’ In The Wind”, den viktigste pasifistsangen som er skrevet.

Av Arild Rønsen // 14.10.03

Det kan du ganske sikkert ikke. Og hans beste album handler utelukkende om kjærlighet – mest om tapt kjærlighet. Eller helst: Om å lengte. Om å være på jakt etter den kjærligheten som synes uoppnåelig.

I forkant av konserten i Oslo i oktober, det Herrens år 2003, har jeg lytta meg gjennom alle Dylans album. Det har vært en nytelse, en berikelse for sinnet. Jeg har mangt og meget jeg gjerne skulle sagt om alle sammen - til og med de som kom i løpet av hans utskjelte ”Saved”-periode – men akkurat nå får de ligge i fred. Alle, unntatt ett.

Bob Dylans beste album - så langt i karrieren; la oss håpe den kommer til å vare et par tiår til - heter ”Time Out Of Mind”.

Det kom i 1997, og er dyptpløyende som en trist roman. Faen heller; tekstene kunne gjerne vært gitt ut selvstendig, som en novellesamling. Forfatteren må ha vært dypt ulykkelig. En dypt ulykkelig mann. Midt i femtiåra.

Bli med PULS, på en vandring gjennom Robert Zimmermanns masterpiece. Tekstene er ikke trykt i coveret – og det er vel ikke så fryktelig mange av dere som har tatt jobben med å feste dem til papir...?

Her har du dem, med våre kommentarer. God tur. Veikartet bærer tittelen ”Time Out Of Mind”, og er å få kjøpt hos enhver musikkhandler med respekt for seg sjøl.

LOVE SICK

I’m walking
Through streets that are dead
Walking
Walking with you in my head

My feet are so tired
My brain is so wired
And the clouds are weeping

Did I
Hear someone tell a lie
Did I
Hear someone’s distant cry

I spoke like a child
You destroyed me with a smile
While I was sleeping

I’m sick of love
That I’m in the thick of it
This kind of love
I’m so sick of it

I see
I see lovers in the meadow
I see
I see silhouettes in the window

I watch them ‘til they’re gone
And they leave me hanging
To a shadow

I’m sick of love
I hear the clock tick
This kind of love
I’m lovesick

Sometimes
The silence can be like thunder
Sometimes
I wanna take to the road of plunder

Could you ever be true?
I think of you and I wonder

I’m sick of love
I wish I’d never met you
I’m sick of love
I’m tryin’ to forget you

Just don’t know what to do
I’d give anything to be with you

*
Kjærlighetssorg? Du og jeg får heldigvis ikke oppleve mer pinefull kjærlighetssorg. Musikken minner om tonefølget han valgte til ”Serve Somebody”, mest på grunn av det elektriske pianoet. Det er likevel spissere, antageligvis først og fremst som følge av den elektriske gitaren som ganske sikkert trakteres av Daniel Lanois – en herre hvis fremste oppgave her i livet har blitt å produsere pop-musikk. Så lekkert, så lekkert. Og så spartansk, så spartansk.

Til sammen gjør herrskapet Dylan/Lanois bruk av ikke mindre enn 11 musikere på denne plata, men ingen av dem får lov til å bråke. Her går alt i moll, og ingen får briljere. Ingenting av det som spilles på ”Time Out Of Mind” krever teknisk ferdighet ut over det som fordres av høyst ordinære musikanter, som ferdes på en hvilken som helst Per På Hjørnet. (Et lite forbehold for trommegeniet Brian Blade, men dog.)

Men feelinga. Gode Gud.

DIRT ROAD BLUES

Gonna walk down that dirt road
‘Til someone will let me ride
Gonna walk that dirt road
‘Til someone will let me ride
If I can’t find my baby
I’m gonna run away and hide

Well, I been pacing ‘round the room
Hoping maybe she come back
Pacing ‘round the room
Hoping maybe she come back
Well, I been praying for salvation
Laying ‘round in a one-room country shack

Gonna walk down that dirt road
Until my eyes begin to bleed
Gonna walk down that dirt road
Until my eyes begin to bleed
‘Til there’s nothing left to see
‘Til the chains have been shattered
And I been freed

But I been looking at my shadow
I been watching the clouds up above
Looking at my shadow
Watching the clouds up above
Rolling through the rain and hail
Looking for the sunny side of love

Gonna walk down that dirt road
‘Til everything becomes the same
Gonna walk down that dirt road
‘Til everything becomes the same
I keep on walking
‘Til I hear her holler out my name

*
En “ny” låt? Vel – kanskje. Men egentlig burde det kanskje stått (”traditional”) i parentes. Dette er nemlig blues i sin mest nedstrippa form. Om noen spurte ham, tipper jeg Dylan kunne lage en slik sang sånn omtrendtlig ti ganger om dagen. Men lyrikken kunne han neppe kommet opp med, ikke uten å være i den stemninga som førte fram til ”Time Out Of Mind”. Rastløshet, tror jeg det heter.

STANDING IN THE DOORWAY

I’m walking through the summer nights
The jukebox playing low
Yesterday everything was goin’ too fast
Today it’s movin’ too slow

I got no place left to turn
I got nothin’ left to burn

Don’t know if I saw you
If I would kiss you or kill you
It probably wouldn’t matter to you anyhow
You left med standing in the doorway cryin’
I got nothin’ to go back to now

The light in this place is so bad
Makin’ me sick in the head
All the laughter is just makin’ me sad
The stars have turned cherry red

I’m strummin’ on my gay guitar
Smokin’ a cheap cigar

The ghost of our old love has not gone away
Don’t look it like it will anytime soon
You left me standin’ in the doorway cryin’
Under the midnight moon

Maybe they’ll get me and maybe they won’t
But not tonight and it won’t be here
There are things I could say, but I don’t
I know the mercy of God must be near

I been ridin’ a midnight train
Got ice water in my veins

I would be crazy if I took you back
It would go up against every rule
You left me standin’ in the doorway cryin’
Sufferin’ like a fool

When the last rays of daylight go down
Buddy you’re old no more
I can hear the church bells ringin’ in the yard
I wonder who they’re ringin’ for

I know I can’t win
But me heart just won’t give in

Last night I danced with a stranger
But she just reminded me you were the one
You left me standin’ in the doorway cryin’
In the dark land of the sun

I eat when I’m hungry
I drink when I’m dry
And live my life on the square
And even if the flesh falls off of my face
I know someone will be there to care

It always means so much
Even the softest touch

I see nothing to be gained by any explanation
There’s no words that need to be said
You left me standin’ in the doorway cryin’
Blues wrapped around my head

*
Vi snakker om en klassisk låt, og jeg har en sterk følelse av at Mr. Daniel Lanois har hatt en finger med i spillet, minst én – også i komposisjonen. Det må være han som spiller ”lead guitar”. Jeg setter det i anførsel, fordi dette jo strengt tatt er det motsatte av å spille solo-gitar, i den forstand eksempelvis Ron Wood i Rolling Stones gjør det. Her handler det om å følge melodien, nærmest slavisk. Og hvilken melodi?! Elvis sang den – da han udødeliggjorde ”Can’t Help Falling In Love”.

Om det er frekt gjort? Mye mer enn det. Men Bob Dylan har lov.

MILLION MILES

You took a part of me that I really miss
I keep asking myself how long it can go on like this
You told yourself a lie
That’s alright mama I told myself one too
I try to get closer but I’m still a million miles from you

You took the silver, you took the gold
You left me standing out in the cold
People asked about you, I didn’t tell them everyting I knew
Well I try go get closer but I’m still a million miles from you

I’m driftin’ in and out of dreamless sleep
Somehow my memory’s in a ditch so deep
Did so many things I never did intend to do
And I try to get closer but I’m still a million miles from you

I need your love so bad, turn your lamp down low
I need every bit of it for the places that I go
Sometimes I wonder, tell us just what it’s all coming to
Well I try to get closer but I’m still a million miles from you

Well I don’t dare close my eyes and I don’t dare wink
Maybe in the next life I’ll be able to hear myself think
Feel like talking to somebody but I jsut don’t know who
Well I try go get closer but I’m still a million miles from you

Yes the last thing you said before you hit the street
Gonna find me a janitor to sweep me off my feet
I said that’s alright mama, you, you do what you gotta do
Well I try to get closer but I’m still a million miles from you

Rock me pretty baby rock me all at once, rock me for a little while
Rock me for a couple of months
And I’ll rock you too
I try to get closer but I’m still a million miles from you

Well there’s voices in the night trying to be heard
I’m sittin’ here listenin’ to every mind-pollutin’ word
I know plenty of people put me up for a day or two
Yes I try to get closer but I’m still a million miles from you

*
Her kommer én til; broren til “Dirt Road Blues”. Tradisjonell. Ny tekst, urgammal musikk – i formen, vel å merke. De svarte slavene sang denne musikken på 1800-tallet, men de hadde ikke muligheten til å spekulere i denne typen utforming. Her skrangles det avgårde på orgel og gitar og trommer og bass; den musikklæreren som hadde tilgang til et instrument som måler hvor stramt man greier å holde takta – en metronom – ville ganske øyeblikkelig sagt at nå gutter, nå tar vi det forfra. Og så prøver vi å konsentrere oss, ikke sant?

Men mye viktigere enn som så. Om man er forelska – hvor langt unna er det mulig å komme?

TRYIN’ TO GET TO HEAVEN

The air is gettin’ hotter, there’s a rumblin’ in the skies
I’ve been wadin’ through the high muddy waters
But the heat riseth my eyes
Everyday your memory goes dimmer
It doesn’t haunt me like it did before
I’ve been walkin’ through the middle of nowhere
Tryin’ to get to heaven before they close the door

When I was in Missouri, they would not let me be
I had to leave there in a hurry, I only saw what they let me see
You broke a heart that loved you
Now you can seal up the book and not write anymore
I’ve been walkin’ that lonesome valley
Tryin’ to get to heaven before they close the door

People on the platforms, waitin’ for the trains
I can hear their hearts a-beatin’, like pendulum swingin’ on chains
When you think that you’ve lost everything
You find out you can always lose a little more
I’m just going down the road feelin’ bad
Tryin’ to get to heaven before they close the door

I’m goin’ down the river, down to New Orleans
They tell me everything is gonna be allright
But I don’t know what alright even means
I was ridin’ in a buggy with Miss Mary Jane
Miss Mary Jane got a house in Baltimore
I’ve been all around the world boys
I’m tryin’ to get to heaven before they close the door

Gotta sleep down in the parlor, and relive my dreams
I close my eyes and I wonder, if everything is as hollow as it seems
Some trains don’t pull no gamblers
No midlife ramblers like they did before
I’ve been to Sugartown, I shook the sugar down
Now I’m tryin’ to get to heaven before they close the door

*
En helt annen type sang. Her har Dylan igjen gått i den moderne låtskriverbåsen, som i “Standing In The Doorway”. Ingen kompliserte greier, stadig like få akkorder. Men likevel nytt, og veldig forseggjort - som låtskriving betrakta.

Og nok en gang; produksjonen. Dette er så gjennomtenkt. Dylan spiller munnspill – ja, han framfører sågar noe som, to ganger, kan kalles en munnspill-solo. Hør på ham første gang, mellom vers tre og fire, forsøk å høre hvor mange toner han bruker. To. Sier og skriver: To.

Her ligger dette albumets genialitet. Det er så enkelt lagd, så nedstrippa - men likevel så kultivert. Ikke en gang kompet til Bob Marley greide å gjøre dette mer sparsommelig. ”Hvordan vil du ha det?”, tenker jeg at Daniel Lanois har spurt da de ankom studio. ”Enkelt”, tror jeg Dylan må ha svart. ”Enkelt, men stilig. Kultivert.”

‘TILL I FELL IN LOVE WIH YOU

Well my nerves are exploding
And my body is tense
I feel like the whole world
Got me pinned up against the fence
I been hit too hard
Seen to much
Nothing can heal me now
But your touch
I just don’t know what I’m gonna do
I was alright ‘til I fell in love with you

Well my house is on fire
Burnin’ to the sky
Well I thought it would rain
But the clouds passed by
I feel like I’m comin’
To the end of my way
But I know God is my shield
And he won’t lead me astray
Still I don’t know what I’m gonna do
I was alright ‘til I fell in love with you

Boys in the street
Beginnin’ to play
Girls like birds
Flyin’ away
When I’m gone
You will remember my name
I’m gonna win my way
To wealth and fame
Yet I just don’t know what I’m gonna do
I was alright ‘til I fell inn love with you

Well junk’s pilin’ up
Takin’ up space
My eyes feel
Like they’re fallin’ off my face
Sweat fallin’ down
Im startin’ at the floor
I’m thinkin’ about that girl
Who won’t be back no more
I just don’t know what to do
I was alright ‘til I fell in love with you

Well I’m tired of talkin’
I’m tired of tryin’ to explain
My attempts to please you
They were all in vain
Tomorrow night
Before the sun goes down
If I’m still among the livin’
I’ll be Dixie bound
Still I just dont know what I’m gonna do
I was feelin’ alright ‘til I fell in love with you

*
Så er vi over i den tradisjonelle bluesen igjen. Poenget er at Dylan på mystisk vis får det til å låte som om det ikke er tradisjonell blues. Jeg veit ikke helt hvorfor. Gi denne sangen i henda på eksempelvis Buddy Guy, og ingen ville hørt på den – utenom de som er forplikta til det. Ikke misforstå meg; Buddy Guy og en Knut Reiersrud i det klassiske hjørnet ville ganske sikkert fått dette til å låte fint. Men de hadde ikke fått det til å låte sånn. Og ingen andre enn Bob Dylan ville kunnet skrive akkurat denne teksten. Her er vi veldig nær Døden. Og det kommer mer.

NOT DARK YET

Shadows are falling and I’ve been here all day
It’s too hot to sleep and time is runnin’ away
Feel like my soul has turned into steel
I’ve still got the scares that the sun didn’t heal
There’s not even room enough to be anywhere
It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there

Well my sense of humanity is going down the drain
Behind every beautiful thing, there’s been some kind of pain
She wrote me a letter and she wrote it so kind
She put down in writin’ what was in her mind
I just don’t see why I should even care
It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there

Well I’ve been to London and I’ve been to gay Paris
I followed the river and I got to the sea
I’ve been down on the bottom of a whirlpool of lies
I ain’t lookin’ for nothin’ in anyone’s eyes
Sometimes my burden is more than I can bear
It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there

I was born here and I’ll die here, against my will
I know it looks like I’m movin’, but I’m standin’ still
Every nerve in my body is so naked and numb
I can’t even remember what it was I came her to get away from
Don’t even hear the murmur of a prayer
It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there

*
Den flotteste sangen Bob Dylan har lagd? Sånn er det i hvert fall, i mine øyne. Her står han med barberbladet i ene hånda, og det du veit litt ovenfor den andre hånda. Og kan du være snill å kikke en gang til på akkurat denne linja?

”I can’t even remember what it was I came her to get away from.”
Kan Svenska Akademin, som deler ut Nobelprisen i litteratur, snart reagere?

COLD IRONS BOUND

I’m beginning to hear voices and there’s no one around
Now I’m all used up and the fields have turned brown
I went to church on Sunday and she passed by
And my love for her is taking such a long time to die
God I’m waist deep, waist deep in the mist
It’s almost like, almost like I don’t exist
I’m 20 miles out of town, Cold Irons bound

There’s a wall of pride high and wide
Can’t see over to the other side
It’s such a sad thing to see beauty decay
It’s sadder still to feel your heart turn away
One look at you and I’m out of control
Like the universe has swallowed me whole
I’m 20 miles out of town and Cold Irons bound

There’s too many people, too many to recall
I thought some of them were friends of mine
I was rong about ‘em all
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 just hasn’t proved true
I’m 20 miles out of town, Cold Irons bound
20 miles out of town, Cold Irons bound

Now the winds in Chicago have turned me to shreds
The RT has always had too many heads
Some things last longer than you think they will
Som kind of things you can never kill
It’s you and you only I’m thinkin’ about
But you can’t see in, and it’s hard looking out
I’m 20 miles out of town, Cold Irons bound

Well the fat’s in the fire, and the water’s in the tank
And the whiskey’s in the jar, and the money’s in the bank
I tried to love and protect you because I cared
I’m gonna remember forever the joy we’ve shared
But looking at you and I’m on my bended knee
You have no idea what you do to me
I’m 20 miles out of town, Cold Irons bound
20 miles out of town, Cold Irons bound

*
I sin essens, det mest rocka sporet på plata. Fortsatt bare tre akkorder, men tre mystiske sådanne - uten at du legger merke til det. Det låter rett og slett bare tøft. Det er sånn jeg drømmer om at Rolling Stones låter, den dagen Mick Jagger – for den kommer vel...? – ikke lenger orke å løpe en maraton under hver konsert.

MAKE YOU FEEL MY LOVE

When the rain is blowing in your face
And the whole world is on your case
I could offer you a warm embrace
To make you feel my love

When evening shadows and the stars appear
And there is no one there to dry your tears
I could hold you for a million years
To make you feel my love

I know you haven’t made your mind up yet
But I would never do you wrong
I’ve known it from the moment that we met
No doubt in my mind where you belong

I’d go hungry, I’d go black and blue
I’d go crawling down the avenue
Oh there’s nothing that I wouldn’t do
To make you feel my love

The storms are raging on the rolling sea
And on the highway of regret
The winds of change are blowing wild and free
You ain’t seen nothing like me yet

I could make you happy, make your dreams come true
Nothing that I wouldn’t do
Go to the ends of the earth for you
To make you feel my love

*
Bob Dylan i fotspora til Elton John og Billy Joel? På sett og vis. Her fins til og med harmonier Paul McCartney og Stevie Wonder ville stussa over den gang de lagde ”Ebony And Ivory”. Likevel låter det umiskjennelig Dylan. Basic Dylan.

CAN’T WAIT

I can’t wait
Wait for you to change my mind
It’s late
I’m tryin’ to walk the line
Well it’s way past midnight
And there’s some people all around
Some on their way up
Some on their way down
The air burns and I’m tryin’ to think straight
And I don’t know how much longer I can wait

I’m your man
I’ve tried to recover the sweet love that we knew
You understand
That my heart can’t go on beating without you
Well your loveliness has wounded me
I’m reeling from the blow
I wish I knew what it was that keeps me loving you so
I’m breathin’ hard standin’ at the gate
And I don’t know how much longer I can wait

Skies are gray
I’m lookin’ for anything that will bring a happy glow
Night or day
It doesn’t matter where I go anymore I just go
If I ever saw you comin’ I don’t know what I might do
I’d like to think I could control myself
But it isn’t true
That’s how it is
When things disintegrate
And I don’t know how much longer I can wait

I’m doomed to love you
I been rollin’ through stormy weather
I’m thinkin’ of you
And all the places we could roam together
It’s mighty funny
The end of time has just begun
Oh honey, after all these years you’re still the one
Well I’m storllin’ through the lonely graveyeard of my mind
I left my life with you
Somewhere back there along the line
I thought somehow that I would be spared this day
I don’t know how much longer I can wait

*
Nå er skrangleorkesteret for alvor på plass. Det står i første vers; ”it’s late”, og – uten å låte utilsikta billig – må det være lov å tro at dette opptaket er gjort relativt seint på natta. Dette bandet vil jeg ha i privat selskap, aller helst den dagen jeg er overmåte fornøyd med privatlivet. Doomed to love you. Verdens ende er ikke en gang i nærheten.

HIGHLANDS

Well my heart’s in The Highlands, gentle and fair
Honeysuckle bloomin’ in the wildwood air
Bluebells blazing where the Aberdeen waters flow
Well my heart’s in The Highlands
I’m gonna go there when I feel good enough to go

Windows were shaking all night in my dreams
Everything was exactly the way that it seems
Woke up this mornin’ and I looked at the same old page
Same old rat race, life in the same old cage

I don’t want nothin’ from anyone, ain’t that much to take
Wouldn’t know the difference between a real blonde and a fake
Feel like a prisoner in a world of mystery
I wish someone’d come and push back the clock for me

Well my heart’s in The Highlands wherever I roam
That’s where I’ll be when I get called home
The wind it whispers to the buckeye trees of rhyme
Well my heart’s in The Highlands
I can only get there one step at a time

I’m listenin’ to Neil Young, I gotta turn up the sound
Someone’s always yellin’ “Turn it down”
Feel like I’m driftin’, driftin’ from scene to scene
I’m wonderin’ what in the devil could it all possibly mean

Insanity is smashin’ up against my soul
You could say I was on anything but a roll
If I had a conscience, well I just might blow my top
What would I do with it anyway, maybe take it to the pawn shop

My heart’s in The Highlands at the break of dawn
By the beautiful lake on the Black Swan
Big white clouds like chariots that swing down low
Well my heart’s in The Highlands only place left to go

I’m in Boston town in some restaurant
I got no idea what I want
Or maybe I do but I’m just really not sure
Waitress comes over, noboby in the place but me and her

Well it must be a holiday, there’s noboby around
She studies me closely as I sit down
She got a pretty face and long white shiny legs
I said “Tell me what I want”
She say “You probably wnat hard boiled eggs”

I said “That’s right, bring me some”
She says “We ain’t got any, you picked the wrong time to come”
Then she says “I know you’re an artist, draw a picture of me”
I said “I would if I could but
I don’t do sketches from memory”

Well she’s near she says “I’m right in front of you or haven’t you looked”
I say “All right I know but I dont have my drawin’ book”
She gives me a napkin, she say “You can do it on that”
I say “Yes I could but I don’t know where my pencil is at”

She pulls one out from behind her ear
She says “Alright now go ahead draw me I’m stayin’ right here”
I make a few lines and I show it for her to see
Well she takes the napkin and throws it back and says
“That don’t look a thing like me”

I said “Oh kind miss, it most certainly does”
She say “You must be joking”, I said “I wish I was”
She says “You don’t read women authors do ya?”
At least that’s what I think I hear her say
Well I say “How would you know, and what would it matter anyway?”

Well she says “Ya just don’t seem like ya do”, I said “You’re way wrong”
She says “Which ones have you read then?”, I say “I’ve read Erica Jong”
She goes away for a minute, and I slide out, out of my chair
I step outside back to the busy street, but nobody’s goin’ anywhere

Well my heart’s in The Highlands with the horses and hounds
Way up in the border country far from the towns
With the twang of the arrow and the snap of the bow
My heart’s in The Highlands, can’t see any other way to go

Every day is the same thing, out the door
Feel further away than ever before
Some things in life it just gets too late to learn
Well I’m lost somewhere, I must have made a few bad turns

I see people in the park, forgettin’ their troubles and woes
They’re drinkin’ and dancin’, wearin’ bright colored clothes
All the young men with the young women lookin’ so good
Well I’d trade places with any of ‘em, in a minute if I could

I’m crossin’ the street to get away from a mangy dog
Talkin’ to myself in a monologue
I think what I need might be a full length leather coat
Somebody just asked me if I’m registered to vote

The sun is beginnin’ to shine on me
But it’s not like the sun that used to be
The party’s over and there’s less and less to say
I got new eyes, everything looks far away

Well my heart’s in The Highlands at the break of day
Over the hills and far away
There’s a way to get there, and I’ll figure it out somehow
Well I’m already there in my mind an that’s good enough for now

*
Du som har hørt ”Brownsville Girl” trenger neppe flere stikkord, og utover det er det vel ikke stort mer å si. Jeg oppdaga denne sangen for alvor da jeg var i Statene for å se U2. En Florida-bar hadde jukebox, og jeg hadde lite penger. Hvilken lykke – å finne en låt som skapt for anledninga:

2 dollar - for 3 x 16 og ½ minutt Dylan!