Genesis and Production
Violence and repression in the world prompt the narrator to cry for vengeance against politicians, the military, those who have lost all moral sense, and any other so-called “bastard.” In “Pay in Blood,” there are frontal attacks against the arms merchants of “Masters of War” and the allusive poetry of “Ballad of a Thin Man.” One can also see a metaphor for the passion of Christ, who died on the cross to save humankind. The line in the chorus “I pay in blood, but not my own” exemplifies the ultimate sacrifice.
“Pay in Blood” is a rock song with funky accents. The guitar riff, bass, and drumming are curiously reminiscent of the Stones. There is a guitar played with a wah-wah pedal, which, combined with George G. Receli’s drumming, confers on the song an original tone among the songwriter’s works. Dylan liked to explore new musical territory. His interpretation is, like the title of his song, bloody and vicious.
FOR DYLANOLOGISTS
“I came to bury, not to praise” is inspired by a line from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, when Mark Antony says, “I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.”
Scarlet Town
Bob Dylan / 7:17
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar; Charlie Sexton: guitar; Stu Kimball: guitar; David Hidalgo: violin; Donnie Herron: banjo, mandolin (?); Tony Garnier: upright bass; George G. Receli: drums, shaker / Recording Studio: Groove Masters, Santa Monica, California: January–March 2012 / Producer: Jack Frost (Bob Dylan) / Sound Engineer: Scott Litt
Genesis and Production
“Scarlet Town” was inspired by “Barbara Allen,” a seventeenth-century English or Scottish traditional ballad brought by immigrants to the New World. A recording of “Barbara Allen” can be found on the album Live at the Gaslight 1962, a collection of early Dylan performances at the Gaslight Cafe in New York City. “Scarlet Town” has other allusions as well, including echoes of the children’s nursery rhyme “Little Boy Blue,” the country hit “I’m Walking the Floor Over You” by Ernest Tubb, and even a reference to Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe with the line in the first verse, “Uncle Tom still workin’ for Uncle Bill.” But beyond these references, the picture drawn is pure Dylan. He clearly describes a damned city, a new alley of desolation with “beggars crouching at the gate,” where “evil and the good [are] livin’ side by side.”
The banjo part by Donnie Herron and David Hidalgo’s violin confer a country style on the song. Hidalgo reported that recording sessions for this album were different from those for previous records, and that he was amazed by Dylan’s creative energy. Dylan’s nostalgic tone gives a hypnotic force to the song and makes it one of the triumphs of the album. Note the excellent guitar solo by Charlie Sexton (4:09).
Early Roman Kings
Bob Dylan / 5:14
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, organ; Charlie Sexton: guitar; Stu Kimball: guitar; David Hidalgo: accordion; Donnie Herron: steel guitar (?); Tony Garnier: upright bass; George G. Receli: drums, maracas / Recording Studio: Groove Masters, Santa Monica, California: January–March 2012 / Producer: Jack Frost (Bob Dylan) / Sound Engineer: Scott Litt
Genesis and Production
At first glance, the reference to “early Roman kings” could refer to ancient Rome (before the Republic). In this context, the “Roman kings” was a nickname given to a gang in the Bronx, New York, during the 1960s and 1970s. Like other gangs, they piqued the curiosity of some artists.
From a musical standpoint, “Early Roman Kings” is a blues classic in the style of “Mannish Boy” by Muddy Waters or even “Hoochie Coochie Man” by Willie Dixon. The difference, however, between “Early Roman Kings” and these two Chicago blues standards is the accordion, which here replaces the harmonica. The sound is reminiscent of the album Together Through Life, on which David Hidalgo was omnipresent. Although well made, “Early Roman Kings” lacks aggressiveness. The arrangements are too smooth. The whole piece “floats” a little despite the maracas (Receli?); it’s very “Bo Diddley” in style. Dylan’s vocal is timid. A wilder intonation, as on some songs of Christmas in the Heart in 2009, might have been better.
FOR DYLANOLOGISTS
In the last verse, Dylan quotes “Ding Dong Daddy,” a nod to Louis Armstrong, who recorded “I’m a Ding Dong Daddy” in July 1930 for Vocalion.
Tin Angel
Bob Dylan / 9:05
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, piano; Charlie Sexton: guitar; Stu Kimball: guitar; David Hidalgo: accordion, guitar, violin; Donnie Herron: banjo; Tony Garnier: upright bass; George G. Receli: drums / Recording Studio: Groove Masters, Santa Monica, California: January–March 2012 / Producer: Jack Frost (Bob Dylan) / Sound Engineer: Scott Litt
Genesis and Production
“Tin Angel” is a funny title for a song that doesn’t have those words in the lyrics. Dylan wrote “Tin Angel” in the verbal style of a mystery writer and with the sense of suspense of a Hollywood screenwriter. The song is a vaudeville-like tragic murder ballad, in which Dylan combines a classic lover’s triangle: woman, deceived husband, and lover. The drama crescendos at the end to a triple murder/suicide: the murder of the husband by his lover, who is then killed by the heroine, who in turn commits suicide.
“Tin Angel” gives the impression of having been constructed around a repeating loop for the entire nine-minute length of the song. Only a few accidental guitar phrases, starting at 6:24, counteract this assumption. Dylan wants to tell a story, and the music is not going to take over. The instruments are all mixed low, except for the upright bass and drum. Dylan’s vocal is embellished with a delay; he tells his story more than he sings it.
FOR DYLANOLOGISTS
“Tin Angel” is also the title of a song by Joni Mitchell (Clouds, 1969), whose remarks had been distorted by a journalist to suggest she was accusing Dylan of plagiarism. She has since vehemently denied the story.
Tempest
Bob Dylan / 13:55
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, organ; Charlie Sexton: guitar; Stu Kimball: guitar; David Hidalgo: accordion; Donnie Herron: steel guitar (?); Tony Garnier: upright bass; George G. Receli: drums, maracas / Recording Studio: Groove Masters, Santa Monica, California: January–March 2012 / Producer: Jack Frost (Bob Dylan) / Sound Engineer: Scott Litt
Genesis and Production
“Tempest” is based on the Titanic disaster and, more specifically, on accounts of the event in the Carter Family’s song “The Titanic.” Dylan: “I liked that melody—I liked it a lot. ‘Maybe I’m gonna appropriate this melody.’ But where would I go with it?”169 The epic fourteen-minute track describes in forty-five verses the tragedy of the night of April 14, 1912. Events described by the songwriter conform to reality, although the first verse was inspired by the James Cameron film Titanic (1997), telling the story of the love between Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose DeWitt Bukater (Kate Winslet). As in “Tin Angel,” the songwriter emphasizes his vocal over the musical treatment, with rare exceptions. There is less a feeling of a repeating loop, even if there is almost no variation throughout the song. The drama of this tale is not supported by a musical progression. Instead, a feeling of monotony emerges from the whole arrangement.
FOR DYLANOLOGISTS
The Carter Family were onboard the Titanic, cabins 96 and 98, when the ship sank. Miraculously, they survived.
Roll On John
Bob Dylan / 7:26
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, piano, organ; Charlie Sexton: guitar; Stu Kimball: guitar; David Hidalgo: guitar; Donnie Herron: steel guitar, mandolin; Tony Garnier: bass; George G. Receli: drums, tambourine / Recording Studio: Groove Masters, Santa Monica, California: January–March 2012 / Producer: Jack Frost (Bob Dylan) / Sound Engineer: Scott Litt
Genesis and Production
“Roll on John” ends the album Tempest. It is one of Bob Dylan’s most moving songs, a tribute to his old friend John Lennon. The American songwriter retraces the fabulous evolution of the former Beatle “from the Liverpool docks to the red light Hamburg streets.” H
e gives a friendly nod to some of Lennon’s great Beatles and post-Beatles compositions (“A Day in the Life,” “Come Together,” “The Ballad of John and Yoko,” “Instant Karma”), his spontaneous actions, and his commitment to the civil rights movement and opposition to the Vietnam War.
Memories fall softly in the lyrics: Dylan’s first encounter with the Beatles in New York City in August 1964; “Norwegian Wood,” Lennon’s most Dylanesque composition; Dylan’s UK tour in 1966; and another meeting with John.
As two of the greatest rock poets, it is not surprising that this expression of friendship from Dylan to Lennon falls under the shadow of another great poet, William Blake, and his poem “The Tyger.” When in 1969, Jann Wenner questioned Dylan about his relationship with Lennon, Dylan replied immediately, “Oh, I always love to see John. Always. He’s a wonderful fellow… and I always like to see him.”20
For this tribute to Lennon, Dylan chooses to play piano, with a Lennon-like delay in his voice. The interpretation is moving, the harmonies reminiscent of John’s first solo album, in which he confessed not to believe, neither in the Beatles nor in a certain… Zimmerman (“God” on John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, 1970). Despite Dylan’s sincerity, the song is not successful, mainly because his voice is too forced, too shredded. It is regrettable that he did not sing more soberly with fewer instruments. Maybe he wanted to hide his emotion behind a wall of sound. Yet the text is absolutely brilliant, expressing the depth of his friendship with John.
Soundtracks
After Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973), Bob Dylan worked with the film industry several times, mostly as a composer and a performer. His evocative lyrics, his storytelling talent, his hypnotic voice, and his immediately understandable melodies represented a significant asset to any film director. He has recorded eight songs for the cinema since 1996.
FOR DYLANOLOGISTS
In the movie, the Band’s drummer, Levon Helm, plays a Bible salesman!
Ring Of Fire
Merle Kilgore, June Carter / 4:17
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar, keyboards; Nile Rodgers: guitar; Bernard Edwards: bass; Richard Hilton: keyboards; Omar Hakim: drums; Dennis Collins, Tawatha Agee, and Robin Clark: backup vocals / Recorded: 1996 Film: Feeling Minnesota / Date of Release: 1996
“Ring of Fire” was one of Johnny Cash’s biggest hits, staying at number 1 on the country charts for seven weeks in 1963. The song is also one of several recorded in 1969 by Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash during the well-known Nashville sessions. In 1996, Dylan recorded it for the soundtrack of Feeling Minnesota, a romantic comedy directed by Steven Baigelman and starring Keanu Reeves, Cameron Diaz, and Delroy Lindo. The difference between the version recorded in Nashville and the film version lies primarily in the country tone of the first. In 1969 Dylan surprised everyone with his unusual vocal intonation.
Things Have Changed
Bob Dylan / 5:25
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar; Charlie Sexton: guitar (?); Larry Campbell: guitar (?); Tony Garnier: bass (?); David Kemper: drums, maracas (?) / Recording Studio: Sony Studios, New York: July 26, 1999 / Sound Engineer: Chris Shaw / Film: Wonder Boys / Date of Release: 2000
Dylan wrote “Things Have Changed” at the request of film director Curtis Hanson for the comedy Wonder Boys (2000). That marks the beginning of the collaboration between the songwriter and the sound engineer Chris Shaw, who recalls, “We did ‘Things Have Changed’ in one afternoon, and when we were done we did a very quick mix of it.”161 The song was released as a single (with a live version of “Blind Willie McTell” as the B-side in the United States and “Make You Feel My Love” as the B-side of the European promotional CD) on May 1, 2000. The tune won the Academy Award and the Golden Globe for Best Original Song. There is a live version on the bonus disc The Bootleg Series Volume 8: Tell Tale Signs: Rare & Unreleased 1989–2006, released in 2008.
“Things Have Changed” is a great blues-rock song that emphasizes acoustic guitars, an excellent rhythmic part, and Dylan’s superb vocal performance. The song would have been a great addition to Love and Theft (2001).
Waitin’ For You
Bob Dylan / 3:37
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar; Charlie Sexton: guitar (?); Larry Campbell: guitar (?); Donnie Herron: steel guitar, violin (?); Tony Garnier: bass (?); David Kemper: drums (?) / Recording Studio: Sony Studios, New York: November 26, 2001 / Film: Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood / Date of Release: 2002
Bob Dylan wrote “Waitin’ for You” for the film Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002), a comedy-drama directed by Callie Khouri and starring Sandra Bullock and Ellen Burstyn. “Waitin’ for You,” along with “Selah” by Lauryn Hill, is also one of the few original songs on the soundtrack. The rest are mostly instrumental recordings by T-Bone Burnett and David Mansfield, two musicians in Dylan’s circle. The song is a country waltz, which reflects quite well the difficult mother-daughter relationship of the movie’s two heroines.
Dixie
Daniel Decatur Emmett / Arrangement Bob Dylan / 2:12
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar; (?): backup vocals, electric guitar, bass, and drums / Recording Studio: Ray-Art Studios / Stage 6, Canoga Park, California: July 18, 2002 Film: Masked and Anonymous / Date of Release: 2003
“Dixie” was written by Ohio-born musician Daniel Decatur Emmett. During the American Civil War, the song, also known as “I Wish I Was in Dixie” and “Dixie’s Land,” was one of the anthems of Confederate soldiers. Praising the Old South, it was adapted by the songwriter for the movie Masked and Anonymous (2003), directed by Larry Charles and starring Dylan, Jeff Bridges, and Jessica Lange.
Tell Ol’Bill
Bob Dylan / 5:03
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, piano; Denny Freeman: guitar; Stu Kimball: guitar; Donnie Herron: guitar (?); Elana James: violin; Tony Garnier: double bass; George G. Receli: drums / Recording Studio: Studio 4, Conshohocken, Pennsylvania: July 2005 / Producer: Jack Frost (Bob Dylan) / Sound Engineer: Chris Shaw Film: North Country / Date of Release: 2005
“Tell Ol’ Bill” was inspired by the Carter Family’s country songs. It is on the soundtrack of the drama North Country (2005), directed by Niki Caro. Charlize Theron plays a young divorcee who, in order to feed her two children, must work at an iron mine in Minnesota, a world well known to the songwriter and the inspiration for this beautiful country song. It appears to have been recorded in fourteen takes. The last was chosen for the film. An alternative version appears on The Bootleg Series Volume 8.
Can’t Escape From You
Bob Dylan / 5:12
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar, organ; Denny Freeman: guitar; Stu Kimball: guitar; Donnie Herron: steel guitar, violin (?); Tony Garnier: bass; George G. Receli: drums, tambourine (?) Recording Studio: Westland Studios, Dublin, Ireland: November 28–29, 2005 / Producer: Jack Frost (Bob Dylan) Sound Engineer: Chris Shaw / Date of Release: 2005
Composed for a film that was never shot, the song “Can’t Escape from You” was recorded in Dublin a few months before the album Modern Times. The song appears on The Bootleg Series Volume 8. It is a romantic song, but with a dark message (“All my dreams have gone away”). It is reminiscent of the rhythmic structure of “My Prayer” by the Platters.
Huck’s Tune
Bob Dylan / 4:04
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar, organ; Denny Freeman: guitar; Stu Kimball: guitar; Donnie Herron: steel guitar; Tony Garnier: bass; George G. Receli: drums / Recording Studio: Criteria Recording Studios, Miami, Florida: May 12–13, 2006 Producer: Jack Frost (Bob Dylan) / Sound Engineer: Chris Shaw / Film: Lucky You / Date of Release: 2007
Lucky You (2007) is a dramatic film directed by Curtis Hanson and starring Eric Bana, Drew Barrymore, and Robert Duvall. The film is a love story with the world poker championship in Las Vegas as a backdrop. Dylan wrote “Huck’s Tune,” a beautiful ballad based on a Scottish traditional, which is reminiscent of the atmosphere of “Not Dark Yet.” The song was exc
luded from Modern Times, but two years later appeared on The Bootleg Series Volume 8.
Cross The Green Mountains
Bob Dylan / 8:15
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar, piano (?); Charlie Sexton: guitar; Larry Campbell: violin; Benmont Tench: organ; Tony Garnier: double bass; George G. Receli: drums, tambourine (?) / Recording Studio: Larrabee East Studios, Los Angeles: July 23, 2002 / Producer: Jack Frost (Bob Dylan) / Sound Engineer: Chris Shaw Film: Gods and Generals / Date of Release: 2003
Directed by Ronald F. Maxwell, Gods and Generals recounts the events that took place prior to the decisive 1863 Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. The film focuses on the Southern strategist Stonewall Jackson (Stephen Lang) and lasts more than three hours. Dylan’s song, “’Cross the Green Mountain,” evolves over eight minutes. It is a magnificent folk ballad dominated by the organ played by Tench, the rhythmic part played palm mute by Sexton, Campbell’s violin, and, especially, Dylan’s excellent vocal. The song recalls the sacrifice on both sides, but at the same time Dylan might have written it about the present: “It’s the last day’s last hour of the last happy year.” The song appears on The Bootleg Series Volume 8.
Bob Dylan All the Songs Page 92
