Happy Video Birthday to Bob Dylan, America's Poet Laureate

by Robert Wilkinson

His work is vast, awesome, majestic, and compelling, We haven't known an American poet who embodied such electricity since Walt Whitman. Happy 66th, Lucky Wilbury. You were one of my most potent influences as a teen in 60s Amerika, as well as when I wrote songs. Some of your offerings still have the power to blow the illusion to the far side of Pluto. May you have many, many more birthdays, songs, and whatever else floats your boat! Great videos and more below the fold.

For those who want a great video concert from this global legend, here's Bob Dylan doing a bunch of really good songs, including "Thunder on the Mountain," "When the Deal Goes Down," "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," "When the Night Comes Falling From the Sky," and "Subterranean Homesick Blues, the latter featured originally in the pioneering cinema verite of the legendary D.A. Pennebaker's masterwork "Don't Look Back," a chaotic video done of Dylan's British tour in the early 60s.

"Don't Look Back" is an unbelievable piece of work if you've never seen it, the first of its kind, and while the young prince was somewhat obnoxious, it's understandable when you consider that the world was looking to a poet for answers to its nuclear brinkmanship and wars started by manipulative war criminals. Even the Beatles were in awe of his music. He took the world by the scruff of its neck and made it sit up and pay attention, since in his immortal words, "You know something's happening here but you don't know what it is, do you, Mister Jones?"

From this website, here are a couple of posts I did on two of his more powerful songs. If you want to read some pretty strong lyrics check them out:

With God On Our Side

Masters of War

Add to these "Blowin' In The Wind," "A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall," "Like A Rolling Stone," "Desolation Row," "Forever Young," "The Times They Are A-Changing," "Love Minus Zero No Limit," "Chimes of Freedom," "Don't Think Twice," "Mister Tambourine Man," "I Shall Be Released," "Gates of Eden," "Just Like A Woman," "All Along The Watchtower," "Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again," "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight," "It's All Right Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)," "Ballad of A Thin Man," "The Mighty Quinn," "She Belongs To Me," "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere," and about a hundred more, some of which will take your breath away. Thanks, Lucky. Not bad for a boy from Hibbing, Minnesota, up on the iron range. You bet there's more at BobDylan.com so check it out!

"They're selling postcards of the hanging They're painting the passports brown, The beauty parlor is filled with sailors The circus is in town, Here comes the blind commissioner They've got him in a trance, One hand is tied to the tight-rope walker The other is in his pants, And the riot squad they're restless They need somewhere to go, As Lady and I look out tonight From Desolation Row..."

© Copyright 2007 Robert Wilkinson

Comments

[Lucinda B.]

Thanks for remembering, Robert. I celebrated with a Gibson & an easy chair. He is truly a (the?) master of his craft.

[Robert]

Hi Lucinda B - Yew betcha, as we used to say in Texas. "but if you gotta go, go now, or else you got to stay all night..." He influenced so many bands, and gave the Byrds, the Turtles (go Flo and Eddie!), Peter, Paul, and Mary, and Manfred Mann major hits. Then there's Hendrix' version of "All Along the Watchtower," bonechilling to this day. I saw him in the Rolling Thunder days, and he's still one of the best there ever was. Probably "the" Master of his craft. Who else could give us "Highway 61 Revisited" and then 35 years later "Love and Theft?" Wow.

"Oh God said to Abraham kill me a son, Abe said man, you must be puttin' me on! God say no, Abe said What? God said you can do what you want Abe but, the next time you see me comin' you better run. Well Abe says where do you want this killin' done, God says out on Highway sixty-one...." Again, wow.

[Cindy]

Hi Robert,
I so enjoy your insights and the videos! I put one of the Dylan videos on my blog, thanks to your link to the site, and gave you credit for it, too.

[Robert]

Hi Cindy - Checked your site out, and thanks for the link. Site looks good. Always glad to find someone else who knows that Dylan's an awesome talent!

[Cindy]

Thanks, Robert. I'm glad you liked my site. Dylan is amazing. No matter how much my taste in music changes, he's still always food for the soul. Must be all that Taurus energy.