Rough And Rowdy Ways
A double album, Rough And Rowdy Ways contains ten songs, and most of them are long (none clock in under four minutes). A good portion of them are accompanied by acoustic guitar--I believe only two have electric. And while none of them are particularly toe-tapping or with memorable tunes, the lyrics, sung by Dylan's raspy voice, are instantly indelible.
He begins with "I Contain Multitudes," which is a line from Walt Whitman's "Songs of Myself." It is an indication that this album will name-check dozens of literary and cultural figures. In lesser hands this would seem pretentious--a kind of, "I know who William Blake is," but with Dylan we know he's long ago proved himself. This is a salmagundi of seven decades of reading and listening to music. A sample:
"I'm just like Anne Frank, like Indiana Jones
And them British bad boys, The Rolling Stones
I go right to the edge, I go right to the end
I go right where all things lost are made good again
I sing the songs of experience like William Blake
I have no apologies to make
Everything's flowing all at the same time
I live on a boulevard of crime
I drive fast cars, and I eat fast foods
I contain multitudes"
The other songs continue in this vein, with some of them edging into darkness, like "Black Rider," who surely must be death:
"Black rider, black rider, you've seen it all
You've seen the great world and you've seen the small
You fell into the fire and you're eating the flame
Better seal up your lips if you wanna stay in the game
Be reasonable, mister, be honest, be fair
Let all of your earthly thoughts be a prayer"
"Crossing The Rubicon" also has a taste of menace:
"I can feel the bones beneath my skin
And they're tremblin' with rage
I'll make your wife a widow
You'll never see old age
Show me one good man in sight
That the sun shines down upon
I pawned my watch, I paid my debts
And I crossed the Rubicon"
Going into Jimmy Buffet territory, there's "Key West (Philosopher Pirate)." It's hard to know if Dylan is singing about the actual place Key West, or perhaps more likely, it's a metaphor for something, a place like Nirvana, reached only through pure understanding (Key West is at the end of the road, as far as you can go south in the continental U.S.):
"Key West is the place to be
If you're looking for immortality
Stay on the road, follow the highway sign
Key West is fine and fair
If you lost your mind, you will find it there
Key West is on the horizon line"
The song that most people are talking about is "Murder Most Foul," a sixteen minute opus that mixes imagery of the Kennedy assassination and our culture from that day forward. It has no bridge or chorus, just a litany of images and a list of familiar names and places from the Boomer generation. Some may say why now--Kennedy died almost fifty-seven years ago, and the only people who were alive when it happened are Boomers, and maybe that is who the song is for. Perhaps younger people won't be interested, as the cult of Kennedy has long since lost its luster.
But I found it gripping. Accompanied by violin and piano, Dylan almost speaks-sings it. He starts by establishing what his on his mind:
"It was a dark day in Dallas, November '63
A day that will live on in infamy
President Kennedy was a-ridin' high
Good day to be livin' and a good day to die
Being led to the slaughter like a sacrificial lamb
He said, "Wait a minute, boys, you know who I am?"
"Of course we do, we know who you are"
Then they blew off his head while he was still in the car
Shot down like a dog in broad daylight"
Then he starts a waltz through time, ticking off the markers of the '60s, always bringing it back to Kennedy:
"Hush, little children, you'll understand
The Beatles are comin', they're gonna hold your hand
Slide down the banister, go get your coat
Ferry 'cross the Mersey and go for the throat
There's three bums comin' all dressed in rags
Pick up the pieces and lower the flags
I'm goin' to Woodstock, it's the Aquarian Age
Then I'll go over to Altamont and sit near the stage
Put your head out the window, let the good times roll
There's a party going on behind the Grassy Knoll"
The song then ends with Dylan asking someone, maybe us, to play certain songs:
"Play "Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"
Play it for the First Lady, she ain't feeling any good
Play Don Henley, play Glenn Frey
Take it to the limit and let it go by
Play it for Carl Wilson, too
Looking far, far away down Gower Avenue
Play "Tragedy", play "Twilight Time"
Take me back to Tulsa to the scene of the crime
Play another one and "Another One Bites the Dust"
Play "The Old Rugged Cross" and "In God We Trust"
Ride the pink horse down that long, lonesome road
Stand there and wait for his head to explode
Play "Mystery Train" for Mr. Mystery
The man who fell down dead like a rootless tree
Play it for the reverend, play it for the pastor
Play it for the dog that got no master
Play Oscar Peterson, play Stan Getz
Play "Blue Sky," play Dickey Betts
Play Art Pepper, Thelonious Monk
Charlie Parker and all that junk
All that junk and "All That Jazz"
Play something for the Birdman of Alcatraz
Play Buster Keaton, play Harold Lloyd
Play Bugsy Siegel, play Pretty Boy Floyd
Play the numbers, play the odds
Play "Cry Me a River" for the Lord of the gods
Play Number nine, play Number six
Play it for Lindsey and Stevie Nicks
Play Nat King Cole, play "Nature Boy"
Play "Down in the Boondocks" for Terry Malloy
Play "It Happened One Night" and "One Night of Sin"
There's twelve million souls that are listening in
Play "Merchant of Venice", play "Merchants of Death"
Play "Stella by Starlight" for Lady Macbeth
Don't worry, Mr. President, help's on the way
Your brothers are comin', there'll be hell to pay
Brothers? What brothers? What's this about hell?
Tell them, "We're waiting, keep coming," we'll get them as well
Love Field is where his plane touched down
But it never did get back up off the ground
Was a hard act to follow, second to none
They killed him on the altar of the rising sun
Play "Misty" for me and "That Old Devil Moon"
Play "Anything Goes" and "Memphis in June"
Play "Lonely at the Top" and "Lonely Are the Brave"
Play it for Houdini spinning around in his grave
Play Jelly Roll Morton, play "Lucille"
Play "Deep in a Dream", and play "Driving Wheel"
Play "Moonlight Sonata" in F-sharp
And "A Key to the Highway" for the king on the harp
Play "Marching Through Georgia" and "Dumbarton's Drums"
Play "Darkness" and death will come when it comes
Play "Love Me or Leave Me" by the great Bud Powell
Play "The Blood-Stained Banner", play "Murder Most Foul"
Is this just a list of names that came to Dylan one afternoon, while he was looking over his record collection? Or is there a deeper meaning here? This may end up be the most analyzed song since "American Pie."
Rough and Rowdy Ways is a masterpiece, even if it isn't Dylan's best, which goes to show how great he is. I can't imagine there will be a better record this year.
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