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Dylan Sings Softly and Carries a Big Record By Abby Bertumen In 1966, Bob Dylan was thrown from his motorcycle in Woodstock, N.Y. Sketchy details of the accident had Dylan paralyzed and mute. Dylan's brother, David, insisted he only suffered a few cracked vertebrae. This account came a few years later, however, after Dylan had released two albums and proved he was indeed alive and well. So imagine the microscope John Wesley Harding, Dylan's first album after the accident, was put under by self-proclaimed Dylan pundits. And imagine the reaction of these critics, fed on the words of the gravelly-voiced revolutionary on "Subterranean Homesick Blues" and "Times They Are A Changin," when the 1967 release brought soft tales of gunslingers and saints. In an interview years later, Dylan remarked how everyone viewed the album as "some sort of ink blot test" when it just was "a bunch of songs." A great bunch of songs, at that. John Wesley Harding was recorded in Nashville, and the album vibrates with blues and country--which prompted many to believe that this was the direction Dylan was headed. The album opens with Dylan singing: "John Wesley Harding was a friend to the poor..." His voice, no doubt mellowed in the absence of cigarette smoke during recuperation, is soft and reflective and creates the tone of Dylan as a storyteller. Bassist Charles McCoy and drummer Kenny Buttrey play simply and quietly in the background--creating the effect that it is just Dylan alone with guitar and harmonica. Critics believe that "John Wesley Harding" was Dylan's mis-naming of outlaw John Wesley Hardin, a Texas gunfighter in the late 1800s. However, the song has nothing to do with this man, a vicious bigot. "John Wesley Harding.... was always known to lend a helping hand." The song has a nice melody and its new sound intrigues the listener as to the content of the rest of the album, but oddly enough, it seems out of place. The essence of "John Wesley Harding" seems to begin with the second song. "As I Went Out One Morning" is a song in which the narrator sets out to "breathe the air around Tom Paine's," and meets a "damsel" who walks "in chains." The narrator comments that he knows the woman was meant to do him harm, but still describes her as fair and lovely. To the critics who claim this album is poor because of its lack of social commentary in each song, "As I Went Out One Morning" both mocks and counters this opinion. It mocks in its allegorical approach to the song which hearkens back to times long before the 1960s, but counters the critics because of its cryptic language. Does the lovely damsel represent temptation? Of what? Why does Dylan choose to use a revolutionary figure? Despite its short length, the song's imagery provides just as much fodder for discussion, and is a brief glimpse into the richness of the rest of the album's tracks. John Wesley Harding is a Dylan record that has long been associated with religious overtones. Listening to the songs, the so-called religious references seem almost apocalyptic. "I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine" begins like this: I dreamed I saw St. Augustine, Alive as you or me, Tearing through these quarters... Searching for the very souls Whom already have been sold. Later in the song, the narrator dreams he took part in putting St. Augustine "out to death." The song is more a call for repentance than faith. This tone continues in the next song, "All Along the Watchtower," the most notable song on the record. The song conjures images of the end of the world with lyrics like, "the hour is getting late" and "the wind began to howl." Again, Dylan uses characters to illustrate the theme of the song: "No reason to get excited," the thief, he kindly spoke, There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke." And the following song, "The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest," a story about two friends who must deal with temptation seems to have a golden rule: ...One should never be Where one does not belong. So when you see your neighbor carryin' somethin', Help him with his load.... "The Drifter's Escape" is the best song on the album. It begins with a superb harmonica riff, and Dylan's voice cuts through the acoustic guitar with an emotional, "Oh, help me in my weakness..." Like the other tracks, the melancholic mode of the tune and the idea of a drifter suggests something beyond life on earth. The next three songs on the album are what Dylan listeners are more accustomed to: social commentary. "Dear Landlord" is the best example of these with Dylan again displaying his vocal range. As he tells the story of a tenant begging not to be kicked out, Dylan doesn't feel sad, he laments. This is also heard in "I Am a Lonesome Hobo" and "I Pity the Poor Immigrant." "The Wicked Messenger," departs from the meditative mood of the record as Dylan seems to be having a laugh with this song, the most fast paced on the record. With the lyrics, "If ye cannot bring good news, then don't bring any," one canāt help but think Dylan is addressing critics of his song-writing craft. The last two songs of the record "Down Along the Cove" and "I'll be Your Baby Tonight," are a prequel to Nashville Skyline the album that follows John Wesley Harding. In these two songs, the romantic side of Dylan emerges, to be fully manifested in Skyline's "Lay Lady Lay." John Wesley Harding was no doubt new territory for Dylan and his fans--new to Dylan because of his experimentation in country and quiet melodies as well as vocal stylings, new to the fans because of the absence of political folk rock. However, this Dylan still exists between the lyrics and music of the album, but with a new invention that his testimony to his greatness and versatility. Abby Bertumen is a junior print journalism major at Ithaca College. |
