Dylan at Eighty

I don't know if I can say much about Bob Dylan, who turns eight years old today, that hasn't already been said.

Called by one critic "the greatest rock and roll songwriter who isn't Chuck Berry or Smokey Robinson," Bob Dylan has written strong, clever, surrealistic songs about pretty much everything, with allusions to American history and culture, a dose of social, and a bit of absurdity.  Even if you know what his songs are about, you don't know what they mean.  Songs such as "Ballad of Thin Man," about a paranoid reporter at a circus sideshow, offered various interpretations centered around the straight man in a world he doesn't understand, but who really knows who Mr. Jones is or what he stands for?  Other songs like "Maggie's Farm," about nonconformity, took on whole new meanings in later years, such as in Britain where it became an anti-Thatcher rallying cry.  And only now can we figure out a modicum of meaning in "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again" when we realize that our current Postmaster General has stolen the Post Office and locked the mailboxes. And with the specter of Donald Trump being President again, we have to ask, just what do we have to pay to get out of going through all of these things twice?

Of course, his protest songs "Masters of War " and "Blowin' In the Wind" are evergreen, and "Like a Rolling Stone" is probably the greatest rock and roll song ever, with its sense of protest and put-down.  And you'll probably learn more about relationships in listening to his 1975 album Blood On the Tracks than from anywhere else: Dylan's son Jakob describes the album as a document of his parents arguing.

It remains to be seen whether Dylan has one more trick up his sleeve after defying expectations for sixty years.  But it should be obvious that whatever he pulls next, it's going to be something we don't expect.  Happy birthday, Bob. 😊