Using Ideas As My Maps

It is strange to hear Bob Dylan talk (on the No Direction Home DVD) about how he felt on first hearing Woody Guthrie. I believe he said (to paraphrase – I can’t recall the exact words) that here was a person singing about life and people in a way that almost gave one a blueprint of how to live. The music dealt with the human morality of living – treating your fellow man properly, taking a position on social issues and working conditions. Love, religion, families... it was all there.

I consider that to be a fair reflection of how I felt when first hearing Dylan’s music.

This was not a case of blindly following Dylan’s every word as though they were written in stone. Some people do, but I do not feel I need a leader, guide or guru. As I said in my first ever entry to this blog, it was more like somebody saying, ‘I have been there before; I have lived what you are feeling now; I have the words to express those emotions.’

Bob Dylan always publicly states that he does not want to be a crusader. He does not want to lead any causes (even those he supports as right and just). He does not want to be considered the spokesperson of a generation or a ‘messiah’. He is political in the original definition of the Ancient Greek word 'politikos' (pertaining to matters of citizens and states - Dylan has always included social statement in his writing), but he is not party political. I like to consider him as being open minded and free without the labels and boxes of 'right wing', 'left wing' and so on.

However (and I realize I am dangerously bordering on the realms of the dreaded Dylanology when I start down this path!), Bob Dylan’s songs are littered with words of wisdom that can actually be helpful to a person. Beyond the observation and emotion there are some basic philosophical truths in there which are well worth heeding!

These are a few of the quotations that have struck me in some way. You could undoubtedly find hundreds of similar ideas in Dylan’s songs. These are just the first that came to my mind.

- Things that look large from a distance, close up are never that big.

- The answer is blowing in the wind.


- A hard rain’s gonna fall.

- He not busy being born is busy dying.


- You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.

- When you think you’ve lost everything, you find out you can always lose a little more.


- The walls of pride are high and wide.

- Conceit is a disease.


- Reality has always had too many heads.

- Silver and gold won’t buy back the beat of a heart grown cold.


- We live in a political world.

- It’s rough out there...


- The writing’s on the wall...

- The sun will always shine.


- The road is long; it’s a long, hard climb.

- It’s a shadowy world, skies are slippery grey.


- Love is just a four letter word.

- Sometimes no-one wants what you got; sometimes you can’t give it away.


- Some people will offer you their hand and some won’t.

- It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there.


- Sometimes, silence can feel like thunder.

- The things you have the hardest time parting with are the things you need the least.


- Steal a little and they throw you in jail, steal a lot and they make you king.

- Everybody’s got something to sell.


And it may not be philosophy, but it is important to remember – no-one can sing the blues like Blind Willie McTell.