One who sings with his tongue on fire...

Lay down your weary tune, lay down,
Lay down the song you strum,
And rest yourself 'neath the strength of strings
No voice can hope to hum.

There is a link on bobdylan.com to an essay about the oral tradition of literature and the beauty of Bob Dylan's voice. It is a very interesting piece - badly written in parts - but expressing what those of us who are moved by Dylan have known for so long. Check it out by following the 'Links' thread on the official website.

I may have mentioned in an earlier post that I have friends who do not like Dylan. They say they don't 'get' him (what's not to get?!!) and that his voice is terrible. Some say they 'don't understand what he is saying' and I want to howl at the moon in despair!

What I would say in response to those people is that Dylan's diction is darn near perfect on his studio recordings. End of story. Any mistakes (usually left in purposefully) only add to the poignancy of the recordings - the fun, the human lack of perfection, the spontaneity.

I really do not understand why anyone would have difficulty with that. Perhaps what they mean is that his voice is not computer-generated smooth. Perhaps they mean that the lyrics are not superficial or instantly understandable and need some thought. Who knows what they mean? They make no sense to me...

Bob Dylan - and I am going to nail my colours to the mast quite firmly here - has a most beautiful voice. In the oral tradition of story-telling, the multiplicitous semi-autobiographical masking of reality in role-playing and reinvention... Dylan crosses genres with ease and his voice is the key. As I once said in this blog, you cannot just read Dylan's lyrics. His performance art needs to be heard and experienced. It transcends the page and written word.

Dylan shifts rhythm and cadence; he emphasises different words, stresses syllables, lilts and falls, even completely misses notes or forgets words in his live performances... and yet, those mistakes can be the moments of the greatest feeling.

There is a fire and power in the way Dylan sings that really makes a person connect. In the absence of him being there in person, his voice puts us in his presence. I think that is why, probably to Dylan's own frustration, people feel like they know him when they don't. We all have a role to interpret the versions of truth and multiple personalities we are presented with - the confusion of pronouns and the variety of masks. That gives the listener a vested interest in the music. We are no longer passive. And it is the power of the voice that keeps us involved - it keeps us guessing and questioning our understanding.

In later years, Dylan's voice is aged and broken, but still containing the deep beauty maturity brings. It rolls across the apocolyptic wasteland of Ain't Talkin' with the gravitas and dignity of a world-weary elder statesman of the damned.

I have yet to hear a performer whose voice can more perfectly understand and convey regret and pain, fun and sarcasm, speculation and knowledge, truth and fiction... the value of a silence and the meaning in a sigh or breath.

That is where his true level of 'genius' shines through. The world will never see a performer like him again.

Oh, and Bob Dylan has a great ability to sing in tune. Gee, the guy can cough, sneeze and laugh in tune!

If you listen to his duet with Johnny Cash on Girl From the North Country there is a case in point. I have always loved Johnny Cash's voice - it is rich and warm and he was also one of the greatest performers. However, in my opinion Dylan's voice is far more emotive. He is also far more able to improvise a tune and experiment. Their voices actually compliment each other really well in a duet, but the difference is so obvious. Johnny Cash's voice might be more 'easy' to listen to, and have a more mainstream appeal, but I back Dylan on versatility and expression every time.

And yes, I know I am a sychophant and hero-worshipper! I can't help it - the man moves me.