Not really a song, but fantastic. But I'm a sucker for long pieces. Will take a few more plays before I really get a feel for it. Pretty sad though. Dark yet? Tim
If this was recorded during the Tempest sessions then Bob obviously spat out the hedgehog that had taken up residence in his throat before starting on this one. The whole sound of Tempest was aggressive, abrasive: full of swaggering attitude, even on the (murder) ballads. And the starkly-presented "wolfman" voice was the central part of that. This new track sounds much more in line with his recent live performances such as last year's Euro tour, with Huck's Tune being an earlier precursor to this sort of softly-spoken vocal delivery.
Here is Girl From The North Country performed live last year: The similarity in musical arrangement is obvious(?).
Magnificent. Just listened to it twice. Got all welled up each time. Just incredible. And to hear this now. Thank you Bob.
He still has his brilliance. And he has his GUTS. This is just amazing. Voice sounds good too, you know? As concerts of the last couple years should have one expecting. I join the ranks of wanting a new album of originals soon, esp. if they're all gonna be like this (though that might be impossible). Bob just topped his last several albums with one song IMO. His bravest song he ever released.
It's been a long time since a song made me cry. Listening to this absolutely astonishing song just made me cry. The world is in such a fragile state right now and I am too. Hearing such a rich and incredible piece of art from Bob Dylan is a precious gift. His genius has never ceased. I just have to stop and thank him for giving this to us. It is astonishing. So much to unpack. Such beautiful music. Like a prayer. Love to you all and please be well and hold your loved ones and your music close.
Maybe because he figures - with the state of the world that it's in now - release it while he can - before it's too late to.
I hear 'i hate to tell ya mister but only dead men are free' and so do others who have tried to transcribe the lyrics on the first page.
My co-workers are going to be pissed at me, but I'm putting this on repeat for the day. They mutilated his body, and they took out his brain What more could they do? They piled on the pain But his soul's not there where it was supposed to be at For the last fifty years they've been searchin' for that Wow. Just wow.
Someone on Twitter has thanked Bob for not including 80s references which would have diluted it somewhat: "Play Donkey Kong, play Duran Duran, play Rambo 3 whilst fighting Afghanistan"
I still hear "I hate to tell you mister but only dead men are free". You could be right though. We'll have to wait until he reveals the official lyrics!
