BobDylan:VoiceofaGeneration—andMoreByRonSirak•@ronsirakAugust25,,2019

TheextremelywisecomedianGeorgeCarlinsaidaboutwakesthattheythrowthebestpartyforyouwhenyoucan’tbethere.Thesamecanbesaidaboutobituaries.Wordsofappreciationareheapedupondeafears.Soallowmenowtosingpraisesofsomeonestillhereto

hearit:BobDylanisthegreatestpoetintheEnglishlanguage.Heismymuse.Asawriter,IoftenreadsomethingorhearsomethingandwishI’dwrittenit.WhenitcomestoDylan,I’vesaidthatathousandtimes.Hecapturedtheangerandanxietyofageneration,mygeneration,thosepost-WorldWarIIchildrenwhogrewupamidthesuspicionoftheColdWar,thechilloftheblacklistandintheshadowofnuclearannihilation.DylanwasthebridgefromtheBeatnikstotheHippiesbut,likeallartistwhoproduceenduringwork,hetranscendedgenerations,tappingintotheexistentialangstthatisatthecoreofbeingalive.Allthosewhohaveevertakenabreathhavewonderedwhy.ThegeniusofDylanisthathemadeusaskwhy.

Whyshouldwebegoodpeopleandnotmerelyselfishpeople?InPlato’sperfectworldofforms,somethingiswhatitisbecauseit’sgoodthatitbewhatitis.That’sprettymuchthewayDylanseesit.Hearticulatedthetwobattlesweallfight:Theindividualstruggle–howtomakeitthroughthenight–andthecollectivestruggle–howdowemakeitbetterforallofus,oratleastmostofus.EmmaLazarus,theAmericanpoetwhowrotethegloriouswordsonthebaseoftheStatueofLiberty,said:“Untilweareallfree,wearenoneofusfree.”ThatconceptisattheessenceofeverythingDylanhaswritten.Personally,wefighttobewhoweare,pursuinglove,ambition,family.Collectively,wefightforfairness,pursuingtheequalityforallthatshouldbethebirthrightofeveryone.AtthecoreofDylan’sgeniusisabraverythatisalmostdysfunctional.Hetrulydoesn’tcarewhatothersthinkofhiswork.Hisnasalvoicewasnotembracedbymany;buthedidn’tcare.Whenhammeredbecausehislyricsmaturedfromblatantlypoliticaltopersonallyliberating;hedidn’tcare.CalledJudaswhenhetookfolkmusicelectric;hedidn’tcare.Bornagain,lostagain,Jewishagain–hedidn’tcare.HewasBobbeingBob.WhenDylanwas21yearsoldhewrote:“Howmanyroadsmustamanwalkdownbeforeyoucallhimaman?”Thatwasprettymuchthequestionheaskedin

eachofthehundredsofsongshe’swrittenoverthelast60years.Platosaidwearewhowearebecauseit’sgoodthatwebewhoweare;Dylansaidwearewhoweareandwehavetotrytobethebestpossibleversionofourself.NothingcanbetterdescribewhatDylanwrotethanthewordshewrote.In“MasterofWar”heturnedhisragetowardthosewhoprofitfromweaponsofwar:“You’vethrowntheworstfearthatcaneverbehurled;feartobringchildrenintotheworld.”In“TomorrowIsaLongTime”hetapsintotheisolationweallattimesfeel:“Iftomorrowwasn’tsuchalongtime,thenlonesomewouldmeannothingtoyouatall.”Longbeforegunviolencebecameanissue,longbeforethemanipulationofthepoortoservethepoliticalinterestsoftherichbecameclearheused“OnlyaPawninTheirGame”todeliverthatmessage:“AbulletfromthebackofabushtookMedgarEvers’blood,Afingerfiredthetriggertohisname.”Always,hewassearchingforthatpersonwhounderstoodhim:“Comein,shesaid,I’llgiveyoushelterfromthestorm”(ShelteroftheStorm)whilenotlosingsightofwhoheis:“Well,ItrymybesttobejustlikeIam,buteverybodywantsyoutobejustlikethem,theysingwhileyouslaveandIjustgetbored.Iain’tgonnaworkonMaggie’sfarmnomore”(Maggie’sFarm).

AtthecoreofDylan’sgeniusishisabilitytoarticulatethedualityofusall;thebalancingactbetweenthestruggleforpersonalfreedomandself-fulfillmentwhileworkingforthecollectivegood.“Andifmythoughdreamscouldbeseenthey’dprobablyputmyheadinaguillotine”(It’sAllRightMa).“Yes,todancebeneaththediamondskywithonehandwavin’free,silhouettedbythesea,circledbythecircussands,withallmemoryandfatedrivendeepbeneaththewaves,letmeforgetabouttodayuntiltomorrow”(Mr.TambourineMan).Likehishero,WoodyGuthrie,Dylanhastriedtobethevoiceofthevoiceless.“Youdon’tneedaweathermantoknowwhichwaythewindblows”(SubterraneanHomesickBlues).“Allthecriminalsintheircoatsandtiesarefreetodrinkmartinisandwatchthesunrise”(Hurricane).“Andthefirstonenowwilllaterbelastforthetimestheyarea-changin”(TheTimesTheyAreA-Changin’)“Whenyougotnothing,yougotnothingtolose”(LikeaRollingStone).ButsometimeslostinthemeaningofDylan’swordsisthemagicofhiswriting.ThePulitzerPrize-winningsportswriterRedSmithoncesaid:“Writingiseasy;Allyoudoissitdownatatypewriterandopenavein.”

Dylanopenedaveinoverandoveragain.Hewrotewithhisheartinaninkofblood.“Lightsflickerfromtheoppositeloft,inthisroomtheheatpipesjustcough,thecountrymusicstationplayssoft,butthere'snothing,reallynothingtoturnoff”(VisionsofJohanna).“Whentherainisblowinginyourface,andthewholeworldisonyourcase,Icouldofferyouawarmembrace,tomakeyoufeelmylove”(MakeYouFeelMyLove).“Fromthecrossroadsofmydoorstep,myeyes,theystarttofade,andIturnmyheadbacktotheroom,wheremyloveandIhavelaid,an'Igazebacktothestreet,thesidewalkandthesign,andI'monetoomanymorningsan'athousandmilesbehind”(OneTooManyMornings).Earlyon,Dylanmadethispromisetous:“I’llknowmysongwellbeforeIstartsinging”(HardRain’sAGonnaFall).That’sapromiseDylanhasneverbroken.He’s78yearsoldnowanditwas60yearsagoinSeptember–1959–thatRobertAllenZimmermanleftHibbing,Minn.,forMinneapolisandashortstayattheUniversityofMinnesota.Eventually,hemadeittoNewYorkCity–

seekingtomeetWoodyGuthrie–andultimately,hechangedAmericanmusic.BobDylanknewhissongwellbeforehestartedsingingandweareallbetterforit.Hetookusonatripuponhismagicswirlin’shipandleftusinabetterplace.Dylanwillneverreadthis,butIneededtowriteit.Hemademewanttobeawriter.Thanks,Bob,itwaswaymorethanasimpletwistoffate.