In 1961, Robert Zimmerman moved to New York City, a young folk singer in pursuit of a new identity and stardom. Changing his name to Bob Dylan, he became a spokesperson of his generation, personifying the youth’s sentiments on war, humanity, and culture, amplifying the voices who were going otherwise unheard while making himself an icon in the process. His new album, Round and Rowdy Ways, proves his unwavering, iconic figure in music history, while being unapologeticlly candid in his views of life, death, and everything in between.
Track by track, I take you through Bob Dylan's 39th studio album.
Side A
1) I Contain Multitudes
This is a slow, somber opener for the album. Dylan’s lyrics are riddled with pop culture references, from the song’s title - taken from a Walt Whitman poem - to comparing himself to “them British bad boys, The Rolling Stones.” Being asked about the song, Dylan’s reply was, “The song is like a painting, you can’t see it all at once if you’re standing too close. The individual pieces are just part of a whole... It is my identity and I’m not going to question it, I am in no position to.” I see the song as a bold statement in defense of Dylan’s character, as he weaves together juxtaposed characters and concepts that he claims mirror himself. Infamously mysterious and private, “I Contain Multitudes” is perhaps the most Dylan has shared about himself, cloaked in metaphors and references that only few will understand.
2) False Prophet
“False Prophet” is basically a song dedicated to Dylan’s ever-heightened ego (rightfully so). He rejects the notion of ever being “false,” instead claiming his now-revered title in a genuine, earnest way. Dylan states that he just “knows” and “says,” alluding to the idea of him being a “prophet” in regards to his almost-instant icon status. In his height of popularity in the 1960's, Dylan’s character was idolized, becoming a spokesperson of his generation; “False Prophet” acknowledges such beginnings and defends it, owning his influence that has spanned the last almost sixty years. He professes, “I’m first among equals / Second to none / The last of the best / You can bury the rest.” If that lyric doesn’t scream Bob Dylan, I’m not sure what does.
3) My Own Version of You
This is the Gothic anthem from Bob Dylan that I never knew I needed. Dylan drawls about building a person from collected body parts, an obvious borrow from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. He wants to create someone that fits his ideal image, who embodies the values that he holds, pushing and teaching him to be his better, true self. The premise of the song and its lyrical content show Dylan’s ease when it comes to questioning society, as he alludes to theorists Freud and Marx (infamous for their radical theories regarding humanity), and poses an array of rhetorical questions contemplating right and wrong. This song is a yearning for someone good and pure, and as Dylan wishes to resort to create someone of his own, he pushes the narrative that there is nobody who fits his image, as he sets to combine qualities from himself into his perfect companion.
4) I’ve Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You
This is a love song filled with devotion and longing. It’s simple, but reflective and meaningful, as Dylan reminisces on his experiences, but still manages to always come back to this one person. The stand-out lines for me were: “I traveled a long road of despair / I met no other traveler there / Lot of people gone, lot of people I knew / I've made up my mind to give myself to you.” I see this song as a contemplation of Dylan’s fame, him being on the road, meeting millions of people, yet as many other musicians have professed as well, he still felt a void that has stayed empty all these years. Now, Dylan is content with his life and all that he’s done, deciding to now settle with his memories.
5) Black Rider
This song seems to be prophesying on Dylan’s life, specifically his mortality. Alluding to the effects of fame and fortune, he contemplates death after years and years of living a large-scale life. It is seemingly Dylan’s way of showing his comfort in finally being able to truly rest, though a sad concept to think about nonetheless. As he sings, “My heart is at rest, I'd like to keep it that way,” Dylan is candid in his desire towards peace, content with how his life has gone. It’s a beautifully morbid song that teeters between life and death, all the more poetic told through Dylan’s point of view.
6) Goodbye Jimmy Reed
Perhaps the most “upbeat” song on the album so far, “Goodbye Jimmy Reed” is an ode to the legends that preceded Dylan. Filled with Biblical references, Dylan holds blues musician Jimmy Reed on a pedestal, as he narrates his fame being “thrown” at him while attempting to hold onto his values, rooted within those who came before him. This song is yet another reiteration of Dylan’s seemingly complex relationship with his fame and stature, as “Goodbye Jimmy Reed” contemplates such in comparison to those in which Dylan looked up to.
7) Mother of Muses
In “Mother of Muses,” Dylan calls upon a muse of his own to guide him. This song portrays the recurring theme of Rough and Rowdy Ways, in that Dylan is recounting his life: those he’s encountered, those that have passed on, and his own life as it’s changed over the years. It seems that Dylan’s relationship with divinity is heightened with “Mother of Muses,” as he does not hesitate to question love, humanity, and heroic figures that have evidently shaped his character. And for as poetic and eloquent as we know Dylan to be, this song shows that he does not, in fact, have all the answers to life, and questions such just as much as we do.
"And for as poetic and eloquent as we know Dylan to be, this song shows that he does not, in fact, have all the answers to life, and questions such just as much as we do."
8) Crossing the Rubicon
This song seems to be an extended metaphor of approaching the gates of Hell, as he “abandons all hope” and crosses the Rubicon “three miles north of Purgatory.” It seems that the song is Dylan’s way of accepting his life’s course, the good and the bad and everything in between, holding no regrets and embracing what has come to him. Yet, the song repeatedly highlights the lack of “happiness” in where he’s traveling, perhaps showing his inescapable discontent. He sings of “...these dark days I see / In this world so badly bent / I cannot redeem the time,” assumedly comparing the state of the current world to the afterlife, regardless of where he may end up. The song is a brilliant contemplation of mortality, yet again, with Dylan being admirably honest in his uncertainty.
9) Key West (Philosopher Pirate)
Dylan equates the Floridian island of Key West to a sort of holy land in this 9½ minute song. He sings “Key West is the place to be / If you’re looking for immortality,” portraying Key West as the place that holds all the answers to his many questions (those of which majorly contemplate his own mortality). Key West has been home for many artists over the decades, including Jack Kerouac, Ernest Hemingway, and Tennessee Williams, and it seems that this song is a subsequent elegy to the greats that preceded Dylan. Therefore, it is no surprise that he reveres the land of Key West as an artistic mecca, glorifying its powers and influence in calling it “fine and fair,” “enchanted,” and “the gateway key to innocence and purity,” to name a few.
Side B
10) Murder Most Foul
At almost 17 minutes long, “Murder Most Foul” begins with Dylan singing about the assassination of John F. Kennedy and turns into a long-winded contemplation of American culture both before and after the event. Similarly to “I Contain Multitudes,” the song is composed primarily with popular culture references, from allusions to conspiracy theories relating to the assassination, to listing of an array of songs Dylan is asking to be played. A masterful, artistic vision of Dylan’s sentiments regarding JFK’s assassination and the societal frenzy that followed, “Murder Most Foul” is a blatant commentary of the times, artistically critical and direct.
There is no denying Bob Dylan’s brilliance, a consistently emblematic figure in rock ‘n’ roll. Rough and Rowdy Ways, in its lyrical genius, not only heightens Dylan’s talents, but proves his role as the king of folk rock. It is a thoughtful, honest album, as Dylan balances his ego and his naivety to showcase his image for all it is worth, maintaining his now-iconized figure in the process.
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