tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448601238585270507.post211138863764784363..comments2024-03-21T00:34:35.359-07:00Comments on Every Bob Dylan Song: Bob Dylan Song #169: DirgeTonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12613923038816299394noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448601238585270507.post-72653401073780662442022-07-02T06:40:56.983-07:002022-07-02T06:40:56.983-07:00Just an idea. Perhaps Dylan originally wrote the l...Just an idea. Perhaps Dylan originally wrote the lyric as, "I hate myself for leaving you"but changed it, so it was more cryptic. This interpretation doesn't tie up all the loose ends. But perhaps, listen to it with this in mind, And see what you think.kenkchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13577175271124844634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448601238585270507.post-28675129698171020032017-11-25T13:31:30.543-08:002017-11-25T13:31:30.543-08:00Hello there Tony, thank you for posting this inter...Hello there Tony, thank you for posting this interesting analysis. Come and join us inside Bob Dylan's Music Box http://thebobdylanproject.com/Song/id/153/Dirge and listen to every version of every song composed, recorded or performed by Bob Dylan, plus all the great covers and so much more.Music of Bob Dylanhttp://thebobdylanproject.com/Song/id/153/Dirgenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448601238585270507.post-62994531386379791942017-03-04T22:25:59.752-08:002017-03-04T22:25:59.752-08:00What about "Heard your songs of freedom and m...What about "Heard your songs of freedom and man forever stripped"<br />I think he wrote it for Joan myself. "Slave in orbit" seems to be an obvious reference to Lynch's speech to the Virginians on how to beat your slave.Abraxashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04581017661108798137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448601238585270507.post-35255327621832065152015-10-21T23:27:45.492-07:002015-10-21T23:27:45.492-07:00The song is about fame.The song is about fame.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448601238585270507.post-14849126687730459942014-08-22T07:02:14.639-07:002014-08-22T07:02:14.639-07:00Could the song be about more than one person. The ...Could the song be about more than one person. The doom machine references Albert, and what not. I still think its about Sara but there could be lines in there that refer to others tooDanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07142886720643992968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448601238585270507.post-95754006107590952013-10-09T20:21:56.907-07:002013-10-09T20:21:56.907-07:00It sounds like it's about an affair. It's...It sounds like it's about an affair. It's possible to fall in love against your better judgement and lose what you really cherish, even if it's troubled. Filling a need that's not being met dishonestly, it's a dirty rotten shame. It's a sordid relief when the curtain falls though, you pay the price of solitude, but at least your out of debt. Accepting such mercy will drive you mad, it's not worth it. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448601238585270507.post-37017731620981585162011-11-20T09:14:52.852-08:002011-11-20T09:14:52.852-08:00This could not be about Sara! Let's take Bob&#...This could not be about Sara! Let's take Bob's song "Sara". That is not the same kind of love as the love in "Dirge". If you all think about, you'll see it clearly. <br />"Sara, sara. <br />It's all so clear, I could never forget.<br />Sara, Sara<br />Loving you is the one thing, I'll never regret"<br />versus<br />"I hate myself for loving you"<br /><br />That's not the same kind of love, is it? That's why this song couldn't be about Sara.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448601238585270507.post-54974838134535854452011-06-26T16:45:40.018-07:002011-06-26T16:45:40.018-07:00Can't you imagine a married man hating himself...Can't you imagine a married man hating himself<br />for STILL loving someone other than his wife? Why does it have to be someone famous that the fans know about? "Your songs of freedom" could be about their record collection rather than them singing, and then the field is wide open. Of course, when did Bob pay the price of solitude? Play it back to back with "Simple twist of fate" (which IS for Suze) and see whether you think it could be to Suze. (I am not sure, one way or the other.) Could the person being sung to in "Dirge" be the same person of whom he sang "I still believe she was my twin"?<br /><br />I love "Dirge". The sound is magnificent. To me, it<br />is the sound of a man constructing an argument for<br />hating someone, while still loving them (for, after all, love is not rational). I don't even like you any more, but I still love you. What is wrong with me?<br /><br />And the last line is gorgeously misleading. He'll get over hating himself for loving you, after which it<br />is not the case that he'll no longer love you, but rather he'll still love you, but no longer hate himself for doing so. Getting over loving you is far too much to hope for.<br /><br />Perhaps none of you who have commented so far have ever fallen in love against your better judgment, when you have every reason to not do so. (Or remained in love with someone who broke your heart - that should strike a chord with Tony, as unrequited (?) love seems to have substantially changed the pace of output of this blog.)Timnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448601238585270507.post-79961286286325143702010-09-21T17:26:07.509-07:002010-09-21T17:26:07.509-07:00Its a great song in its naked raw truth.Touch'...Its a great song in its naked raw truth.Touch's and breaks your heart. Albert was a walking Doom Machine. <br />That articulate perception"I hate myself for loving you". Not a simple I hate you. Great song.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448601238585270507.post-28340250413352488102010-09-04T16:09:17.812-07:002010-09-04T16:09:17.812-07:00But is the song really that bad? I kind of like it...But is the song really that bad? I kind of like it, the desperation, the ugliness.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448601238585270507.post-35143852361770805482010-09-03T10:39:19.750-07:002010-09-03T10:39:19.750-07:00I think in the context of Dylan's relationship...I think in the context of Dylan's relationship with Albert Grossman, the song makes alot more sense. As you said, with an album full of love songs, it wouldn't make sense for this song to be directed to Sara. If we look at as being addressed to Albert Grossman, alot begins to come into focus. Grossman was pulling alot of deals behind Bob's back, sending him on seemingly endless tours, and so, when "the lights went out" and "the curtain fell," Dylan was able to see what had been going on all the time. He "hates himself for loving" Grossman, who seemed to be more like a father figure to him in the 60's. They spent weekends together, Grossman and his wife were the only two people present at Bob and Sara's wedding, even the motorcycle crash happened as he was leaving Grossman's house. I don't see this as a song about lost love as much as a song about betrayal, and, as Bob has said numerous times, he felt betrayed by Albert Grossman. This song may be an expression of that. Many people have made the same case for "Dear Landlord," and while it may be, I think this songs comes across as much more directly related to the events that transpired between the two.Nathannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448601238585270507.post-32107737812858996792010-09-03T09:52:59.964-07:002010-09-03T09:52:59.964-07:00Could it be he is talking about fame and the effec...Could it be he is talking about fame and the effects of fame on his personal life. Fame can be like a drug and toxic in many ways. You crave fame and fortune but it never comes without a price.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448601238585270507.post-57330149365844584562010-09-03T09:37:11.313-07:002010-09-03T09:37:11.313-07:00In the thirty some years I've listened to this...In the thirty some years I've listened to this song I've never considered that it was about anything besides his dabbling in drugs, particularly heroin. I can't remember who first floated the idea, hopefully not Weberman, but, to me, it never felt like it was directed at another person. Could he actually write Wedding Song and Dirge towards the same person, in such a short time?Billnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448601238585270507.post-38795284963194185842010-09-03T09:08:18.619-07:002010-09-03T09:08:18.619-07:00Many of his biographies suggest that Bob adored th...Many of his biographies suggest that Bob adored the role of family man. I have always wondered whether this song might reflect a tension born from conflicting desires: cherishing his young family, on the one hand, versus what can now be seen as a lifelong imperative, the desire to perform.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448601238585270507.post-33949217365161735352010-09-03T04:25:10.972-07:002010-09-03T04:25:10.972-07:00Isn't 'Dirge' just too bitter and fina...Isn't 'Dirge' just too bitter and final to be addressed to Sara at this point? Dirge makes sense to me at least as an expression of the bitterness Dylan had felt at the loss of his inspiration over the previous four years. Thus, maybe, it is a song of betrayal addressed to the muse who had unexpectedly left him.Sharonnoreply@blogger.com