"Bury the rag deep in your face"

I recently had the honor of seeing Bobby D. in Albany, NY. It was a double treat for me beause the opening act was Elvis Costello, so I had two of my all-time favorites in one place. I dragged my girlfirend along with me, and she gamely sat through the concert even though she had no interest in either artist. (To make up for this, I joined her at a Bon Jovi show. To each their own, as they say.)

I could understand how my girlfriend felt especially at sea when Dylan came on. All of his songs are burned into my brain, but she had no chance of understanding a single word. That's why I had to explain to her the story of "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" when Bob's crack band began to play it in a jaunty, countrified version.

Dylan delivered the song as though he were telling a fairy tale, which made the tragedy of the lyrics hit home even more. The specificity of the song's true story never gets dated because most of those big issues still resonate. Justice is still bought and sold, and the progress on racial relations ebbs as much as it flows. I explained to my girlfriend how Dylan asks the listener to reserve their own judgement until his tale in the song is completely told. The last line of the song, delivered by Dylan that night with appropriate world-weariness and useless wisdom, is still as pwoerful as any you'll find in popular music: "Now is the time for your tears."

Did Dylan know, 44 years ago, that he'd still be singing this song today and having it be just as relevant as ever? Most likely. After all, this is Dylan we're talking about.