Comments on: Christmas in the Heart (2009)

By: Eyolf Østrem

Eyolf Østrem — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:42:15 +0000

@PaulC: that little interview snippet is, I think, the best way to approach not just Dylan’s song but any creative effort. It’s the approach I’ve tried to follow in whatever I’ve written about Dylan and music (if I’ve succeeded is another matter): not go hunting for what Dylan means with this or that, but primarily focus on what is there.
That’s why “The Girl from the Red River Shore” (yes, that’s the song) is a special song for me, because I think for the first time ever, I wanted to know what the heck he means. Luckily, I’ll never find out, so I can go back to my general method: figure out what’s there.

Five points to Darrell and Heiner for the correct solution, another five to Darrell for a nice interpretation, and five to Nathan for asking the question. :)

Oh, and yes, Curnyn’s take on it is interesting. I don’t know if I agree, but that’s less important than that he made me think. In fact, I was going to take his interpretation as a point of departure, whenever I get around to writing something about it. But I’ve got ten days of guitar lessons to finish first…

By: PaulC

PaulC — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:14:13 +0000

Darrell…no need for apologies or the last line of your contribution ( ” may be just a loon “) An excellent contribution…just need to keep in mind this exchange from many years ago;
Journalist:What is the song about?
Dylan;Have you heard it?
Journalist;Yes.
Dylan;That’s what the songs about.
( or “you don’t need a weatherman…..”

By: heiner

heiner — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 18:35:04 +0000

By the way, Sean Curnyn has some interesting observationsabout this song at his blog.

By: heiner

heiner — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 18:29:27 +0000

+ 1 for The Girl From The Red River Shore, of which (whom?) I also thought when I read this. I just didn’t dare to ask about private matters like these. :)

By: Eyolf Østrem

Eyolf Østrem — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 12:11:25 +0000

You’re not a loon. :)

By: Darrell Wheeler

Darrell Wheeler — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 11:51:10 +0000

Not sure if I can really express myself in any inteligable way about these issues and I hope Eyolf won’t mind me using his soap box. But I have been thinking a lot about The Girl From The Red River Shore.

On the one hand a song about a lost love. but when I let the succesion of images roll over me I get this feeling that it’s actually about something much deeper. While lots of people in some forums have devoted a fair bit of space to speculations about who the girl may be, I believe the song is about being touched by the muse. Even more, about allowing onesself to actually get to that place where one could be touched by something which comes from a more spiritual realm. The experience in the end may be ineffable and so personal that no one else can really share in it or even offer acknowledgment of it happening. It is only by the grace of the muse that the gift of inspiration may be received and in the end it may well be irretrievably lost. Leaving one “a stranger in a strange land” where no one really remembers or can understand the place you had been to; even longing for a return to that grace but not being able to find the way. In day to day life contact with a more spiritual realm seems unattainable. The final verse seems to suggest a source of comfort in this world where that contact with a deeper reality can be revived.

For mine, this song says something profound about Dylan’s religious views. Of course I may just be a loon.

Merry Christmas!

By: Eyolf Østrem

Eyolf Østrem — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:38:40 +0000

Finally! I was waiting for someone to ask. :) I’m not going to tell — yet. When the Deal Goes Down is a good guess, and some of the things you point out apply in my case as well, but it’s not the song.

By: Nathan

Nathan — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:30:24 +0000

Well now you’ve got me curious. What is the “one song” that makes you wonder about Bob’s beliefs? For my money, I would say that “When the Deal Goes Down” says more about Bob’s religiosity than any song on Christmas in the Heart. First of all, he wrote it, which, regardless of whether there is any autobiographical quality to his songs, means that he is at least thinking about what he’s writing, as opposed simply reciting well known seasonal songs. Secondly, I can’t shake the feeling that, although it may appears to be a 40′s style crooner love song, there is alot more beneath the surface of that song. “We all wear the same thorny crown”…”You come to my eyes, like a vision from the skies”… it gives the refrain a little bit of a different spin when looked at as a statement of faith. The truth is most likely somewhere in between, with the song functioning as both a love song as well as a testament of faith, or simply Bob’s general outlook on life. Anyways, rambled enough, what is the song that makes you wonder?

By: RightWingBob.com » Odds and Ends

RightWingBob.com » Odds and Ends — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 01:12:02 +0000

[...] hope to post that during this time. The world holds its breath, I know. By the way, check out the brief but interesting evaluation from Eyolf Østrem (of Dylan Chords fame) at his blog Things Twice. ……………….Share [...]