Daily Ramblings:
What Else Can You Show Me? ...03/08/2005 12:06:05 pm
Yeah, I saw it ... in his review in the Seattle
Times of Dylan's first
show, Patrick McDonald says this:
It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only
Bleeding)," a classic anti-war song, roused
the crowd, especially the line, "Even the
president of the United States sometimes must
have to stand naked."
This kind of stuff is making RWB
very tired. But I guess we just have to face that it
will always continue. Just like the poor, the deluded
left will always be with us. All the more important
to refute these things at every turn.
So I sent the following email to
Mr. McDonald:
Thanks for your review. It's nice to get a
perceptive early picture of what Dylan is doing
on this tour.
One thing flummoxes me, however. You refer to "It's Alright Ma (I'm
Only Bleeding" as a
"classic anti-war song." I'm wondering
what war you believe this song is
"anti," and what lines in particular
seem to you to be expressing an anti-war
sentiment.
I realize that the reaction of the crowd to the
line "even the President of the U.S.
sometimes must have to stand naked" likely
made you think of President Bush. It's worth
noting that when Bob Dylan wrote that line, the
President was Lyndon Baines Johnson. He had
recently succeeded the assassinated John F.
Kennedy. Vietnam did not resemble the war it
would become, and Johnson was pretty popular.
Dylan has continued singing this song throughout
his career, regardless of who was in the White
House at any given time. Naturally it evokes more
lusty cheers amongst the more obvious left-wing
Dylan fans when there's a Republican in office.
However, as a critic, you should beware letting a
reaction from a crowd stand as your guide to what
a song is about.
"It's Alright Ma" is a truly great
song, about life, and about death's
inevitability, and about freedom, and about the
puncturing of illusion. It's a shame that one
line taken out of context and a few cheers would
lead some to file it away as an
"anti-war" song.
Regards
Right Wing Bob
He also describes how Merle Haggard
apparently stopped mid-song during "Okie From
Muskogee," and said something like "You
don't want to hear that," and later said, "Don't
worry about what George Bush does. Just enjoy the
show." He concludes from this that Merle has
"less conservative feelings" currently. I
might point out that Merle might have been reacting
to mindless leftie-loud-mouths in the audience ...
but all this would get me into Merle's politics, on
which I have nothing perceptive to say, and about
which I have no special knowledge. So I'll have to
leave that to Right Wing Merle, wherever
you are ...
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