It has been noted by others besides me that many of Dylan’s latter day songs of apparent romantic love and longing can be heard in many instances instead as songs of devotion to — let’s say — the divine. An in-depth meditation on all that would be lengthy and will have to wait for another time. When you think in those terms, however, you also can’t help but wonder whether Dylan himself perceives the same deeper dimension in songs of love written by other people, in particular songs he’s chosen to cover in concert. In some cases, that would be a real stretch (“Brown Sugar”). In others, not so much, perhaps. During his 2002 tour, Dylan performed his buddy Van Morrison’s song “Carrying A Torch” on six occasions (click here for a sample from New York City on November 13th of that year).

That great song includes these lines:

You’re the keeper of the flame
And you burn so bright
Why don’t we re-connect
And move up into the light

You don’t have to travel very far in the Good Book, of-course, to find “light” used to describe the divine. A few examples, anyway –

From Isaiah, Chapter 9 (as also quoted in Matthew, Chapter 4) there is:

The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shined.

From chapter 8 of John’s Gospel is this:

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Also from the Gospel of John, this time Chapter 12, is this:

Jesus said to them, “The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, lest the darkness overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”

From Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians:

For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

Likewise, you don’t have to go very far in Dylan’s own body of work to find his own use of light, in many shades, to paint the images in his songs.

From One More Night:

One more night, the stars are in sight
But tonight I’m as lonesome as can be.
Oh, the moon is shinin’ bright,
Lighting ev’rything in sight,
But tonight no light will shine on me.

to ’Cross the Green Mountain:

I’m ten miles outside the city, and I’m lifted away
In an ancient light, that is not of day
They were calm, they were blunt, we knew ’em all too well
We loved each other more than we ever dared to tell

Anyhow, all of this has been in the name of casting a little light on what might have been going on when Dylan sang about carrying Van’s torch.

Flame of love that burns so bright
That is my desire
Keep on liftin’ me, liftin’ me up
Higher and higher

Great album, by the way.

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