Yesterday I just felt like letting Bob’s comments regarding belief and the sincerity of Christmas In The Heart speak for themselves, because they do speak for themselves. Today I’ll allow myself this small and arguably innocent bit of gloating because it’s something that’s almost freaky: About six days ago, writing about the Daily News article where Bob Dylan was described as “a devout Christian,” I demurred to the extent of saying that I would choose to use a softer term, like “believer.” Then this interview comes out and that’s exactly the term used — specifically, “true believer” — albeit that the phrase originates with Bill Flanagan and Bob reiterates it. We’re told the interview was conducted in October, so I can’t claim credit for putting the idea out there. But I can claim some kind of credit for my own timing, doggone it! A true bon mot.

Anyhow, there are many other noteworthy things in this interview with Bill Flanagan, who has always asked Bob some good questions.

To get back to sincerity for a moment, thanks to reader Wayne for this emailed comment, quoting a question that Bill Flanagan asked:

Some critics don’t seem to know what to make of this record. Bloomberg news said, “Some of the songs sound ironic. Does he really mean have yourself a Merry Little Christmas?” Is there any ironic content in these songs?

In my opinion, every decent version of this song is at least a little ironic. The lyrics and musical setting (minor key?) lend themselves well to a bittersweet reading.

Of-course Wayne is exactly right: it’s, well, ironic to invoke that particular song when discussing whether Dylan is being ironic with the album. That song has an underlying tragic tone — it’s bittersweet, just like Wayne observes. But Dylan answered the wrong question rightly — thankfully — by denying that he is performing the songs in general with a sense of irony.

Moving on, there’s this that interests the Sinatra fan in me:

BF: Stan Lynch once told me about you and him slipping out of a rehearsal with the Heartbreakers to go see Dean, Sinatra and Sammy Davis. What appealed to you about those guys?

BD: I don’t know, maybe the camaraderie. On the other hand I wasn’t much into that whole scene actually – it left a lot of people out.

Since the Heartbreakers are mentioned — and after quickly checking the history books — this must be referring to the 1988 “Together Again” tour that Frank, Dean and Sammy did (or attempted to do, since Dean dropped out after four shows and was replaced by Liza Minnelli). It’s no news that Bob is a fan of Sinatra and enjoys that kind of music. When he avers, however, that that “whole scene [...] left a lot of people out” I would assume he’s referring to the whole “Rat Pack” scene that those three guys appeared to represent when together. I do happen to think the Rat Pack stuff is overdone by the media, who are always more interested in celebrity and gossip than in music. I mean, I find the Rat Pack shenanigans amusing enough, but it is certainly a tiny aspect of what Sinatra was about, not to mention the other two guys, and some people unfortunately fail to hear the music and to recognize the musical gifts because of all that brash personality-oriented stuff.

Another note: With reference to Dylan’s singing in Latin on Adeste Fideles, Flanagan asks Bob if he’s ever sung in a foreign language before. (I guess he’s never heard Bob’s Ritorna a Me.) Bob’s answer is intriguing: “I’ve sung in French, Italian and Spanish. Over the years, Columbia has asked me to do records in those languages and I recorded stuff here and there. None of the tracks have been released though.” Now, I understand that pop records sometimes get rerecorded in other languages for those markets, but it sure never occurred to me that the record company got Bob Dylan to do this! I can’t wait for the Bootleg Series Volume 27, featuring Dylan singing Joey in French, and Wiggle Wiggle in Italian, and Highlands in Spanish! (In reality, I’d be amazed if he’s been asked to do something like this more than about twice in his whole career. C’mon.)

Finally, the fact that this interview was apparently given as an exclusive to this “Street News” entity deserves comment. It made me laugh, honestly, but then that’s hardly a bad thing. I remember seeing some guys on the New York City subway over the years, selling copies of Street News. I haven’t seen this in a long time, but that’s not to say they’re not still out there. (In fact, I’m going to look for a paper copy of this issue to buy.) The idea seemed to be — well, what? — news for homeless people, sold by homeless people? I never quite got it, and after reading the mission statement on the website (“NASNA exists to support and cultivate an effective, self-sustaining street newspaper network that promotes power and opportunity for people living in poverty”) I’m even less sure I get it. But so what? Giving the interview as an exclusive to an outfit like this, instead of Rolling Stone or USA Today, is an amusing and nice gesture in the spirit of Christmas In The Heart, and appropriate since Dylan’s royalties on the record are going to help feed the hungry. So kudos to whoever came up with the idea. (I just hope it doesn’t mean that Bill Flanagan is homeless…)

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Addendum 2:31: Thanks to Russ for his quick and helpful two cents on “Street News” etc:

What a fun interview with Bob, eh?! Just a great Thanksgiving treat.

I’m writing in an effort to help you better understand the issue with NASNA. Here in D.C. we have StreetSense, which is affiliated with NASNA. The vendors are homeless people who pick a spot in the city to sell their papers. They pay 35 cents a copy and sell each paper for $1. It’s an opportunity for them to make some money and invest in a business operation. The articles are written by homeless people, formerly homeless people, and volunteers. The goal is in fact to address issues affecting the homeless, but that doesn’t mean you have to be homeless to appreciate the value. The vendors are always appreciative and good for a chat. The gentleman outside my office is particularly fun to talk with and we exchanged holiday best wishes this morning. The Nov 25-December 8 edition of StreetSense has most of the Dylan interview under a section entitled, On the Lighter Side. It ends with the question about Dylan’s favorite Christmas album. I’ll be surprised if you read the information on this webpage and are still confused.

It’s quite humorous that you would write about this today. Just this morning I was thinking that it would be nice if someone spent a little more time and effort highlighting NASNA and their efforts. We’re all excited to read the interview, for sure, but the point of giving an exclusive to NASNA was to draw attention to their mission and hopefully improve business in the meantime. Perhaps your skepticism is well-placed, but in my estimation this is a productive enterprise.

Good enough for me. More power to them.

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