Thanks to reader T.D. for this link to an article in the American Spectator by one Mark Gavreau Judge. In it, the writer makes the case that rock’n'roll in an inherently conservative art form - due to the very orderly nature of its musical structure. He seems to be saying that this does - or should more often - make it appeal to those of a conservative mindset. It’s a fanciful argument, to say the least - I don’t think you can draw any line between the repetitive structure of a pop song and political conservatism, or any other ideology - but it’s a reasonably diverting article nonetheless.

He also dwells on the way that great popular love songs can reflect off of a religious notion of God’s divine love for us. In particular, he mentions Dylan’s Make You Feel My Love as an example. I can’t help but wonder if he’s read Ronnie Keohane’s writing on the album from which that song comes - Time Out Of Mind - or if he himself is getting near her same conclusion, i.e., that that song is in fact sung, effectively, in the voice of the Lord - the Good Shepherd singing to His lost sheep.

When the evening shadows and the stars appear
And there is no one there to dry your tears
I could hold you for a million years
To make you feel my love

I know you haven’t made your mind up yet
But I would never do you wrong
I’ve known it from the moment that we met
No doubt in my mind where you belong

Since reading Ronnie’s writing led me to hear the song this way, I’ve never been able to hear it any other way. That line, “I could hold you for a million years,” is to me an example of something Dylan could never say if he were voicing a human being’s love for another human being. He knows better. It brings to my mind one of Dylan’s more interesting statements from the stage - on April 17th, 1980 in Toronto’s Massey Hall (as referenced here on Bjorner), he said this right before playing Saved:

I saw the newspaper last night that The Who were playing in, I think it was Vancouver last night. Peter Townshend, he apologized to all the fans, he said to them “We’ll never leave you alone again.” You just think about that for a minute. There is one who will never leave you alone, I just don’t think that it’s Peter.

“Never” is a long time not to leave someone. And “a million years” is a long time to hold someone in your arms. Dylan, I think, knows very well when those words apply, and when they don’t …

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