Artists hate it when you call their work autobiographical--it reduces all their toil, creativity, artistry to the level of mere diary. So I won't say "Blood on the Tracks" is autobiographical. For all I know, every song on the album was inspired by a different Chekhov story, as Dylan claimed in "Chronicles: Volume 1." But when I hear the singer's voice, I envision him in my mind's eye up on a high lonesome farm in Minnesota, literally dying of love and loss. He is living simultaneously in the present and the past--maybe a bit more in the latter. He is alone except for his nursemaid from Ashtabula, who gives him everything his beloved won't anymore--and it doesn't matter a bit. He is already looking ahead to the bittersweet moment when Miss Ashtabula leaves--more than likely at his behest. Alone, walking the endless acres of green fields, he tries to find the words to win back his beloved, or destroy her, experimenting with attitudes of contrition, blame, indifference, acceptance, rage, revenge:
Do the words win her back? We'll never know for sure. The story ends on an ambiguous note, like Mickey Rourke high up on the ropes at the end of "The Wrestler." Even if she comes back, a love this idealized can't last--it has nowhere to go but down, from the heavens to the burning depths of hell--or anyway, to the cold reality of Earth. Yes, the writer will survive this love, he'll marry again, split again, but he'll always hold something back. He'll always have one eye on the nearest exit. He'll always be "on the road, looking for another joint." The road, after all, is neverending.And the coup de grace, the final words of powerless devotion:
- "We always did feel the same, we just saw it from a differnt point of view."
- "Maybe she'll pick him out again, how long must he wait?"
- "I always did believe she was my twin."
- "I'm goin' out of my mind with a pain that stops and starts, like a corkscrew to my heart."
- "I can change, I swear! See what you can do..."
- "You hurt the ones that I love best and cover up the truth with lies. One day you'll be in the ditch, flies buzzin' around your eyes, blood on your saddle."
- "I noticed at the ceremony, your corrupt ways had finally made you blind. I can't remember your face anymore, your mouth has changed, your eyes don't look into mine."
- "Well, I struggled through barbed wire, felt the hail fall from above. Well, you know I even outran the hound dogs. Honey, you know I've earned your love."
- "If you see her, say hello."
- "Now there's a wall between us, somethin' there's been lost, I took too much for granted, got my signals crossed."
- "Beauty walks a razor's edge, someday I'll make her mine."
- "If you want me, honey baby, I'll be here."
- "Everything about you is bringing me misery."
- "Life is sad, life is a bust, all ya can do is do what you must. You do what you must do and ya do it well, I'll do it for you, honey baby, can't you tell?"
***
Nobody sings Dylan like Dylan, but these songs glow like burning coals in whatever context they find themselves. Here are covers of every song on the album. Enjoy! (Though to quote their composer, I don't know how anyone could enjoy this kind of pain.)
Blood on the Tracks Covered
An NSD Production
complete with stewART
1. Tangled Up in Blue - Jerry Garcia Band
2. Simple Twist of Fate - Jeff Tweedy
3. You're a Big Girl Now - Lloyd Cole
4. Idiot Wind - The Coal Porters
5. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go - Shawn Colvin
6. Meet Me in the Morning - Freddie King
7. Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts - Tom Russell, Joe Ely, and Eliza Gilkyson
8. If You See Her Say Hello - Jeff Buckley
9. Shelter From the Storm - Rodney Crowell and Emmylou Harris
10. Buckets of Rain - Neko Case
Bonus Track
11. Up To Me - Roger McGuinn
