17 Comments

I hadn't heard Judy Collins version before and it's really good.

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I think what makes Dylan‘s songs so brilliant and evergreen is how malleable they are to the person or band that interprets it.

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My voice to text hit send before I was done… I’m sure there are lots of really bad Dylan covers, but for many a great artist, they are able to interpret his songs in new and exciting ways.

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I think that is so true. He is a master of both melody and lyrics that are open to new interpretations and arrangements.

I think another element to that is that he's always been quite the sponge and open to learning from other artists, but then turns around and deploys what he's learned with his own unique spin and voice.

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Wow! Another one I'd never heard before.

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Stick with me, kid, and I'll show you the stars. (Pronounced 'stahz')

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I had to go back and listen again. It’s been quite awhile since Judy was on my playlist, and a lot longer since I heard that song. Thanks.

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Same here. It's coming back around to old music and discovering how wonderful and even extraordinary it is. And I took it for granted at the time. No longer.

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A trip into the past brings us ultimately into the present, and so it goes. Strangely, all of our protests and lyric does little to mitigate madness since the warfare is psychic...but we have music and arts to counterbalance the madness. And we have the Kings and Queens of expression. Sorry if this waxes poetic.

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Please do wax poetic as I think you're hitting on some important themes. Music and art can point out the madness and protest against it, but can it stop it, either temporarily or permanently, when the dark side is a part of us? Is one of the important roles of music to help us own that dark side? Or, as you say, to counter-balance the madness with lightness and goodness and truth and beauty? Or all of these? Excellent questions.

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I think we could safely say "all of these" since it rings true in a quantum sense, also by owning the harsh realities of living (a time-honored tradition) we can go forward with conviction. The arts have always been our vehicle for ascending these harsh realities, empathy leads to cooperation and cooperation is the reason we are still here. Just sayin'.

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I may just have to quote you when I write a summary piece. Well said.

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I'll just add I was cursed from an early age with an inexplicable form of verbal jujitsu, to the point where people are afraid to engage me in conversation. Imagine what it must have been like growing up a hillbilly; but rest assured, we get along just fine... cus' I got me a six string and I know how to use it!

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You were probably a troubadour in a past life -- singing and talking your way out of trouble. I'm increasingly believing in past lives when I see skill sets and propensities that have no reason for being unless they were already in place when someone got here. It's good to let a six string do the talkin'!

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Ellen, I think I might do a little self-exploration into The Age of Aquarius era and period of “enlightenment”, and whether or not we might have led ourselves down a primrose path. Deserves merit.

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Sounds intriguing. I've subscribed so I can follow what you write. Substack is a good place to explore things like this.

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To calm the savage beast...

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