36. Bob Dylan — The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (1963)
How many times can a man look up /
before he sees the sky?
-Blowin’ In The Wind
I’ve tried to make a point to give each of these albums relatively undivided attention, but I don’t think any has demanded as much as this one, nor rewarded that attention so thoroughly. I listened through this once while my attention was semi-divided, popping in and out of work. It was fine. The nature of these tunes is such that if they’re on in the background, it’s easy for them to blend together. Most of them don’t have choruses; most of them feature the same three instruments (acoustic guitar, harmonica, vocals). It’s easy to get lost in the music itself — not lost in the sense of being enveloped, but lost in the sense of losing your place, wondering how far in you are, and which song you’re on.
I met a young child beside a dead pony
I met a white man who walked a black dog
I met a young woman, her body was burning
I met a young girl, she gave me a rainbow
I met one man who was wounded in love
I met another man who was wounded in hatred
-A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall
So I went back and gave it another, dedicated listen, reading the lyrics for each song as it played. I’m a firm believer in the power of repeated listens, but I’ve never had an album so transformed by the power of the words themselves. Lyrically, this album is just stunning, pure poetry flowing from word to word, verse to verse. The music itself is hyper traditional folk music, but it functions as a blank canvass inviting you to focus your attention on what Dylan says, which, at this early stage of his career, is still relatively comprehensible. Relatively.
If you go when the snowflakes storm /
When the rivers freeze and summer ends /
Please see if she has a coat so warm /
To keep her from the howling winds
- Girl From The North Country
It’s also shockingly romantic! I’ve got many preconceived ideas of Dylan but the notion of him as hopeless romantic is new to me. It’s evident from the album cover itself, featuring his then-girlfriend Suze Rotolo prominently. Many of the tunes speak to his longing for her as she studied abroad while he wrote these songs. One frequently thinks of Bob Dylan, voice of his generation. But in reality, he was just a 22 year old dude writing about the world he saw while missing the one he loved. These songs humanize him and the album imbuing the more politically charged songs with even more meaning.
But I wish there was something you would do or say /
To try and make me change my mind and stay /
But we never did too much talking anyway /
But don’t think twice, it’s all right
- Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
I’ve always thought of Dylan as an original songwriter, but discovered while reviewing this album that most of the music itself was in fact adapted from existing folk tunes. “Blowin’ In The Wind,” the most famous song from this album, was adapted from the 1833 spiritual “No More Auction Block.” Dylan’s knowledge of folk music from well outside his upbringing is impressive, especially for a 22-year old, but I do look forward to his original musical compositions.
I’ll let you be in my dream /
If I can be in yours
- Talkin’ World War III Blues
Political commentary is tough in music; you run such a risk of alienating your audience, coming off as pretentious, or self-righteous, or just silly. Through and through, I didn’t feel that once in this set of 13 songs, and found the messaging really connected with me, nearly 60 years later. If you give this album a spin, treat it like a short story and take the time to read the lyrics alongside. I think you’ll have a similar experience.
One Essential Song:
Listen on Spotify:
