July 17/24 Joel and Amber’s house on Mayne Island
On July 17th the Dylan group met on Mayne Island for another wonderful afternoon in Joel and Amber’s idyllic back yard. The weather, the food, and the company were perfect and the music sublime. Attending this year were Greg, Eric, Bert, Mick and Marg, Marilyn, Bruce and Laurel, Bill and some new friends: Frances, Mary, Dave and of course our hosts. Some of our key members were greatly missed: Jane and Wayne, Martin, Renee, Heather, Dennis and Stephen
The theme this year was “cheerful or funny; anything but sad and dreary”. Amber said, “We need to balance this year's depressing world news with some of Dylan's good-feeling songs.” Here’s a few quick notes.
Joel Chose Please, Mrs Henry from Bob Dylan and the Band: The Basement Tapes.
He mentioned that any of the songs on that album would have worked for our theme this year. And he passed around a collage of images of Dylan smiling.
Before choosing this song, Joel rejected Just Like a Woman. It is too sorrowful for our theme because Mick Jagger sang it at the memorial service for his long time girlfriend L’Wren Scott who died of suicide.
Instead he chose this song with it’s raunchy and scatological humour. The lines “I’m down on my knees. An’ I ain’t got a dime.” refer to the fact that when the song was written you still needed a dime to use a pay toilet. However, in 1970, when the Emeritus Professor and Mathematician, Ira Martin Gessel, was 19 years old he started the Committee to End Pay Toilets In America (CEPTIA) and by 1976 they had achieved their goal.
It’s also fun to speculate about who Mrs Henry was. The woman on the cover of the album wearing the Mrs Henry t-shirt might provide a clue.
Finally Joel said that Dylan reminded us, when he got his Nobel Prize for literature, that you can’t separate the music from the words in his songs.
He ended with the thought that the song remind us to be joyful and grateful.
Marilyn Chose If Not For You. She said that Dylan may have been referring to his lady of the moment but for her, the song is about “the people who have changed the direction/possibilities for me”. Mentioned her husband, Dennis, her sisters, her school chum, Frances, her Mayne Island friends, her faith and the people who guided her, and her mentor Hugh Foulds who gave her a chance and helped her find her calling as an animator.
She said the upbeat tempo, as opposed to a slow meditative ballad, almost hides the song’s profound depth but it reveals joyful gratitude.
Eric Chose Mr Tambourine Man from Bringing It All Back Home. The line “one hand waving free” reminds Eric of a Snoopy poster where the character is waving one hand and saying “Feeling groovy!”
Group discussed question, who was Mr Tambourine Man?
Mick (who very kindly sent me these notes)
Chose Wiggle Wiggle Under the Red Sky for July 17, 2024 Dylan’s 27th studio album
Thought by many to be his worst song ever, Eric guessed the title. Mick disagreed and claimed people would be dancing and cheering by the end of his presentation. His prologue was a nod to “Dylanologists” referencing David Kinney’s “Adventures in the Land of Bob” noting disagreement is a common trait among them. Stephen Scobie, founding member of our group, is recognized by the author as “clear-eyed” in his “Alias, Bob Dylan revisited”.
One notable Dylanologist Andy Muir, triggered the fire alarm at British Telecom when he was illegally copying his fanzine on a weekend. Also recommended reading is Mark Howard’s “Listen Up” book, who was the recording engineer for “Oh Mercy” et al.
Mick demonstrated the power and rhythm of “Wiggle Wiggle” by performing all the lyrics. Allegedly written as a nursery rhyme for his daughter “Gabby Goo Goo”, the song has been subjected to critical analysis by several Dylanologists, notably Terry Atwood “Untold Bob Dylan” and vangoghdjango in “I asked CHATGPT to analyze Bob’s deepest and most cryptic song “ r/bobdylan. (see links below)
One reader noted, correctly in Mick’s opinion, that Wiggle Wiggle is about the power of music more than anything else. All of humanity is helplessly and primarily infatuated with rhythm and we draw an immense amount of significance out of that common bond.”
So go ahead and dance with both Bob “The Rhythm King” and “the Gypsy Queen” in Wiggle Wiggle first line.
Amber Chose The Day of the Locusts from New Morning. She started by mentioning that the song should really be called “Day of the Cicadas”. It tells the story of the day Dylan received an honorary degree from Princeton University. At first he didn’t want to go at all but David Crosby and his then wife Sara persuaded him. Then when the university insisted he wear a cap and gown, he refused and again Crosby persuaded him. After the hated experience he wrote this song.
“The man standin' next to me, his head was exploding” probably refers to David Crosby who was high at the time.
“Yeah the locusts sang such a sweet melody” was a reference to the fact that there was a cicada infestation at Princeton at the time and Dylan was contrasting their “song” to the unpleasantness of the ceremony.
The line“I put down my robe, picked up my diploma. Took hold of my sweetheart and away we did drive.” made Amber think of the Woody Guthrie song Riding in My Car from the Rise Up Singing song
book. There is a recording of Dylan singing this song, which he calls Car, Car, on the bootleg Minneapolis Party tape and also with Dave Van Ronk on the album Bob Dylan Live in New York 1961.
Mary is a Mayne Island friend. She played guitar and sang Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You from Nashville Skyline. She said the song is about a carefree era and also about staying put for at least one night.
She told us that the song was written in a couple of hours while Bob was staying in a Ramada Inn.
Laurel Chose Talking Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues. The song was first released on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 . She contrasted the humorous blood thirsty lines which described the excursion boat sinking “There were 6000 people tryin' to kill each other” to the more gently humorous description of the Mariposa Belle sinking in Stephen Leacock’s short story “The Marine Excursion of the Knights of Pythias”.
Bill Played guitar and sang You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere. He especially loves the inconsistent rhyming scheme and the way the song gets more ridiculous and surreal as it goes along. He said, “Sometimes a Dylan song was written just for the fun of playing with words. No deep analysis required.” He really disagreed with writers who look for deep meaning in this tune.
Greg Chose the Richard Thompson version of Dylan’s song Country Pie from the Fairport Convention album Moat on the Ledge.
Bert
Chose Buckets of Rain from Blood on the Tracks. He mentioned that the lyrics of the song are sometimes childish “Got all them buckets comin out of my ears” but it’s also a serious love song with a blues feel.
Bert ended his talk by paraphrasing the song lyrics. He said “Take the song with you and use it well”.
Dave Moss
Dave is Amber and Joel’s new neighbour. He played his guitar and sang Wagon Wheel He told us that this is a song co-written by Bob Dylan and Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show. Dylan recorded the chorus in 1973; Secor added verses 25 years later. Darius Rucker from Hooty and the Blow Fish covered the song in 2013.
Dave said that he could relate to the song because he also wandered the road, pursuing adventure and dreams.
Note from Stephen(JH)
From: "Stephen Scobie"
Sent: Saturday, June 29, 2024 3:54:15 PM
Subject: Re: Trainload of Fools
Dear Amber & Joel
I am very sorry, but I will not be coming to Mayne this year. Too many mobility & transportation problems. I will miss it.
I hope you all have a great time.
It's not quite on your topic, but the Dylan song which always makes me laugh out loud funny is "Fourth Time Around" (on Blonde on Blonde). There is a connection (which I do not fully understand, but always respond to) between humour & ingenious rhymes.
Rhymes in English are always on a fine line between unexpected & absurd.
Stephen
From: Bill Maylone
> Date: July 18, 2024 at 6:58:50 PM PDT
> Subject: great gathering
>
> Hi Joel and Amber
>
> Thanks again for hosting my favourite annual Mayne Island event. As usual, it was really fun: I hear Dylan songs I never knew about; I learn a lot; and I always savour the excellent spread of food. I also really enjoy the opportunity of getting in front of a captive audience and expounding (or just getting a few chuckles) for a few minutes. Better than teaching - because everyone wants to be there. Kind of makes me wish next year was next week.
>
> Bill
From: Jane Thom
> Date: July 17, 2024 at 5:40:48 PM PDT
> To: Amber Harvey> Subject: Re: Lunch
>
>
> It looks wonderful and communal. Not sure of all the people but will talk with you soon!
> Thanks, Amber. So colourful!
> love,
> Jane