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The Same Distant Places: Bob Dylan's Poetics of Place and Displacement

2009; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 32; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/03007760802700936

1740-1712

Richard L. Elliott,

Poetry Analysis and Criticism

Abstract This article explores the emphasis in Bob Dylan's work on memory, place, and displacement. It rehearses some key issues raised by recent theorists who have been interested in the connections between these themes before proceeding to discuss tropes of displacement in Dylan's work. Topics covered include the importance of the city and its projection of the rural, the theme of moving on and its association with accumulated experience, and the ability of Dylan continually to reinvent himself. The article closes with a reflection on the album Time Out of Mind as a distillation of themes of place and displacement that can be found throughout Dylan's work and argues that the work presents a poetics of displacement that cannot shed the pull of place and the desire for homely permanence. Notes 1. This is a practice we can also observe among the numerous books written about Dylan such as Robert Shelton's No Direction Home, Greil Marcus's Marcus, Greil. 1997. Invisible Republic: Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes, London: Picador. [Google Scholar] Invisible Republic: Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes and Like a Rolling Stone: Bob Dylan at the Crossroads, and Howard Sounes's Down the Highway. 2. Similarly, there is otherworldliness to the bleak North evoked in a number of Dylan's songs and in the music of the Canadians Ian and Sylvia, to which he was particularly drawn. "Mozambique," from Desire, is a rare example of a song seemingly centered on a non‐American place. Dylan claims at one point that it is a fantasized place, and elsewhere, discussing his musical style, suggests that he is not much influenced by styles from outside the North American continent. See the conversations collected in Cott Jonathan, Cott, ed. 2006. Dylan on Dylan: The Essential Interviews, London: Hodder & Stoughton. [Google Scholar]. 3. The song was released under the name of Williams's alter ego Luke the Drifter. Dylan and the Band recorded another Luke the Drifter song, "Stones That You Throw," as part of the Basement Tapes sessions, with Dylan emulating Luke's trademark spoken delivery. The group also recorded Williams's "You Win Again" during the same sessions. 4. This different use of the word "old" only confuses the issue further, suggesting that the "young him" was the "old him." Many thanks to Callie Gladman and Bob Dylan's Music Company for permission to quote from the lyrics of Bob Dylan, including extended quotations from the following songs: "A Hard Rain's A‐Gonna Fall" Copyright ©1963; renewed 1991 Special Rider Music. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Reprinted by permission. "Can't wait" Copyright ©1997 Special Rider Music. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Reprinted by permission. "Dirt Road Blues" Copyright ©1997 Special Rider Music. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Reprinted by permission. "Highlands" Copyright ©1997 Special Rider Music. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Reprinted by permission. "If You See Her, Say Hello" Copyright ©1974 Ram's Horn Music. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Reprinted by permission. "Love Sick" Copyright ©1997 Special Rider Music. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Reprinted by permission. "Make You Feel My Love" Copyright ©1997 Special Rider Music. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Reprinted by permission. "Million Miles" Copyright ©1997 Special Rider Music. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Reprinted by permission. "Mr Tambourine Man" Copyright ©1964; renewed 1992 Special Rider Music. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Reprinted by permission. "My Back Pages" Copyright ©1964; renewed 1992 Special Rider Music. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Reprinted by permission. "Not Dark Yet" Copyright ©1997 Special Rider Music. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Reprinted by permission. "One Too Many Mornings" Copyright ©1964; renewed 1992 Special Rider Music. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Reprinted by permission. "Pretty Peggy‐O" Copyright ©1962; renewed 1990 MCA. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Reprinted by permission. "Restless Farewell" Copyright ©1964; renewed 1992 Special Rider Music. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Reprinted by permission. "Señor (Tales Of Yankee Power)" Copyright ©1978 Special Rider Music. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Reprinted by permission. "She Belongs To Me" Copyright ©1965; renewed 1993 Special Rider Music. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Reprinted by permission. "Shelter From The Storm" Copyright ©1974 Ram's Horn Music. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Reprinted by permission. "Standing in The Doorway" Copyright ©1997 Special Rider Music. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Reprinted by permission. "Til I Fell In Love With You" Copyright ©1997 Special Rider Music. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Reprinted by permission. "Tryin' To Get To Heaven" Copyright ©1997 Special Rider Music. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Reprinted by permission. "Where Are You Tonight? (Journey Through Dark Heat)" Copyright ©1978 Special Rider Music. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Reprinted by permission.