Bob Dylan: Haiku 61 Revisited

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Want to get angry?
Hear Bob’s song about the death
And lynching of Till.

A man's girlfriend dies.
He hears about it by mail.
He visits her corpse.

Things might suck now, but
Don't worry. They'll suck much more
After you are dead.

Death is one cold cat.
He takes mothers and won't spare
Sisters and brothers.

Woody writes a song
For Eleanor Roosevelt,
Praising her husband.

Bob's eloquent plea
To his landlord to please keep
His monthly rent down.

Your fashion and fear
Only make me mock you, man.
You're a Philistine!

Bawdy goldminer
Remembers his grubby pals
And gets liquored up.

Bob gets a degree,
It's a hot day. He wants to
Hit the road quickly.

Bob has a vision
Of millions of dark eyes. They
Are his biggest fans.

After hearing this,
You'd have to be crazy to
Be a coal miner.

I could write a book,
But I'm hungry for a bit
Of you-know-what, hon.

Bob is more obsessed
with the days of the week than
The girl he's seeing.

Cupid, shoot Bob now.
You did it for Sam Cooke, so
Shoot that girl too, please.

A gambler laments
His addiction; it won't let
Him go birdwatching.

Nuclear warfare
Makes Bob's problems seem petty.
Death will do that, man.

I spent 50 years
Crying about lost love, babe.
You try crying some.

He hits the crossroads.
Various bad things happen.
He goes to Rosedale.

Crazy love is good
If, as Van and Bob believe,
It feels this mellow.

You can be a grouch,
But when the flood comes, you're on
Your own, my friend.