14. Restless Farewell
Bob Dylan returns again. This time with Restless Farewell. My favorite version is from the Frank Sinatra 80th birthday show. He nails it there and again the voice of the older Dylan really drives home the song. In the context of the Sinatra show this song feels like Dylan's own personal "My Way"or even a self penned obituary that was written 7 decades early. The studio version is also very good and where I first discovered this song. It has remained one of my favorite Dylan tunes. He is fully embracing the folk tradition with this song, as he continues to do today, by taking the old folk tune "The Parting Glass" and and rewriting the song. The borrowed melody and even some lyrical concepts all go back to this old song.
The thing about this song that astonishes me is that a 22 year old Dylan wrote it as if he were an old man looking back on his life and his principles. It has a perspective most 22 year olds never gain. As a 22 year old myself I thought I knew everything there was to know about life and it is laughable how naive I was back then. All this being said, I called this song the soundtrack to my life as a teenager and I still had my whole life ahead of me..... I remember hearing this for the first time and after every verse hit I thought, "holy shit, this is what I think!" Even though I was just a child then the song still feels like a soundtrack to my life so evidently some things about me haven't changed. As mentioned in previous posts the reason I think so many people love Bob Dylan is because many of his songs feel as if they were written for you. The masterful way in which he taps into the human condition is simply genius.
There are so many lyrics in this song that I think capture my perspective on life that I can't comment on them all, but I can share them. Those who know me can probably attest that I will fight a for a cause until the end with no regrets, rarely do I struggle to unleash the thoughts in my mind and that when the dust settles I tend to not care what people think and remain as I am. Enjoy this one. I know I do.
The cause was there before we came
And ev'ry cause that ever I fought
I fought it full without regret or shame
But the dark does die
As the curtain is drawn and somebody's eyes
Must meet the dawn
And if I see the day
I'd only have to stay
So I'll bid farewell in the night and be gone.
I might go insane if it couldn't be sprung
But it's not to stand naked under unknowin' eyes
It's for myself and my friends my stories are sung
But the time ain't tallh
Yet on time you depend and no word is possessed
By no special friend
And though the line is cut
It ain't quite the end
I'll just bid farewell till we meet again.
To disgrace, distract, and bother me
And the dirt of gossip blows into my face
And the dust of rumors covers me
But if the arrow is straight
And the point is slick
It can pierce through dust no matter how thick
So I'll make my stand
And remain as I am
And bid farewell and not give a damn."
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