Tuesday, October 5, 2010

I Wrote A Song About You

  I wonder if Bob Dylan's lovers ever got furious at him.  I mean like really mad that he used their kisses and adventures and breakups for his art.  I mean, of course they did, but hear me out.  Is it fair to wax poetic about real things, however personal they may be?
  The great poets/songwriters connect.  They strike a hard chord with the masses (or at the very least a small crowd).  I ask you, how is one supposed to penetrate their followers without telling the truth?  That was not innuendo, by the way, so shut the fuck up.
  I mean, I went to Elementary School, okay?  I know that honesty is the best policy.  George Washington proved it (when he wasn't beating his slaves, of course).  Bob Dylan may have lied about a lot of things...his family, his musical experience, his name.  But, Robert Zimmerman speaks to people and that ain't no lie.
  So how do you speak to people?  This is the question artists tend to ask themselves.  You can get by with lies for a time, but, eventually, peeps be finding out who you really are, ya heard?  I mean, for example, I'm pretty sure Dr. John is not actually a trained professional.  But, seriously, I find it hard to believe that anyone can reach people without telling true stories.  Maybe that makes me dumb.  When I hear "Visions of Johanna" or "Don't Think Twice" I have to believe that those were real events.
  And that is how I feel about writing my own material.  I have posted songs/lyrics in the past that were blatantly about people I knew.  Typically, this is not something that those people appreciate.  But, I feel like the more personal the material the better it is.  Perhaps, that's my problem;  I need to be more cryptic.  Bob Dylan sings about Johanna, but there's a good chance Johanna was actually named Sara.  Or, better yet, Johanna was based on an amalgam of women he knew and loved.  It's not the woman that connected with the people...it was his visions of her.

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