Trust yourselfTrust yourself to do things that only you know best
Trust yourself
Trust yourself to do what's right and not be second-guessed
Don't trust me to show you beauty
When beauty may only turn to rust
If you need somebody you can trust, trust yourself
Trust yourself
Trust yourself to know the way that will prove true in the end
Trust yourself
Trust yourself to find the path where there is no if and when
Don't trust me to show you the truth
When the truth may only be ashes and dust
If you want somebody you can trust, trust yourself
Well, you're on your own, you always were
In a land of wolves and thieves
Don't put your hope in ungodly man
Or be a slave to what somebody else believes
Trust yourself
And you won't be disappointed when vain people let you down
Trust yourself
And look not for answers where no answers can be found
Don't trust me to show you love
When my love may be only lust
If you want somebody you can trust, trust yourself
BOB DYLAN Trust Yourself from Empire Burlesque
2 comments:
What I like so much about Bob is the persona (masked and anonymous) that comes through in his songs and writings and films, someone who appears to be willing to be completely present for the dark times as well as the silliest of moments.
As I listened to "Po' Boy" on September 11, 2001, I found myself laughing out loud and shaking my head in disbelief when he sang:
Knockin' on the door, I say, "Who is it and where are you from?" / Man says, "Freddy!" I say, "Freddy who?" He says, "Freddy or not here I come"
Years ago I went to a Steve Goodman concert, where Steve gleefully sang out:
When the red, red robin, comes Bob, Bob Dylan along along . . .
His influence and influences are everywhere. I am not as fanatical as I used to be about him, but his influence on me is, as they say, beyond reckoning.
I know exactly what you mean. This tragi-comic aspect -when he goes from, say, "The human mind can only stand so much" to wheeling a woman in a wheelbarrow down the street (Things Have Changed)- reminds you of - SHAKESPEARE! Christopher Ricks, the English academic and Dylan critic, would certainly think so. He places Dylan among the very greatest artists in his closely analytical book, Dylan's Visions Of Sin.
I liked your carefully exact use of the word "persona".
As you say, Bob's influence is huge. On me too. I've seen him on UK tours more than 30 times since 1978.
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