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Love and Theft

Certain Songs #108: Bob Dylan – “High Water (For Charley Patton)”

February 16, 2015 by Jim Connelly

image

Album: “Love and Theft”.

Year: 2001.

“Love and Theft” famously came out on September 11, 2001, making it the second most important thing to happen that day but forever intertwined from a pop culture standpoint. As a matter of fact, some of the commentary surrounding the album made it seem like Dylan kinda knew what the post 9-11 zeitgeist was going to be as he was making the record. Which was insane, but went to the doomy quality of a song like “High Water (For Charley Patton)”.

Filled with eerie backing vocals, drums that imply a beat more than play them, and eternally riding upon a doomy combo of banjo, mandolin and acoustic guitar, “High Water (For Charley Patton)” certainly sounds post-apocalyptic enough. 

So when Dylan sings:

Things are breakin’ up out there
High water everywhere

you definitely want to start heading for higher ground.

But like much of “Love and Theft,”  – which is easily Dylan’s funniest album since Highway 61 Revisited – the takeaway from “High Water (For Charley Patton)” is this:  apocalypse is coming, and man is it funny! Which accounts for great verses like this one:

Well, George Lewis told the Englishman, the Italian and the Jew
“You can’t open your mind, boys
To every conceivable point of view”
They got Charles Darwin trapped out there on Highway Five
Judge says to the High Sheriff,
“I want him dead or alive
Either one, I don’t care”
High water everywhere

Message: I used to not care, but things have changed. 

Fan-made video for “High Water (For Charley Patton)”

My Certain Songs Spotify Playlist:

Every “Certain Song” Ever

Filed Under: Certain Songs, Hot Topics, Music Tagged With: Bob Dylan, High Water (For Charley Patton), Love and Theft

Bob Dylan – “Love and Theft”

January 11, 2002 by Jim Connelly

(Columbia)

Part of my 2001 Top Ten list as published by Neumu on Jan 11, 2002

. . .

It really isn’t any wonder that the old reprobate’s best album in 25 years is his funniest and scariest in 35. He’s seen the apocalypse, and god damn, is it funny. Conventional wisdom has always said that almost dying in 1966 is what took the edge from him — that maybe he needed to slow down and see the roses or whatever — so how ironic is it that almost dying in 1997 seems to have given it it back? Message: I used not to care, but things have changed.

. . .

Filed Under: Music Tagged With: Bob Dylan, Love and Theft

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Previously on Medialoper

  • Certain Songs #2744: Todd Snider – “Thin Wild Mercury”
  • Certain Songs #2743: Todd Snider – “The Ballad of The Kingsmen”
  • Certain Songs #2742: Todd Snider – “Guaranteed”
  • Certain Songs #2741: Todd Snider – “My Generation (Part 2)”
  • Certain Songs #2740: Tobin Sprout – “All Used Up”

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