Sic Semper Tyrannis

Time Out of Mind

The continuing saga of Retail Music Hell. In today’s installment, Bob Dylan nurses a broken heart.

I’ll let you in on a little secret. The two or so years I worked at Blockbuster/Wherehouse were the darkest, most lonely period in my life thus far. It wasn’t too long after I started there that my girlfriend of two years gave me the boot. She was my first girlfriend. But my life as I knew it was in upheaval in other ways. I had just quit music school, quit OU and was starting at a new school with the awful prospect of having to make new friends, (or make friends-period.) I had even lost contact with my best friend when I moved to Norman in the first place. And all that my new job provided was a new, unceasing stream of uncaring strangers every day. These were some pretty bleak, unhappy times.

There was no better time for Bob Dylan to create Time Out of Mind. And I don’t think there was a better listener than myself. It was like it was made for me and me alone. It sounds like Dylan and a band of close friends in a dark room playing plugged-in, but at a low level. It’s an unpolished, organic sound: largely blues-based and his voice is perfect for the material. Make no mistake; I loved this album for the sparseness of the music itself. But looking back at the lyrics, I can pinpoint the lyrical ideas that were probably swirling around in my subconscious and providing such comfort. No album that I first heard back in those days takes me back like this one. You are about to see me quote a lot of lyrics here. Don’t get used to it. Like I’m always saying, words aren’t usually my bag, but here are some snippets to give you a feel for the kind of stuff that was nursing my psyche at the time:

Love Sick
“I’m walking through streets that are dead
Walking, walking with you in my head
My feet are so tired, my brain is so wired
And the clouds are weeping”
-and-
“I’m sick of love; I wish I’d never met you
I’m sick of love; I’m trying to forget you”

Standing In the Doorway Crying
“Don't know if I saw you, if I would kiss you or kill you
It probably wouldn't matter to you anyhow
You left me standing in the doorway, crying
I got nothing to go back to now”

Million Miles
“You took a part of me that I really miss
I keep asking myself how long can it go on like this”

Til I Fell in Love With You
“Well my nerves are exploding and my body's tense
I feel like the whole world got me pinned up against the fence
I've been hit too hard; I've seen too much
Nothing can heal me now, but your touch
I don't know what I'm gonna do
I was all right 'til I fell in love with you
Well my house is on fire; burning to the sky
I thought it would rain but the clouds passed by
Now I feel like I'm coming to the end of my way
But I know God is my shield and he won't lead me astray
Still I don't know what I'm gonna do
I was all right 'til I fell in love with you”

Not Dark Yet
Shadows are falling and I've been here all day
It's too hot to sleep time is running away
Feel like my soul has turned into steel
I've still got the scars that the sun didn't heal There's not even room enough to be anywhere
It's not dark yet, but it's getting there

Well my sense of humanity has gone down the drain
Behind every beautiful thing there's been some kind of pain
She wrote me a letter and she wrote it so kind
She put down in writing what was in her mind
I just don't see why I should even care
It's not dark yet, but it's getting there

Well, I've been to London and I've been to gay Paree
I've followed the river and I got to the sea
I've been down on the bottom of a world full of lies
I ain't looking for nothing in anyone's eyes
Sometimes my burden seems more than I can bear
It's not dark yet, but it's getting there

I was born here and I'll die here against my will
I know it looks like I'm moving, but I'm standing still
Every nerve in my body is so vacant and numb
I can't even remember what it was I came here to get away from
Don't even hear a murmur of a prayer
It's not dark yet, but it's getting there.

Can’t Wait
Skies are grey, I'm looking for anything that will bring a happy glow
Night or day, it doesn't matter where I go anymore; I just go
If I ever saw you coming I don't know what I would do
I'd like to think I could control myself, but it isn't true
That's how it is when things disintegrate
And I don't know how much longer I can wait


Looking back, this was not art. This was therapy. All of that relationsip sorrow expressed with Dylan's raspy voice. To know that someone out there felt the same way, (or could at least sing like someone who felt the same way,) that was just so comforting. I still listen to this CD in the bad times and I highly recommend that you keep a copy of Time Out of Mind on the shelf, like a bottle of pills.

posted by Mike @ 2:16 PM