Repairing to the Roots

The Buddhist philosopher and teacher Thich Nhat Hanh has suggested that in order to face squarely the difficulties of the present moment, one must first "repair to the roots" of one’s tradition. Theolo-gian and biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann ad-vances a similar notion in demanding that Christians go back to biblical texts that dominant liturgies have excluded or ignored and uncover new layers of understanding. For each, strengthening from within—going back and seeing what’s really there—makes it possible to bring fresh energy to the task of renewing community life.

In Bob Dylan’s case, traditional blues tunes and old folk songs (dealing in death and mysticism, desire and despair) remain the most relevant musical tradition to repair to. Just below the surface of American musical memory lie hundreds of little-known folk and blues songs, an enormous set of texts reflecting the feelings, experiences, and wisdom of earlier generations, waiting to speak to those willing to listen. With the powerful new record World Gone Wrong, Dylan demonstrates that these old, half-forgotten tunes have far more to say to the world of 1994 than anything he—or any other pop star—could write at this point.

The first lyrics of the album announce that "strange things have happened, like never before," and "I can’t be good no more, like I once did before...honey, ’cos the world’s gone wrong." Dylan supplements this proposition in a set of liner notes that act as the inseparable companion to the album. In addition to giving credit to original artists, the notes (written in the same cryptic, broken literary style that characterized the liner notes on several of Dylan’s earliest records) clearly state the broader context in which the old songs are to be sung: We are living in a "new dark ages" in which the "technology to wipe out truth is now available," a world populated by "evil charlatans masquerading in pullover vests and tuxedos talking gobbledygook," a world in which "there won’t be songs like these anymore."

SO WHAT does one get by repairing to the old, truthful tunes?

n A somber, wrenching performance of "Two Soldiers," a Civil War-era song that exposes, in Dylan’s words, how in "war dominated by finance...love is no collateral," through the story of the failed battlefield pact of two soldiers wishing to send a message home to mother

n A reclaiming of two old Mississippi Sheiks numbers: the title track and "Blood in My Eyes," which is a riveting song paced by a nice chord progression that communicates as words cannot exactly how it might feel to have blood in one’s eyes for an out of reach love.

n The sad, sad ballad of "Delia." This tune serves as the spiritual anchor for the record, through the voice of a narrator struggling to face up to death and a world in which "all the friends I ever had are gone."

Otherwise, the album contains two straight blues numbers—the rollicking "Broke Down Engine" and the honest, resigned air of "Ragged & Dirty" ("I’m Ragged and Dirty/Broke and Hungry, too/If I get cleaned up mama, can I spend tonight with you?). Less striking but still of interest are Dylan’s versions of "Stack a Lee," "Jack-a- Roe," "Love Henry," and "Lone Pilgrim."

Like its predecessor (Good As I Been To You), this is an album that requires time and effort, both to enter deeply into the spirit of each song and learn what each is about, and to get acclimated to the sound of Dylan’s rocks-and-gravel voice. Given his vocal parameters, Dylan actually sounds quite good, especially on "Jack- a-Roe" and "Broke Down Engine," but musically the record is, surprisingly, carried by his guitar playing (once considered a joke in folk circles).

Bob Dylan has unflinchingly described how he sees the world gone wrong, then turned around and tried to put a bit of truth-telling and authentic human feeling back into it. Those willing to venture into the heart of these 10 "raw to the bone" songs will feel the emotional strength of this effort—and perhaps also get a sense of the honesty and resolve needed to repair to the roots of both our selves and the world gone wrong we live in everyday.

—Thad Williamson

THAD WILLIAMSON is a research associate for the Good Society Project at the National Center for Economic Alternatives. He lives in Washington, D.C.

World Gone Wrong. Bob Dylan. Columbia, 1993.