June 5, 2023

Your favorite track on "Shadow Kingdom"?


Is that Bob's favorite track? That's the one his YouTube account featured from the new album. I like the whole thing, played in order, but if I had to pick one, I'd say "Tombstone Blues" (which seems to be done in the style of "Murder Most Foul").

The album is the soundtrack from that video special I blogged about in the summer of 2021. 

As for "Forever Young," I like this new version better than the original studio album version, which came out 50 years ago. What's the point of this desperate need to seem "young"? It's also in "My Back Pages" ("Ah, but I was so much older then/I’m younger than that now"). If you want to live a long time, you'd better like the idea of being old.

17 comments:

cassandra lite said...

Relieved to see this post. Someday, inevitably, a morning, then the day, then the following day, and so on, will pass without an Althouse post. Not looking forward to that.

Roger Sweeny said...

"If you want to live a long time, you'd better like the idea of being old."

Now there is wisdom.

Kevin said...

Just a girl.

Oh wait, that's Tragic Kingdom.

Inga said...

I don’t think Forever Young is song about desperation to be young, rather I hear a blessing of sorts to aspire to be a decent human being all the days of your life even into old age. My favorite Bob Dylan song, but I’ve not been a super-fan of his, so I’m not a good arbiter of Dylan’s music. This song’s lyrics got me past his voice and style of singing, nothing wrong with it but not pleasing to my ear. To me it’s sweet and poignant, but as I said, I’m not all a Dylan aficionado.

madAsHell said...

This song is all the advice my mother would espouse.

I usually responded with "Yeah, yeah, Mom."

I didn't think I was a "Mama's boy" until she died.
She was part of every decision I've ever made. Whether she knew it, or not.

My Dad?? Oh, dear God, I was hard-wired to think like him. There was very little conversation, but I always knew the answer.

Earnest Prole said...

What's the point of this desperate need to seem "young"?

Surely you’re aware Eternal Life transcends cosmetics.

Ice Nine said...

Don't fuck with Classic Coke, Bob.

mikee said...

One likes being old only because the alternative is not to be at all.
One likes being young because of the potential available in living.
Hence the appreciation of and desire to remain forever young.

n.n said...

Queen - Who Wants To Live Forever

Rosalyn C. said...

Bob’s singing style is reminding me of Dean Martin, I prefer the sweet younger version.

Amexpat said...

I haven't listened to SK that much, but Sierra's Theme is the one I now like the best (not a diss to Dylan's singing on SK)

Tombstone Blues spoken word song doesn't do anything for me - I guess I like some rhythm in a song. I do like his reworking of Queen Jane Approx... though.

Forever Young is not a Dylan favorite with me - it's a good candidate for his most overrated song. The version on SK is more tolerable.

Ann Althouse said...

"Relieved to see this post...."

Sorry. I don't like to cause worry by changing my pattern, but I don't put anything up until something meets my standard. I'm surprised how something nearly always does. But today just wasn't offering material.

Václav Patrik Šulik said...

I had no idea this was happening. Forever Young, https://youtu.be/hCc2SczzqWE, is very poignant.

Especially since it’s coming from such an old man. I can’t be cynical about this.

Beautiful

cassandra lite said...

"Sorry. I don't like to cause worry by changing my pattern, but I don't put anything up until something meets my standard."

Much appreciated--the standard and the explanation.

m said...

I don't know 'Shadow Kingdom'. I'm a 'Blood on the Tracks' guy.
My favorite is 'Just Like a Woman' live at the concert for Bangladesh.

Anonymous said...

Never thought I would agree with Inga. I think this is about being a decent person, not about being young per se. That said, when my son died at 18, we asked a friend to sing the "original" version of this at his funeral, and it was the right thing for the 1500 people in that church to hear.

This is not about the desperation to be young, but rather about the need to grow up, and the relationship of youth to maturity. For our family, at least, this is about becoming a fully grown human, about growing up, about evolving from child to man. It's about developing and owning ideals and trying to live up to them, about caring about others, about maintaining perspective. It's about keeping sight of what matters and doing right by those among whom you live and love. And it's about the wonder of how someone still of tender years can nonetheless know all of that deep in his bones and act on it with grace.

Our son will indeed be forever young. We will never know who or what he might have become, but we caught a glimpse of what might have been, and this piece captures that.

Ann Althouse said...

@So much older now

I'm sorry to hear about your son.

Those words are very poignant when someone has died young.