“Equality,” I spoke the word, As if a wedding vow… [3] [4]. Not only because of his individualist streak, but for larger reasons. The hardest or least accessible song on this album is My back pages. A level playing field would be nice, but again, the playing field is governed by the builders. Now he is older he knows nothing. In this insane year of 2018, when stupidity, gullibility, hatred, and lies, lies, lies dominate 59 minutes of every hour, it is so wonderful to read your thoughts on this man, his words, and his music. I am younger then that now, even though I am much older then I once was. Couldn’t one make the conclusion that My Back Pages is Dylan bidding public farewell to prior moral crusades i.e.. In one sense Dylan criticising Dylan is a half way house between Blowing in the Wind (all the answers are out there, you only have to look) and Subterranean Homesick Blues (everything is so screwed we can’t even see what the question is, let alone the answer). What does anyone think of the concept let loose by this realization, which came to me recently: “I think my brain has decided to let me on on what it has been doing for the 65 years of my life. The problem with the song is that at the time he didn’t have at that moment was a musical equivalent to that message of confusion. May we all live long lives and die young. Hello there Tony, thank you for posting this interesting analysis of a song from Bob Dylan’s Music Box http://thebobdylanproject.com/Song/id/431/My-Back-Pages Lift the lid and join us inside to listen to every song composed, recorded or performed by Bob Dylan, plus all the great covers streaming on YouTube, Spotify, Deezer and SoundCloud. Your contextualization suggests a blinding flash of the obvious. [29] In 1996, a previously unreleased alternate version of "My Back Pages" (which had been considered for release as a single in 1967) was included as a bonus track on the Columbia/Legacy reissue of Younger Than Yesterday. Was Justin the first to be Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher? Now I don't care if they are. The Byrds version of My Back Pages is very much like an anthem, not poetic like Dylan’s original. And this is from the dear Left. In "My Back Pages," Dylan intensely criticizes his younger self for his moral arrogance and intellectual naivety. [31] In addition, a Japanese-language cover by The Magokoro Brothers is included in the soundtrack of the Dylan film Masked and Anonymous.[32]. The song was also performed live by a reformed line-up of The Byrds featuring Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, and Chris Hillman in January 1989. How ’bout this on the meaning of My Back Pages: “…This goes back to a point I made in Observations on Art and Culture, Science and Philosophy about Bob Dylan—back in the day, not so much now. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. But they work together fine. The Bangles song "Eternal Flame" was inspired by a display at Graceland that honored Elvis Presley. That's why the dancers are out of time with the music. And thanks to you, Bob Dylan. "My Back Pages" has been covered by artists as diverse as Keith Jarrett, the Byrds, the Ramones, the Nice, Steve Earle, and the Hollies. Proud ’neath heated brow. The Byrds – My Back Pages Lyrics. Aren’t we all trapped in our own personal dogmas? Maybe he was channeling a truth just beyond his ken. Most college campuses today are full of self-ordained professors–they may have tenure, but they have taken it upon themselves to indoctrinate rather than allow students to see all sides. That would come, but it required a lot of amplification, a variety of instruments, and a rejection of the classic folk music format of rotating chords. Brilliant indeed. I think there is an incredible irony in the song. It is stylistically similar to his earlier folk protest songs and features Dylan's voice with an acoustic guitar accompaniment. Dylan’s poetry in song does this eloquently and powerfully. [17], The song was initially suggested as a suitable vehicle for the band by their manager Jim Dickson. I don’t want to get off into all that right now, but the point is that we should be engaging and struggling, in a good way, with people, first and fundamentally, about the world…” That’s on page 242 of The New Communism, published recently, by Bob Avakian, chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party USA. I had to stop and go for a walk! Though I’m younger than you [1] The arrangement he used eliminated some of the song's verses and included an electric guitar part performed by session musician G. E. Lyrics to 'My Back Pages' by Bob Dylan: Crimson flames tied through my ears Rollin' high and mighty traps Pounced with fire on flaming roads Using ideas as my maps 'We'll meet on edges, soon,' said I [24] [28] The song was performed live extensively during the band's later country rock period, often segueing into Jimmy Reed's "Baby What You Want Me to Do".