In the comments section, I hope we can get a good discussion going on about the lyrics posted below. "Shelter from the Storm" was first released on the 1975 "Blood on the Tracks."
'Twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood
When blackness was a virtue and the road was full of mud
I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form.
"Come in," she said,
"I'll give you shelter from the storm."
And if I pass this way again, you can rest assured
I'll always do my best for her, on that I give my word
In a world of steel-eyed death, and men who are fighting to be warm.
"Come in," she said,
"I'll give you shelter from the storm."
Not a word was spoke between us, there was little risk involved
Everything up to that point had been left unresolved.
Try imagining a place where it's always safe and warm.
"Come in," she said,
"I'll give you shelter from the storm."
I was burned out from exhaustion, buried in the hail,
Poisoned in the bushes an' blown out on the trail,
Hunted like a crocodile, ravaged in the corn.
"Come in," she said,
"I'll give you shelter from the storm."
Suddenly I turned around and she was standin' there
With silver bracelets on her wrists and flowers in her hair.
She walked up to me so gracefully and took my crown of thorns.
"Come in," she said,
"I'll give you shelter from the storm."
Now there's a wall between us, somethin' there's been lost
I took too much for granted, got my signals crossed.
Just to think that it all began on a long-forgotten morn.
"Come in," she said,
"I'll give you shelter from the storm."
Well, the deputy walks on hard nails and the preacher rides a mount
But nothing really matters much, it's doom alone that counts
And the one-eyed undertaker, he blows a futile horn.
"Come in," she said,
"I'll give you shelter from the storm."
I've heard newborn babies wailin' like a mournin' dove
And old men with broken teeth stranded without love.
Do I understand your question, man, is it hopeless and forlorn?
"Come in," she said,
"I'll give you shelter from the storm."
In a little hilltop village, they gambled for my clothes
I bargained for salvation an' they gave me a lethal dose.
I offered up my innocence and got repaid with scorn.
"Come in," she said,
"I'll give you shelter from the storm."
Well, I'm livin' in a foreign country but I'm bound to cross the line
Beauty walks a razor's edge, someday I'll make it mine.
If I could only turn back the clock to when God and her were born.
"Come in," she said,
"I'll give you shelter from the storm."
Copyright © 1974 Ram's Horn Music
5 comments:
OK, I will start this one off myself.
This is a song which the lyrics captivated me upon my first listen. I'm sure that there are folks out there who've got it all figured out, and maybe Bob Dylan himself has explained it somewhere. I haven't done the research so I don't know. But I have run across the comments of some who claim that this song is "religious" in nature. Indeed, the following lines could easily be attributed to Jesus Christ:
"She walked up to me so gracefully and took my crown of thorns." ...
"In a little hilltop village, they gambled for my clothes
I bargained for salvation an' they gave me a lethal dose.
I offered up my innocence and got repaid with scorn."
But, does Dylan intend to sing about Jesus here, or does he borrow images from the life of Christ to parallel a personal experience that he or the song's narrator has been through? Since I don't know if Dylan is singing of his own experience here, or giving voice to an unnamed narrator, I will refer to the teller of the tale as "Bob."
This is where we must be careful not to apply "what it means to me" as the author's intended meaning.
Crucial is the question of who "She" is who said, "Come in ... I'll give you shelter from the storm." It seems at face value to be a woman, who may or may not be symbolic of something else. Whoever the woman is, or whatever she represents, she welcomed "Bob" in at a time when he was weary and desperate. But "Bob" says he "took too much for granted" and got his "signals crossed" resulting in a wall coming between him and her. As a result, it seems that laws (the deputy) and religion (the preacher), and life itself (the one-eyed undertaker) don't provide the answers to the hopelessness "Bob" experiences. Like a newborn crying, or a poor heartbroken man, he wonders, "Is it hopeless and forelorn?"
Then we have the line which goes:
"In a little hilltop village, they gambled for my clothes
I bargained for salvation an' they gave me a lethal dose.
I offered up my innocence and got repaid with scorn."
This would seem to be an attempt to answer the question. If it is a reference to Jesus, then it seems that "Bob" is suggesting that things didn't work out so well for Him, so how can we expect them to work out for us. Perhaps it is all hopeless and forelorn.
Yet, he does not give up all hope. Though he lives "in a foreign country", "Bob" knows that he's "bound to cross the line." And across that line, the beauty that is so elusive in this "foreign country" will be his. But he must turn back the clock to "when God and her were born." Does this mean going back to the first meeting of him and her and undoing the wrong he had done? And does the reference to "God" being born refer to the time when Christ was born, or the time before religion (I use the term here the way Edwards and others used it, to refer to the Christian faith) was corrupted by human tradition? Is it a return to "simple faith" that offers him the promise of beauty attained across the line?
Perhaps. PERHAPS, I say, but not with certainty. Only the real Bob can answer what he had in mind when he wrote it. I think it would be wrong to place too much emphasis on Christianity here, for this song came along four years before Dylan's "Christian era."
I do think that the song can be illustrative of a number of experiences. It "makes us think of" a number of scenarios. That doesn't mean that those thoughts are the intended meaning of the song, only that the song conjures up reminiscences and images familiar to us, though we may be unfamiliar with the circumstances "Bob" sings about.
When I first gave serious thought to the lyrics, I thought of the disenchantment that many experience in the Christian church. I offer this critique from inside of the stained glass, so I will say "We" when speaking of the church. We reach out to those who are in the wilderness, void of form, burned out from exhaustion, and hunted by the predators of this world. "Not a word was spoke between us." We don't ask questions about the past, we just say, "Come in" and promise to give "shelter from the storm." There is little risk -- only the call to faith. But those who come in on the promise of that shelter often take certain things for granted and get their signals crossed. A wall is erected between that person and the church. Now, here's the rub -- sometimes, even most often I'll say -- WE build the wall by not focusing on the main thing. The main thing is the One who "bargained for salvation" and received a lethal dose. Apart from Him, our promises of security and warmth are empty.
The last line of "Shelter" reminds me of Lewis's concept of Sehnsucht, which has been discussed at length on this blog. Everything in this world has a built-in disappointment factor. Nothing here and now can ultimately satisfy our deepest longings. We are living in a foreign country, searching for beauty that walks on a razor's edge. It will only be found across the line, in the Person of Him who received the lethal dose for our salvation.
Now, I do not believe that Dylan wrote "Shelter" as a response to ill-treatment and disillusion with the church. But that is not to say that he didn't experience it later. We don't know why a wall was built between him and the Christian faith some ten years after this song was written. But the song reminds me of those who have experienced this, and makes me aware of our need to keep Christ at the center as we beckon those in the wilderness, with the invitation: "Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm."
A couple of small points to which I must disagree: whereas I'll go along with the notion that we must "be careful not to apply 'what it means to me' as the author's intended meaning," I think we run into greater problems when we think that only "the real Bob can answer what he had in mind when he wrote it". I'll virtually bet you gold that Dylan has the slightest idea what he had in mind when he wrote his songs, and that has the slightest relationship to the "haze of substance abuse" of the 70's.
One of the things that most people seem to forget when they discuss the "meaning" of Dylan's songs is that he is basically an entertainer; he goes out on the stage and dances. That's it. He's a song and dance man. And I don't mean that in a demeaning sense at all. Dylan is not going out there to twist our minds or give us some insight into the greater meanings of life.
Bob Johnson, one of Dylan's producers, puts it this way, "I believe in giving credit where credit is due. I don't think Dylan had a lot to do with it. I think, uh, God, instead of touching him on the shoulder, He kicked him in the ass. Really. And that's where all that came from. He can't help what he's doing. I mean, he's got the Holy Spirit about him. You can look at him and tell that." (From No Direction Home)
Another point I think many overlook is Dylan's Jewish upbringing. I don't think you can ever put him into a chronological time space concerning his various beliefs. This much is plainly clear, Dylan probably has a firmer foundation in the Bible than many Bible-thumping Christians. To say one song is "religious" or not depending on what period of his career it comes from is forgetting a great deal of Dylan's entire past.
This is not said to suggest that we should not think about the songs. I just don't feel that identifying who "She" is our who "Bob" is is going to give us any deeper meaning into the mind of Bob Dylan. I believe the songs fall under the definition John Chiardi gives to "symbols": "areas of meaning in motion"; never standing still, like ripples on the surface of the water after the pebble has been dropped, and we ourselves have not even gotten wet, yet.
ptervin- I really don't think we are disagreeing all that much. When I say that only Dylan knows what it really means I recognize that his answer may be "It means nothing." I would refer to his comments about "Who Killed Davey Moore" on the 1964 live disc from Philharmonic Hall. And I do think that people read too much into the "meaning of songs". Dylan refers to himself as a song and dance man, not a philosopher. I would refer again to the book "bob Dylan and Philosophy." I wonder, do you think that the film "masked & anonymous" sort of pokes fun at the notion that people think Dylan is more than he is?
Also, great point about his Jewish roots. I have often said that Dylan's "secular" music is more biblically informed and contain a more biblical worldview than many so-called "Christian" songs. Of course one of the core convictions of this blog is that the sacred/secular dichotomy is false. Most of Dylans music is "religious" because it says something about God, His people,sin, truth, justice, or other virtues. But not all of his music is "Christian" in the sense of proclaiming allegiance to Jesus Christ as Lord & Savior. These songs for the most part come from Slow Train, Saved, and Shot of Love.
Shelter from the Storm (SFTS) is a great song, and Blood on the Tracks is a great album. IMHO it's Dylan's most mature writing. Dylan has said it was his most "conscious" writing to date. He knew what he wanted to say, and how he wanted to say it. A result of studying painting and coming to some understanding of space/time/perspective.
SFTS has long been one of my favorites in the canon. Both the acoustic and the "heavy metal" - the Hard Rain version - have something to offer, and I teeter between the two. The Hard Rain version is akin to Cormac McCarthy's "The Road," in describing a dystopia in which love might prevail. Not will, might, but the possibility exists. Just like SFTS.
SFTS is biblically informed, spiritual without being religious. Dylan has said he's been reading the Bible forever.
The artist comes in from the wilderness to report on the state of the union. The wilderness of the heart seems more the locale than the world itself.
SFTS seems to be the author's reflections on spiritual/physical love. Agape v. eros, with perhaps no "versus." Agape might just be Sophia - wisdom. or a hippy sprite of the mid-70's, or Sarah. But, the poor soul has been walled out - or has he? He's offered shelter right up through the last line of the song. Does he accept the offer? Interesting erotic or spiritual tension.
Interesting, also, how Dylan can write so clearly, and be so enigmatic. Is that part of his genius?
Finally, the characters in this song are among Dylan's most well drawn. The best, I think, since Desolation Row - a culturally variegated piece that borrows from all over the map. the deputy and the preacher are described in 4 and 3 words respectively, but are such archetypes no more words are needed. This is Dylan at the top of his game, and I don't think he ever gets better.
PS: I thought I posted already, oh well, I may be contradicting myself in some of this, that's the way I am. I did want to thank you for the opportunity for a neo-atheist to chat with a Rev. about the Bobster's work, and I look forward to more of it.
Richard
Richard,
Thanks for the interaction. I appreciate your comments and perspective.
I think you may have posted something on my other blog: russreaves.blogspot.com. There are some "Richard" comments in that post.
Post a Comment