«Aυτοί οι αρχαίοι, άδειοι δρόμοι είναι πολύ νεκροί για ονειρεύεσαι»

Aφιερωμένο στον Αλέξη Σταμάτη για το καινούριο του βιβλίο «Αμερικάνικη Φούγκα»
:)

Dirge
[ένα από τα πιο συνταρακτικά τραγούδια αγάπης-μίσους που έχω ακούσει στη ζωούλα μου, γραμμένο για τη Joan Baez]

I hate myself for lovin' you
and the weakness that it showed
You were just a painted face
on a trip down Suicide Road.

The stage was set, the lights went out
all around the old hotel,
I hate myself for lovin' you
and I'm glad the curtain fell.

I hate that foolish game we played
and the need that was expressed
And the mercy that you showed to me,
who ever would have guessed?

I went out on Lower Broadway
and I felt that place within,
That hollow place where martyrs weep
and angels play with sin.

Heard your songs of freedom
and man forever stripped,
Acting out his folly
while his back is being whipped.
Like a slave in orbit,
he's beaten 'til he's tame,
All for a moment's glory
and it's a dirty, rotten shame.

There are those who worship loneliness,
I'm not one of them,
In this age of fiberglass
I'm searching for a gem.
The crystal ball up on the wall
hasn't shown me nothing yet,
I've paid the price of solitude,
but at last I'm out of debt.

Can't recall a useful thing
you ever did for me
'Cept pat me on the back one time
when I was on my knees.
We stared into each other's eyes
'til one of us would break,
No use to apologize,
what diff'rence would it make?

So sing your praise of progress
and of the Doom Machine,
The naked truth is still taboo
whenever it can be seen.
Lady Luck, who shines on me,
will tell you where I'm at,
I hate myself for lovin' you,
but I should get over that.
1973


Things Have Changed
[Η θλίψη των ‘90s με λίγα λόγια που λένε πολλά]

A worried man with a worried mind
No one in front of me and nothing behind
There's a woman on my lap and she's drinking champagne
Got white skin, got assassin's eyes

I'm looking up into the sapphire tinted skies
I'm well dressed, waiting on the last train

Standing on the gallows with my head in a noose
Any minute now I'm expecting all hell to break loose

People are crazy and times are strange
I'm locked in tight, I'm out of range
I used to care, but things have changed

This place ain't doing me any good
I'm in the wrong town, I should be in Hollywood
Just for a second there I thought I saw something move
Gonna take dancing lessons do the jitterbug rag
Ain't no shortcuts, gonna dress in drag
Only a fool in here would think he's got anything to prove

Lot of water under the bridge, Lot of other stuff too
Don't get up gentlemen, I'm only passing through

I've been walking forty miles of bad road
If the bible is right, the world will explode
I've been trying to get as far away from myself as I can
Some things are too hot to touch
The human mind can only stand so much
You can't win with a losing hand

Feel like falling in love with the first woman I meet
Putting her in a wheel barrow and wheeling her down the street

I hurt easy, I just don't show it
You can hurt someone and not even know it
The next sixty seconds could be like an eternity
Gonna get low down, gonna fly high
All the truth in the world adds up to one big lie
I'm in love with a woman who don't even appeal to me

Mr. Jinx and Miss Lucy, they jumped in the lake
I'm not that eager to make a mistake
1999


Precious Angel
[Aπό το «Slow Train Coming”, με τον Mark Knopfler των Dire Straits στην κιθάρα]

Precious angel, under the sun,
How was I to know you'd be the one
To show me I was blinded, to show me I was gone
How weak was the foundation I was standing upon?

Now there's spiritual warfare and flesh and blood breaking down.
Ya either got faith or ya got unbelief and there ain't no neutral ground.
The enemy is subtle, how be it we are so deceived
When the truth's in our hearts and we still don't believe?

Shine your light, shine your light on me
Shine your light, shine your light on me
Shine your light, shine your light on me
Ya know I just couldn't make it by myself.
I'm a little too blind to see.

My so-called friends have fallen under a spell.
They look me squarely in the eye and they say, "All is well."
Can they imagine the darkness that will fall from on high
When men will beg God to kill them and they won't be able to die?

Sister, let me tell you about a vision I saw.
You were drawing water for your husband, you were suffering under the law.
You were telling him about Buddha, you were telling him about Mohammed
in the same breath.
You never mentioned one time the Man who came and died a criminal's death.

Shine your light, shine your light on me
Shine your light, shine your light on me
Shine your light, shine your light on me
Ya know I just couldn't make it by myself.
I'm a little too blind to see.

Precious angel, you believe me when I say
What God has given to us no man can take away.
We are covered in blood, girl, you know our forefathers were slaves.
Let us hope they've found mercy in their bone-filled graves.

You're the queen of my flesh, girl, you're my woman, you're my delight,
You're the lamp of my soul, girl, and you torch up the night.
But there's violence in the eyes, girl, so let us not be enticed
On the way out of Egypt, through Ethiopia, to the judgment hall of Christ.

Shine your light, shine your light on me
Shine your light, shine your light on me
Shine your light, shine your light on me
Ya know I just couldn't make it by myself.
I'm a little too blind to see.
1979



Hazel
[Ο Bob ερωτεύεται και οι Band τον συνοδεύουν. Από το “Planet Waves”]

Hazel, dirty-blonde hair
I wouldn't be ashamed to be seen with you anywhere.
You got something I want plenty of
Ooh, a little touch of your love.

Hazel, stardust in your eye
You're goin' somewhere and so am I.
I'd give you the sky high above
Ooh, for a little touch of your love.

Oh no, I don't need any reminder
To know how much I really care
But it's just making me blinder and blinder
Because I'm up on a hill and still you're not there.

Hazel, you called and I came,
Now don't make me play this waiting game.
You've got something I want plenty of
Ooh, a little touch of your love.
1973



Changin’ of the Guards
[οι gospel τραγουδίστριες που τραγούδησαν στο album του “Street legal” απ’ όπου και αυτό το κομμάτι, είχε πει ο ίδιος σε κάποια συνέντευξή του, ότι δεν καταλάβαιναν τι τους ζητούσε να τραγουδήσουν γιατί το κομμάτι τους είχε φανεί εντελώς ακατανόητο… Τους είπε «OK, απλώς επαναλαμβάνετε μετά από εμένα ότι ακούτε να λέω εγώ…» Ακατανόητο μου φαίνεται κι εμένα, όσο και το ότι όποτε το ακούω κλαίω]

Sixteen years,
Sixteen banners united over the field
Where the good shepherd grieves.
Desperate men, desperate women divided,
Spreading their wings 'neath the falling leaves.

Fortune calls.
I stepped forth from the shadows, to the marketplace,
Merchants and thieves, hungry for power, my last deal gone down.
She's smelling sweet like the meadows where she was born,
On midsummer's eve, near the tower.

The cold-blooded moon.
The captain waits above the celebration
Sending his thoughts to a beloved maid
Whose ebony face is beyond communication.
The captain is down but still believing that his love will be repaid.

They shaved her head.
She was torn between Jupiter and Apollo.
A messenger arrived with a black nightingale.
I seen her on the stairs and I couldn't help but follow,
Follow her down past the fountain where they lifted her veil.

I stumbled to my feet.
I rode past destruction in the ditches
With the stitches still mending 'neath a heart-shaped tattoo.
Renegade priests and treacherous young witches
Were handing out the flowers that I'd given to you.

The palace of mirrors
Where dog soldiers are reflected,
The endless road and the wailing of chimes,
The empty rooms where her memory is protected,
Where the angels' voices whisper to the souls of previous times.

She wakes him up
Forty-eight hours later, the sun is breaking
Near broken chains, mountain laurel and rolling rocks.
She's begging to know what measures he now will be taking.
He's pulling her down and she's clutching on to his long golden locks.

Gentlemen, he said,
I don't need your organization, I've shined your shoes,
I've moved your mountains and marked your cards
But Eden is burning, either brace yourself for elimination
Or else your hearts must have the courage for the changing of the guards.

Peace will come
With tranquility and splendor on the wheels of fire
But will bring us no reward when her false idols fall
And cruel death surrenders with its pale ghost retreating
Between the King and the Queen of Swords.
1978


Bod Dylan και Pattie Smith


I Want You
[Χωρίς σχόλια… Προστάτεψέ με από αυτό που θέλω…]

The guilty undertaker sighs,
The lonesome organ grinder cries,
The silver saxophones say I should refuse you.
The cracked bells and washed-out horns
Blow into my face with scorn,
But it's not that way,
I wasn't born to lose you.
I want you, I want you,
I want you so bad,
Honey, I want you.

The drunken politician leaps
Upon the street where mothers weep
And the saviors who are fast asleep,
They wait for you.
And I wait for them to interrupt
Me drinkin' from my broken cup
And ask me to Open up the gate for you.
I want you, I want you,
I want you so bad,
Honey, I want you.

Now all my fathers, they've gone down
True love they've been without it.
But all their daughters put me down
'Cause I don't think about it.

Well, I return to the Queen of Spades
And talk with my chambermaid.
She knows that I'm not afraid
To look at her.
She is good to me
And there's nothing she doesn't see.
She knows where I'd like to be
But it doesn't matter.
I want you, I want you,
I want you so bad,
Honey, I want you.

Now your dancing child with his Chinese suit,
He spoke to me, I took his flute.
No, I wasn't very cute to him,
Was I?
But I did it, though, because he lied
Because he took you for a ride
And because time was on his side
And because I . . .
I want you, I want you,
I want you so bad,
Honey, I want you.
1966



What Can I Do For You?
[Kι όμως δεν είναι ερωτικό τραγούδι, αλλά προσευχή. Κάτι που ίσως αποδεικνύει ότι η σχέση του Dylan με το Θεό , είναι καθαρά ερωτική… Ένα μικρό αριστούργημα σε εποχές που όλοι είπαν ότι είχε χάσει την έμπνευσή του – άκου τη φυσαρμόνικα. Από το album «Saved»]

You have given everything to me. What can I do for You?
You have given me eyes to see. What can I do for You?

Pulled me out of bondage and You made me renewed inside,
Filled up a hunger that had always been denied,
Opened up a door no man can shut and You opened it up so wide
And You've chosen me to be among the few.
What can I do for You?

You have laid down Your life for me. What can I do for You?
You have explained every mystery. What can I do for You?

Soon as a man is born, you know the sparks begin to fly,
He gets wise in his own eyes and he's made to believe a lie.
Who would deliver him from the death he's bound to die?
Well, You've done it all and there's no more anyone can pretend to do.
What can I do for You?

You have given all there is to give. What can I do for You?
You have given me life to live. How can I live for You?

I know all about poison, I know all about fiery darts,
I don't care how rough the road is, show me where it starts,
Whatever pleases You, tell it to my heart.
Well, I don't deserve it but I sure did make it through.
What can I do for You?
1980



What was it you Wanted?
[Aπό ένα μέτριο –ηχητικά- αλλά όχι και συνθετικά album, αν και με τον σπουδαίο Daniel Lanois στην παραγωγή, το κομμάτι αυτό είναι από εκείνα που μοιάζουν απλά… αλλά καθόλου δεν είναι. Γιατί δεν έχει μόνο ΜΙΑ σημασία…]

What was it you wanted?
Tell me again so I'll know.
What's happening in there,
What's going on in your show.
What was it you wanted,
Could you say it again?
I'll be back in a minute
You can get it together by then.

What was it you wanted
You can tell me, I'm back,
We can start it all over
Get it back on the track,
You got my attention,
Go ahead, speak.
What was it you wanted
When you were kissing my cheek?

Was there somebody looking
When you give me that kiss
Someone there in the shadows
Someone that I might have missed?
Is there something you needed,
Something I don't understand.
What was it you wanted,
Do I have it here in my hand?

Whatever you wanted
Slipped out of my mind,
Would you remind me again
If you'd be so kind.
Has the record been breaking,
Did the needle just skip,
Is there somebody waitin',
Was there a slip of the lip?

What was it you wanted
I ain't keepin' score
Are you the same person
That was here before?
Is it something important?
Maybe not.
What was it you wanted?
Tell me again I forgot.

Whatever you wanted
What could it be
Did somebody tell you
That you could get it from me,
Is it something that comes natural
Is it easy to say,
Why do you want it,
Who are you anyway?

Is the scenery changing,
Am I getting it wrong,
Is the whole thing going backwards,
Are they playing our song?
Where were you when it started
Do you want it for free
What was it you wanted
Are you talking to me?
1989



Where Are You Tonight?
[Μια ολόκληρη ιστορία στους στίχους, η τρυφερή αγριάδα του Dylan, και η συνείδηση του ότι “sacrifice is the code of the road”. Από τα πιο αγαπημένα μου]

There's a long-distance train rolling through the rain,
tears on the letter I write.
There's a woman I long to touch and I miss her so much
but she's drifting like a satellite.

There's a neon light ablaze in this green smoky haze,
laughter down on Elizabeth Street
And a lonesome bell tone in that valley of stone
where she bathed in a stream of pure heat.

Her father would emphasize you got to be more than street-wise
but he practiced what he preached from the heart.
A full-blooded Cherokee, he predicted to me
the time and the place that the trouble would start.

There's a babe in the arms of a woman in a rage
And a longtime golden-haired stripper onstage
And she winds back the clock and she turns back the page
οf a book that no one can write.
Oh, where are you tonight?

The truth was obscure, too profound and too pure,
to live it you have to explode.
In that last hour of need, we entirely agreed,
sacrifice was the code of the road.

I left town at dawn, with Marcel and St. John,
strong men belittled by doubt.
I couldn't tell her what my private thoughts were
but she had some way of finding them out.

He took dead-center aim but he missed just the same,
she was waiting, putting flowers on the shelf.
She could feel my despair as I climbed up her hair
and discovered her invisible self.

There's a lion in the road, there's a demon escaped,
There's a million dreams gone, there's a landscape being raped,
As her beauty fades and I watch her undrape,
I won't, but then again, maybe I might.
Oh, if I could just find you tonight.

I fought with my twin, that enemy within,
'til both of us fell by the way.
Horseplay and disease is killing me by degrees
while the law looks the other way.

Your partners in crime hit me up for nickels and dimes,
the guy you were lovin' couldn't stay clean.
It felt outa place, my foot in his face,
but he should-a stayed where his money was green.

I bit into the root of forbidden fruit
with the juice running down my leg.
Then I dealt with your boss, who'd never known about loss
and who always was too proud to beg.

There's a white diamond gloom on the dark side of this room
and a pathway that leads up to the stars.
If you don't believe there's a price for this sweet paradise,
remind me to show you the scars.

There's a new day at dawn and I've finally arrived.
If I'm there in the morning, baby, you'll know I've survived.
I can't believe it, I can't believe I'm alive,
But without you it just doesn't seem right.
Oh, where are you tonight?
1978


One More Cup Of Coffee (The Valley Below)
[θρυλικό track από το επίσης θρυλικό album «Desire», στο μυξ το ακούμε από τον Robert Plant των Led Zeppelin]

Your breath is sweet
Your eyes are like two jewels in the sky.
Your back is straight, your hair is smooth
On the pillow where you lie.

But I don't sense affection
No gratitude or love
Your loyalty is not to me
But to the stars above.

One more cup of coffee for the road,
One more cup of coffee 'fore I go
To the valley below.

Your daddy he's an outlaw
And a wanderer by trade
He'll teach you how to pick and choose
And how to throw the blade.

He oversees his kingdom
So no stranger does intrude
His voice it trembles as he calls out
For another plate of food.

One more cup of coffee for the road,
One more cup of coffee 'fore I go
To the valley below.

Your sister sees the future
Like your mama and yourself.
You've never learned to read or write
There's no books upon your shelf.

And your pleasure knows no limits
Your voice is like a meadowlark
But your heart is like an ocean
Mysterious and dark.

One more cup of coffee for the road,
One more cup of coffee 'fore I go
To the valley below.
1975

She said, "Where you’ve been?"
I said, "No place special."
She said,
"You look different."
I said, "Well, not quite."
She said, "You been
gone."
I said, "That's only natural."
She said, "You gonna stay?"
I said, "Yeah, I yes might."

Γιατί όλ’ αυτά; Γι’ αυτό:
Παρασκευή, 24 Νοεμβρίου.
Στο Καφέ Ιανός στη Σταδίου 24,
στις 8:30 το βράδυ, γίνεται Εκδήλωση με αφορμή την έκδοση του βιβλίου
BOB DYLAN. ΤΑ ΤΡΑΓΟΥΔΙΑ.
(μετάφραση Γιώργος-Ίκαρος Μπαμπασάκης)

Θα μιλήσουν ο μεταφραστής, ο Θοδωρής Μανίκας και
ο δημοδιογράφος & συγγραφέας Κώστας Μπλιάτκας.
Ο Νίκος και ο Βασίλης Σπυρόπουλος, των Σπυριδούλα,
θα παίξουν τραγούδια του Bob Dylan.
Ο Μπαμπασάκης θα κρατήσει και τον ρόλο του dj ενώ μας υπόσχεται και μερικές εκπλήξεις.

Χμ, χμ και χμ!

Αλέξη και Νικόλ, ευχαριστώ




Bob Dylan 10 trackMix
49:38' / 34 ΜΒ

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