This Ain’t A Dream

Well, the last thing I remember before I stripped and kneeled

Was that trainload of fools bogged down in a magnetic field

A gypsy with a broken flag and a flashing ring

Said “Son, this ain’t a dream no more, it’s the real thing”

Now I can tell you all from up here at the Rainbow Bridge that occasionally His Nibs enters some sort of “trance”. Often it involves a combination of Irish whiskey (come back, Chris & I’ll pour you another gin & tonic) and music. Somehow they go together. The “trance” always involves his memories of his beloved Chris and in the recent months his best friend, me – the DylanDog!!

Most of the time I don’t report these events. I feel that they are just too intensely personal and as a mere canine I actually feel a bit privileged that I interlope into the moments.

With these “trances” ALWAYS the music involved features his Maestro, Bob Dylan. And why not? Since 1965 the Maestro has played an important role in every part of his life, in his marriage, in his friendships, in his values, in his beliefs ,in his everything. Over the years, many friends have never understood his passion for the Maestro. They have occasionally sneered, often laughed, certainly not always understood. But The Boss has never wavered. 

He & Chris used to sometimes drive their friends nuts by insisting they listen to certain bootlegs recordings (often in unlistenable quality except to His Nibs & Chris) whilst visiting them when they lived at “Isis” (named after a Dylan song about marriage).

I muse upon this because in the same week as his so-missed friend Steven Jump (gone for 8 years now) died, the afore mentioned Maestro Bob Dylan released Bootleg Series Vol 16. This was a 5 Disc set of previously unreleased versions of his efforts from the early 1980’s.

The Boss mused to Mr B over lunch after it had arrived that “these songs simply proved that Dylan wrote and sang more earth shattering songs than any human being in history”. It seems the more nutty Dylan fans (ie His Nibs) thought he delivered rather sub-par album performances in this period. In reality, it appears he simply ignored all the great performances in his choices of what went on the albums. Oops!! But perhaps it simply proves that when we all make poor choices it just shows we are simply human. Certainly this set of stunning music does with the Maestro.

You all realise every one of these blogs is headed by words from the Maestro. There actually are so many of these great poetic lines in the songs that I could pen a thousand little blogs and not use all his lines. This is why he won the Nobel prize for literature. 

Must tell you, His Nibs has just reminded me that I haven’t even mentioned his brilliant art (a serious inspiration to The Boss), his sculpture and his books. Plus…despite much misunderstood criticism, his brilliant live performances that are ALWAYS new, brave and often never recognised interpretations of his songs.

I promise to stop extolling. I ask, like His Nibs has done for all these years – listen, really listen, get past the rather odd unique non classical  voice and feel the soul, the feel the intensity, feel the belief, feel the pain, try to understand its always different EVERY time he sings. Don’t miss out. 

As we listen to a genius, it is these thing’s that keep The Boss sane in what appears to becoming an increasingly mad world. Just occasionally a moment (or person) arrives to inspire. Young Emma Radacanu is such a person. His Nibs was sat in bed crying as she won, so inspired was he by her performance. He’s raved about ever since.

Which is unlike his football team who let down CR7 last week in Europe. But what a welcome Old Trafford gave him when he returned for his first match back at the Theatre of Dreams. The Old Boy was so excited he watched all the whole pre-game bollocks on MUTV. Hahaha!

I gather that his least favourite politician, Bumbling Boris, has had a bit of reshuffle and replaced several of his current sycophants with a new bunch of sycophants who are willing to satisfy his many egotistic traits. These include an alternative philosophy to Robin Hood – BJ robs the poor to give to the filthy rich. His Nibs loathes this bunch beyond works. 

I looked down upon the world scene this week. Anybody believe Covid is on the wane? This heavenly spaniel is seriously worried about what is going on. The West smugly vaccinate themselves in order that they can set off to Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus etc on holiday in the sun with the kids whilst Africa, the Far East, South America etc are dying from a lack of vaccine. Can someone please explain to a remote Springer how capitalism “trickles down”.?

I leave you with a sombre thought. His Nibs has two long standing friends with different degrees of cancer, I gather one likely to be in the end game. He’s lost several friends to Big C, not just his beloved Chris, in recent years. When the world power brokers understand that power is shit, love is great and they are going to die as well perhaps these greedy, valueless politicians and establishment super-rich will understand they should help. Not bleed the not so well enough.

Oh…and that applies double to the profiteering corporations who run the world!!! (and making billions out of Covid like Pfizer)

God bless, stay safe. I love you all (and so does the old misery His Nibs)

Woof! Woof!