Another part of a video series from Wordonfire.org. Bishop Barron will be commenting on subjects from modern day culture. For more visit www.wordonfire.org.
I've been going to Dylan concerts since the '80s and listening to his music since childhood, and it has always felt like a spiritual experience. Good to get a theological confirmation. 🎸My go-to album when I need to address some issues is Saved. I work things out while listening to it.
I've always loved Bob Dylan's music/poetry, but you threw a light on the spiritual element of his songs that I only dimly grasped previously. Excellent analysis and thank you!
@littleRayRay306 I know that people are saying this on the basis of the 60 Minutes interview, but I have to admit that your take on the interview utterly puzzles me. In line with his instincts throughout his career, Dylan was saying that he was following the command of God, whom he called "the chief commander both in this world and in the world you cannot see." How you conclude that he was talking about the devil is beyond me.
@J T granted everything you're saying is true , do you think Jesus would be proud of you for saying this?, even Paul was happy the gospel was being preached regardless of people's motivations , Bishop Barron is still preaching the gospel , and I don't know why someone would seek their soul just to get bigger and preach the gospel. And the way you came to the conclusion is faulty anyway accusing someone of selling their soul to the devil is a hefty accusation to make going off a "shit eating grin" isn't anyway to determine that. But going off this comment I don't think I'm getting any type of reasonable answer back
I discovered Bob Dylan probably at the age of 13 which would be in the early '80s with his album "Slow Train Coming", but I would have to say one of my most favorite songs of Dylan's has got to be "With God on Our Side" just because of the fact that it's not really a song about God but of Man's stupidity of creating so many wars thinking that God is on each of their side when in reality God was probably just shaking His head at each war while thinking when are they going to learn? I do agree with you when you say that Dylan uses the Bible throughout a lot of his songs, it's just that he has a distinct way of getting his message across. His album "Slow Train Coming" I think is one of his best albums that really shows the emphasis on God.
Totally underrated album SOLELY because critics were mad he became a Christian. I'm an atheist myself, but Slow Train Coming is a great album and you don't need to be religious to appreciate it.
@jamesharrel: In 2001, post 9/11 (I think), at the end of an interview in Rolling Stone, Dylan was asked if he still thought that there was a "slow train coming." The question was a reference to the title track from his album of the same name. In the song, the metaphor ("slow train") was for the return of Christ. Dylan replied that now, he saw it as being more of a locomotive. That may be an indirect statement of Christian faith, but taken in context with the song, it's pretty emphatic.
More to it, Bob Dylan sang Blowin' in the Wind for Pope John Paul II at a Eucharistic Congress in Bologna. I doubt he would have done this had he considered the song a paeon to agnosticism!
Father Barron and Bob Dylan! Well he's now won the Noble Prize. I absolutely agree with Fr.Barron! Excellent! By the way, I have it on VERY good authority that Dylan STILL is Christian.
Seems like he is given various statements he has made, though he's rather circumspect about it. If he's not, he at least takes a lot from Christianity in his work, as well as from Judaism.
This man is very inspiring to listen to. . Bob Dylan has always touched me in a similar way. I think people who live on the edge often have a greater understanding of God.
Everything? Heck, I've reviewed a handful of movies and songs! Out of hundreds of thousands of cultural offerings, I've noticed biblical motifs in a few. This is stretching?
Hi Bishop Barron-like what you mentioned many times before. I stumbled upon this while searching for Bob & had to listen to your commentary. Loved it. Peace & Love From Malaysia.
Friend, you're not looking nearly hard enough. Biblical themes run through Bob Dylan's work from beginning to end. There is absolutely no warrant for a Biblical reading of "Wind Beneath My Wings," but there is a huge warrant for such a reading of Dylan's work.
Love this interpretation of Like a Rolling Stone--never thought of it that way, but it makes perfect sense. I find Dylan's work to be endlessly rich and fascinating and I love hearing the spiritual angle. Also, thank you for saying Bob is a great singer--it drives me bananas when people say he can't sing.
someone, the right one, gets Bob..this is the way I hear him and his music. I cannot express the respect and admiration I have for Dylan. Like a Rolling Stone...
As a long time Dylan fan ( I'm 78 and an atheist ) I enjoyed your Christian view of Dylan's work. I agree and have I've always felt from the beginning that many of Dylan's songs were spiritually aware ( well before he professed his Christianity.) I also liked your take on 'Rolling Stone'. It's a song I perform frequently and your take will be in my head the next time I do ( Covid permitting ).
Hello Bishop[ - boy I wish we could sit and talk about these things - like the old testament folks did sitting in the gates of the city. I grew up as a cothlic boy - then in the 70's 'Late great planet earth' the movie led me to purchase a king james bible - the Lord drew me off to the protestant path. But so much of the music of the late 60's and 70s was leading me to the gospel. There was Jesus Christ superstar that I would play over and over again. Spirt in the Sky , My sweet Lord, Oh happy Day - and of course Dylan was singing it as well. For me Dylan's lp saved and Slow train - especially songs like 'I believe in you' 'When he returns', all of Saved - like 'Pressin on' and 'every grain of sand' were and are spiritual touchstones. But the music of the day had all type of gospel references. I think we were much closer to the roots of Gospel music at large - Mahlia Jackson comes to mind - Staples singers. and blues and Jazz as a musical culture was just plain in the air - blowing in the wind! The culture has moved away some generations now I suppose but Dylan is still singing the gospel. The song that sits near me now was song on World gone wrong in 1991 I think called 'Lonesome Pilgrim' - it was taken from the southern harmony book written in 1860? Dylan has so much music in him from the folk/ethnic tradition He has let himself be a vessel and he is doing what he should. God is the judge of hearts and he alone has prepared our mansion in glory right!? let him be God - and I will give thanks for being able to listen to Dylan - and be inspired in so many ways. I wish we could commune over church history - I lived as a kid in SPeyer - where Luther lived right? wow I can't believe what the Lord let me see. God Bless - keep the faith.
"You used to be so amused at Napoleon in rags and the language that he used-go to him now he calls you, you can't refuse- when you've got nothing you got nothing to lose-You're invisible now; you've got no secrets to conceal" This obscure and often debated lyric-concerning the person ( the "you" of the song) addressed-if viewed from the perspective of Dylan's history of Biblical allusions suggests that "Napolean in rags" is Jesus of Nazareth. Doubtless Mr. Dylan was aware that Napoleon spoke of his own empire and stated that he, like Alexander the Great, Caesar, Charlemagne founded empires "upon force" but that Jesus-whom he calls no mere man- founded his empire upon love and "at this hour millions of men would die for him." It could easily be surmised that Dylan also knew of Philip Schaff's quote: "Jesus of Nazareth, without money and arms, conquered more millions than Alexander the Great, Caesar, Mohammed, and Napoleon..." [and that his] "words of life [the language of the 'Napoleon in rags' that ammused the unknown "you' in Dylan's song] produced effects ... and furnished themes for more sermons, orations, discussions, learned volumes, works of art, and songs of praise than the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times." Finally, H.G. Wells wrote as an unbeliever about this "penniless preacher" (Napoleon in rags): "I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth...Jesus Christ is the most dominant figure in all history." It is often only when a person-once proud and self sufficient has lost everything and has "nothing to lose"-becomes invisible to a world which values above all those who are the "Haves" and their "Secrets" that the "amusing" language of Jesus ("Come to me...and I will give you rest" and I am the resurrection and the life) become "words of life." As Blasé Paschal wrote: Jesus is the God whom we can approach without pride [only Jesus was obedient to the commands of God-to the point of death and is the "beloved Son" in whom the Father is well pleased] and before whom we can humble ourselves [Because Jesus said he came to seek and to save sinners not to condemn them] without despair."
Great video! I love his Christian albums too.. which mysteriously aren’t referenced in his Wikipedia page. Check out “property of Jesus”, “Jokerman” and “when you gonna wake up”. It’s all there; great music. He continues to move ahead of the horde. He is beyond cool.
I will never forget the day I bought Highway 61 Revisited in a budget bin at the mall at age sixteen, unwrapped it, and put it in the cd player in my car, and heard "Like a Rolling Stone" for the first time. Amazing.
Just shared this video with a dear friend who just lost his mother...he is utterly alone and all in his life has been “stripped away “... for Bernie, my dear life long friend...hang on to hope, and be free to be everything you were created to be...I love you dear friend.
a great tribute to a man who has been and continues to share the beautiful mysteries of Christ and his gospel in the "hidden transcript"-like a live grenade of love-in Dylan's artful lyrics.
Totally agree, Bishop Barron! The Laureate Dylan is indeed that great! He has openly Christian in the 80's and I have not heard him reject his faith. Praise be that God blessed us with Dylan's charism.
@DRR180 But Dylan has been reading the New Testament at least since he was in his early twenties, he became a born-again Christian in the 1980's and he has continued to write and perform songs with explicitly Christian themes.
@Balzo93 Oh I completely disagree with you here. Blowin the Wind, A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall, When the Ship Comes In, Mr. Tambourine Man, Like a Rolling Stone, All Along the Watchtower, etc., etc. are dripping with Biblical themes. And I wouldn't read that line from It's Alright Ma as anti-religious at all. He's bemoaning the fact that our society is holding nothing truly sacred.
@emmeuly Oh come on, friend. Put that one quote from 1965 (which I've never seen before) up against the whole corpus of Dylan's work and tell me that he's not deeply and abidingly religioius.
Thanks for that balanced response! Man, what the heck makes you so cock-sure? Did Bob Dylan tell you what his songs mean? Religious concerns are evident in Dylan's songs from the very beginning. You might be an agnostic, but Bob Dylan sure isn't!
@cityofimmigrants Oh I think that's too easy. Do you really think that "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands," "Desolation Row," "Tangled Up in Blue," "When He Returns," "Not Dark Yet," and "Sugar Baby" don't have a pretty profound depth of meaning?
Thank you for this wonderful commentary. I have been a fan of Bob Dylan's since childhood - and for me also, "Like a Rolling Stone" was one of those songs that really "rocked my world". I have thought deeply and for a long time about the Biblical and spiritual influences in Dylan's work - and I think they are too often overlooked, or like one commenter here, dismissed as not "spiritual" but as using the Bible as "literature". I think you are absolutely correct in seeing how central it is to BD.
God is love, and we see God most clearly in each other. Relationships should bring us closer to God through love. Idont know your situation, but I can say that we are called to love all people, and called to open our eyes to Gods grace in our lives so they we may be in a more perfect communion with him. In the end, your answer is between you and God. Pray about it!
While I’m not sure that “ Blowin’ in the wind “ was the Holy Spirit , this interpretation is as good as any. I agree with the Bishop that Bob’s music has from the beginning and still is very spiritual. Dylan let’s the listener decide what his songs are about. chimes of freedom is my favourite Dylan song. Besides for all the others he sings for in that great song, the final line. “ every hung up person in the whole wide universe “ is a gem
Bob Dylan never sold his soul to the devil; not on 60 minutes or anywhere else. He is a lover of the Lord Jesus Christ; just check out the lyrics on his new album Rough and Rowdy Ways. Bishop Barron I would love to hear your review of the new album. God bless you and Dylan!!
a further thought- Like scripture good poetry is living. We find new meanings, new layers throughout time. As our lives grow, go through changes, deepen so does our glimpses through the veil of words to find new meaning. I doesn't really matter what the writer meant at the time. What matters is what we find, how we are touched, moved, thrown into a new AHA moment. and a month, year or 10 years later that same line opens anew. Dylan's lyrics are certainly living.
Your comments on "Like a rolling stone" are just brilliant! Awesome! I am a Brazilian Priest and also a big fan of Dylan. I'm making a collection of videos called "80 Bobs", singing 80 of his songs and geting some message from them. Please, allow me to give you a suggestion of doing something similar! You have already made a few, which could be used. (I'd love to hear your thoughts on songs like "Shelter from the storm", "When the ship comes in", "What good am I?", "Beyond the horizon" and many others. God bless you.
It's good to see Bob Dylan among the regions of abstract and transceding songwriting and being referred to as such. For it is he who is a god we should all follow.
I'd like to suggest, in the spirit of Father Barron's commentary on the great Bob Dylan, that the inspiration for 'Tambourine Man' was most likely David from the Old Testament.
@kwixotic So Bob Dylan not saying what his songs mean rules out my speculating on their meaning?! How does that follow? The vast majority of poets and artists don't tell you what they had in mind when they were creating their art. So what? Should all departments of literature and art just shut down? Should all critics just stop writing?
Amazing insights, so obvious AFTER you explain them to me. Otherwise I would have never worked these out as they sort of burned in to my mind so far that they almost stopped meaning anything.
@manwithouthat44 Oh, so Bob Dylan told you! Friend, Bible story after Bible story tell the tale of people being stripped of their attachments in order to live in freedom. That's the basic template of "Like a Rolling Stone."
@kwixotic Hey man, no one is forcing you to! If you don't like my reading, move on. But you can't tell me that I don't have the right to offer my point of view or that my interpretation is "nonsense" simply because Bob Dylan hasn't told us what his songs mean.
You're right, it's not too much of a stretch, but you don't need to stretch everything so that it fits into a biblical perspective, which is what this channel seems to be about.
Fantastic. I have such a fascination with Dylan- for over 40 years now. In the last few years I have been wondering how to approach "studying" him. For me elements of Jungian Archetypes seem to live in him/through him as he makes the "hero's journey" in public. And yes, all the biblical references are so embedded in his lyrics. I've been thinking about the Frederich Buechner (sp?) quote about where your passion and the worlds need meet is your purpose. he has become my passion. Now what? LOL
... and a calling to people to find these values back.. But that is my opinion and the fact that there are two opinions, yours and mine, the fact that two human beings with completely different views but both sincere and well-willing are moved and deeply motivated by that song, that I believe was the ultimate goal Bob Dylan set when he wrote this song..
A whole lot of wisdom here, Dylan has been biblical first and foremost from day one, Gospel Plough is there on his very first album to prove it but some who never really understood him try to reason otherwise. God bless Bobby D and Bishop RB
4:52 even more to your point, right before that line comes “you used to be so amused/ at Napoleon in rags and the language that he used/ go to him now, he calls for you, you can’t refuse!” Now, whether Dylan meant to specifically reference Jesus when he sang of an Emperor in rags who calls for you at your lowest moment, or if more generally he’s just preaching humility toward the ragged outcasts of society, can be debated, but I think the biblical messaging is there for sure.
I agree with you in regard to his elusiveness and ambiguity. But those same qualities can be found in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Paul, and Jesus. Authentic religious people rarely speak in straightforward, univocal categories.
Our Lord, who is in heaven, does not have a father, son or wife. God has sent many messengers from the first of the messengers, Adam and Noah, even Moses and Jesus, to the last of them Muhammad is a messenger for Arabs and non-Arabs to a messenger after him. He is the one whom Jesus preached about his coming after him in the Bible and the Qur’an. Our Lord, who in heaven is all poor and needy people. To him, our Lord who is in the sky is the one who deserves worship and no other than him. Our Lord who is in the sky is not like anyone in behavior in the universe Jesus is like the rest of the messengers, not our Lord How Jesus is our Lord while he sleeps and eats food and urinates and does not know the unseen then hardens this belief of Muslims in Jesus is the Messenger of God our beloved and I God willing, we will see Jesus and all after death in Heaven. Our Lord and your Lord, the One God who is in Heaven is the one who deserves worship and no other
@Lonhall: If you haven't heard them already, check out Dylan's albums (CDs) from 1980 and '81, "Slow Train Coming" and "Saved." They are very openly Christian. In more recent years, he has been vague about the exact nature of his faith, but his songs still continue to contain Biblical references-- such as the exhortation to "Look up, look up, see your Maker, before Gabriel blows his horn," in the song "Sugar Baby," from the great (I think so, that is!) 2001 disc, "Love and Theft."
Father, I am amazed how profound and spiritual you have become, admiring so much this rock star. Keep it up! Next time, please talk about the presence of "the King" Elvis Presley in Heaven. Have he been canonized yet?
Friend, that's way too facile. There is simply no way to miss the Biblical motifs, themes, concepts, and language from beginning to end of Dylan's career. This is not "pious eisegesis." It is an honest, objective reading. And just listen to Dylan's own interviews in the course of many decades. His religious interest is unmissable.
@wordonfirevideo hey recently i have felt that i have to let go of a personal companion of the opposite sex because due to my feelings for her , she was my main focus and i put God aside .. so i did that , we are just normal friends now ... my question is , is being normal friends a good enough solution , or must i do more *meaning break off all contact with her* ?? i would love to hear yr opinion on this matter . God bless
One more Dylan and Harrison view point is in the songs of George, "All Things Must Pass" and "Beware of Darkness" -- listening to Dylan's lyrics and songs and George's follow a very similar path. The answer is "out there." George's wife says when George passed away, the dark room was light up somewhat. George's son Dhani had a dream that he felt was real and that he was awake, and George was standing there. Dhani asked him, where have you been? George answered, " I have been here all along." All of these people from the 60's were trying to pass through material stuff, drugs, sex, fame and were trying to come out the other end of the best you can have here. There must be something more, and this was their central theme.
My God, Father, your words are inspiring! That's two pieces of homework you've got me doing: 1) Watch The Gran Torino 2) Listen to Bob Dylan. Ohhh yeah.
I usually don't like hearing people interpret Dylan (especially rock critics, who do nothing but try to show off how smart they are) but this is great! And Dylan in '68 told a reporter he had a Bible open on his desk at all times so I think he's probably on to something!
I am a fan of both Dylan father Barron (coming from an atheist). The thing of Dylan genius is that his song can be interpreted in many ways. Blowing in the wind was released during the Vietnam war. It could be referencing to that to. And is highly consistent.
Bob Dylan was before my time so I don´t really know his songs, but your comment about his writing has struck a chord with me (So to speak) because it reminded me so much of a much modern song writer that is also very biblical in a non obvious way. I´m talking about Paul Hewson aka Bono; the front man of the irish band U2. I believe Bob Dylan was and still is one of his major influences. If you pay attention to his writing I think you could find similarities to that of Dylan´s. Most people do not know this, but about 90% of U2's songs have a biblical reference in them, but you need to know THE WORD to notice them. Here are some good examples: Wake up deadman Still haven´t found what I´m looking for Yaweh The first time Until the end of the world Mysterious ways If you are familiar with his work, could you please make a video-commentary about his music? If you are not, I then would recommend it because I think that someone like you might discover something new. God bless!
How do you know it wasn't written biblically? The Bible is such a dominant influence in the work of Bob Dylan. Therefore, when scriptural motifs appear in his writings, it isn't too much of a stretch to assume that he had the Bible in mind.
There's something in what you say. I Dreamed I Saw St Augustine is an old favorite. Gates of Eden, Knockin' on Heaven's Door, All Along the Watchtower, so many others. "At times I think there are no words But these to tell what's true And there are no truths outside the Gates of Eden"
Not sure whay anyone thinks Dylan is speaking about the devil.I watched that interview(without knowing anything about the devil mentioned etc) and instantly KNEW he was speaking about God..
Keith Fitzsimons Exactly. I was across the street when he gave that 60 mins interview in Northampton MA. And...we'll I could go on and on but yeah Dylan was joking and letting people hype about "The Chief Commander"
I've been a Dylan fan some 40 years , great reflection Bishop Barron, I now follow your channel too , thanks and God bless you 🙏
He likes to beat women with the power of music lol
I've been going to Dylan concerts since the '80s and listening to his music since childhood, and it has always felt like a spiritual experience. Good to get a theological confirmation. 🎸My go-to album when I need to address some issues is Saved. I work things out while listening to it.
This video ROCKED my world! Thanks Bishop Barron!
Ah but that tone in his voice--it's not just gloating; it's also an invitation.
I've always loved Bob Dylan's music/poetry, but you threw a light on the spiritual element of his songs that I only dimly grasped previously. Excellent analysis and thank you!
The bishop talks about Dylan more extensively in his book, "To Light A Fire On The Earth", in chapter 2 under "Baseball and Bob Dylan. " Beautiful!
@littleRayRay306 I know that people are saying this on the basis of the 60 Minutes interview, but I have to admit that your take on the interview utterly puzzles me. In line with his instincts throughout his career, Dylan was saying that he was following the command of God, whom he called "the chief commander both in this world and in the world you cannot see." How you conclude that he was talking about the devil is beyond me.
@J T granted everything you're saying is true , do you think Jesus would be proud of you for saying this?, even Paul was happy the gospel was being preached regardless of people's motivations , Bishop Barron is still preaching the gospel , and I don't know why someone would seek their soul just to get bigger and preach the gospel. And the way you came to the conclusion is faulty anyway accusing someone of selling their soul to the devil is a hefty accusation to make going off a "shit eating grin" isn't anyway to determine that. But going off this comment I don't think I'm getting any type of reasonable answer back
He was asked in an interview, that was on CZcams, whom he serves. It's not God!
@@monicabella7894 Nonsense! It’s perfectly clear that he’s speaking of God.
@@BishopBarron Mabe so, but most observers believe Bob meant Satan. In Xtian mythology, it is Satan who is known as "the lord of this world", not God.
@@raydavison4288 He didn’t say “Lord of the world.”
I discovered Bob Dylan probably at the age of 13 which would be in the early '80s with his album "Slow Train Coming", but I would have to say one of my most favorite songs of Dylan's has got to be "With God on Our Side" just because of the fact that it's not really a song about God but of Man's stupidity of creating so many wars thinking that God is on each of their side when in reality God was probably just shaking His head at each war while thinking when are they going to learn? I do agree with you when you say that Dylan uses the Bible throughout a lot of his songs, it's just that he has a distinct way of getting his message across. His album "Slow Train Coming" I think is one of his best albums that really shows the emphasis on God.
Totally underrated album SOLELY because critics were mad he became a Christian. I'm an atheist myself, but Slow Train Coming is a great album and you don't need to be religious to appreciate it.
With God on our side a terrific live version on unplugged
Thanks for not hating Christians (like so many atheists do). @@docsavage8640 ❤
I'm with you all the brother, I have always so much in bobs songs
@jamesharrel:
In 2001, post 9/11 (I think), at the end of an interview in Rolling Stone, Dylan was asked if he still thought that there was a "slow train coming." The question was a reference to the title track from his album of the same name. In the song, the metaphor ("slow train") was for the return of Christ. Dylan replied that now, he saw it as being more of a locomotive. That may be an indirect statement of Christian faith, but taken in context with the song, it's pretty emphatic.
More to it, Bob Dylan sang Blowin' in the Wind for Pope John Paul II at a Eucharistic Congress in Bologna. I doubt he would have done this had he considered the song a paeon to agnosticism!
Father Barron and Bob Dylan! Well he's now won the Noble Prize. I absolutely agree with Fr.Barron! Excellent! By the way, I have it on VERY good authority that Dylan STILL is Christian.
Seems like he is given various statements he has made, though he's rather circumspect about it. If he's not, he at least takes a lot from Christianity in his work, as well as from Judaism.
This man is very inspiring to listen to. . Bob Dylan has always touched me in a similar way. I think people who live on the edge often have a greater understanding of God.
Totally agree!! Bob Dylan’s messages are amazing...top shelf songwriting.
Everything? Heck, I've reviewed a handful of movies and songs! Out of hundreds of thousands of cultural offerings, I've noticed biblical motifs in a few. This is stretching?
Hi Bishop Barron-like what you mentioned many times before. I stumbled upon this while searching for Bob & had to listen to your commentary. Loved it. Peace & Love From Malaysia.
Friend, you're not looking nearly hard enough. Biblical themes run through Bob Dylan's work from beginning to end. There is absolutely no warrant for a Biblical reading of "Wind Beneath My Wings," but there is a huge warrant for such a reading of Dylan's work.
You love him so much Bishop Baron it's so endearing
Love this interpretation of Like a Rolling Stone--never thought of it that way, but it makes perfect sense. I find Dylan's work to be endlessly rich and fascinating and I love hearing the spiritual angle. Also, thank you for saying Bob is a great singer--it drives me bananas when people say he can't sing.
someone, the right one, gets Bob..this is the way I hear him and his music. I cannot express the respect and admiration I have for Dylan. Like a Rolling Stone...
I'm a fan of Bob Dylan and Father Barron
Good for you!
As a long time Dylan fan ( I'm 78 and an atheist ) I enjoyed your Christian view of Dylan's work. I agree and have I've always felt from the beginning that many of Dylan's songs were spiritually aware ( well before he professed his Christianity.) I also liked your take on 'Rolling Stone'. It's a song I perform frequently and your take will be in my head the next time I do ( Covid permitting ).
Hello Bishop[ - boy I wish we could sit and talk about these things - like the old testament folks did sitting in the gates of the city. I grew up as a cothlic boy - then in the 70's 'Late great planet earth' the movie led me to purchase a king james bible - the Lord drew me off to the protestant path. But so much of the music of the late 60's and 70s was leading me to the gospel. There was Jesus Christ superstar that I would play over and over again. Spirt in the Sky , My sweet Lord, Oh happy Day - and of course Dylan was singing it as well. For me Dylan's lp saved and Slow train - especially songs like 'I believe in you' 'When he returns', all of Saved - like 'Pressin on' and 'every grain of sand' were and are spiritual touchstones. But the music of the day had all type of gospel references. I think we were much closer to the roots of Gospel music at large - Mahlia Jackson comes to mind - Staples singers. and blues and Jazz as a musical culture was just plain in the air - blowing in the wind! The culture has moved away some generations now I suppose but Dylan is still singing the gospel.
The song that sits near me now was song on World gone wrong in 1991 I think called 'Lonesome Pilgrim' - it was taken from the southern harmony book written in 1860? Dylan has so much music in him from the folk/ethnic tradition
He has let himself be a vessel and he is doing what he should. God is the judge of hearts and he alone has prepared our mansion in glory right!? let him be God - and I will give thanks for being able to listen to Dylan - and be inspired in so many ways.
I wish we could commune over church history - I lived as a kid in SPeyer - where Luther lived right? wow I can't believe what the Lord let me see.
God Bless - keep the faith.
"You used to be so amused at Napoleon in rags and the language that he used-go to him now he calls you, you can't refuse- when you've got nothing you got nothing to lose-You're invisible now; you've got no secrets to conceal" This obscure and often debated lyric-concerning the person ( the "you" of the song) addressed-if viewed from the perspective of Dylan's history of Biblical allusions suggests that "Napolean in rags" is Jesus of Nazareth. Doubtless Mr. Dylan was aware that Napoleon spoke of his own empire and stated that he, like Alexander the Great, Caesar, Charlemagne founded empires "upon force" but that Jesus-whom he calls no mere man- founded his empire upon love and "at this hour millions of men would die for him." It could easily be surmised that Dylan also knew of Philip Schaff's quote: "Jesus of Nazareth, without money and arms, conquered more millions than Alexander the Great, Caesar, Mohammed, and Napoleon..." [and that his] "words of life [the language of the 'Napoleon in rags' that ammused the unknown "you' in Dylan's song] produced effects ... and furnished themes for more sermons, orations, discussions, learned volumes, works of art, and songs of praise than the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times." Finally, H.G. Wells wrote as an unbeliever about this "penniless preacher" (Napoleon in rags): "I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth...Jesus Christ is the most dominant figure in all history." It is often only when a person-once proud and self sufficient has lost everything and has "nothing to lose"-becomes invisible to a world which values above all those who are the "Haves" and their "Secrets" that the "amusing" language of Jesus ("Come to me...and I will give you rest" and I am the resurrection and the life) become "words of life." As Blasé Paschal wrote: Jesus is the God whom we can approach without pride [only Jesus was obedient to the commands of God-to the point of death and is the "beloved Son" in whom the Father is well pleased] and before whom we can humble ourselves [Because Jesus said he came to seek and to save sinners not to condemn them] without despair."
Great video! I love his Christian albums too.. which mysteriously aren’t referenced in his Wikipedia page. Check out “property of Jesus”, “Jokerman” and “when you gonna wake up”. It’s all there; great music. He continues to move ahead of the horde. He is beyond cool.
@itonlyadds Who's "taking" him? I'm proposing an interpretation. Take it or leave it.
I will never forget the day I bought Highway 61 Revisited in a budget bin at the mall at age sixteen, unwrapped it, and put it in the cd player in my car, and heard "Like a Rolling Stone" for the first time. Amazing.
Just shared this video with a dear friend who just lost his mother...he is utterly alone and all in his life has been “stripped away “... for Bernie, my dear life long friend...hang on to hope, and be free to be everything you were created to be...I love you dear friend.
a great tribute to a man who has been and continues to share the beautiful mysteries of Christ and his gospel in the "hidden transcript"-like a live grenade of love-in Dylan's artful lyrics.
Very informative, thanks Father!
Great stuff: Fr. Barron, you're my long-lost brother!
This is a superb analysis of one of the most important voices of our times.
Totally agree, Bishop Barron! The Laureate Dylan is indeed that great! He has openly Christian in the 80's and I have not heard him reject his faith. Praise be that God blessed us with Dylan's charism.
@DRR180 But Dylan has been reading the New Testament at least since he was in his early twenties, he became a born-again Christian in the 1980's and he has continued to write and perform songs with explicitly Christian themes.
@Balzo93 Oh I completely disagree with you here. Blowin the Wind, A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall, When the Ship Comes In, Mr. Tambourine Man, Like a Rolling Stone, All Along the Watchtower, etc., etc. are dripping with Biblical themes. And I wouldn't read that line from It's Alright Ma as anti-religious at all. He's bemoaning the fact that our society is holding nothing truly sacred.
@emmeuly Oh come on, friend. Put that one quote from 1965 (which I've never seen before) up against the whole corpus of Dylan's work and tell me that he's not deeply and abidingly religioius.
J T Um...what?
The key to spirituality is detachment. Brilliant interpretation of rolling stone
“Real spiritual freedom” : Yes! And absolutely I agree that Blowin in the Wind is about the Holy Spirit. Thank you!
Thanks for that balanced response! Man, what the heck makes you so cock-sure? Did Bob Dylan tell you what his songs mean? Religious concerns are evident in Dylan's songs from the very beginning. You might be an agnostic, but Bob Dylan sure isn't!
@DRR180 So was Jesus. What's your point?
Great analysis! I don't know if I agree or not, but you have given me much food for thought.
@cityofimmigrants Oh I think that's too easy. Do you really think that "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands," "Desolation Row," "Tangled Up in Blue," "When He Returns," "Not Dark Yet," and "Sugar Baby" don't have a pretty profound depth of meaning?
This was a cool surprise! Thanks, Father.
Thank you for this wonderful commentary. I have been a fan of Bob Dylan's since childhood - and for me also, "Like a Rolling Stone" was one of those songs that really "rocked my world". I have thought deeply and for a long time about the Biblical and spiritual influences in Dylan's work - and I think they are too often overlooked, or like one commenter here, dismissed as not "spiritual" but as using the Bible as "literature". I think you are absolutely correct in seeing how central it is to BD.
Wow, what a great video!
Thanks for sharing!
God is love, and we see God most clearly in each other. Relationships should bring us closer to God through love. Idont know your situation, but I can say that we are called to love all people, and called to open our eyes to Gods grace in our lives so they we may be in a more perfect communion with him. In the end, your answer is between you and God. Pray about it!
While I’m not sure that “ Blowin’ in the wind “ was the Holy Spirit , this interpretation is as good as any. I agree with the Bishop that Bob’s music has from the beginning and still is very spiritual. Dylan let’s the listener decide what his songs are about. chimes of freedom is my favourite Dylan song. Besides for all the others he sings for in that great song, the final line. “ every hung up person in the whole wide universe “ is a gem
Bob Dylan never sold his soul to the devil; not on 60 minutes or anywhere else. He is a lover of the Lord Jesus Christ; just check out the lyrics on his new album Rough and Rowdy Ways. Bishop Barron I would love to hear your review of the new album. God bless you and Dylan!!
Ruach in Hebrew has three meanings: breath, wind, and spirit.
spiritu sancte means holy breath
literally spoken I mean
a further thought- Like scripture good poetry is living.
We find new meanings, new layers throughout time.
As our lives grow, go through changes, deepen so does our glimpses through the veil of words to find new meaning.
I doesn't really matter what the writer meant at the time. What matters is what we find, how we are touched, moved, thrown into a new AHA moment.
and a month, year or 10 years later that same line opens anew.
Dylan's lyrics are certainly living.
Wow, this was really insightful! Thanks!
This is a great book topic.
Your comments on "Like a rolling stone" are just brilliant! Awesome! I am a Brazilian Priest and also a big fan of Dylan. I'm making a collection of videos called "80 Bobs", singing 80 of his songs and geting some message from them. Please, allow me to give you a suggestion of doing something similar! You have already made a few, which could be used. (I'd love to hear your thoughts on songs like "Shelter from the storm", "When the ship comes in", "What good am I?", "Beyond the horizon" and many others. God bless you.
@MrNewkingjames Sure wish you'd tell me where all this "cash" is!
Excellent commentary.
Awesome!! Thank you so much 💓💗
It's good to see Bob Dylan among the regions of abstract and transceding songwriting and being referred to as such. For it is he who is a god we should all follow.
Bishop Barron for next pope please
And I suppose you're not biased!
@sabyasachikgp And tell me, friend, precisely how you know that.
I'd like to suggest, in the spirit of Father Barron's commentary on the great Bob Dylan, that the inspiration for 'Tambourine Man' was most likely David from the Old Testament.
@benabaxter Oh I disagree! I'm with Rolling Stone Magazine, which named Bob Dylan as one of the top five vocalists of the rock era.
I mean I'm with you all the way
@kwixotic So Bob Dylan not saying what his songs mean rules out my speculating on their meaning?! How does that follow? The vast majority of poets and artists don't tell you what they had in mind when they were creating their art. So what? Should all departments of literature and art just shut down? Should all critics just stop writing?
Amazing insights, so obvious AFTER you explain them to me. Otherwise I would have never worked these out as they sort of burned in to my mind so far that they almost stopped meaning anything.
@manwithouthat44 Oh, so Bob Dylan told you! Friend, Bible story after Bible story tell the tale of people being stripped of their attachments in order to live in freedom. That's the basic template of "Like a Rolling Stone."
@kwixotic Hey man, no one is forcing you to! If you don't like my reading, move on. But you can't tell me that I don't have the right to offer my point of view or that my interpretation is "nonsense" simply because Bob Dylan hasn't told us what his songs mean.
You're right, it's not too much of a stretch, but you don't need to stretch everything so that it fits into a biblical perspective, which is what this channel seems to be about.
Fantastic.
I have such a fascination with Dylan- for over 40 years now.
In the last few years I have been wondering how to approach "studying" him. For me elements of Jungian Archetypes seem to live in him/through him as he makes the "hero's journey" in public.
And yes, all the biblical references are so embedded in his lyrics.
I've been thinking about the Frederich Buechner (sp?) quote about where your passion and the worlds need meet is your purpose.
he has become my passion.
Now what? LOL
... and a calling to people to find these values back..
But that is my opinion and the fact that there are two opinions, yours and mine, the fact that two human beings with completely different views but both sincere and well-willing are moved and deeply motivated by that song, that I believe was the ultimate goal Bob Dylan set when he wrote this song..
Wooo..thank you father Barron.
A whole lot of wisdom here, Dylan has been biblical first and foremost from day one, Gospel Plough is there on his very first album to prove it but some who never really understood him try to reason otherwise. God bless Bobby D and Bishop RB
Another great review
This interpretation of LARS is spot on.
Two of the Best Thinkers and men of Faith!! Jewish and or .Christian.....
4:52 even more to your point, right before that line comes “you used to be so amused/ at Napoleon in rags and the language that he used/ go to him now, he calls for you, you can’t refuse!” Now, whether Dylan meant to specifically reference Jesus when he sang of an Emperor in rags who calls for you at your lowest moment, or if more generally he’s just preaching humility toward the ragged outcasts of society, can be debated, but I think the biblical messaging is there for sure.
Right on Nitai Gauranga!!
I think the key thing to good criticism is when people LOVE the art they're talking about, and that really comes across here.
I agree with you in regard to his elusiveness and ambiguity. But those same qualities can be found in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Paul, and Jesus. Authentic religious people rarely speak in straightforward, univocal categories.
Does anyone know the name of the wong in minute 2:57? Thanks!
Our Lord, who is in heaven, does not have a father, son or wife. God has sent many messengers from the first of the messengers, Adam and Noah, even Moses and Jesus, to the last of them Muhammad is a messenger for Arabs and non-Arabs to a messenger after him. He is the one whom Jesus preached about his coming after him in the Bible and the Qur’an. Our Lord, who in heaven is all poor and needy people. To him, our Lord who is in the sky is the one who deserves worship and no other than him. Our Lord who is in the sky is not like anyone in behavior in the universe Jesus is like the rest of the messengers, not our Lord How Jesus is our Lord while he sleeps and eats food and urinates and does not know the unseen then hardens this belief of Muslims in Jesus is the Messenger of God our beloved and I God willing, we will see Jesus and all after death in Heaven. Our Lord and your Lord, the One God who is in Heaven is the one who deserves worship and no other
@Lonhall:
If you haven't heard them already, check out Dylan's albums (CDs) from 1980 and '81, "Slow Train Coming" and "Saved." They are very openly Christian. In more recent years, he has been vague about the exact nature of his faith, but his songs still continue to contain Biblical references-- such as the exhortation to "Look up, look up, see your Maker, before Gabriel blows his horn," in the song "Sugar Baby," from the great (I think so, that is!) 2001 disc, "Love and Theft."
Father, I am amazed how profound and spiritual you have become, admiring so much this rock star. Keep it up! Next time, please talk about the presence of "the King" Elvis Presley in Heaven. Have he been canonized yet?
Friend, that's way too facile. There is simply no way to miss the Biblical motifs, themes, concepts, and language from beginning to end of Dylan's career. This is not "pious eisegesis." It is an honest, objective reading. And just listen to Dylan's own interviews in the course of many decades. His religious interest is unmissable.
it is unmissable. If you listen to Bob Dylan’s own interview on 60min you will see who his inspiration comes from.
@wordonfirevideo hey recently i have felt that i have to let go of a personal companion of the opposite sex because due to my feelings for her , she was my main focus and i put God aside .. so i did that , we are just normal friends now ... my question is , is being normal friends a good enough solution , or must i do more *meaning break off all contact with her* ?? i would love to hear yr opinion on this matter . God bless
One more Dylan and Harrison view point is in the songs of George, "All Things Must Pass" and "Beware of Darkness" -- listening to Dylan's lyrics and songs and George's follow a very similar path. The answer is "out there." George's wife says when George passed away, the dark room was light up somewhat. George's son Dhani had a dream that he felt was real and that he was awake, and George was standing there. Dhani asked him, where have you been? George answered, " I have been here all along." All of these people from the 60's were trying to pass through material stuff, drugs, sex, fame and were trying to come out the other end of the best you can have here. There must be something more, and this was their central theme.
My God, Father, your words are inspiring! That's two pieces of homework you've got me doing:
1) Watch The Gran Torino 2) Listen to Bob Dylan. Ohhh yeah.
Thank you amazing father
Please talk about Bob Marley next!
Amen!! this dude is all over JAH..send us another brother Moses....for example
preach father !
@Abr022575 So were Jesus, Peter, and Paul!
I usually don't like hearing people interpret Dylan (especially rock critics, who do nothing but try to show off how smart they are) but this is great! And Dylan in '68 told a reporter he had a Bible open on his desk at all times so I think he's probably on to something!
I am a fan of both Dylan father Barron (coming from an atheist). The thing of Dylan genius is that his song can be interpreted in many ways. Blowing in the wind was released during the Vietnam war. It could be referencing to that to. And is highly consistent.
Bob Dylan was before my time so I don´t really know his songs, but your comment about his writing has struck a chord with me (So to speak) because it reminded me so much of a much modern song writer that is also very biblical in a non obvious way.
I´m talking about Paul Hewson aka Bono; the front man of the irish band U2.
I believe Bob Dylan was and still is one of his major influences. If you pay attention to his writing I think you could find similarities to that of Dylan´s. Most people do not know this, but about 90% of U2's songs have a biblical reference in them, but you need to know THE WORD to notice them.
Here are some good examples:
Wake up deadman
Still haven´t found what I´m looking for
Yaweh
The first time
Until the end of the world
Mysterious ways
If you are familiar with his work, could you please make a video-commentary about his music? If you are not, I then would recommend it because I think that someone like you might discover something new.
God bless!
Fascinating view
How do you know it wasn't written biblically? The Bible is such a dominant influence in the work of Bob Dylan. Therefore, when scriptural motifs appear in his writings, it isn't too much of a stretch to assume that he had the Bible in mind.
There's something in what you say. I Dreamed I Saw St Augustine is an old favorite. Gates of Eden, Knockin' on Heaven's Door, All Along the Watchtower, so many others.
"At times I think there are no words
But these to tell what's true
And there are no truths outside the Gates of Eden"
@manwithouthat44 no way,,hes right on que,its a very good interpretation,and Dylan is very spirtual
I am glad someone finally noticed.
Not sure whay anyone thinks Dylan is speaking about the devil.I watched that interview(without knowing anything about the devil mentioned etc) and instantly KNEW he was speaking about God..
Keith Fitzsimons Exactly. I was across the street when he gave that 60 mins interview in Northampton MA. And...we'll I could go on and on but yeah Dylan was joking and letting people hype about "The Chief Commander"