Highway 61 Revisited

Notes by Bob Dylan

On the slow train time does not interfere & at the Abrabian crossing waits White Heap, the man from the newspaper & behind him the hundred Inevitables made of solid rock & stone--the Cream Judge & the Clown--the doll house where Savage Rose & Fixable live simply in their wild animal luxury....Autumn, with two zeros above her nose arguing over the sun being dark or Bach is as famous as its commotion & that she herself--not Orpheus--is the logical poet "I am the logical poet!" she screams "Spring? Spring is only the beginning!" she attempts to make Cream Judge jealous by telling him of down-to-earth people & while the universe is erupting, she points to the slow train & prays for rain and for time to interfere--she is not extremely fat but rather progressively unhappy....the hundred Inevitables hide their predictions & go to bars & drink & get drunk in their very special conscious way & when tom dooley, the kind of person you think you've seen before, comes strolling in with White Heap, the hundred Inevitables all say "who's that man who looks so white?" & the bartender, a good boy & one who keeps a buffalo in his mind, says "I don't know, but I'm sure I've seen the other fellow someplace" & when Paul Sargent, a plainclothes man from 4th street, comes in at three in the morning & busts everybody for being incredible, nobody really gets angry--just a little illiterate most people get & Rome, one of the hundred Inevitables whispers "I told you so" to Madam John....Savage Rose & Fixable are bravely blowing kisses to the Jade Hexagram-Carnaby Street & to all the mysterious juveniles & the Cream Judge is writing a book on the true meaning of a pear--last year, he wrote one on famous dogs of the civil war & now he has false teeth & no children....when the Cream met Savage Rose & Fixable, he was introduced to them by none other than Lifelessness--Lifelessness is the Great Enemy & always wears a hip guard--he is very hipguard....Lifelessness said when introducing everybody "go save the world" & "involvement! that's the issue" & things like that & Savage Rose winked at Fixable & the Cream went off with his arm in a sling singing "summertime & the Livin is easy"....the Clown appears--puts a gag over Autumn's mouth & says "there are two kinds of people--simple people & normal people" this usually gets a big laugh from the sandpit & White Heap sneezes--passes out & rips open Autumn's gag & says "What do you mean youre Autumn and without you there'd be no spring! you fool! without spring, there'd be no you! what do you think of that???." then Savage Rose & Fixable come by & kick him in the brains & color him pink for being a phony philosopher--then the Clown comes by and screams "You phony philosopher!" & jumps on his head--Paul Sargent comes by again in an umpire's suit & some college kid who's read all about Nietzsche comes by & says "Nietzsche never wore an umpire's suit" & Paul says "You wanna buy some clothes, kid?" & then Rome & John come out of the bar & they're going up to Harlem....we are singing today of the WIPE-OUT GANG--the WIPE-OUT GANG buys, owns & operates the Insanity Factory--if you do not know where the Insanity Factory is located, you should hereby take two steps to the right, paint your teeth & go to sleep....the songs on this specific record are not so much songs but rather exercises in tonal breath control....the subject matter--tho meaningless as it is--has something to do with the beautiful strangers....the beautiful strangers, Vivaldi's green jacket & the holy slow train

you are right john cohen--quazimodo was right--mozart was right....I cannot say the word eye anymore....when I speak this word eye, it is as if I am speaking of somebody's eye that I faintly remember....there is no eye--there is only a series of mouths--long live the mouths--your rooftop--if you don't already know--has been demolished....eye is plasma & you are right about that too--you are lucky--you don't have to think about such things as eyes & rooftops & quazimodo.

© Bob Dylan 1965/All rights reserved.