Posted by Loulou on Feb 9, 2015 | 3 comments

Mama, where’s my thumbpick?

Well, mama just read Bob Dylan’s speech to the Grammy audience after he was given an award from MusiCare, an organization that helps musicians financially, physically and more, and mama was in tears.  I’m sure most of the audience was, too, eventually. What a writer!

It was a long speech.  It IS a long speech but if you have the time today, take a look.  If this genius/poet doesn’t say better than anyone just what music is, mama doesn’t know who does.

She cut his hair once, long ago when he was not known very well and he visited Berkeley with a shaggy mane and came to her house with some other musicians because musicians went in and out of her house quite a bit, people like Bob Neuwirth (who later became Dylan’s road manager), Sandy Bull, John Cooke with the Charles River Valley Boys, and the Jim Kweskin Jug Band, some of them occasionally crashing on the floor or in the little guest house at the end of the property, and so here he comes, this kid needing a haircut and mama just got out her trusty scissors (she cut everyone’s hair–I’m not getting near her!) and said, “Hey, let’s trim up those locks” and so she did.  I think she gave him lunch, too. Knowing mama, he couldn’t have escaped without food in his tummy…

No one guessed who he’d become.

No one did except the very, very discerning few who saw the depth of his soul and talent and set him on the road to fame.

Please read his speech and brighten your day.  Mama read it to me and I am getting out my guitar later and playing a little homage to a great and wondrous man who has given so much to the music world, and whom so many love, warts and all.

And I know one time his hair looked pretty nice…a little shorter than this…

And if you want another lovely moment in your day, read Dylan Thomas’ lovely Fern Hill. It’s mama’s and my favourite poem.  I hope Bob was named after this Dylan because in the world of poets, they are the cream.

BOB DYLAN QUOTE FROM SPEECH:

“Critics have made a career out of accusing me of having a career of confounding expectations. Really? Because that’s all I do. That’s how I think about it. Confounding expectations.”

“What do you do for a living, man?”

“Oh, I confound expectations.”

I like that.  Maybe we can all confound expectations a little more…