Sep 10, 2010

God said to Abraham "Kill me a son"

Highway 61 Revisited
by Bob Dylan

Oh God said to Abraham, "Kill me a son"
Abe says, "Man, you must be puttin' me on"
God say, "No." Abe say, "What ?"
God say, "You can do what you want Abe, but
The next time you see me comin' you better run"
Well Abe says, "Where do you want this killin' done ?"
God says. "Out on Highway 61".

Well Georgia Sam he had a bloody nose
Welfare Department they wouldn't give him no clothes
He asked poor Howard where can I go
Howard said there's only one place I know
Sam said tell me quick man I got to run
Ol' Howard just pointed with his gun
And said that way down on Highway 61.

Well Mack the finger said to Louie the King
I got forty red white and blue shoe strings
And a thousand telephones that don't ring
Do you know where I can get ride of these things
And Louie the King said let me think for a minute son
And he said yes I think it can be easily done
Just take everything down to Highway 61.

Now the fift daughter on the twelfth night
Told the first father that things weren't right
My complexion she said is much too white
He said come here and step into the light he says hmmm you're right
Let me tell second mother this has been done
But the second mother was with the seventh son
And they were both out on Highway 61.

Now the rowin' gambler he was very bored
He was tryin' to create a next world war
He found a promoter who nearly fell off the floor
He said I never engaged in this kind of thing before
But yes I think it can be very easily done
We'll just put some bleachers out in the sun
And have it on Highway 61.





You may have to login to Hulu to see that second clip. Some NSFW language


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Note: Remember to play the Badgerdaddy Trivia Challenge every day. The next time you see comin' you'd better run.

13 comments:

Mrs. Hall said...

yeah. P.J. Harvey. She tends to get a little too high pitched howly if you ask me. Did enjoy dry though. still one of my faves.

HEY did you notice how PJ Harvey looks like Joanna Angel? weird huh?

and interesting last clip! What is this "Louie" ? funny ;)

Slyde said...

i didnt really did the religion episode of Louis, but i thought this weeks finale's were outstanding./

Verdant Earl said...

Holly - Yeah, that was Louie. That whole episode was brilliant and uncomfortable. And I don't see any resemblance between PJ and Joanna Angel besides dark hair and large noses, although they are different shapes.

Slyde - I loved the God episode. And yes...the finale episodes were brilliant. As usual.

Candy's daily Dandy said...

That shit's deep, Earlsie.

RW said...

Can't hear the tunes here, but I can run Highway 61 in my head. Thanks for the goofiest earworm I've had in some time...

Verdant Earl said...

Candy - Not really. I'm strictly surface.

RW - You're, um, welcome?

Paticus said...

P.J. And C.K.- Nice one-two punch.
Thanks Earl!!

Water Logged Canine said...

I love the trend of Dylan's songs to start with the specific and dissolve into the surreal. Take "Mr. Tambourine Man," as an example. By the end of that song, our traveler has migrated past the "twisted reach of crazy sorrow" to "dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free." Now that is some trippy shit.

What the fuck is he talking about? That could be debated...but his pattern is set. Concrete begets the abstract.

white rabbit said...

The Hulu thingy says their video library can only be streamed from inside the United States. Well fuck off Hulu...

wv: coyases

sybil law said...

Oooh - one of my boyfriends (Louis CK)!
Highway '61 reminds me of high school - listened to that allll the time.... :)

Faiqa said...

The Hulu clip stopped after the guy said God was like a whiny girlfriend. And I was laughing the whole time... thanks a lot... I'm going to hell, now because of YOU. Heh.

Also, not to get serious and deviate from the point of your post (much), but regarding the comedian, I don't think God asked Abraham to kill his son because he wanted to see if Abraham loved him or not. I think it (if the story is even real) had a deeper context and connotation. The story isn't about God, as I see it.. it's about Abraham and his faith. I think he knew it was going to be fine in the end... that good would come of his actions even in a situation where that good was absolutely inconceivable. It's about letting go of your mind, too, and demonstrating the courage of one's conviction. There's a distinction between that and God "testing" him. I view the story as God showing Abraham (and his descendants) their own capacity for faith and showing them that God will look out for you no matter what. Just throwing it out there. I also understand that this perspective is not for everyone. And, if I thought God was asking me to kill on eof my kids, there's no way I would do it. I'd ask for meds. But, I'm not Abraham, so there's that.

Also, isn't that Dylan song about him selling his soul to the devil?

You're just all kinds of existential up in here today aren't you? Or is that me superimposing on you? :-)

Kevin McKeever said...

Oh, PJ. You make my pants go crazy.

Verdant Earl said...

Paticus - I thought so.

Doggie - I don't think Dylan even knows what he was talking about. He says the 60's are a bit of a blur for him now.

Wabbit - America! Fuck yeah!

Sybil - it reminds me of PJ Harvey. Or Johnny Cash. I wasn't into Dylan all that much back in the day.

Faiqa - I just like the pretty song. ;) And that's where the video was supposed to cut off, but I would highly recommend watching that entire episode. It's like an essay on Catholic guilt.

Uncool - me too. Years ago, there was a list in National Lampoon or something of failed phrases used in talking Barbie. One of them was "PJ makes me wet". I cut it out and had it hanging by my desk at work for years.