Many of us are waiting impatiently for the fall tour, 99.9% of which will take place in Europe, if the rumors are to be believed. 3 nights in London, probably in November, probably at the Palladium, seem to be a foregone conclusion.
London is probably, next to New York, the city in which Bob Dylan has given the most concerts in his life (corrections gladly back to me!). But it's not necessarily these cities that have influenced our Bob the most, let alone are his favorite. Bob's love for New Orleans is no secret. But the state of Mississippi has also left its mark on the life of probably the greatest musician of all time. His song "Mississippi" has been a fan favorite ever since it was first heard.
Well my ship's been split to splinters and it's sinking fast
I'm drownin' in the poison, got no future, got no past
But my heart is not weary, it's light and it's free
I've got nothin' but affection for all those who've sailed with me
But what is it about Mississippi that Bob Dylan finds so fascinating? I myself have had the opportunity to take two day trips through what is probably the poorest state in the USA. My trip was strongly influenced by the traces of the blues musician Robert Johnson, but you can't help but think of the bloody slave past, the blues, which developed here to a large extent and from which modern rock and ultimately pop music developed.
Not only Robert Johnson came from Mississippi. Muddy Waters, Son House, Howlin' Wolf, Charley Patton, Sam Cooke, B. B. King, even Johnny Cash and Elvis came from here. All of them had and still have an enormous influence on the development of Bob Dylan and modern music history.
The sluggish wasteland through which you sometimes commute on a journey through Mississippi can almost overwhelm you. At times it was even conducive to creativity. The oppression of the black population gave rise to the blues, the basis for many facets of today's music.
Well, the emptiness is endless, cold as the clay
You can always come back, but you can't come back all the way
Only one thing I did wrong
Stayed in Mississippi a day too long
It's interesting to think that this state was hell on earth for probably millions of people, and through the expression of this despair we can not only enjoy the music of Bob Dylan in its present form, but probably also owe the entire development of modern music.
The emptiness surely was endless.