Restless Farewell

when frank sinatra was retiring/having a birthday/some other celebration, he invited lots of performers to sing at it. he asked bob dylan specifically to sing this song. it's a great song-- saying goodbye, no regrets, moving on, etc.

this is such a beutiful song. But the dark goes die As the curtain is drawn and somebody's eyes Must meet the dawn. And if I see the day I'd only have to stay, So I'll bid farewell in the night and be gone.

that line completes the most necessary revelation in my soul.

This song is stunningly beautiful. I love it, all the more because of the basis of one of my favourite traditional folk songs, 'The Parting Glass'. I always enjoy when Bob Dylan incorporates folk songs in his music.

On leaving a lover and refusing the suggestion that they could stay friends. Conflated with musings on how he has now become public property, with every aspect of his private life raked over, asked about, and his songs examined for clues (as many of us are doing here all these year's later!)

Oh, ev'ry thought that's strung a knot in my mind, I might go insane if it couldn't be sprung. But it's not to stand naked under unknowin' eyes, It's for myself and my friends my stories are sung.

Perhaps the most intriguing verse though is the third, which seems to contain a contradiction midway through. Dylan claims to have fought his every argument without remorse

Oh ev'ry foe that ever I faced, The cause was there before we came. And ev'ry cause that ever I fought, I fought it full without regret or shame.

but goes on to talk of leaving before the sun rises, and before he has to face the person with whom he's argued

But the dark goes die As the curtain is drawn and somebody's eyes Must meet the dawn. And if I see the day I'd only have to stay, So I'll bid farewell in the night and be gone.

Slipping out on a lover with whom he's quarreled one too many times perhaps, and with whom he's decided there is no future, just more quarrels, even if he's not (had the courage) to say as much.

i think it has more to do than telling a lover you're moving on. it sounds almost like a suicide note, telling everyone, whether they liked him or not, that he's not sorry for anything he's done. 'profound' is the best word i can use to describe this song

I can't help but wonder if he was hinting at his intention to move away from issue directed folk songs. Like leaving a lover, with the motivation being his "musings on how he has now become public property, with every aspect of his private life raked over, asked about, and his songs examined for clues (as many of us are doing here all these year's later!)"

After this came Another Side of Bob Dylan, with more personal and abstract songs, less topical, less true to the folk roots of the early days.

This song is a masterpiece. The sentimental tune, borrowed from The Parting Glass, amplifies the emotional power of the lyrics, which are pure poetry.

The song is about a life lived honestly and the life beyond this life that waits. He's lived honestly and will leave this world without giving a damn. It's only a "false" clock that ticks out his time -- just an annoyance to distract him. The dirt and dust that covers his face (when he's buried) are merely "rumors" and "gossip," easily pierced by the arrow of the truth. It's the darkness that dies when the curtains are drawn (death) and the dawn that follows.