- Feb 5, 2002
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In his song, “Somedays You Write the Song,” Guy Clark wrote, “Some days you know just how it goes / Some days you have no clue / Some days you write the song / Some days the song writes you.” I thought of this lyric as I read Bob Dylan’s insightfully quirky recent book, “The Philosophy of Modern Song,” which accounts for the mystical process by which songs are made, and the mysterious effects they have on their listeners. “Being a writer is not something one chooses to do,” Dylan explains. “It’s something you just do and sometimes people stop and notice.” Often, the artist finds that she’s not in control of the muses that stir her soul to create. Thus, Dylan contends, “It’s what a song makes you feel about your life that’s important.”
A philosopher
Dylan book“The Philosophy of Modern Song” is a collection of 66 short, punchy entries (one can’t really call them chapters), each ostensibly discussing one song. The choices range from giant radio hits to songs that have never even been commercially released. Sometimes Dylan will use the song as a catalyst to discuss other songs by the songwriters or performer. Other times, the song serves as the point of departure for broader social, political and moral reflection. In whatever direction he goes from song to song, Dylan helps us readers to see more deeply into our own lives.
Dylan does not attempt to explain the mystical quality of writing and performing music in some grand unified theory. He does not present us with a foundational philosophy or a set of abstract doctrines that he then applies to an analysis of the songs he discusses. The book is not a treatise about aesthetic theory, principles of harmonics or rules of melody. These do not help us “disentangle the mystery of … music,” Dylan explains. In fact, theory can get in the way of true appreciation of the song. The “more you study music, the less you understand it,” he contends. “Take two people — one studies contrapuntal music theory, the other cries when they hear a sad song. Which of the two really understands music better?”
Continued below.
A philosopher
Dylan book“The Philosophy of Modern Song” is a collection of 66 short, punchy entries (one can’t really call them chapters), each ostensibly discussing one song. The choices range from giant radio hits to songs that have never even been commercially released. Sometimes Dylan will use the song as a catalyst to discuss other songs by the songwriters or performer. Other times, the song serves as the point of departure for broader social, political and moral reflection. In whatever direction he goes from song to song, Dylan helps us readers to see more deeply into our own lives.
Dylan does not attempt to explain the mystical quality of writing and performing music in some grand unified theory. He does not present us with a foundational philosophy or a set of abstract doctrines that he then applies to an analysis of the songs he discusses. The book is not a treatise about aesthetic theory, principles of harmonics or rules of melody. These do not help us “disentangle the mystery of … music,” Dylan explains. In fact, theory can get in the way of true appreciation of the song. The “more you study music, the less you understand it,” he contends. “Take two people — one studies contrapuntal music theory, the other cries when they hear a sad song. Which of the two really understands music better?”
Continued below.
Bob Dylan, St. Augustine and the problem of the heart
Review of Bob Dylan’s book, “The Philosophy of Modern Song,” in which Dylan explores the ability of music to convey deep emotion through its music and lyrics