https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-Y3KfJs6T0 Whilst "Blood on the tracks" was a whole album of heartbreak that told the story of his divorce, I've gone for a song that was written earlier in his career, which created the template for that album. "Don't think twice, it's alright" is a real stand out from his canon of blues. What makes it so fascinating is that the tone is light, almost flippant, but underneath the breeziness, there's a real sadness and bitterness to the words. It's the story of an unbalanced love, the singer of the song obviously thought that the affair was a bigger deal than it was. Despite his claims that the object of his desire wanted his soul, the real story of his leaving is that she's indifferent to him. The closing lines are a real kiss off, a mixture sadness, anger, depression and ultimately acceptance, and they're so good you need to read them in full "Goodbye's too good a word, babe. so I'll just say fare thee well, I ain't saying you treated me unkind, you could have done better but I don't mind, you just kind of wasted my precious time, but don't think twice, it's all right." So is it alright? Of course not, that's why he wrote this song and is now licking his wounds.
What makes music fantastic? Star quality, amazing music, breathtaking lyrics and the ability to bring something new to the table, even if that means a new take on the classics. That's what I love to listen to and write about.
As well as writing for What Culture, I occasionally write a blog http://tedney.blogspot.co.uk and sometimes use Twitter, but sparingly @TedneyNash