From: ag@sics.se (Anders G|ransson)
Subject: Re: There is no sense in trying
Organization: GRAMMA
Distribution: rec.music.dylan
Date: Sat, 9 Jan 1993 11:59:42 GMT

In article <1993Jan8.225253.13758@ll.mit.edu> nates@ll.mit.edu 
( Nate Smith) writes:

   In article <AG.93Jan8200753@bast.sics.se> ag@sics.se 
   (Anders G|ransson) writes:
   >
   >Swedish television sent the Dylan tribute concert this week.
   >When Dylan himself sung the line "there is no sense in trying"
   >I heard it as an icy satirical slap in the face of the public,
   >the other artists (and everybody else too). 
   >Am I wrong?


   the first verse of Its Alright Ma, I'm Only Bleedin' goes...

   >Darkness at the break of noon shadows even the silver spoon
   >The hand-made blade, the child's balloon eclipses both the sun and moon
   >To understand you know too soon _there_is_no_sense_in_trying_  <===========
   >Pointed threats they bluff with scorn, suicide remarks are torn
   >From the fool's gold mouthpiece, the hollow horn
   >Plays wasted words, proves to warn 
   >That he not busy being born is busy dying
   >Temptation's page flies out the door, you follow, find yourself at war
   >Watch waterfalls of pity roar, you feel to moan but unlike before
   >You discover that you just be one more person crying
   >So don't fear if you hear a foreign sound to your ear
   >It's alright ma, I'm only sighing

   dylan has packed a lot of venom into this song that dates back to '64
   and the various movements in the US political scene, such as the
   folkmusic movement, the civil rights movement, the antiwar movement and
   so on.  he chooses to use intense imagery and in fact crammed some
   best-seller book titles into the opening lines here.  your question
   is whether or not he was telling the rest to give up can only work
   within the specifics of the verse - its context-sensitive.  he ends
   the verse with a sigh, but it is a sigh of resignation or a sigh of
   just plain weariness.  remember that this song was on the same side
   as Tambourine Man with "my weariness amazes me...".  i think what he
   is saying is that if you want to go about getting something done, then
   the way described is wrong, dont bother trying that, find something else.

 
Thank you for this sensible answer. 
You write above:

   "your question is whether or not he was telling the rest to
    give up can only work within the specifics of 
    the verse - its context-sensitive."

The feeling I got was that Dylan indicated that there was no
context left in or to this song. 
As I heard it there was no 'venom' left but only a kind of chant
of meaningless words. 'I'll sing it to you like a rhyme on a
schoolyard'
  

It was rather amazing to hear this after the ridiculously jovial
presentation: "Some of you know him as zimmie..." and in fact
after the hole concert with all it's bad senseless singing from 
a grinning Neil Young omitting verses and repeating the end
thrice on 'Just like Tom Thumb's blues' to a dull Clapton with
people like Chrissie Hynde in between finishing off the old classics.
So we won't have to hear them again perhaps.

bets regards Anders

--


If you see Saint Annie, please tell her - Thanks a lot.
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