Bob Dylan on why ‘Blood on the Tracks’ always confused him: “It’s hard to relate to that”
Part of the beauty behind any great Bob Dylan song is the layers behind every lyric. He may have one specific thing on his mind when making a track, but every time it comes on the turntable, most fans seem to have their own interpretation as to what Mr Zimmerman’s words mean to them or to the world at large. While it’s any songwriter’s dream to have someone relate to them through their music, Dylan was a bit put off when he heard people reacting to Blood on the Tracks.
Because out of all of Dylan’s albums, this is one of the rawest productions he ever made. Whereas he intentionally tried to make things sound screwed up on records like Self Portrait, the majority of this album sees him at his personal lowest point, trying to unravel himself from his longstanding marriage to his wife, Sara.
All divorces are bound to be messy, but Dylan is the kind of person who can’t help but put some of his emotions into his art. Even when he changed some of the lyrics after getting critiques that it was too sad, songs like ‘Idiot Wind’ have all of the pent-up anger you would expect from someone watching their significant other walk out of their lives.
More than anything, the album is about exploring Dylan’s psyche for the first time. He had spent his entire life trying to write about the problems with the world, but this is the first time you see him grappling with problems in himself, including his issues with commitment on ‘Buckets of Rain’ and the gear of losing it all on ‘You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go’.
All of these songs feel more like diary entries than finished tracks, but the world was more than willing to listen. Since Dylan had been going on different genre journeys into the world of country, hearing him bring back his folk roots and make something that actually felt earnest was all that fans had been asking for.
Then again, Dylan was a bit confused as to why someone would want to see him relive all of his lowest moments on vinyl, telling Rolling Stone, “A lot of people tell me they enjoyed that album. It’s hard for me to relate to that – I mean, people enjoying that type of pain.” Admittedly, it does feel voyeuristic looking in on Dylan’s emotional turmoil, but that’s half the reason why it’s such a compelling listen.
You have to remember that Dylan was a god among men in songwriter circles, so to hear him breaking down like this is actually a lot more human than people were ready to hear. He helped us all see the problems with the world, but what happens when the man who seems to have all the answers has to start back at zero again?
Even when looking at some of Dylan’s career highlights afterwards, it’s pretty telling that many media outlets always talk about whatever new album he has out as being as good as Blood on the Tracks. Dylan could morph himself into many shapes from behind a microphone, but this was him laying out the real him for the first time and seeing if his audience would still choose to follow behind him.
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