“I’m about even”: Bob Dylan and his thoughts on the idea of karma
A deep love for literature seems to connect many of the songwriting greats. Joni Mitchell infused her lyrics with as much poetry as she did vulnerability. Leonard Cohen started out as a poet before putting his dense discussions of religion and longing into song. And, of course, Bob Dylan utilised his literary prowess to turn observations about the injustice of the world around him into some of the most revered and resonant songs of all time.
The literary quality of Dylan’s writing was essential to its idiosyncrasy. Before he came onto the scene, songwriters took few risks in form or theme. Dylan infused art with a new sense of purpose, politics, and poetry, weaving intricate imagery and metaphors together. “The ghost of electricity howls in the bones of her face,” he sings on ‘Visions of Johanna’, just one example of his mastery of words.
Literature certainly directed Dylan’s approach to songwriting in direct references and in his general style, but its influence extended far beyond his art. His reading habits bled into his belief systems about the world, such as his views on karma. During a chat with Playboy, the folk songwriter spoke about his thoughts on the subject of consequences and karmic reactions, citing two books as examples.
“I think everybody knows that’s true,” Dylan said of karma, “After you’ve lived long enough, you realise that’s the case.” He went on to suggest that you can “get away with anything” for a while, but, eventually, you will have to pay, citing the short story The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe and Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky as examples.
Published in the 1840s, The Tell-Tale Heart follows an unnamed character who kills a man due to an obsession with his blue eye. He becomes haunted by the sound of a beating heart, which gets louder and louder with his guilt. By the end, he is compelled to inform a trio of police officers of his actions, declaring, “I admit the deed! — tear up the planks! — here, here! — it is the beating of his hideous heart!”
Crime and Punishment also seems to have informed Dylan’s beliefs on the subject of karma. Published a little later than Poe’s text in the 1860s, Dostoevsky’s book follows Rodion Raskolnikov through his feelings of guilt following the murder of a rich old woman. Though the text is much longer than Poe’s, it follows similar themes of consequences and guilt and is one of the most revered and referenced books of all time.
Between the two texts, Dylan seems to believe in the manifestation of karma not just in material actions but in feelings of guilt and discomfort on a more internal level. With regard to his own karmic balance, Dylan suggested that he was “about even”.
He reaffirmed the idea that his 1966 motorcycle accident may have been a karmic event, declaring, “I meant my back wheel had to be aligned.”
Given how literary Dylan’s approach to songwriting is, and how many references to novels and poetry he throws into his lyrics, it’s no surprise that he also looks to external writings to support his wider belief systems. When it comes to karma, specifically, Poe and Dostoevsky’s texts serve as examples of internal consequences, as dissections of guilt and of the madness and mental strife it can cause an individual.
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