Bob Dylan – Murder Most Foul

All’alba di questo venerdì, un venerdì grigio e angosciante da noi come sulla costa orientale degli Stati Uniti, Bob Dylan pubblica una nuova canzone, il titolo è “Murder Most Foul”. Un’epica composizione sull’assassinio di John F. Kennedy.
A corredo della canzone un breve e laconico messaggio:

“Greetings to my fans and subscribers with gratitude for all your support and loyalty over the years.
This is an unreleased song that we recorded some time ago and that may interest you.
Stay safe, stay alert and God be with you.”
Bob Dylan

L’ultimo album di Dylan, “Tempest”, era stato pubblicato nel 2012. Sono trascorsi otto anni. Ma in “Murder Most Foul” c’è materiale per un album intero. Siamo sui territori di “Desolation Row” e non solo per la durata.
Il tappeto sonoro è quasi impercettibile. Un violino, un pianoforte e leggere percussioni.
C’è l’assassinio di Kennedy, ma con il progredire s’irrompe più liberamente in una sorta di fantasmagoria sulla cultura pop degli anni ’60.
L’arrivo dei Beatles in America all’inizio del 1964 come tonico alla depressione post assassinio.
“Hush, little children. You’ll understand
The Beatles are coming, they will hold your hand”
E poi, via via, Gerry & the Pacemakers, Tommy degli Who, Woodstock, Altamont.
“Cross the Mersey by ferry and go to the gorge”
“Tommy can you hear me, I’m the queen of acids”
“I’m going to Woodstock; it’s the Aquarian Age”
“Then I’ll go to Altamont and sit near the stage.”
Dylan non si ferma agli anni Sessanta. Il suo stream of consciousness arriva fino agli anni Settanta, ma copre tutto il secolo – Lindsey Buckingham e Stevie Nicks, Don Henley e Glenn Frey, Dickey Betts dell’Allman Brothers Band, “Only the Good Die Young”, “Nightmare on Elm Street”, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Art Pepper, Oscar Peterson, Stan Getz, “Charlie Parker and all that junk”, Nat King Cole, Marilyn Monroe, John Lee Hooker, Wolfman Jack, Patsy Cline, Houdini, “Wake Up Little Suzy”, “Let the good times roll”,”The robust old cross”,”The merchant of Venice”,”Memphis in June”, “Moonlight sonata”,”Play Misty for me”, “Please Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”.
Talvolta mescola i due registri:
“You got me dizzy, Miss Lizzy.
You filled me with lead
That magic bullet of yours has gone to my head
I’m just a patsy like Patsy Cline”.
Oppure:
“What’s new, pussycat? What’d I say?
I said the soul of a nation been torn away
And it’s beginning to go into a slow decay
And that it’s 36 hours past Judgment Day”
E sull’assassinio non lesina dettagli:
“Then they blew off his head while
He was still in the car
Shot down like a dog in broad daylight”.
Fino a cogliere il punto di vista dello stesso Kennedy:
“Roll in the back seat next to my wife
And it’s all right in the afterlife
I leaned to the left, put my head on her lap”.
Nella parossistica precisione per il particolare giornalistico:
“Air Force One coming in through the gate
Johnson sworn in at 2:38”.
E, se prevale la tesi complottista:
“What is the truth, and where did it go?
Ask Oswald and Ruby; they oughta know
‘Shut your mouth,’ said the wise old owl
Business is business, and it’s a murder most foul”
non manca di dare voce agli stessi assassini:
“We’ve already got someone here to take your place,”
anche sui fratelli di Kennedy stesso,
“We’ll get them as well.”

Ripensando alle polemiche sul Nobel, avrebbero dovuto dargliene altri due o tre.
Solo quel bastardo poteva tirare fuori qualcosa del genere in questo momento.

Twas a dark day in Dallas, November ’63
A day that will live on in infamy
President Kennedy was a-ridin’ high
Good day to be livin’ and a good day to die
Being led to the slaughter like a sacrificial lamb
He said, ‘Wait a minute, boys, you know who I am?’
‘Of course we do. We know who you are.’
Then they blew off his head while he was still in the car
Shot down like a dog in broad daylight
Was a matter of timing and the timing was right
You gotta pay debts; we’ve come to collect
We’re gonna kill you with hatred; without any respect
We’ll mock you and shock you and we’ll put it in your face
We’ve already got someone here to take your place

The day they blew out the brains of the king
Thousands were watching; no one saw a thing
It happened so quickly, so quick, by surprise
Right there in front of everyone’s eyes
Greatest magic trick ever under the sun
Perfectly executed, skillfully done
Wolfman, oh wolfman, oh wolfman howl
Rub-a-dub-dub, it’s a murder most foul

Hush, little children. You’ll understand
The Beatles are comin’; they’re gonna hold your hand
Slide down the banister, go get your coat
Ferry ‘cross the Mersey and go for the throat
There’s three bums comin’ all dressed in rags
Pick up the pieces and lower the flags
I’m going to Woodstock; it’s the Aquarian Age
Then I’ll go to Altamont and sit near the stage
Put your head out the window; let the good times roll
There’s a party going on behind the Grassy Knoll

Stack up the bricks, pour the cement
Don’t say Dallas don’t love you, Mr. President
Put your foot in the tank and step on the gas
Try to make it to the triple underpass
Blackface singer, whiteface clown
Better not show your faces after the sun goes down
Up in the red light district, they’ve got cop on the beat
Living in a nightmare on Elm Street

When you’re down in Deep Ellum, put your money in your shoe
Don’t ask what your country can do for you
Cash on the ballot, money to burn
Dealey Plaza, make left-hand turn
I’m going down to the crossroads; gonna flag a ride
The place where faith, hope, and charity died
Shoot him while he runs, boy. Shoot him while you can
See if you can shoot the invisible man
Goodbye, Charlie. Goodbye, Uncle Sam
Frankly, my Scarlet, I don’t give a damn

What is the truth, and where did it go?
Ask Oswald and Ruby; they oughta know
‘Shut your mouth,’ said the wise old owl
Business is business, and it’s a murder most foul

Tommy, can you hear me? I’m the Acid Queen
I’m riding in a long, black limousine
Riding in the backseat next to my wife
Heading straight on in to the afterlife
I’m leaning to the left; got my head in her lap
Hold on, I’ve been led into some kind of a trap
Where we ask no quarter, and no quarter do we give
We’re right down the street from the street where you live
They mutilated his body, and they took out his brain
What more could they do? They piled on the pain
But his soul’s not there where it was supposed to be at
For the last fifty years they’ve been searchin’ for that

Freedom, oh freedom. Freedom from need
I hate to tell you, mister, but only dead men are free
Send me some lovin’; tell me no lies
Throw the gun in the gutter and walk on by
Wake up, little Suzie; let’s go for a drive
Cross the Trinity River; let’s keep hope alive
Turn the radio on; don’t touch the dials
Parkland hospital, only six more miles

You got me dizzy, Miss Lizzy. You filled me with lead
That magic bullet of yours has gone to my head
I’m just a patsy like Patsy Cline
Never shot anyone from in front or behind
I’ve blood in my eye, got blood in my ear
I’m never gonna make it to the new frontier
Zapruder’s film I seen night before
Seen it thirty three times maybe more
It’s vile and deceitful. It’s cruel and it’s mean
Ugliest thing that you ever have seen
They killed him once and they killed him twice
Killed him like a human sacrifice

The day that they killed him, someone said to me, ‘Son
The age of the Antichrist has only begun.’
Air Force One coming in through the gate
Johnson sworn in at 2:38
Let me know when you decide to thrown in the towel
It is what it is, and it’s murder most foul

What’s new, pussycat? What’d I say?
I said the soul of a nation been torn away
And it’s beginning to go into a slow decay
And that it’s 36 hours past Judgment Day

Wolfman Jack, speaking in tongues
He’s going on and on at the top of his lungs
Play me a song, Mr. Wolfman Jack
Play it for me in my long Cadillac
Play me that ‘Only the Good Die Young’
Take me to the place Tom Dooley was hung
St. James Infirmary and the Port of King James
If you want to remember, you better write down the names
Play Etta James, too. Play ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’
Play it for the man with the telepathic mind
Play John Lee Hooker. Play ‘Scratch My Back.’
Play it for that strip club owner named Jack
Guitar Slim going down slow
Play it for me and for Marilyn Monroe

Play ‘Please Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood’
Play it for the First Lady, she ain’t feeling any good
Play Don Henley, play Glenn Frey
Take it to the limit and let it go by
Play it for Karl Wirsum, too
Looking far, far away at Down Gallow Avenue
Play tragedy, play ‘Twilight Time’
Take me back to Tulsa to the scene of the crime
Play another one and ‘Another One Bites the Dust’
Play ‘The Old Rugged Cross’ and ‘In God We Trust’
Ride the pink horse down the long, lonesome road
Stand there and wait for his head to explode
Play ‘Mystery Train’ for Mr. Mystery
The man who fell down dead like a rootless tree
Play it for the Reverend; play it for the Pastor
Play it for the dog that got no master
Play Oscar Peterson. Play Stan Getz
Play ‘Blue Sky’; play Dickey Betts
Play Hot Pepper, Thelonious Monk
Charlie Parker and all that junk
All that junk and ‘All That Jazz’
Play something for the Birdman of Alcatraz
Play Buster Keaton, play Harold Lloyd
Play Bugsy Siegel, play Pretty Boy Floyd
Play the numbers, play the odds
Play ‘Cry Me A River’ for the Lord of the gods
Play Number 9, play Number 6
Play it for Lindsey and Stevie Nicks
Play Nat King Cole, play ‘Nature Boy’
Play ‘Down In The Boondocks’ for Terry Malloy
Play ‘It Happened One Night’ and ‘One Night of Sin’
There’s 12 Million souls that are listening in
Play ‘Merchant to Venice’, play ‘Merchants of Death’
Play ‘Stella by Starlight’ for Lady Macbeth

Don’t worry, Mr. President. Help’s on the way
Your brothers are coming; there’ll be hell to pay
Brothers? What brothers? What’s this about hell?
Tell them, ‘We’re waiting. Keep coming.’ We’ll get them as well

The field is where his plane touched down
But it never did get back up off the ground
Was a hard act to follow, second to none
They killed him on the altar of the rising sun
Play ‘Misty’ for me and ‘That Old Devil Moon’
Play ‘Anything Goes’ and ‘Memphis in June’
Play ‘Lonely At the Top’ and ‘Lonely Are the Brave’
Play it for Houdini spinning around his grave
Play Jelly Roll Morton, play ‘Lucille’
Play ‘Deep In a Dream’, and play ‘Driving Wheel’
Play ‘Moonlight Sonata’ in F-sharp
And ‘A Key to the Highway’ for the king on the harp
Play ‘Marching Through Georgia’ and ‘Dumbaroton’s Drums’
Play darkness and death will come when it comes
Play ‘Love Me Or Leave Me’ by the great Bud Powell
Play ‘The Blood-stained Banner’, play ‘Murder Most Foul’