Comments on: The 30 Greatest Bob Dylan Songs: #16, “Idiot Wind”

By: The Top 30 Bob Dylan Songs, Revisited | American Songwriter

The Top 30 Bob Dylan Songs, Revisited | American Songwriter — Wed, 25 May 2011 15:05:13 +0000

[...] 16. Idiot Wind [...]

By: Graham

Graham — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 04:39:25 +0000

Seconded the Hard Rain version. It’s a fantastic track, and the highlight of that album.

By: Bob Dylan’s Big Day | American Songwriter

Bob Dylan’s Big Day | American Songwriter — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:41:20 +0000

[...] here to read Dylanologist AJ Weberman’s breakdown of “Idiot Wind” in our comments [...]

By: Ben

Ben — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 20:27:55 +0000

It was the acoustic bootleg version for me, and it’s very underrated. He was pain-stricken and mournful in that cut.

And yes, lyrics that angry beg to be shouted out loud, so the album take has deserved appeal. But the anger is still there in the acoustic take. You can hear it. The difference is that it’s broiling underneath the surface, and growing more and more through each verse, each time so regretfully calling you “an eeeeeeediot, babe”.

And like Sano said, it’s topped off masterfully with a tortured harmonica solo.

By: AJ Weberman

AJ Weberman — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 17:09:57 +0000

“People see me all the time and they just can’t remember how to act” I let Weberman come over to my studio as much as he liked and yet he wasn’t grateful or subservient “Their minds are filled with big ideas” their brains are filled with high falutin’ Leftwing idealistic ideology “images” my poems, image: a figure of speech, especially a metaphor or simile “and distorted facts” and distorted exegeses that Weberman tries to pass off as facts “Even you, yesterday you had to ask me where it was at” even you AJ Weberman, founder of Dylanology, you had to ask me to help you translate my poetry “I couldn’t believe after all these years, you didn’t know me better than that” I couldn’t believe that after all your years of studying my poetry you penetrated it just superficially “Sweet lady” slow learner, dummy, slow learning reporter; sweet used as an intensive ‘he took his own sweet time to finish.’

By: Sano

Sano — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 15:08:40 +0000

for me, the bootlegs version is the most visceral and gut-wrenching. the additional lyrics absolutely blew me away when i first heard them, and his vocal delivery sounds more personal and reflective. it sounds like the song was more personal for Dylan in the earlier take. by the time it was redone in Minneapolis, maybe he had already moved beyond some of the knee-jerk emotions explored in the song. the harmonica work, too, is far more tortured in the NY city version.

best lyric left out of the album version:

“you can have the best there is, but it’s going to cost you all your love…you won’t get it for money”

i think most artists would write an entire song around a lyric like that if they could come up with it, and bobby just tosses it aside. remarkable song. remarkable.

By: Dylanesque

Dylanesque — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:26:11 +0000

I love this song. It’s like watching a movie over and over again and you see something you missed the first time around . I feel that way about all of his songs. he is absolutely correct when he says nobody can write, sing, or say things the way he does. Bob Dylan is truly one of a kind noone will ever come close to his talents. I think these songs are his life and another great one is Sara…Though a genius and prophetic he hurts in many ways that we all have hurt. In love he too, has loved and lost he knows..and understands..and i love the rolling thunder revue stuff the best

By: AJ Weberman

AJ Weberman — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:29:31 +0000

“Someone’s got it in for me” Weberman has a grudge against me also “in for me” as “infamy” this “someone” is infamous “they’re planting stories in the press” he and his cohorts are orchestrating a campaign against me in the press “Whoever it is?” sarcastic: everyone knows these stories emanate from one scum bucket, A.J. Weberman “I wish they’d cut it out quick” I wish the editors and publishers like Jann Wenner would immediately cut these stories out of music publications “but when they will I can only guess” but there is so much interest in this douche bag that I cannot influence them not to write about him and things have gone beyond my control “They” the articles “say I shot” exhausted, wore out “a man” a male representative, as of a country our man in London “named” represented or reputed, as opposed to reality, in name only “Grey” Charles Grey; British politician who as prime minister implemented the abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire “and took his wife” and took the ideology he was wedded to, the Civil Rights Movement to the far right. Chronicles, “What I know about Pound is that he was a Nazi sympathizer in World War II and did anti-American broadcasts from Italy. I never did read him.” “She inherited a million bucks” according to Weberman the ostensibly leftwing Dylan earned millions for songs he composed that he did not believe in “and when she died” and when the phony folk music phase of Dylan’s career ended and he could milk it no longer “it came to me” the royalties came to me, the real Bob Dylan. Also something else “came to me” occurred in the mind: a good idea of what to write just came to me. “I can’t help it if I’m lucky.” Sarcastic: I can’t help it if was, am and will always be a successful capitalist and that is what I am going to write about. “Luck” as wealth, Fare-the-Well, “I still might strike it lucky on a highway going West” I still might become wealthy by opening a new frontier in music “though I’m traveling on a path beaten trail” even though I am singing songs of the Depression that were already covered by other artists.

By: Srivatsan

Srivatsan — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 11:45:29 +0000

Great song .. great lines .. great delivery. "I cant even touch the books you've read" or "Springtime turned slooowly into autumn" or "You're an iyediot babe" etc.

By: steve l

steve l — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 05:22:00 +0000

The Hard Rain live performance version is hard hitting and mesmerizing.