What more can be said about Bobby Zimmerman and his new record? This man sneezes and gets a Mojo cover. Personal disclosure: I wear Bob Dylan blinders - the man's phlegm is worth discussing in my opinion. So I'm predisposed to receive his albums as messages from on high. Is Modern Times a Rolling Stone Five-Star album? Not quite, and besides that honor lost it weight when they named Mick Jagger's last solo record a modern classic. Is it worthy of the canon? Hell yes, even if there's not one song on the record that I would define as a classic. There are some just breathtaking lyrics though, and here are a few of my favorites:

(One note: there are of course probably a thousand sites analyzing Dylan's lyrics line by line. I'm not going to attempt to match these efforts. If you're looking for better commentary, check out Expecting Rain's Modern Times review page. As of September 25, there are 384 reviews linked there.)

"Thunder on the Mountain"

"Gonna raise me an army, some tough sons of bitches
I'll recruit my army from the orphanages
I been to St. Herman's church, said my religious vows
I've sucked the milk out of a thousand cows"

I love the off the wall lyrics about Alicia Keys, but the sardonic ferocity of these lines get me every time. Perhaps it's the mental image of a haggard Dylan rousing orphans to fight some undisclosed battle that makes these lines so brilliant? Or maybe it's the picture of him assaulting herds of cows?

"When the Deal Goes Down"

"I laugh and I cry and I'm haunted by
Things I never meant nor wished to say
The midnight rain follows the train
We all wear the same thorny crown
Soul to soul, our shadows roll"

I could easily quote every lyric in this beautiful, regret-strewn ballad.

"Working Man's Blues #2"

"Well, I'm sailin' on back, ready for the long haul
Tossed by the winds and the seas
I'll drag 'em all down to hell and I'll stand 'em at the wall
I'll sell 'em to their enemies
I'm tryin' to feed my soul with thought
Gonna sleep off the rest of the day
Sometimes no one wants what we got
Sometimes you can't give it away"

"Working Man's Blues #2" is another song with lyrics worth reading in entirety. I love how the line "Gonna sleep off the rest of the day" just jumps out between lines of vengeance and despair. I picture a weary old man resting from his battles against himself and his imagined enemies.

"Now I'm down on my luck and I'm black and blue
Gonna give you another chance
I'm all alone and I'm expecting you
To lead me off in a cheerful dance

I got a brand new suit and a brand new wife
I can live on rice and beans
Some people never worked a day in their life
Don't know what work even means"

A moment of whimsy ends this fatigued tune. Dylan drags out the line "cheerful dance" on the record as if he's suppressing a cynical chuckle. He's eating rice and beans, dressed to the nines, complaining about the lazy and spoiled. I wonder if the line "some people never worked a day in their life" is a bit of self-deprecation.

"Nettie Moore"

"I'm the oldest son of a crazy man,
I'm in a cowboy band
Got a pile of sins to pay for and I ain't got time to hide
I'd walk through a blazing fire, baby, if I knew you was on the other side"

The last couplet just stabs me in heart every time I hear it. After the first two lines, this endearing remark hits like a sucker punch.

"Ain't Talkin'"

"Now I'm all worn down by weeping
My eyes are filled with tears, my lips are dry
If I catch my opponents ever sleeping
I'll just slaughter 'em where they lie"

Sigh, another track with line after line of gold, but again I'm struck most by the the imagery of weariness, grief and anger. Dylan's character is a man on the run, hiding out from his enemies like David in the Psalms. He's been decimated by bitterness, but is still strong enough to murder his oppressors.

- Lyrics sourced from Expecting Rain and are the property of Bob Dylan. Thanks for the loan.

- The Annotated Modern Times Lyrics is another great source for analysis.