Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan’s most
brutal and bitter song is the ironically named “Positively 4th Street”.
There seems to be a controversy of which 4th Street Dylan is referring
to in this song: New York City’s 4th Street or Minneapoplis’ 4th
Street, as Dylan lived in both area in his lifetime. I personally think
it’s NY, at least that’s the imagery I first conjured up when I first
heard “Positively…”

No one
really knows who or what Dylan is singing about, but here’s my
interpretation on the song: it’s about running into an ex-girlfriend on
4th Street accidentally. He tries to stay nice to her, but inside his
head, he’s thinking all these awful things he would say to her. Such
as: “You say, ‘how are you? good luck!’ but you don’t mean it!” She’s
also probably with her new boyfriend or something, just to add insult
to injury!

A very,
very bitter song… which is why it’s one of my favorites! Apparently
it’s also a favorite among other artists as well, including the Beatles
(I don’t have this rendition!), Simply Red (nor this one),
Stereophonics, and the Violent Femmes.

Here’s a breakdown of the songs I do have:

Bryan Ferry – Positively 4th Street

BRYAN FERRY
From his 2007’s all-Dylan cover album, Dylanesque. I don’t know if it’s done on purpose, but he sounds like a bitter old man in this song!

Stereophonics – Postively 4th Street

STEREOPHONICS
It’s a very a faithful version. Can’t see a reason to re-record an
already great song unless you want to interpret the song in your
style… but still I guess Kelly Jones needed to show his sensitive
side.

Violent Femmes – Positively 4th Street

VIOLENT FEMMES
The most different of all the covers here. It sounds like a rock
song, with “you got a lot of nerves” being the reoccurring chorus.
You’d never would’ve guessed that this was a Dylan song.

July 10, 2007 12:01 AM

vu vu@weheartmusic.com

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