The song is one of the many jewels found in Dylan's 1997 release Time Out of Mind. I'm hesitant to offer an interpretation of this particular song because I think it can have many different meanings. Dylan is hard to interpret to begin with. In my opinion (which doesn't count for a whole lot), this is one of the few glimpses we have into the soul of the greatest song writer to ever live (I dare you to dispute that claim!).
Its hard to deny that this song is about aging. In our culture, and perhaps around the globe, there is the understanding that "wisdom comes with age". I think this song is the realization that this saying isn't particularly true for Dylan, if the song is indeed about him. When I listen to this song, I can literally hear the fatigue in Dylan's voice. I hear a man who is tired. Tired of traveling, tired of writing, and perhaps tired of living.
Two lines in the song stand out to me in particular.
Behind every beautiful thing, there's been some kind of pain.
Here we catch a glimpse of Dylan the theologian. Contemplating this line reminded me of a quote by Al Wolters in his book, Creation Regained,
“The effects of sin touch all of creation – no created thing is in principle untouched by the corrosive effects of the fall.”
Dylan is right on the mark. There is indeed much beauty to find in life, however because of the fall, brokenness and pain are found around every turn as well. And many times, pain doesn't heal, especially with time. Earlier in the song, Dylan claims,
I've still got the scars that the sun didn't heal.
If we fully rely on time to heal our pains, we'll be disappointed. While I do believe that time can help to heal pain, it isn't the solution. We'll never experience true healing on this earth until Jesus' second coming - when the King will make everything new (Revelation 21:1-5).
The second line in the song that stands out to me in particular is found in the third verse:
Sometimes my burden is more than I can bear.
Don't we all carry burdens? If you're anything like me, you've got past issues/problems (perhaps from childhood) that still haunt you. Of course these can be heavy, especially when coupled with present day burdens. Lately I've been thinking a lot about "ministry" and what it means to enter into people's pain and brokenness. In effect, when we do this we take on other people's burdens and it can often feel as though it is too much to bear.
I have a deep appreciation for Dylan's honesty and vulnerability in this song. He has such a gift for writing songs that people can relate to. I hope you can enjoy this song as much as I have.
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