brent johnson digs up another lost treasure, this week from Bob Dylan …
Sometimes, there isn’t much to say about songs. Sometimes, they’re just beautiful, touching — and completely in tune with how you feel. Those songs are rare.
And it’s hard to find a song as rare as ‘Simple Twist Of Fate’ by Bob Dylan.
It’s not his most famous composition, but it’s among the standouts on his 1975 album Blood On The Tracks, one of the best break-up/divorce albums ever created. And if you’ve ever lost something you truly love, all you need to do is listen to understand.
Or read. I’ve also included the lyrics below. They’re too perfect not to.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmZ6sQFg74I
‘SIMPLE TWIST OF FATE’
Words & Music by Bob Dylan
Released by Bob Dylan in 1975
They sat together in the park
As the evening sky grew dark
She looked at him and he felt a spark tingle to his bones
It was then he felt alone and wished that he’d gone straight
And watched out for a simple twist of fate
They walked alone by the old canal
A little confused, I remember well
And stopped into a strange hotel with a neon burning bright
He felt the heat of the night hit him like a freight train
Moving with a simple twist of fate
A saxophone someplace far off played
As she was walking on by the arcade
As the light bust through a beat-up shade where he was waking up
She dropped a coin into the cup of a blind man at the gate
And forgot about a simple twist of fate
He woke up the room was bare
He didn’t see her anywhere
He told himself he didn’t care, pushed the window open wide
Felt an emptiness inside to which he just could not relate
Brought on by a simple twist of fate
He hears the ticking of the clocks
And walks along with a parrot that talks
Hunts her down by the waterfront docks where the sailors all come in
Maybe she’ll pick him out again — how long must he wait?
One more time for a simple twist of fate
People tell me it’s a sin
To know and feel too much within
I still believe she was my twin, but I lost the ring
She was born in spring, but I was born too late
Blame it on a simple twist of fate
