Clouds unbound by laws

Like A Rolling Stone, All Along The Watch Tower, Blowin' In The Wind, Gates Of Eden, etc. -- all path-breaking Dylan songs from nearly half a century ago that changed, forever, the face of popular (English) music. These were impact songs, that showcased an angry, protesting Dylan, a Dylan that wrote stinging social commentaries with rare sleight of hand. Dylan became a rage, the unanimous "voice of his generation" and the rest is history. The artist in Dylan, however, is always simple and unassuming. His songs are often rich in imagery and he uses his limited vocal chords to convey emotions in curious, but very effective ways. Lay Down Your Weary Tune is a telling example of Dylan's poetic and musical humility, in which he seeks refuge from life's weariness in the beautiful sounds of nature.

Lay Down Your Weary Tune (by Bob Dylan)

Lay down your weary tune, lay down,

Lay down the song you strum,

And rest yourself 'neath the strength of strings

No voice can hope to hum.

Struck by the sounds before the sun,

I knew the night had gone.

The morning breeze like a bugle blew

Against the drums of dawn.

The ocean wild like an organ played,

The seaweed's wove its strands.

The crashin' waves like cymbals clashed

Against the rocks and sands.

I stood unwound beneath the skies

And clouds unbound by laws.

The cryin' rain like a trumpet sang

And asked for no applause.

The last of leaves fell from the trees

And clung to a new love's breast.

The branches bare like a banjo played

To the winds that listened best.

I gazed down in the river's mirror

And watched its winding strum.

The water smooth ran like a hymn

And like a harp did hum.

Lay down your weary tune, lay down,

Lay down the song you strum,

And rest yourself 'neath the strength of strings

No voice can hope to hum.