How could it be any other way?

Originally written for the soundtrack of North Country (2005) -- "a fictionalized account of the first major sexual harassment case in the US," IMDB -- Tell Ol' Bill is a lovely piece of late-period Dylan poetry. While it narrates the thoughts and emotions of the protagonist in the film (a woman mine-worker seeking justice against sexual abuse) the song also works just as well without any such context -- as a call to determination and endurance in the face of life's struggles. Dylan does his usual thing with imagery, strikes the elder-bluesman-pose with his stern voice and mixes enough musical elements to create a gripping atmosphere.

Tell Ol' Bill (by Bob Dylan)

The river whispers in my ear

I've hardly a penny to my name

The heavens never seemed so near

And all my body glows with flame

The tempest struggles in the air

And to myself alone I sing

It could sink me then and there

I can hear the echo ring

I tried to find one smiling face

To drive the shadow from my head

I'm stranded in this nameless place

Lying restless in a heavy bed

Tell me straight out if you will

Why must you torture me within?

Why must you come from your high hill

And throw my fate to the clouds and wind?

Far away in a silent land

Secret thoughts are hard to bear

Remember me, you'll understand

Emotions we can never share

You trampled on me as you passed

Left the coldest kiss upon my brow

All my doubts and fears have gone at last

I've nothing more to tell you now

I walk by tranquil lakes and streams

As each new season's dawn awaits

I lay awake at night with troubled dreams

The enemy is at the gate

Beneath the thunder blasted trees

The words are ringing off your tongue

The ground is hard in times like these

The stars are cold, the night is young

The rocks are bleak, the trees are bare

Iron clouds go floating by

Snowflakes falling in my hair

Beneath the grey and stormy sky

The evening sun is sinking low

The woods are dark, the town is too

They'll drag you down, they'll run the show

Ain't no telling what they'll do

Tell Ol' Bill when he comes home

That anything is worth a try

Tell him that I'm not alone

And that the hour has come to do or die

All the world I would defy

Let me make it plain as day

I look at you now and I sigh

How could it be any other way?

Don't even hear the murmur of a prayer

Oh my God!! Dylan is in a deep depressing vortex here. When in the mood for something chirpy, avoid this song like you would the plague; but on days when you can deal with heavy, but beautiful, material simply immerse yourself in the wondrous sounds of Not Dark Yet - and don't be surprised if you shed a quiet tear when Dylan gets poignant with lines like "Sometimes my burden seems more than I can bear; It's not dark yet, but it's getting there."

Not Dark Yet (by Bob Dylan)

Shadows are falling and I’ve been here all day
It’s too hot to sleep, time is running away
Feel like my soul has turned into steel
I’ve still got the scars that the sun didn’t heal
There’s not even room enough to be anywhere
It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there


Well, my sense of humanity has gone down the drain
Behind every beautiful thing there’s been some kind of pain
She wrote me a letter and she wrote it so kind
She put down in writing what was in her mind
I just don’t see why I should even care
It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there

Well, I’ve been to London and I’ve been to gay Paree
I’ve followed the river and I got to the sea
I’ve been down on the bottom of a world full of lies
I ain’t looking for nothing in anyone’s eyes
Sometimes my burden seems more than I can bear
It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there

I was born here and I’ll die here against my will
I know it looks like I’m moving, but I’m standing still
Every nerve in my body is so vacant and numb
I can’t even remember what it was I came here to get away from
Don’t even hear a murmur of a prayer
It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there.