Filed under: Music
Say what you want, I believe with every fiber of my soul that “Visions of Johanna” by Bob Dylan is the greatest song ever written.
Perhaps I say this because I’m faced with the task of teaching Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl” to a group of college undergraduates in the next forty-eight hours. Regardless, what songwriter juxtaposes such images as heat pipes coughing with the museums in which infinity goes up on trial? Oh, Lord Ginsberg must roll over in his grave as the jelly-fished women all sneeze! After all, jewels and binoculars explode.
Seriously, name me a song that means more and yet remains so unknown than that of Bob Dylan’s “Visions of Johanna” .
If it is not the stuff of poetry, then I resign myself to a life of meaningless jingle-jangles.
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The song is my absolute favorite song ever written. As my wife posted on Facebook, we love it so much we named our daughter Johanna to remind her that she’s always on our minds, no matter where she is. My favorite lines, the most poetic:
1. Louise, she’s alright she’s just near. She’s delicate and seems like the mirror, but she makes it all too concise and too clear that Johanna’s not here.
2. You mentioned it above, but the line, “Inside the museums infinity goes up on trial…” is one of the most powerful lines in any song ever.
3. Mona Lisa must have had the Highway Blues you can tell by the way she smiles.
It’s just one of the best observations…
Thanks for posting this.
Comment by Piper November 18, 2010 @ 7:09 amWell, the cat’s obviously out of the bag: I love every line from that song. Having said that explicitly, the lines you highlight are standouts for sure. I have always particularly loved “Louise, she’s alright she’s just near…” Not only do I love the content of that line but every time I play the song on guitar, the line seems to accumulate a profound degree of momentum no matter how I sing it.
Another favorite line, which I didn’t mention above, is “in the room the heat pips just cough.” Anyone who has had a place with heat pipes must appreciate that sonic imagery, plus the idea of being able to hear the heat pipes evokes a wonderful sense of loneliness, which fits with the overall content of the song as a whole.
Thanks for the appreciation and the contribution man!
Comment by kolakosk December 23, 2010 @ 1:54 amHey Kola, just teach “Visions of Johanna” and then compare it to “Howl.” You’ll blow up the classroom with your mad discourse!
Comment by Adam November 19, 2010 @ 9:44 amGood idea, Adam. On Thursday, I had them listen to Ginsberg recite the poem in February of 1956 (one of if not the earliest known recordings of him reading it). Perhaps I’ll begin our next class with “Visions.” Did I ever tell you about the independent study I did in undergrad on Dylan and Ginsberg?…you know, an entire graduate course on the two would be wonderful.
Comment by kolakosk November 20, 2010 @ 9:33 pmSounds great! You can be my professor of Dylanology.
Comment by Adam November 23, 2010 @ 2:23 pmI’m teaching a course right now called “20th Century Poetry, Lyrics, and Literature.” We listened to “Eleanor Rigby” and looked at the song’s structure.
Good life to be the teacher.
–adam
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