Oh goodness, I'd like to clarify.
slimtimslide wrote:
gerardv wrote:
Dylan has spoken eloquently of depression in every phase of his career.
It's always been a part of Dylan vernacular, but the particulars have changed.
It's moved from a young young man's heartbreak (Tomorrow is a long
time) to the boredom of predictability (Time passes slowly) to post break-up
despair (If you see her, say hello) to mid-life angst (Where are you tonight?)
to reflections on mortality (Not dark yet).
While all of these things might be
depressing none of them add up to
depression. There is a world of difference between feeling depressed about something and actually suffering from depression. I thought this thread was about the latter - a clinical condition that may have no relation whatsoever to outside circumstances.
I'm not convinced that Dylan does tackle the issue of depression anyway, but I am convinced that the factors listed above, while they are enough to make anyone feel a bit depressed, are not necessarily linked to the mental illness of depression, and to try and make them so demeans and misunderstands people who suffer from depression. It is perfectly possible to be heartbroken, bored, in despair, lost, and wondering about futility without actually suffering from depression - it is also possible to have everything one could apparently want in life, and for things to seem perfect from the outside, yet to be a black hole of inescapable meaninglessness and negativity on the inside.
Being depressed about something does not equal 'depression'.
and
Queen Anne Lace wrote:
slimtimslide wrote:
While all of these things might be depressing none of them add up to depression. There is a world of difference between feeling depressed about something and actually suffering from depression. I thought this thread was about the latter - a clinical condition that may have no relation whatsoever to outside circumstances.
I'm not convinced that Dylan does tackle the issue of depression anyway, but I am convinced that the factors listed above, while they are enough to make anyone feel a bit depressed, are not necessarily linked to the mental illness of depression.
Glad I'm not the only one! I've been listening to Bob forever, but never once considered any
of his songs as talking about depression. This thread shocked me.
Bob writes about broken hearts, loss, unrequited love...sad events in our lives.
But not the same as depression.
The last thing I wanted to do with this thread is to try to diagnose or label Bob or his body of work (I know by now not to do that to Bob (or anyone). Also, in regard to discussing depression, I don't want to make it a pissing contest on what 'is' depression and what 'isn't' or what the nature of Depression is. I believe everyone feels depression at one point or another in their life (maybe some people manage to finish the race without it but most if not all people in my life have hit that wall and either come out of it or succumb to it. It need not be clinical because I've seen first hand how circumstance is able to devastate the body and mind.).
I just wanted this to be a thread where we could discuss and appreciate Bob's work in relation to the depressive episodes in our own lives. Whether it's how he makes you feel better while you're still in it, or (and this is true for me) how he reminds you of that time in your life making you appreciate or rethink the state that you're in.
onlysmiledonce wrote:
In moments of despair, Bob is a kindred spirit whose eloquence and melodies bring light into a darkened cave.
He almost provokes a wry smile.
Onlysmiledonce, I think you hear what I hear. I'm one of those impish jokers who get's a kick out of grim reality because of how I always feel out of the loop with people who are permanently cheerful and positive. I love to see people be put off by what I see as truth (I know, it's something I need to work on). That "wry smile" you spoke of comes to my face every time I finish Hollis Brown. It's sort of like messing with people to entertain yourself and make yourself feel better (which I believe we have record of Bob doing).
Peggy Night wrote:
I love how honest Mr. Dylan is in his song writing. Time Out of Mind is to my ear his most honest exploration and elucidation of personal depression, with Not Dark Yet being the most naked revelation of that emotional depth. Like a true Gemini, he is equally able to take to the heights and celebrate life's joys with us. Songs from Nashville Skyline are some of his greatest examples of that end of the heart's spectrum.
Most of us are so caught up in the effort of merely panting through life's ups and downs. Mr. Dylan has a gift from God to chronicle them. His body of work is an amazing testimony to a life lived to the full.
"It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men, and the living should take this to heart." ~Ecclesiastes 7:2
Peggy, I've had very similar feelings listening to his later (90's on) albums. Sometimes I feel like those albums hit so hard because it feels like Bob is taking the role of someone who you personally know and respect sitting down next to you and laying bare his most dark and desolate thoughts and feelings. It makes you feel not so alone knowing someone like Bob is able to put those feelings into stark images that come from the gut of one feeling them.
I know this is a bummer of a subject, but it doesn't have to be. Thank you everyone for contributing!