It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Dead)

The next song on my funeral pyre set is gonna have to be "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" by Mr. Robert Zimmerman. Fuck, this song would be on any list I make. Best songs from the '60s? Of Course. Best songs by a guy named "Bob?" You bet your ass. Best songs by a Black artist? Well I figure out a way for Dylan to make the cut. But this song is perfect. No one thing wrong with it. The lyrics are the most mind blowing, dead on, in-yer-face I've ever heard. The simple acoustic guitar line fits the song like no big orchestration ever could. Dylan snears the words and rips them out like the speed freak that he was at the time. This is poetry; kids should be taught this in school as opposed to Robert Frost. I would've actually like English class. His rhyme scheme and phrasing are impeccable. Nothing compares to it. It's the the ultimate protest song; it doesn't take a topic and then weave a song around it; it takes the whole goddamned world and points a finger at it. Only Allen Ginsberg's poem "America" touches me the same way as this does. You might as well check them both out. Go ahead don't be scared. So what if they ruin your views on everything you hold precious?