
A gaunt, older man in a suit is driving a pickup truck in the American southwest. On this nameless two-lane road, he stops at an abandoned gas station, which may be named, “Bob’s Highway Service.” The pumps are gone, the paint is faded. Pulling a well-used hard-sided suitcase adorned with traveling stickers from his truck, he walks up to and opens the one garage door. Such are the first 20 seconds of the "Dreamin' of You" video.
Is this man a salesman? He looks like a salesman from the 1940s, rumbled brown suit and fedora hat. He looks as if he just stepped out of a dime-store novel. One clue, a cut-away shot to papers laying on what may be the seat beside him, show a headline, “Bootlegger.” Is this man running moonshine? Is it Travis Henderson?
A point of view shot reveals the interior of the garage. It is filled with desks and papers and most noticeable of all, reel-to-reel tape recorders. The man sits down at a desk and begins sorting through papers, music albums, tape cassettes, and CDs. Cut to the man sitting with headphones on, at a music mixing board. Cut to a smoky, dim-lit stage where someone is performing, then back to the man, now, apparently done with his work. He sits back in his chair. Color is lacking in the shot. His face is weary. Overlay shot: a hand holding a photograph of a young woman. The man closes his eyes and the open road appears again. This is the first minute. I been dreamin’ of you, that’s all I do, and it’s drivin’ me insane.
The bootlegging is music, not whisky. Who is this man? What is his obsession? Is this how he makes a living? What drives him? Who is the woman?
Out of the desert and into urban areas, the man rolls on. Time passes. Maps and bulletin boards with city names and ticket stubs intermix with the road. He stops at a steep roofed wooden house with faded paint and signs on the front windows. He enters. Now he’s sitting, looking over hand-written lists. A waitress appears and offers him more coffee. He waves her off and it’s on the road again. Between thumb and forefinger, a worn ticket stub is being rubbed.
The man appears at a wall map from the Union Pacific Railroad. The large old yellow map has notes and strings stuck to it. Concert posters and programs flash among images of the road. Day turns to night and back. Cut to the man’s eyes in the rear view mirror, then a performer on a stage, and back to the man sitting forlornly in his white shirt, tie, and the fedora hat. Cut to the man holding the young woman’s photograph while he drives.
Intermix shots of the stage performer, while the man sits on a simple small bed, strumming a guitar. Maps and highway images come and go as concert posters rapidly change on a fixed wall.
The road and the images never end. Some things just last longer than you thought they would and they never ever explain. He’s first in one place then another. The performer reappears in different dress on different stages. Rising from a motel bed the last thing the man takes with him is the photo of the woman. The man stands with his eyes closed moving his lips as if reciting a mantra.
The pickup truck drives back to the abandoned gas station. Inside the bootlegger papers jostle on a desk. A pile of small white boxes stands nearby. Suddenly a hand stamp comes down to imprint the top box. Red letters on the stamp say, “Bob Dylan”. The box reads, “Bob Dylan The Bootleg Series Volume 8”. Cut fini.
--
Of course, this isn’t a silent movie. It’s accompanied by Bob Dylan singing, “Dreamin’ of You”, a soulful lament of unrequited love. Bob’s major theme. The visual narrative plays into the song nicely. The bootleg twist is amusing and the Man’s compulsive behavior is unsettling. It’s unsettling for two reasons. First, all obsessive behavior is unsettling especially when you identify with the portrayal. Harry Dean Stanton’s characters are often on the edge, just on the outside trying to get in. I feel for that. Second, I’m paying attention to this movie with the same rapt attention the movie’s protagonist gives to Bob Dylan live in concert. I’m the Man. Good God Almighty; do I have to be like that?
I’m only sharing this with friends on Bob Dylan web sites. The silent sun has got me on the run, burnin’ a hole in my brain.
- Fabe's blog
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Comments
good video
For me my opinion looks: I think a very good bobdylan evolved fure a measure of time, it is adapted our life of today Huia through his songs and his slyle I have loved this video thank you again for all ..voyant medium voyance telephone
Bob's Faith
Any latest resource or read on Bob's faith and spiritual beliefs? Thanks.
Pastor Steve
Some Sweet Day Soon
www.NetWord.org
I love this video
I think it is about a person who is thinking about the past. You see a young Bob Dylan, and someone who is of an older generation who is looking at a lot of past history of Dylan, and the guy sort of reminds you of the present Dylan, with the hat, and driving down the road similar to the Cadillac commercial. That's my opinion.
Like a Rollin' stone-
Bob Dylan
Main Character
Blue - For me, Bob playing the Bootlegger would change the whole story. In that scenario we would just be going along for the ride, an enjoyable ride, but one lacking in personal identification.
With someone else as the Bootlegger (portrayed masterfully by Harry Dean Stanton) we relate to and identify with him. He is in pursuit of something ethereal, in Dylan's music, in an old photograph. So are we.
Give Dreramin' of You a second and third look and listen. - Fabe
Description of Dream of You Video
i think this is my first (actually second, the first one seems not to have gone thru -- perhaps because I didnt solve the math question?) comment -- please forgive me if more than one reply on the same topic saying pretty much the same thing appear.
anyroad --- thanks for the description FABE -- cuz I was having a very hard time following the video and I didnt find it interesting enough to watch it again and again. But perhaps I can relate to it better now that you have made it easier to pick up on the details. I think it wld be more interesting if Bob played the bootlegger.
Ok, mistery resolved: when
Ok, mistery resolved: when he talks about "Spirit on the water"! video he is really talking about the one of "When the deal goes down".
;)
"...I'll let you be in my dreams if I can be in yours..." www.youtube.es/Soniags
Ok, mistery resolved: when
Ok, mistery resolved: when he talks about "Spirit on the water"! video he is really talking about the one of "When the deal goes down".
;)
"...I'll let you be in my dreams if I can be in yours..." www.youtube.es/Soniags
"...I'll let you be in my dreams if I can be in yours..." www.youtube.es/Soniags
Spirit on the Water
Same question - where is the video of Spirit on the Water - not on the website that I can find?
Hi! What "spirit on the
Hi! What "spirit on the water" video?
Ode to Chabad and Chopped Liver
It's actually an ode to Bob's performance with Harry Dean and Bob's son-in-law Peter Himmelman on the Chabad telethon in the 1990s. Bob played the flute and the recorder. They called themselves Chopped Liver.
Harry Dean played the guitar. It's on You Tube. Dreaming of You Video was conceived and directed by Thom Zimny, who won a grammy for his docu on the making of Springsteen's Born to Run.
They shot it in California.
Zimmy and Zimny, nice.
the video
uh, well, to me the fact that harry dean is in it alludes to the infamous "jogging incident" that occurred during the filming of "pat garrett" (see references to peckinpah chews out stars for interrupting critical shot)... i thought maybe bob edited the piece on iMovie... i thought perhaps it was a refutation of theories of solipsism, or perhaps was motivated by just wanting to put fans on edge ("...dude, that video is ABOUT ME!!"). NOT.
while we're at it, someone please expound on the deeper points of the "spirit on the water" video... i found that one totally Bob-boozling, not that i claim to "get" bob much. just enjoy him. at least he doesn't trouble with being obvious.
Thoughts
Hi Fabe
Loved the way you described the video. As for the video like the song they both have a haunting as well as a surreal edge to them. Like we are taking a journey into someone's secret dream world. It is as if we are observing (voyeuristic) a person who is alone on a nostalgic journey of the past and he finds feelings he had left behind and for the sake of this he decides to share these tapes (music). I loved both. I applaud both. It was a little strange for me as I had in the past just such a truck and the same color. So for me it also brought back memories but different ones. When I look at all Bob has created over the years it is just amazing.