Anyone who knows Bob Dylan may recognize the title of my inspirational piece also to be the title of Dylan’s 1979 song, Slow Train. I certainly don’t know Dylan’s works like many people, but I can appreciate his talent and insight. During our current times, I thought about the lyrics of his song. I have no clue what he really intended or how he would mean the words, but here is how I choose to understand and apply them. I want to quote him extensively.
The song opens with this line. “Sometimes I feel so low-down and disgusted, can’t help but wonder what’s happenin’ to my companions. Are they lost or found?” We can ask many questions. Who are his companions? Are they his friends? Let’s personalize it. Who are my companions? Is that simply another word for my friends? Or can I widen it---broaden it? If I am a person of faith, why can it not be global? In the broadest sense, my companions are all the human beings on earth. And if I am ecologically sensitive, it is even broader. I like that stretching.
Dylan continues to reflect on his companions. “Have they counted the cost it’ll take to bring down all their earthly principles they’re gonna have to abandon? That is a powerful question which might make us squirm a little bit. Have we counted the cost? Human beings are pretty good at counting the cost. Much of the time when I count the cost, I decide not to do something because I don’t want to change or lose out on something I have. For example, we are rightly today hearing a great deal about white privilege. It is so invisible to those of us who are white, it is easy not to feel privileged at all.
I don’t feel privileged, so my narrative goes. Look at all those other folks who have so much more than I do. They have bigger houses, more cars, swimming pools, take vacations and the like. I get off the hook by allowing that I am comfortable, but I barely have anything more than the average person. And by average, I mean all the others in the country and, maybe, the world. This appeal to being average seems perfectly reasonable. And it allows me to opt out of the current discussion that could cost more than I want to pay.
The I read the refrain from Dylan’s song. “There’s a slow, slow train comin’ up around the bend.” For the purpose of this inspirational piece, I say that train is the change that is coming. Contrary to Dylan’s song, the train may be gaining speed. Change is coming and for those who don’t want to change, it is coming faster than they can imagine. The lights are on and the bells are sounding.
We pick up the theme in another stanza. Dylan notes, “Man’s ego is inflated, his laws are outdated, they don’t apply no more. You can’t rely no more to be standin’ around waitin.’” Again, that pinches the privileged. We clearly don’t think our ego is inflated. In fact, if we did a survey, I am sure most people would say they are humble! Just ask me!! If you are like me, there is a gnawing suspicion that we do have laws that are outdated. And it surely is clear, the laws we do have are not uniformly enforced. Ask black young drivers of cars. Again, Dylan’s refrain comes at us: “…there’s a slow, slow train comin’ up around the bend.”
Another stanza gets at the kind of thing I worry is true. He takes on my kind of people. “Big-time negotiators, false healers and woman haters. Masters of the bluff and masters of the proposition. But the enemy I see wears a cloak of decency. All non-believers and men-stealers talkin’ in the name of religion.” Whew! Who would self-identify this way? I only ask that to suggest no one would. However, even I can identify others who might fit this description. Many of us would point to politicians and some other easy targets. And of course, we aren’t like that. But “there’s a slow, slow train comin’ up around the bend.”
If you do a little research, you will learn that this song and three albums come from the period in which Dylan had embraced Christianity. While I find all that fascinating, it is the lyrics which I wanted to pull out and use in our own time---with apologies to Dylan and his original intent. They seem like a savvy look at our times and, particularly, at the way some of us may be seeing it.
I layer my own take on things to suggest the Spirit is moving in this time in some special ways. The Greeks have a word for this kind of time: Kairos. It is a special time, a time of Kairos. It will be a creative time; it is a time of change and potential growth and development. I pray that it can be a time of love leading to peace, instead of anger and hate leading to violence.
It can parallel the kinds of times we associate with turning points in history. I don’t want to rehearse the history, but rather embrace the mystery. I want to be part of, be a participant and to celebrate newness in the making. There’s a slow, slow train comin’ around the bend.
The song opens with this line. “Sometimes I feel so low-down and disgusted, can’t help but wonder what’s happenin’ to my companions. Are they lost or found?” We can ask many questions. Who are his companions? Are they his friends? Let’s personalize it. Who are my companions? Is that simply another word for my friends? Or can I widen it---broaden it? If I am a person of faith, why can it not be global? In the broadest sense, my companions are all the human beings on earth. And if I am ecologically sensitive, it is even broader. I like that stretching.
Dylan continues to reflect on his companions. “Have they counted the cost it’ll take to bring down all their earthly principles they’re gonna have to abandon? That is a powerful question which might make us squirm a little bit. Have we counted the cost? Human beings are pretty good at counting the cost. Much of the time when I count the cost, I decide not to do something because I don’t want to change or lose out on something I have. For example, we are rightly today hearing a great deal about white privilege. It is so invisible to those of us who are white, it is easy not to feel privileged at all.
I don’t feel privileged, so my narrative goes. Look at all those other folks who have so much more than I do. They have bigger houses, more cars, swimming pools, take vacations and the like. I get off the hook by allowing that I am comfortable, but I barely have anything more than the average person. And by average, I mean all the others in the country and, maybe, the world. This appeal to being average seems perfectly reasonable. And it allows me to opt out of the current discussion that could cost more than I want to pay.
The I read the refrain from Dylan’s song. “There’s a slow, slow train comin’ up around the bend.” For the purpose of this inspirational piece, I say that train is the change that is coming. Contrary to Dylan’s song, the train may be gaining speed. Change is coming and for those who don’t want to change, it is coming faster than they can imagine. The lights are on and the bells are sounding.
We pick up the theme in another stanza. Dylan notes, “Man’s ego is inflated, his laws are outdated, they don’t apply no more. You can’t rely no more to be standin’ around waitin.’” Again, that pinches the privileged. We clearly don’t think our ego is inflated. In fact, if we did a survey, I am sure most people would say they are humble! Just ask me!! If you are like me, there is a gnawing suspicion that we do have laws that are outdated. And it surely is clear, the laws we do have are not uniformly enforced. Ask black young drivers of cars. Again, Dylan’s refrain comes at us: “…there’s a slow, slow train comin’ up around the bend.”
Another stanza gets at the kind of thing I worry is true. He takes on my kind of people. “Big-time negotiators, false healers and woman haters. Masters of the bluff and masters of the proposition. But the enemy I see wears a cloak of decency. All non-believers and men-stealers talkin’ in the name of religion.” Whew! Who would self-identify this way? I only ask that to suggest no one would. However, even I can identify others who might fit this description. Many of us would point to politicians and some other easy targets. And of course, we aren’t like that. But “there’s a slow, slow train comin’ up around the bend.”
If you do a little research, you will learn that this song and three albums come from the period in which Dylan had embraced Christianity. While I find all that fascinating, it is the lyrics which I wanted to pull out and use in our own time---with apologies to Dylan and his original intent. They seem like a savvy look at our times and, particularly, at the way some of us may be seeing it.
I layer my own take on things to suggest the Spirit is moving in this time in some special ways. The Greeks have a word for this kind of time: Kairos. It is a special time, a time of Kairos. It will be a creative time; it is a time of change and potential growth and development. I pray that it can be a time of love leading to peace, instead of anger and hate leading to violence.
It can parallel the kinds of times we associate with turning points in history. I don’t want to rehearse the history, but rather embrace the mystery. I want to be part of, be a participant and to celebrate newness in the making. There’s a slow, slow train comin’ around the bend.
Comments
Post a Comment