"I'm beginning to hear voices and there's no one around
Well, I'm all used up and the fields have turned brown
I went to church on Sunday and she passed by
My love for her is taking such a long time to die
I'm waist deep, waist deep in the mist
It's almost like, almost like I don't exist
I'm twenty miles out of town, in cold irons bound
The walls of pride are high and wide
Can't see over to the other side
It's such a sad thing to see beauty decay
It's sadder still, to feel your heart torn away
One look at you and I'm out of control
Like the universe has swallowed me whole
I'm twenty miles out of town in Cold irons bound"
"Cold Irons Bound," from 1997's Grammy-winning Time Out Of Mind. While many of Dylan's earlier lyrics could stand on their own as poetry, those on Time Out Of Mind cannot - to me anyways - be separated from the music without having their impact significantly diminished. In this sense, though, they may work better as complete songs than some earlier masterpieces. In live performances Dylan uses the music to heighten the emotional impact of the songs to an even greater degree than on the albums: try, for instance, a fiery version from 1998 here, or a subdued new arrangement performed just a few days ago in Grand Prairie, Texas, here.
