From the end of March to somewhere near his 40th birthday in late May Dylan recorded the third album from his Gospel period, Shot Of Love. In June he took his show back on the road, first in the U.S. with a handful of concerts and then to Europe, beginning and ending in France, with concerts in England, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Austria and Switzerland in between. This last concert at the Palace des Sports was to be recorded for an album from this tour.
The concerts that summer were packed with great songs both from that period in his life and from his early portfolio. On average he performed 25 to near 30 songs a gig. In Avignon he had a 26 song setlist with three additional songs in the encore, which began with Blowin' in the Wind.
Blowing in the Wind, first cut on The Freewheeling Bob Dylan, is a timeless song that continues to speak directly and profoundly to our time. It's a song Dylan has performed nearly 1400 times in concert, and that has appeared on 16 of his albums in various permutations.
Though delivered with quiet simplicity on Freewheelin', there is nothing quiet about the questions it asks and nothing simple about the issues it addresses.
Dylan first performed the song on April 16, 1962. Most recently he performed it live in July this summer, though it would not surprise me if he sang it tonight at this weekend's Desert Trip.
The song is a meditation. Will we never learn?
Blowin’ In The Wind
Written by: Bob Dylan
How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
Yes, ’n’ how many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, ’n’ how many times must the cannonballs fly
Before they’re forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind
How many years can a mountain exist
Before it’s washed to the sea?
Yes, ’n’ how many years can some people exist
Before they’re allowed to be free?
Yes, ’n’ how many times can a man turn his head
Pretending he just doesn’t see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind
How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, ’n’ how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, ’n’ how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind
Before you call him a man?
Yes, ’n’ how many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, ’n’ how many times must the cannonballs fly
Before they’re forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind
How many years can a mountain exist
Before it’s washed to the sea?
Yes, ’n’ how many years can some people exist
Before they’re allowed to be free?
Yes, ’n’ how many times can a man turn his head
Pretending he just doesn’t see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind
How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, ’n’ how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, ’n’ how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind
Copyright © 1962 by Warner Bros. Inc.; renewed 1990 by Special Rider Music
Avignon
Here's the setlist from the Avignon concert.
Here's information on the Second Shot of Love Tour, Europe 1981.
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Duluth 2016
2 comments:
I was at this show. I read in the papers later on that 1 person was killed by electrocution, and that the other was killed because of fighting (outside of the arena) (this was Avignon, where in summer lots of people gather for the festival, at that time quite some con-men, junkies and other assorted vagabonds). But it is a long time ago. And yes, it was a good show. It was also bloody cold. And I still think it is the most memorable Dylan show I have attended. It was my 3rd.
Ronald.
Thank you for these details that help bring additional light, or rather, more accuracy to the retelling.
e.
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