Doesn't Hurt Anymore — John Trudell

Chapter 40 of The Philosophy of Modern Song ..

Bob Dylan. The Philosophy of Modern Song. I think this was the first chapter of the book that I recorded myself reading from.

This chapter, on John Trudell, seems to stand out from the others. Bob Dylan sincerely pointing readers in the direction of John Trudell and his music.

I think it’s a great chapter. It seems to stand by itself. I suppose I see each chapter like that — Bob Dylan writing these lines, these pages, that happen to be placed later in time inside a book called The Philosophy of Modern Song.

This chapter though, about John Trudell and his music — I like everything about it. I decided to record myself reading the chapters as I find them enjoyable to read aloud. Especially the shorter, quick, note parts.. piano notes.

“All things have come to a sudden conclusion, you’re embracing ghosts, pursuing shadows—you’ve been the victim of destructive energies”

This seems like it could be from this part of the Oh Mercy chapter of Chronicles Volume One, which I wrote about yesterday,

“You could be dead for a long time. The ghosts race towards the light, you can almost hear the heavy breathing—spirits, all determined to get somewhere”

https://nightlymoth.substack.com/p/bob-dylan-chronicles-volume-one-the

Back to Doesn’t Hurt Anymore,

“Heaved thunderbolts and boulders of Time, but Time persisted”

Reading this line, I heard the song Chimes of Freedom.

“Starry-eyed an’ laughing as I recall when we were caught

Trapped by no track of hours for they hanged suspended

As we listened one last time an’ we watched with one last look

Spellbound an’ swallowed ’til the tolling ended

Tolling for the aching ones whose wounds cannot be nursed

For the countless confused, accused, misused, strung-out ones an’ worse

An’ for every hung-up person in the whole wide universe

An’ we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing”

_

“You’ll go to the mythic land of rebirth, stare up into the mirror of the night sky and talk to your ancestors. They are wide awake.”

Again here the birth, the life, rebirth .. inferring death, the night sky, staring up, the mirror .. the mirror of the night sky. They are wide awake. It’s morning.

“Mother of Muses unleash your wrath

Things I can’t see - they’re blocking my path

Show me your wisdom - tell me my fate

Put me upright - make me walk straight

Forge my identity from the inside out

You know what I’m talking about”

_

I suppose I read each chapter in a way similar to how I would listen to a song. Maybe that is linked to why I recorded these. A way find the music inside the lines. Inside the rain. I hold these lines in my hand, and ask you to defy it.

“I ain’t lookin’ to compete with you

Beat or cheat or mistreat you

Simplify you, classify you

Deny, defy or crucify you

All I really want to do

Is, baby, be friends with you”

_

I find it interesting that the audiobook came out at the same time, with all the different people reading, with Bob reading the ‘stranger’ parts, which I suppose gives the idea that Bob also had this in mind.

In a way, the book, with the photographs in, is an accompaniment to the audio recording of the work. I really like the photograph of John Trudell in this particular chapter though.

In this chapter to me it feels like Bob Dylan is really speaking affectionately about John Trudell. A sincere request from Bob for the reader to seek out John Trudell’s work.

“Take a moment—read a little more about John Trudell that what is offered here. He deserves it. And after you do, seek out his music. A good place to start would be the AKA Grafitti Man album, full of simple direct performances with John accompanied by his Oklahoma soul brother Jesse Ed Davis.”

I did do this. I have never had Bob Dylan request that I did something previously, and I was glad to follow his request. I didn’t know much about John Trudell previously. I suppose that was part of the reason I recorded myself reading this chapter before the others. I had just returned from the Bob Dylan 2022 European tour — I was looking at my recording device that I had on that tour, and was wondering what I could record next. So maybe that was part of the reason too.

Here is a recording of Rich Man's War (From The Album AKA Grafitti Man, which I got myself a CD copy of, following Bob’s recommendation)

I like this song. There is the photograph which I mentioned, from the book, in the background. If you click on the video, and visit the you tube page, I put some more links in the description.

One of the links was to his discography https://www.johntrudell.com/discography/

“John Trudell was identified as a poet, a fighter for Native American rights, an agitator, and lots of other things.

But if you were to have asked him which of these descriptions best suits him he would have refused to be pinned down. “Actually I don’t consider myself to be any of those things. They’re things that I do…but they’re parts of me. They’re not the total.” Indeed, Trudell was the complex sum of all that he saw, endured and accomplished in his 69 years, a time in which he experienced more than most people might in several lifetimes.

John Trudell did not set out to be a poet. He never studied poetry in school. He took that road primarily through a series of detours, and his poetic and political sensibilities were forged by the remarkable, and some horrifying circumstances of his life.”

https://www.johntrudell.com/biography/

“AKA GRAFITTI MAN is the best album of 1986. Only people like Lou Reed and John Doe can dream about doing work like this.”

— Bob Dylan

“The passing of John Trudell comes as such sad news. I’d known of John ever since his work with my guitar player friend Jesse Ed Davis and their group AKA Grafitti Man. His poetry, the sound of his voice, was so powerful. I knew of his activism as the spokesperson for the United Indians Of All Tribes takeover of Alcatraz and his leadership in the American Indian Movement. John and I worked together several times over the years, and each time I grew to admire him more. His acting in film was terrific. His music was outstanding. His prose and poetry were beautiful. And more than anything he was a solid stand-up guy. I cherished his friendship and will miss him deeply.”

— Robbie Robertson

.. Back to The Philosophy of Modern Song,

“He’s no rapper. More like an ancient Greek poet; you know exactly what he’s saying and who he’s saying it to. John faced the same government that Sitting Bull faced—a government that wanted to kill him with either guns or disease. Just get rid of him altogether and take his land away. He stood alone, and now he’s gone he stands even more alone, never a commercial success.”

..

“You can go up river or downriver. You need a landmark on the shore—a tree or a rock— to know if you’re moving at all”

—

nm.