February 5, 2014

80-year-old singer from a sect of mystic minstrels performs "Mr. Tambourine Man" in Bengali.

"... with his son, Bapi, singing over a droning line from a traditional one-string instrument called the ektara, topped with a woodwind sound and a polyrhythmic beat."

You can play the audio at the link. I played it for Meade — who is extremely familiar with Bob Dylan music — and he listened to it for over a minute before guessing "Blowin' in the Wind," at which point I said he was right about it being Dylan, and he listened for another minute and came up with nothing.

Here's the whole "From Another World" album of Dylan covers. 
Soneros from Cuba, Gypsies from Rumania, poets from Rajasthan, musicians of the Nile, Persian sufis, have each chosen to portray in their own way, one song from Dylan's repertory whose subject has a particular link to their own culture. Dylan's inimitable lyrics have been translated into the local community language of each artist and then tailored to suit the verse and rhythmic patterns of the vocal and musical style.
Inimitable lyrics... in a language you don't understand. Let the buyer beware.

13 comments:

Naked Surfer said...

Beautiful. Powerful. Not bad for another day in the loonie bin.

Loonie bin is overworked. Dylan wouldn’t tolerate it. He’d invent something ... something I couldn't escape, something that would take over my brain and possess it. Any day now, any way now ...

Wince said...

I prefer the F-Troop cover version.

Smilin' Jack said...

Dylan's inimitable lyrics have been translated into the local community language of each artist and then tailored to suit the verse and rhythmic patterns of the vocal and musical style.

Maybe someone will translate them into English someday.

traditionalguy said...

That was some disturbing music. Not being a Hindu, I will stick to "Alone but not alone." I listened to that song today and was very uplifted by its message. No wonder the Hollywood guys suppressed its Oscar nomination.

Howard said...

Naked, is that you going over the falls? Looks like a late takeoff prologue to a full bodyslam then wash and rinse cycle. I hope all you valley's got the memo not to hang out in front of the toilet bowl between Its and the point.

harrogate said...

What's more American than Bengali?

Amexpat said...

I prefer the F-Troop cover version

Never heard that before (nor will again). They give William Shatner a run for his money for the worst cover of this song.

Amexpat said...

Let the Bengalis do the cover versions, Bob will make the originals.

YoungHegelian said...

There's pieces of the "Tambourine Man" melody in the Bengali version.

It's OK, but it's not as much fun as a version of "Listen to the Rhythm of the Falling Rain" in Thai that I once heard on the Musak in a Thai grocery store.

Levi Starks said...

I can't say that I didn't like it. Like most things new to us there can be an acquired taste.
However is imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Im not sure how flattered Bob should be.

Heartless Aztec said...

Its more clear than if Bob did it himself today. The last Bob show I went to he was all but unintelligible and the arrangements all but unrecognizable. This cover of Mr. Tambourine Man shows more fidelity to the original than anything Bob would do today...no offense to Bob intended.

ken in tx said...

Falling Rain is the name of a Thai menthol cigarette. Pronounced Saifoon.

MrCharlie2 said...

that was annoying