On this very special episode, Henry celebrates Bob Dylan's 84th Birthday and the 1 year anniversary of Songs of Experience with 2 beloved guests, Michael Glover Smith and Adam Selzer. Henry, Mike and Adam do their signature deep dive into a surprise standout from the Rough & Rowdy Ways album and tour, BLACK RIDER. 

Listen to the song here:

Read the lyrics: 

Written by: Bob Dylan

Black Rider Black Rider you been livin’ too hard
You been up all night havin’ to stay on your guard
The path that you’re walkin’ - is too narrow to walk
Every step of the way another stumblin’ block
The road that you’re on - same road that you know
But it’s not the same as - it was a minute ago

Black Rider Black Rider you’ve seen it all
You’ve seen the great world and you’ve seen the small
You fell into the fire and you’re eating the flame
Better seal up your lips if you want to stay in the game
Be reasonable Mister - be honest be fair
Let all of your earthly thoughts be a prayer

Black Rider Black Rider all dressed in black
I’m walking away and you try to make me look back
My heart is at rest I’d like to keep it that way
I don’t want to fight - at least not today
Go home to your wife stop visiting mine
One of these days I’ll forget to be kind

Black Rider Black Rider tell me when - tell me how
If there ever was a time then let it be now
Let me go through - open the door
My soul is distressed my mind is at war
Don’t hug me - don’t flatter me - don’t turn on the charm
I’ll take out a sword and have to hack off your arm

Black Rider Black Rider hold it right there
The size of your cock will get you nowhere
I’ll suffer in silence I’ll not make a sound
Maybe I’ll take the - high moral ground
Some enchanted evening I’ll sing you a song
Black Rider Black Rider you’ve been on the job too long

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If you would like to support hosting my  podcasts, please check out my Patreon where for $5 I will give you a shout out on the podcast of your choice.  Thank you to, Rob Kelly, Roberta Rakove, Matt Simonson, and Christopher Vanni. For $10, in addition to the shout-out I'll send you a surprise piece of Bob Dylan merch! Thank you to Kaitie Cerovec who is already enjoying her merch! I have a merch shop! Check out all sorts of fun Bob Dylan (and more) items! Thank you to Mark Godfrey, Linda Maultsby and Peter White over on Substack.

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Fresh off of a flight from Phoenix, AZ, Adam and Michael came directly to my house from the airport for a full, exhaustive and joyous report of the first Outlaw Music Festival show of 2025!

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If you would like to support hosting my  podcasts, please check out my Patreon where for $5 I will give you a shout out on the podcast of your choice.  Thank you to, Rob Kelly, Roberta Rakove, Matt Simonson, and Christopher Vanni. For $10, in addition to the shout-out I'll send you a surprise piece of Bob Dylan merch! Thank you to Kaitie Cerovec who is already enjoying her merch! I have a merch shop! Check out all sorts of fun Bob Dylan (and more) items! Thank you to Mark Godfrey, Linda Maultsby and Peter White over on Substack.

Email us at [email protected]

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Henry welcomes award winning, critically acclaimed author of "Olive Days" and dear friend, Jessica Elisheva Emerson to talk about a beloved, signature track off of the fan favorite album Street Legal -1978’s “Señor (Tales of Yankee Power)!"

Listen to the song, and follow along with the lyrics:

Written by: Bob Dylan

Señor, señor, do you know where we’re headin’?
Lincoln County Road or Armageddon?
Seems like I been down this way before
Is there any truth in that, señor?

Señor, señor, do you know where she is hidin’?
How long are we gonna be ridin’?
How long must I keep my eyes glued to the door?
Will there be any comfort there, señor?

There’s a wicked wind still blowin’ on that upper deck
There’s an iron cross still hangin' down from around her neck
There’s a marchin’ band still playin’ in that vacant lot
Where she held me in her arms one time and said, “Forget me not”

Señor, señor, I can see that painted wagon
I can smell the tail of the dragon
Can’t stand the suspense anymore
Can you tell me who to contact here, señor?

Well, the last thing I remember before I stripped and kneeled
Was that trainload of fools bogged down in a magnetic field
A gypsy with a broken flag and a flashing ring
Said, “Son, this ain’t a dream no more, it’s the real thing”

Señor, señor, you know their hearts is as hard as leather
Well, give me a minute, let me get it together
I just gotta pick myself up off the floor
I’m ready when you are, señor

Señor, señor, let’s disconnect these cables
Overturn these tables
This place don’t make sense to me no more
Can you tell me what we’re waiting for, señor?

Copyright © 1978 by Special Rider Music

Visit https://www.elishevaemerson.com/ for more information on where to buy Olive Days.

Follow  @songsofbob, @henrybernstein.bsky.social

If you would like to support hosting my  podcasts, please check out my Patreon where for $5 I will give you a shout out on the podcast of your choice.  Thank you to, Rob Kelly, Roberta Rakove, Matt Simonson, and Christopher Vanni. For $10, in addition to the shout-out I'll send you a surprise piece of Bob Dylan merch! Thank you to Kaitie Cerovec who is already enjoying her merch! I have a merch shop! Check out all sorts of fun Bob Dylan (and more) items! Thank you to Mark Godfrey, Linda Maultsby and Peter White over on Substack.

Email us at [email protected]

Subscribe: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Substack.

My paper has been accepted to the World of Bob Dylan 2025! See you in Tulsa, OK - July 24-28, 2025!

https://dylan.utulsa.edu/register-for-the-world-of-bob-dylan-2025/

Follow  @songsofbob, @henrybernstein.bsky.social

If you would like to support hosting my  podcasts, please check out my Patreon where for $5 I will give you a shout out on the podcast of your choice.  Thank you to, Rob Kelly, Roberta Rakove, Matt Simonson, and Christopher Vanni. For $10, in addition to the shout-out I'll send you a surprise piece of Bob Dylan merch! Thank you to Kaitie Cerovec who is already enjoying her merch! I have a merch shop! Check out all sorts of fun Bob Dylan (and more) items! Thank you to Mark Godfrey, Linda Maultsby and Peter White over on Substack.

Email us at [email protected]

Subscribe: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Substack.

Check out the video of this over at Substack or Youtube

You ever notice how when you love something there’s always someone who loves to tell you how much they don’t like that thing. As a Swiftie, I experience this all the time. People who don’t like Taylor Swift LOVE telling Swifties they don’t like her, why they don’t like her and how much they don’t like her. As a Dylan fan, for every 4 people telling me how much they love Bob like me, there’s always one who has to point out “Oh yeah, great song writer but his voice is terrible.” The latest version of this is folks who not only didn’t like A Complete Unknown but outright refuse to se it or dismiss its existence because Todd Hayne’s 2007 film, I’m Not There, existed first. Early this week, an article dropped with a little quote from Cate Blanchett, star of I’m Not There, praising the film. Last Friday, on the holiday of Purim, I was dressed in what I think was a pretty spot-on Chalamet-esque Bob Dylan costume (specifically from the last scene of A Complete Unknown. At a Purim party, someone felt the need to tell me why they refuse to see ACU because of I’m Not There. Check out the video for the full story and rant. And for the love of Bob, can we please stop yucking other people’s yums?

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If you would like to support hosting my  podcasts, please check out my Patreon where for $5 I will give you a shout out on the podcast of your choice.  Thank you to, Rob Kelly, Roberta Rakove, Matt Simonson, and Christopher Vanni. For $10, in addition to the shout-out I'll send you a surprise piece of Bob Dylan merch! Thank you to Kaitie Cerovec who is already enjoying her merch! I have a merch shop! Check out all sorts of fun Bob Dylan (and more) items! Thank you to Mark Godfrey, Linda Maultsby and Peter White over on Substack.

Email us at [email protected]

Subscribe: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Substack.

Welcome to Songs of Experience: A Bob Dylan Podcast, where we explore the man and the music one song at a time.

Henry welcomes fellow Chicagoland area Dylan fan, Brendan McCarthy to SoE HQ (in person!) to talk about one of Dylan's earliest recordings, "Rambler, Gambler" officially released in 2005 on the No Direction Home soundtrack.

Listen to the song, and follow along with the lyrics:

I’m a rambler, I’m a gambler
I’m a long way from my home
If the people don’t like me
They can leave me alone

Come sit down beside me
Come sit down right here
Come sit down, love, I want you
Love you boldly, so dear

When you get to Wyoming
A letter you’ll see
If you get into trouble
Just you write and tell me

For I once had a lover
Her age was sixteen
She’s a flower of velvet and the rose of Celine

Her parents was against me
Now she is the same
If I writ on your book, love
Just you blot out my name

Oh there’s changes in the ocean
There’s changes in the sea
There’s changes in my true love
Ain’t no change in me
 

Follow  @songsofbob, @henrybernstein.bsky.social

If you would like to support hosting my  podcasts, please check out my Patreon where for $5 I will give you a shout out on the podcast of your choice.  Thank you to, Rob Kelly, Roberta Rakove, Matt Simonson, and Christopher Vanni. For $10, in addition to the shout-out I'll send you a surprise piece of Bob Dylan merch! Thank you to Kaitie Cerovec who is already enjoying her merch! I have a merch shop! Check out all sorts of fun Bob Dylan (and more) items! Thank you to Mark Godfrey, Linda Maultsby and Peter White over on Substack.

Email us at [email protected]

Subscribe: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Substack.

Welcome to Songs of Experience: A Bob Dylan Podcast, where we explore the man and the music one song at a time. 

Henry welcomes a fellow midwestern boy and 80's-Bob defender, Matt Simonson to talk about "Man Of Peace" from Dylan's 1983 album, Infidels.

Follow along with the lyrics:

Written by: Bob Dylan

Look out your window, baby, there’s a scene you’d like to catch
The band is playing “Dixie,” a man got his hand outstretched
Could be the Führer
Could be the local priest
You know sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace

He got a sweet gift of gab, he got a harmonious tongue
He knows every song of love that ever has been sung
Good intentions can be evil
Both hands can be full of grease
You know that sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace

Well, first he’s in the background, then he’s in the front
Both eyes are looking like they’re on a rabbit hunt
Nobody can see through him
No, not even the Chief of Police
You know that sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace

Well, he catch you when you’re hoping for a glimpse of the sun
Catch you when your troubles feel like they weigh a ton
He could be standing next to you
The person that you’d notice least
I hear that sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace

Well, he can be fascinating, he can be dull
He can ride down Niagara Falls in the barrels of your skull
I can smell something cooking
I can tell there’s going to be a feast
You know that sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace

He’s a great humanitarian, he’s a great philanthropist
He knows just where to touch you, honey, and how you like to be kissed
He’ll put both his arms around you
You can feel the tender touch of the beast
You know that sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace

Well, the howling wolf will howl tonight, the king snake will crawl
Trees that’ve stood for a thousand years suddenly will fall
Wanna get married? Do it now
Tomorrow all activity will cease
You know that sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace

Somewhere Mama’s weeping for her blue-eyed boy
She’s holding them little white shoes and that little broken toy
And he’s following a star
The same one them three men followed from the East
I hear that sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace

Follow  @songsofbob, @henrybernstein.bsky.social

If you would like to support hosting my  podcasts, please check out my Patreon where for $5 I will give you a shout out on the podcast of your choice.  Thank you to, Rob Kelly, Roberta Rakove, Matt Simonson, and Christopher Vanni. For $10, in addition to the shout-out I'll send you a surprise piece of Bob Dylan merch! Thank you to Kaitie Cerovec who is already enjoying her merch! I have a merch shop! Check out all sorts of fun Bob Dylan (and more) items! Thank you to Mark Godfrey, Linda Maultsby and Peter White over on Substack.

Email us at [email protected]

Subscribe: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Substack.

Welcome to Songs of Experience: A Bob Dylan Podcast, where we explore the man and the music one song at a time.

Henry welcomes Chicagoan and Pod Dylan legend, Omar Uddin to talk about "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" from Dylan's 1963 album, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan.

Follow along here:

Written by: Bob Dylan

It ain’t no use to sit and wonder why, babe
It don’t matter, anyhow
An’ it ain’t no use to sit and wonder why, babe
If you don’t know by now
When your rooster crows at the break of dawn
Look out your window and I’ll be gone
You’re the reason I’m trav’lin’ on
Don’t think twice, it’s all right

It ain’t no use in turnin’ on your light, babe
That light I never knowed
An’ it ain’t no use in turnin’ on your light, babe
I’m on the dark side of the road
Still I wish there was somethin’ you would do or say
To try and make me change my mind and stay
We never did too much talkin’ anyway
So don’t think twice, it’s all right

It ain’t no use in callin’ out my name, gal
Like you never did before
It ain’t no use in callin’ out my name, gal
I can’t hear you anymore
I’m a-thinkin’ and a-wond’rin’ all the way down the road
I once loved a woman, a child I’m told
I give her my heart but she wanted my soul
But don’t think twice, it’s all right

I’m walkin’ down that long, lonesome road, babe
Where I’m bound, I can’t tell
But goodbye’s too good a word, gal
So I’ll just say fare thee well
I ain’t sayin’ you treated me unkind
You could have done better but I don’t mind
You just kinda wasted my precious time
But don’t think twice, it’s all right
 

Follow  @songsofbob, @henrybernstein.bsky.social

If you would like to support hosting my  podcasts, please check out my Patreon where for $5 I will give you a shout out on the podcast of your choice.  Thank you to, Rob Kelly, Roberta Rakove, Matt Simonson, and Christopher Vanni. For $10, in addition to the shout-out I'll send you a surprise piece of Bob Dylan merch! Thank you to Kaitie Cerovec who is already enjoying her merch! I have a merch shop! Check out all sorts of fun Bob Dylan (and more) items! Thank you to Mark Godfrey, Linda Maultsby and Peter White over on Substack.

Email us at [email protected]

Subscribe: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Substack.