Darkness at the break of noon
Shadows even the silver spoon
The handmade blade, the child’s balloon
Eclipses both the sun and moon
To understand you know too soon
There is no sense in trying
The children cry for mother
I tell ’em, “Mother took a trip.”
Well, the children cry for mother
I tell ’em, “Mother took a trip.”
Well, I walk on pins and needles
I hope my tongue don’t slip.
~Bob Dylan (Call Letter Blues)
Such self-consciously autobiographical imagery probably told for it in the end. I just can’t imagine Dylan releasing the line ‘Children ask for mother, I tell ’em mother took a trip’ into the world back in 1974. But at least he got as far recording this one with Weissberg’s band on that first night, cutting it in three takes, before deciding that he would rather replace it with an entirely fanciful morning blues, a.k.a. ‘Meet Me In The Morning’. The tune, he kept. Literally. As the 1991 release of ‘Call Letter Blues’ fully revealed.
~Clinton Heylin (Still on the Road: The Songs of Bob Dylan Vol. 2, . 1974-2008)
Just a minute before you leave, girl
Just a minute before you touch the door
What is it that you’re trying to achieve, girl?
Do you think we can talk about it some more?
You know, the streets are filled with vipers
Who’ve lost all ray of hope
You know, it ain’t even safe no more
In the palace of the Pope
I’m not sure the exact date this cool video was shot, but I’m sure it has to be @ The Power Station in NYC – April/May 1983.
If anyone got more hard facts… please enlighten me.
“Not Dark Yet” is a song by Bob Dylan, released on his 1997 album Time Out of Mind and also as the first single on August 25, 1997. The song appears on the album The Passion of the Christ: Songs Inspired by The Passion of the Christ, and also features on the Wonder Boys soundtrack. It is also played in the ending part of the documentary Why We Fight.
Many people have tried to do a cover of the track, some did a good job. I have picked some of the best.