Dodging lions

“Oh, the hours I’ve spent inside the Coliseum, dodging lions and wasting time …” – Bob Dylan, ‘When I Paint My Masterpiece.’

Levon Helm of The Band died this week. The band’s version of ‘Masterpiece’ has more humanity than Dylan’s version.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq2e7DPhyHg&feature=player_embedded

My wife and I saw Dylan and The Band in Memphis in 1974. Maybe it was 1975. There was a lot of funny-smelling smoke in the coliseum and we couldn’t dodge all of it. When the first couple hundred began glowing, my wife said, “What’s that smell?” I told her. She said, “Really?” There is a first time for a lot of things and the end time for others.