Where Teardrops Fall – Bob Dylan

Where Teardrops Fall is from Bob Dylan’s 1989 Oh Mercy record, which many critics and fans alike call Dylan’s “comeback record” after the preceding Knocked Out Loaded and Down In The Groove records were almost universally scorned.

So when the Daniel Lanois – produced Oh Mercy record hit the streets after those records, it received almost unanimous acclaim. It was seen as Dylan at least making amends by ending his supposedly dour ’80s decade on a high. I take issue with this whole contention and I expressed it in one of my comments about another ’80s song, which I’ll relay below as ‘food for thought’:

‘I think that whole “’80s Dylan low point” rhetoric is a load of hogwash. I’ve featured as much, if not more, from his ’80s output than his ’70s, and way, way more than his ’90s.

If people are going to slag off an entire decade from their lofty perch (I might be “the pot calling the kettle black,” but so be it), then the 1990s would be a far better candidate, but people don’t, and you know why? Because he released the multi-Grammy Award-winning Time Out of Mind. As outstanding a record as that is, it somehow absolves the decade of any objective opinion in this kind of fruitless debate.

In the ’80s Dylan was incredibly active. He was part of the Traveling Wilburys, toured with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – which was huge in Australia – and spent time touring with the Grateful Dead. Then there were his collaborations with Knopfler on Infidels and his Christian albums. Highlight reels galore!

The sheer number of brilliant songs he produced during the ’80s is staggering, and when one considers the dizzying array of unreleased gems that bizarrely didn’t make the album cut – well, the 1980s was hardly an artistic wasteland. On the contrary. Hence, the ’80s “low point” opinion never made sense to me.’

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That was some kind of detour, so thanks for letting me get that off my chest. Anyways, back to today’s featured song, Where Teardrops Fall. I’ve always loved the swaying feel of this song and its looseness and breeziness. It is so conducive to the words too – Far away where the soft winds blow / Far away from it all.

There’s a tone of resignation to it, but not in a futile sense or “woe is me” rhetoric – rather, he seems relieved by it. Just a ‘letting-go’, where the emotions come out and it’s all fine and good. You can just hang out in this place and even take refuge. So this is no place to wallow or cower, rather it is where you find reconciliation by facing up to the memories, the past so engraved that he walks before he sleeps. There’s hope here – In the shadows of moonlight / You can show me a new place to start.

Where Teardrops Fall is a magically penned song, and the music is beautifully understated and so commensurate with what Bob’s saying. This is really Dylan at his modest finest – where you might think, ‘Oh, this is simple, kind of sweet and light and nothing grandiose‘, but there’s so much riding in its undercurrents despite its deceptively apparent lilting tone.

Don’t judge a book by its cover, they say, and the expression couldn’t be more fitting for this humble song, that goes to amazing depths if you let it take you. In fact, it is so easily overlooked; when people cite Dylan’s best from the Oh Mercy record, Where Teardrops Fall hardly gets a mention. Clinton Heylin in his biography described it as ‘the least worthy‘ and “a piece of fluff”. Ouch!

And so it’s not lauded – and that’s ok. Perhaps that’s the whole point…it’s where the soft winds blow – out there – and so far away from it all.

Love this song. Always did and always will.

For a more in-depth analysis of Where Teardrops Fall, I point you to the Untold Dylan article, which always contains such great information about Dylan’s music. I couldn’t recommend it more highly for Dylanholics in case they aren’t already familiar with it – which is probably highly unlikely – but just in case.

[Verse 1]
Far away where the soft winds blow
Far away from it all
There is a place you go
Where teardrops fall

[Verse 2]
Far away in the stormy night
Far away and over the wall
You are there in the flickering light
Where teardrops fall

[Verse 3]
We banged the drum slowly
And played the fife lowly
You know the song in my heart
In the turning of twilight
In the shadows of moonlight
You can show me a new place to start

[Verse 4]
I’ve torn my clothes and I’ve drained the cup
Stripping away at it all
Thinking of you when the sun comes up
Where teardrops fall

[Verse 5]
By rivers of blindness
In love and with kindness
We could hold up a toast if we meet
To the cutting of fences
To sharpen the senses
That linger in the fireball heat

[Verse 6]
Roses are red, violets are blue
And time is beginning to crawl
I just might have to come see you
Where teardrops fall

References:
1. Where Teardrops Fall: the meaning of the music and the lyrics – Untold Dylan
2. Oh Mercy – Wikipedia