Dylan: What song is more emotionally moving?
What Bob Dylan song is more emotionally moving?
“Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands” from “Blonde on Blonde” (1966)
“Sara” from “Desire” (1975)
Dylan spent a great deal of time writing "Sad Eyed Lady" as a love song for his new wife Sara Lownds in 1966. Many fans and critics call it his masterpiece, but I tend to disagree. I like the song, and I think the vivid imagery that Dylan uses to describe Sara is astounding; however, the song lacks a certain emotional resonance that Dylan is certainly capable of creating, and that I would expect from him, especially on his magnum opus love song, which he wrote during the mid-sixties, which was his most creative and poetic period. However, even with the song’s extended run time, beautiful poetic lyrics, and theme of love written specifically for his new wife, the song just doesn’t strike an emotional chord with me.
However, in 1975 Dylan released the song “Sara” for his same wife (now of 10-years), but after they had been separated and their marriage was deteriorating. So, if “Say Eyed Lady” was Dylan’s ode to the love for his new wife, then the song “Sara” is its counterpart, as it is his song of heartbreak and memories of their failed marriage.
So, here’s the ultimate irony: “Sara” resonates with me on an emotional level much more than “Sad Eyed Lady” does. I’ve listened to “Sara” countless times, and its emotional resonance is so strong that I still get chills every time I hear it. You can just hear Dylan’s heartbreak in every line, especially when he references the time he spent writing “Say Eyed Lady” in the 4th verse when he sings that he was “Staying up for days in the Chelsea Hotel/ writing ‘Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands’ for you.” That line just gets me every time, as does the line where he pleads to his estranged bride… “Sara, Sara/ you must forgive me my unworthiness.”
So, my question is which song is more moving. By all logic, “Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands” should win, but my vote goes to “Sara.”
This poll would be much better for those of you who aren’t familiar with the two songs, but Sony monitors the internet like a hawk for Dylan clips and removes them, so they are extremely hard to find, even on YouTube, so no dice on the audio clips.
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