arrived by train from Berlin
just in time
as the rain began to fall
i was born here
my father was stationed here.
luckily he won a lottery and came to Nürnberg
instead of going to korea
there is a Jewish custom that the first born
has to be bought back from the lord

my father, not a religious man,
decided he wanted to do the ceremony anyway
But my mother refused to participate
there were not a lot of Jews in Germany after the war
but apparently there had to be two witnesses
according to the army rabbi.
so either my father or the rabbi found
two guys and the rabbi said that they were to be given a certain amount
of silver which was supposed to be returned after the ceremony.
the ceremony was done, the guys returned the money but my father
found out later that the money was counterfeit
so where did that leave me,?
was I brought back from the lord properly?

maybe this has been a spiritual conundrum
of mine from my first days on the planet
so I too was stationed in nurnburg
for the first 5 months of my life
and there is still debate in some circles
whether I can become president

mostly wandering around
hung out at lahksmi bar
and a great Asian restaurant next door

I encountered a few musicians and….prometheus

just a shadow you see that he’s chasing

From Prague to Berlin is more than a 5 hour bus ride
but that is the way of the road
Prague was indeed mythical and late at night mystical
Berlin is trying to live in hell just like New York used to be.
before it changed it’s name again to new Zurich
It is dirty, full of traffic, languages religions restaurants museums
diplomats cops and robbers
and it takes ages to get somewhere, anywhere and it is getting expensive

’first we lose manhattan then we lose Berlin’

At night young people are getting dressed up
young women showing lots of skin
playing guitars and singing their own songs
of loneliness, bravura questionings,insecurities
in a time without the possibility of eternity
some people would tell me that I could be famous after I was dead-
you always want to hear that…..but what does that mean today?
i mean eternity ain’t what it used to be
we all go on doing what we were doing before
assuming, hoping that what we do will have some meaning
help folks in some way to inspire,survive or even thrive

”I was always too stubborn ever to be governed by enforced insanity
Someone had to reach for the stars, I guess it was up to me”

a.i. as already taken over don’t kid yourself but is it more pervasive
than when there were only about 3 channels
and how they ignored the anti war protests until they didn’t
and the only paper telling the truth was Izzy stone’s weekly

and you got more inspiration from the Jefferson airplane and bob dylan
and peter Paul and Mary and the Grateful Dead
and Tom Paxton and pentangle and Aretha franlklin
and the temptations and the moody blues
and Joni Mitchell,Maria mulduar and
The doors and jimi hendrix
and of course the most subversive sound of them all….
the ooh oohs of The Rolling Stones sympathy for the devil.

in the last few months I have been getting audiences in Brussels to
howl with me on all along the watchtower
and shriek with me on cathedral bells

“it wouldn’t surprise me if a raven started squawking”
the munch scream is now audible
and will continue to grow

IN PRAGUE I WAS PLAYING ON  CHARLES BRIDGE 
BUT NOBODY STOPPED, NOBODY EVEN BLINKED
BUT THEN A FLOCK OF BIRDS GATHERED AROUND
  LISTENING TO MY SOUNDS AS THEY CIRCLED OVERHEAD
ST. FRANCIS YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN PROUD
 NOW THERE’S BIRDS DANCING IN MY DREAMS
 & I’M SINGING MY WAY BACK TO YOU

 O I TANGO & I WALTZ WITH MY GUITAR ON THE STREET
PLAY MY TUNES TO ANYONE THAT I MEET
A TOUCH OF GRACE, A DAB OF STRANGE
FRED ASTAIRE YOU MIGHT HAVE BEEN PLEASED
  FOR ONCE YOU TWO-STEPPED & DOFFED YOUR HAT
PASSING ME IN THE HALLWAY BUT THAT’S
JUST A FACT OF MY DREAMS
NOW I’M HIGHSTEPPING MY WAY BACK TO YOU
 CAKEWALKING MY WAY BACK TO YOU
A LITTLE FREESTYLE ROCK, A LITTLE CHA CHA CHA
A LITTLE TWIST & SHOUT, A LITTLE LAMBADA
DANCING MY WAY BACK TO YOU
from my song Hitchhiking , (my way back to you)

I was in Prague six years ago, a day after my birthday
and I was at The Rolling Stones concert at the airfield
The next day my tent broke and it was a big Czech holiday
and didn’t think I would be able to find an open store
I went into town to have a coffee and a couple sat at the next table
And I asked them where I could get a new tent
they told me where and then said that they were going out of town
for a few days and would I like to stay at their place?
of course,I said gratefully , and they gave me the keys to their apartment
just like that.
now, that was a nice surprise birthday present
and that is the spirit of Prague!

Prague is majestic and mystical
it looks and feels like a great capital
and it was
although it doesn’t seem to be
in the history we were taught in schools
neither in the USA or many parts of Europe
the only other kingdom it reminds me of is the one in London
histories here in Prague say that all the kings of europe
descended from here
to walk in Prague is to enter another epoch
not as intense as a stay in marrakech
but still enveloping

heyme and I went out for a last drink and heard
The Rolling Stones at the duende
a bar not far from Charles bridge

until the next time
tot ziens

Concert 2 of the ‘never too late ‘bob dylan European tour 2024

what a wonderful welcome I received
when I arrived at the seat from the family that had an extra ticket 4 me
thank you so much!

finally I enjoyed bob’s piano playing.
he’s got lots of piano space
the sound is great voice clear

highlights for me were

masterpiece -with a great new arrangement to dance to,
desolation row with its apocalyptic imagery
and every grain of sand a beautiful prayer/psalm