Sunday, August 16, 2015

Pressing On

Predestination:
It's back in fashion again.
Bob is wearing it.

Predestination admittedly is a more complicated topic as it relates to Christian belief than what Bob Dylan is aiming at in this song, which was released on the 1980 album "Saved." That being said, St. Augustine suggested that the desire for salvation hinges somewhat on God's awareness of it, and affects God's determination to "save" some people for heaven and damn others to hell. Dylan also refers to belief coming from within, "When what's lost has been found, what's to come has already been?" But I should quit now before I talk more about things I don't understand. Here's the song, briefly deconstructed:

Summary of action: He's pressing on, pressing on, pressing on to the higher calling of God.
Obstacles: People try to stop him, and say he should prove that God exists. What kind of sign would satisfy them, he wonders, if belief is on the inside and fate has been determined? 
Transcendence: Wipe the dust off your feet, don't look back. You lack for nothing. You might be tempted, and that's hard. Adam queered the entire situation for the rest of us when he fucke around with Eve and the apple in the garden.\




1 comment:

  1. Hello Robert, Yes thank you for posting this interesting analysis of a song from Bob Dylan's Music Box http://thebobdylanproject.com/Song/id/501/Pressing-On Lift the lid and join us inside to listen to every version of every song composed, recorded or performed by Bob Dylan, plus all the great covers and so much more.

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