Ain't Talkin'
"Ain't Talkin'" is a song written and performed by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, appearing as the closing track on his 2006 album Modern Times. It is the longest track on the album (at 8:48).
| "Ain't Talkin'" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Bob Dylan | |
| from the album Modern Times | |
| Released | August 29, 2006 |
| Recorded | February 2006 |
| Genre | Folk rock, Americana |
| Length | 8:48 |
| Songwriter(s) | Bob Dylan |
| Producer(s) | Bob Dylan (as Jack Frost) |
| Audio sample | |
| |
Critical reception
Music journalist Andy Greene, writing in Rolling Stone, where "Ain't Talkin'" placed third on a list of "The 25 Best Bob Dylan Songs of the 21st Century", commented: "It’s a song about a journey through a desolate, violent landscape straight out of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, and nearly every line drips with doom and dread. This is Dylan at his bone-chilling best."[1]
In a review of Modern Times, The Guardian critic Kitty Greene wrote, "The superlative final sally, 'Ain't Talkin', does what all last tracks should do: make you want to hear the whole thing again. It's a lengthy, mysterious blues-noir; virtually magic-realist in places."[2]
Allmusic's Thom Jurek wrote about the song, "The great irony is in the final track, 'Ain't Talkin',' where a lonesome fiddle, piano, and hand percussion spill out a gypsy ballad that states a yearning, that amounts to an unsatisfied spiritual hunger. The pilgrim wanders, walks, and aspires to do good unto others, though he falters often—he sometimes even wants to commit homicide. It's all part of the 'trawl' of living in the world today."[3]
Cultural references
The song derives some of its chorus from the more up-tempo "Highway of Regret" by Don Anthony and Ralph Stanley. The line "through this weary world of woe" is a nod to the traditional "Wayfaring Stranger".[4]
Numerous phrases in the song have been traced to the ancient Roman poet Ovid. Richard F. Thomas, the George Martin Lane Professor of the Classics at Harvard University, noted in an interview that the song's final line “In the last outback, at the world’s end” is a "direct quote from Peter Green’s Penguin translation of Ovid’s exile poetry [Ex Ponto 2.7.66]. In case you think this is accidental, the same song has three or four other Ovidian lines or significant phases, including: 'Every nook and cranny/corner has its tears' … 'loyal and much loved companions' … 'make the most of one last extra hour', all on one song from Tristia 1.3 [24, 65, 68], Ovid’s night of exile poem".[5]
The line "Hand Me Down My Walking Cane" refers to the song of that name: a minstrel song, which has become a folk song.
Other versions
An alternate version of the song with somewhat different lyrics, from the Modern Times recording sessions, appeared on the 2008 Dylan compilation The Bootleg Series Vol. 8 – Tell Tale Signs: Rare and Unreleased 1989–2006.
The song was covered by Julie Felix on her 2008 album Highway of Diamonds.
The song was covered by Bettye LaVette on her 2018 album Things Have Changed.
References
- Vozick-Levinson, Jon Dolan,Patrick Doyle,Andy Greene,Brian Hiatt,Angie Martoccio,Rob Sheffield,Hank Shteamer,Simon; Dolan, Jon; Doyle, Patrick; Greene, Andy; Hiatt, Brian; Martoccio, Angie; Sheffield, Rob; Shteamer, Hank; Vozick-Levinson, Simon (2020-06-18). "The 25 Best Bob Dylan Songs of the 21st Century". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
- Empire, Kitty (2006-08-27). "The Guardian review of Modern Times". London. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
- "Allmusic review of Modern Times". Retrieved 2010-12-17.
- Clinton Heylin (2010). Still on the Road: The Songs of Bob Dylan Vol. 2 1974-2008. Little, Brown Book Group.
- "An Interview with Richard Thomas on Bob Dylan and the Classics". projects.iq.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
