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Restless Pilgrim

This book, as cliché as it may sound, has truly been a labor of love—ever since its first words were put to paper in the spring of 1998. A few years prior, a foundation of research was being laid, including the poring over of numerous Dylan books and fanzines, as well as countless Dylan-related articles from newspapers and magazines. With the advent of the Internet, there was, of course, no shortage of helpful Dylan sites.

By the summer of 1999, interviews were being conducted, primarily over the telephone and via e-mail, but some were done in person or through the mail. In all, 73 interviews were conducted, with half of the people being quoted in the book, including former bandmates, studio collaborators, a former publicist, tour manager, and stage sound manager, and even two folks who contributed to the design of a familiar Dylan album. Others interviewed—from rabbis and pastors, to singers, journalists, and authors—also have some connection with Dylan.

Restless Pilgrim: The Spiritual Journey of Bob Dylan takes a hard look at the strange events in the chronology of 1979-1981, when Dylan began recording songs about Jesus, singing onstage about Jesus, giving stage raps in between songs about the apocalypse, and speaking out about his newfound faith to journalists (and whoever else would listen).

Also covered is the time-honored rumor—making the rounds between 1982 and 1984, and remaining to this day—that says Dylan renounced his faith in Jesus and returned to Judaism; other reports in the years that have followed had the singer wandering away from songs with biblical allusions and returning to secular fare; and some think Dylan has basically clammed up since the early 1980s about faith-related matters.

One of the reasons this book was written was because of curiosity. So many wildly different things about this aspect of Dylan’s life have been reported. What’s the story? Can any reasonable conclusions be reached? Although only Dylan can fully speak to these matters, it still seems a worthwhile exercise to track his songs, concerts, and interviews from this period of 1979-1981—and also in the years that have ensued. 

Dylan’s lyrics and his music are timeless, but in many ways his comments in interviews have been equally as fascinating, maddening, intriguing, and, on occasion, controversial. Let’s take a quick trip down memory lane, and cite some examples.

On the heels of John Wesley Harding (Dylan’s 1967 album), John Cohen of Sing Out! magazine interviewed Dylan in 1968; Cohen seemed surprised that his friend was quite familiar with the Bible. “I don’t think you’re the kind of person who goes to the hotel, where the Gideons leave a Bible, and you pick it up,” said Cohen. “Well, you never know,” replied Dylan.

By 1976, Dylan informed Neil Hickey of TV Guide that John Wesley Harding was, in fact, “the first biblical rock album.”

In 1978, he made these comments to Barbara Kerr, a journalist for the Chicago Daily News: “I’m not the spokesman for anybody’s generation. Far from it. In fact, I want to emphatically deny being the spokesman for our generation. Fame is just having your name known by a lot of strangers. People who are kind or good are the ones who ought to be famous.”

When interviewing Dylan in 1980, Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times referred to what many fans perceived as the “heavy-handed messages” of Slow Train Coming and Saved. “I didn’t mean to deliver a hammer blow,” said Dylan. “It might come out that way, but I’m not trying to kill anybody. You can’t put down people who don’t believe. Anybody can have the answer I have; I mean, it’s free.” 

In 1984 (four years after the onstage preaching had ceased), Dylan still expressed his biblical worldview to Mick Brown, a journalist for London’s Sunday Times: “I believe that ever since Adam and Eve got thrown out of the garden, that the whole nature of the planet has been heading in one direction—towards apocalypse. It’s all there in the Book of Revelation, but it’s difficult talking about these things to most people because most people don’t know what you’re talking about, or don’t want to listen.” 

With all the talk of the “mysterious” Bob Dylan, the singer himself didn’t buy into the hype. In 1985, he said this to Scott Cohen of Spin magazine. “When I think of mystery, I don’t think about myself. I think about the universe, like why does the moon rise when the sun falls? Caterpillars turn into butterflies?”

In 1989, Edna Gundersen of USA Today asked Dylan about the “born again” label that has been used to describe his period of 1979-1981: “If that’s what was laid on me, there must have been a reason for it. Whatever label is put on you, the purpose of it is to limit your accessibility to people.”

During an interview in 1990 (again with Edna Gundersen), when pressed about the subject of art, Dylan posed some rhetorical questions: “What kind of artistry is equal to the silver glisten on a river, or a sunset, or lightning in the sky? What kind of man’s artistry can compare to the great artistry of creation?”

Jon Pareles of the New York Times heard about Dylan’s thoughts on God in 1997: “I believe in a God of time and space, but if people ask me about that, my impulse is to point them back toward the songs. I believe in Hank Williams singing ‘I Saw the Light.’ I’ve seen the Light, too.”

In 2001, when Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times wondered how Dylan felt about being alternately adored and booed during periods of his career—and specifically cited the boos that accompanied some of his gospel shows of 1979-1980—Dylan said this: “I was booed at Newport before that. You can’t worry about things like that. Miles Davis has been booed. Hank Williams was booed. Stravinsky was booed. You’re nobody if you don’t get booed sometime.”

If nothing else, Bob Dylan is an artist who has deep convictions that cannot be easily moved, whether it be his personal beliefs or his musical expressions. His spiritual journey over the last forty years—much of it in the public eye—has been an intriguing one to say the least. Restless Pilgrim: The Spiritual Journey of Bob Dylan looks at Dylan’s preoccupation with his Jewish heritage and his preoccupation with Jesus, all in the context of the songs, concerts, albums, and interviews he’s given us over the years.

This book is not just for “religious” Jews and Christians who happen to be Dylan fans. It’s for adherents of other religious and spiritual paths, and it’s for atheists and agnostics who also happen to be Dylan fans. After all, it was the legendary producer Jerry Wexler—who often describes himself as a card-carrying “Jewish atheist”—who produced Dylan’s 1979 album, Slow Train Coming! 

Who knows, this book might even be for those who would agree with the following line from the Joan Baez song, “Children of the ‘80s”—“We don’t care if Dylan’s gone to Jesus / Jimi Hendrix is playing on.” 

Quite simply, it’s a book for human beings who appreciate Dylan’s career and might be curious about his spiritual journey. It has a viewpoint, to be sure, but it is a reasonable viewpoint based on many years of research, many interviews, and a passion for the work of Bob Dylan—the singer/songwriter, the poet/performer, the musician, the child of God—who has influenced countless people around the world.