Vincent van Gogh
Lloyd Fonvielle
> I would be surprised if Arles was ever full of music
> & girls--seems like a quiet place where, as Artuad surmised, one can easily
> go mad. Van Gogh never lived "a life of sin," unless Dylan means we all are
> sinners.
Arles, once the capital of an independent Provence, has long been renowned for
music and for beautiful (though traditionally virtuous) women, and though it
has gone through quiet times in the years since the Romans pulled out, it
always seems to rebound, drawing on its ancient and very rich folklore.
Jean-Paul Gauthier started in Arles and his "look" was based on the exuberance
of Provençal style.
The reference to a "life of sin" is probably to Vincent's alliance with a
prostitute, for hopeless love of whom he is supposed to have removed his ear to
present to her as a token of his esteem. The guy could have used some dating
tips, obviously.
tom
that bob dylan bootleg lyrics site i posted the other day and had a real
laugh. man, i didn't even read them before posting them the other day.
"he picked up his paints and his ego and he went out to paint some
crows...." never ever trust an internet lyric or poem transcriber.
even me, although you're pretty safe with me. still. anyway. i also
checked out the other set of lyrics posted at that lyrics and chords
site and they are much much closer, not laughably off, probably the
published lyrics. here's what bob and bob sing. i listened to the song
on the old walkman and turned it up to eleven so as to get it all, or as
as much as possible...the walkman has an eleven...for that extra push.
Vincent van Gogh
Words and music Robert Friemark
Sung with Bob Neuwirth on various dates and places during the second
Rolling Thunder II, 1976
"thank you, here's bobby neuwirth coming back...."
i'd like to tell you a story
of a man that you might know.
his parents all called him vincent,
his last name was van gogh.
he started in drinking and painting
and leading a life of sin.
he fell in with evil companions,
a man named paul gaugin.
(someone says “what a bad dude”)
they went to the city of auvers,
pursuing their carnal delights.
they painted all during the afternoon
and they made music all night.
(someone says “bass solo” – maybe)
the people of that small city
thought he was a little bit queer,
(bob says – “just a little bit”)
to prove his love for mankind,
he chopped off his outside ear.
so they put him in an institution
but they could not keep him there.
he picked up his paints and his easel
and he went out to take the air.
he picked up his paints and his easel
and he went out to paint some crows.
they found him face down in a cornfield,
shot right between two rows.
now where did vincent van goooooooooooo?
“thank you very much!”
---
the best often die by their own hand
just to get away,
and those left behind
can never quite understand
why anybody
would ever want to
get away
from
them
- hank
--
Van Gogh
vain vanilla ladies strutting
while Van Gogh did it to
himself.
girls putting on silk
hose
while Van Gogh did it to
himself
In the field
unkissed, and
worse.
I pass him n the street:
“how’s it going, Van?”
“I dunno, man,” he says
and walks on.
there is a blast of color:
one more creature
dizzy with love.
He said,
then,
I want to leave.
and they look at his paintings
and love him
now.
for that kind of love
he did the right
thing
as for the other kind of love
it never arrived.
- bukowski, 1999
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/1574231057.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
robertandrews
news:39066ACC...@hotmail.com...
>they went to the city of auvers,
pursuing their carnal delights.
they painted all during the afternoon
and they made music all night.
the people of that small city
thought he was a little bit queer,
(bob says - "just a little bit")
to prove his love for mankind,
he chopped off his outside ear.
Dylan got his city wrong--Van Gogh was with Gauguin in Arles, where he cut
his ear. After Arles he went to Saint-Remy & then died in Auvers-sur-Oise.
Certainly neither Saint-Remy nor Auvers-sur-Oise were villages known for
their carnal delights. I would be surprised if Arles was ever full of music
& girls--seems like a quiet place where, as Artuad surmised, one can easily
go mad. Van Gogh never lived "a life of sin," unless Dylan means we all are
sinners. If so, Van Gogh was the least sinful among us. I don't know if
Van Gogh proved his love for mankind (or a man) by chopping off part of his
ear, but he gave mankind many staggering & passionate works of art. In my
view, this song does absolutely no justice to Van Gogh, nor does it touch
me. Where did Vincent Van Gogh GO is a silly play on words--it's neither
moving nor funny. I feel McLean's song is far superior, both as a song & a
tribute to this sublime & tragic artist.
robertandrews
Gogh. I passed through Arles about five years ago, & the town seemed pretty
much the same as in Van Gogh's paintings. The Romans, as we know, closed up
shop many moons ago. I think Van Gogh needed a respite from Paris, and was
seeking the pure light he saw in the works of the impressionists. Obviously
this painter of nature felt more at home in the fields of Arles than on the
streets of Montmartre. I really can't picture Van Gogh & Gauguin laughing &
drinking up a storm in some gloomy cafe--neither painter ever depicted this
carnal atmosphere. Jean-Paul Gauthier designs bras for Madonna, I don't see
the Arlesian connection. As you said, the women are mostly virtuous & quite
Spanish in many ways. I doubt the women of Van Gogh's Arles were as
exuberant as the women of Lautrec's Paris. As far as prostitution, if
that's all Dylan's got he's got a lot of nerve. Maybe he forgot that Jesus
"embraced" Mary Magdalene. The more I ponder this song, the worse it gets.
Let's face it--it sucks, & hasn't got a damn thing to do with Van Gogh.
P.S. I noticed that you have a French nom de famille--est-ce que tu es
francais??? Si tu viens d'Arles je m'excuse (mais ce serait drôle).
Lloyd Fonvielle
> I am quite surprised to learn that Arles was a party town in the days of Van
> Gogh.
I didn't say it was a party town, just that it has long been renowned for music
and for beautiful women.
> I really can't picture Van Gogh & Gauguin laughing &
> drinking up a storm in some gloomy cafe--neither painter ever depicted this
> carnal atmosphere.
They were in Arles to paint the countryside and the provincial sights -- what
they did on their off time probably included some drinking and whoring. It
certainly did for Vincent.
> Jean-Paul Gauthier designs bras for Madonna, I don't see
> the Arlesian connection.
Dig deeper.
> As far as prostitution, if
> that's all Dylan's got he's got a lot of nerve.
Vincent was tormented by his own life of sin, as he saw it -- this is certainly
what Dylan is referring to.
> P.S. I noticed that you have a French nom de famille--est-ce que tu es
> francais??? Si tu viens d'Arles je m'excuse (mais ce serait drôle).
Just a regular American, but very fond of Arles.
"Oh, Arles, you could be what you were before, the seat of a kingdom, the
center of an empire!" -- Frederic Mistral
robertandrews
countryside? And Jesus just dropped in to Jerusalem to feel up Mary
Magdalene, share a bottle of wine & go for a donkey ride. I suggest you
read some of Van Gogh's letters & especially Artaud, if you care to. We are
literally referring to a different man. It's one thing to say you don't
like Van Gogh's art, it's another to trivialize and demean his life.
"Whoring" is a particularly loathsome word. C'est fini--comme disait Jésus.
Mark Henteleff
b) Van Gogh slept with a prostitute....a sin by biblical standards.
Mark H.
Steve Oldham
Gogh is right up there with Dylan as my favorite artist.
.
.Both are visionaries who can be wildly impressionist or down to
earth. Blond on Blond/New Morning.....Starry Night/Still Life With
Beer Mug and Fruit
.
.Their work breathes with the same vitality. Vivid images. Expressing
the insanity that they both see so clearly.
.
.Thank God for the differences as well. Otherwise we might all be
talking about what could have been.
.
.Steve
robertandrews
a) Dylan didn't write the song
b) Van Gogh slept with a prostitute....a sin by biblical standards.
a) Dylan sang the song.
b) Van Gogh ate pork chops . . . a sin by biblical standards.