I'm Not There

There was plenty of appropriate symbolism in the musical guests both on Inauguration Day and at Sunday's concert at the Lincoln Memorial. Crooners from Aretha Franklin to Stevie Wonder embodied the significance of the moment. But one musician might have rounded out the line-up more than any other: a certain Robert Zimmerman. Dylan is, of course, a devoted recluse and it might have taken some luring to get him down to Washington. And he might not have warmed to such a staged appearance. There are a slew of reasons why it wouldn't work, but they would all be trumped by the realization that the times really are a-changin'. Some 45 years earlier, Dylan cut a scrawny figure as he sang "Only a Pawn in Their Game" through his nose in a civil rights demonstration on the Mall. His lyrical potence has made casual observers of injustice uncomfortably familiar with their consciences. So for all of the poetry that rang out this week, we could have used one more refrain. It would have been a perfect replacement for the unrelenting narcisissm of Bono.

The new president is a fan, referring to "Maggie's Farm" as a song that "speaks to me as I listen to the political rhetoric". Dylan and "post-partisanship" might go well together.