This may be my most listened to song since fall 2008. I was aware of the "official" version from Time Out of Mind when it was released in 1997, but the version that really caught my ear was the lead track from 2008's Official Bootleg Volume 8 Tell Tale Signs. And if that's not enough, another version of Mississippi begins the second disc of Tell Tale Signs.
I love the gritty Delta noir of this tune and the lyrics, well, they deliver a novel's worth of inspiration with each verse. Maybe that's why I've subjected myself to repeated listening. The lyrics ignite any number of daydreams and narrative possibilities -- the concept of what could happen or what may be missed if you stay a minute, an hour or a day too long.
Isn't that why we listen to certain songs and artists, for the possibilities they present and the inspiration they deliver. And as Dylan sings it in MIssissippi, "Stick with me baby. Stick with me anyhow. Things should start to get interesting right about now.
Have you listened to Mississippi? What's your favorite version?"
Even after a few hundred spins, MIssissippi remains interesting to me.
