June 4, 2013

"American singer Bob Dylan has been decorated by France's Légion d'honneur..."

"... a spokesman for the historic French order said Monday, a move that raised hackles among some of the French elite."
The Légion honors foreign luminaries by granting them honorary titles within the order. They aren't considered full members of the order, which includes the likes of 19th-century French writer Alexis de Tocqueville....

The Légion was founded by Napoleon Bonaparte as a civil and military order that was open to members of society outside European nobility....



***
Well, Shakespeare, he’s in the alley
With his pointed shoes and his bells
Speaking to some French girl
Who says she knows me well...

20 comments:

FullMoon said...

Well, I'm just average, (and common ,too)
..just like him and the same as you.
I'm everybodys' brother and son
I ain't different from anyone
.. no sense talkin' to me...just the same as talikin' to you

Synova said...

He looks like the Boston bomber kid.

FullMoon said...

Insider rumors suggest Dylan will be American Idol judge......developing

Chip S. said...

Thereby joining Jerry Lewis (of course) and Manuel Noriega on the bizarre list of foreign honorees.

edutcher said...

He took my line, but, yeah, Synova's right.

Sure don't look like Zimmerman.

Mumpsimus said...

From the linked article: Grand Chancellor Mr. Georgelin wrote that the Légion "examined" Mr. Dylan's past, "deepening its knowledge of his chaotic life and the texts of this man outside the norm."

That's got to be a Google Translate translation. Or maybe M Georgelin is a 1980s Lit Professor.

rehajm said...

Bob Dylan is 9th Avenue in Ann's View of the World cartoon.

Nomennovum said...

First Jerry Lewis and now Bob Dylan.

Yeesh.

Nomennovum said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ambrose said...

You used to be so amused at Napoleon in his rags and the language that he used.

ricpic said...

I thought you had to be French and have kicked major non-French ass to win the L of H. Quelle dommage.

sakredkow said...

Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot
Fighting in the Eiffel Tower

Lem the artificially intelligent said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
sakredkow said...

Like a cease and desist?

traditionalguy said...

Did they know Dylan is Jewish?

Anonymous said...

Bob Dylan Robot says:

Oh, the Frenchman draws circles
Up and down the block
I'd ask him what the matter was
But I know that he don't talk
And the ladies treat me kindly
And furnish me with tape
But deep inside my heart
I know I can't escape
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Versailles
With the Versailles blues again.

By stating that ""I'd ask him what the matter was But I know that he don't talk" Dylan is Playing Against the Grain of the Expectation of the Verbose French Man: A Frenchman will Always Talk, and Bring it Back Home, to Matters of The Heart, Hence:

"And the ladies treat me kindly"

Dylan understands the Appreciation of the Male Artist by the Female French, further Enforced by:

And I say, "Aw come on now
You know you know about my debutante"
And she says, "Your debutante just knows what you need
But I know what you want"

While many believe this is a Reference to the South, it is -- upon greater observation -- a Reflection of French Homogeny: see Google's First Choice for "french sex duct tape":

"French forced sex duct tape tube. Duct tape is truly amazing. Karina Mummified
and Hogtied in Duct Tape 1."

By "Mummified" Dylan is Rejecting the Idea that His Songs are Preserved in a Specific Moment of Time: Chords can Be Changed.

Anonymous said...

Bob Dylan Kafka Robot says:

I Walk Down Desolation Row. There are no Sailors: the Circus is Not in town. There is no Cinderella, No Romeo. No Fortune-Telling Lady, no Good Samaritan. Ophelia has No Iron Vest: there is No Einstein Dressed as Robin Hood, no Jealous Monk. The Phantom of the Opera and Casanova are Just Empty Ciphers Rounded by Rhyme: the Titanic Still Sinks.

Bob Dylan is on his Back, a Cockroach in Wisconsin.

Anonymous said...

I Think I will Not Surpass that Last Post.

kiev said...

you got a lot of nerve

Heartless Aztec said...

Had a lot of fun pickin' and playin' Bob tunes over the years. Still haven't stopped. Last years learn was "If Not for You". Always wanted to do "Back in Mobile" too but the length and just plain Bob-ness of the song have kept me actually doing more than running through the chords. Lovely walk down through the chords at the end of the song. Best part of the song. Anyways, as the Aussies would say, "Good on him" for the nation of France honoring him. They really do love us ya' know.