Reader Jon Schaff tells me a thing I did not know, am ashamed not to have
known, and am now glad to have been told: “Mr. Derbyshire–I don’t know if
you are aware, but the Bob Dylan song you referenced in today’s fantastic
column is actually a cowboy poem by one Charles Badger Clark, the first poet
laureate of the great state of South Dakota. The poem was called ‘A Border
Affair,’ but when set to music it has been called ‘Spanish is the Loving
Tongue’ after its first line. I have seen and heard many versions of this
poem, but below you’ll find a version culled from this website: I also recommend his poem ‘Bad Half Hour.’”
I’ve always liked that Dylan song much more than I like Dylan songs in
general. Now I know why: The words were written by a good poet. I really
like Clark’s stuff. Look at the last stanza of “The Job.” Sure, he’s not
Keats; but this is better than 90 percent of the stuff that gets published
as poetry nowadays.