Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright

I’ve always loved the lyrics of Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright by Bob Dylan. I’ve been playing it on my ukulele lately and I notice that every time I interact with a song on an instrument, the words come across differently.

… It ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe
If'n you don't know by now
And it ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe
It'll never do somehow

One thing that comes across to me more is the fed up tone Dylan sings these words with. Quick cut-off’s at the end of sentences, almost lackadaisical and uninterested. It stood out to me more because I heard myself sing it. In contrast, I drew out the notes, added softness to the lyric “babe” when Dylan just says it as a quick pop—almost like he hates that he still addresses his partner with that term of endearment out of habit.

But I wish there was somethin' you would do or say
To try and make me change my mind and stay
But we never did too much talking anyway
But don't think twice, it's all right

This glimmer of hope in the messy bitterness of this song is sobering and beautiful. Even in the resolve that he’s leaving his partner, even in the attempt to convince himself that “it’s alright,” it’s whatever, it’s over, Dylan still recognizes that he still wants to be fought for. It somersaults into acceptance that being fought for is not in the cards as they ”never did too much talking anyway” so why bother hoping?

That’s the sound of my heart breaking.

I'm a-thinking and a-wonderin' walking down the road
I once loved a woman, a child, I'm told
I give her my heart but she wanted my soul
But don't think twice, it's all right

I’ve never totally grasped this set of lyrics. Not quite sure when listening if he had both a partner and a child with them. My guess is that he was told previously that the partner he’s now leaving was too naive, too much of a child to handle an adult relationship.

The “give her my heart but she wanted my soul” part fascinates me as well. The distinction between heart and soul is a little muddled for me, but when I contemplate someone possessing someone else’s soul, my first thought is “selling my soul to the devil.” Perhaps Dylan gave his vulnerable self to this partner; he gave them his “heart,” but what they really wanted was control over his personhood, his life, his “soul.”

… So long honey, babe
Where I'm bound, I can't tell
Goodbye's too good a word, babe
So I'll just say, "Fare thee well"

“Goodbye’s too good a word” is my favorite line of the song. This partner doesn’t even deserve the satisfaction of a proper goodbye and Dylan says so.

I’ve said it once, I’ll say it for the rest of my life: music is medicine, and songwriters like Bob Dylan are a gift.