WEBERMAN: 'Hey, Bob -- why not show the people your heart's in the right place and do a benefit for John Sinclair?' 'But, I don t have my thing together.' 'Bullshit -- all you gotta do is show up and plunk your guitar a little and a hundred thousand freaks will come out of their pads and go anywhere you are -- '
DYLAN: I-I don t want to say I don't have my thing together, man. I got my thing together!
WEBERMAN: -- so, why *don't y'do* the thing?
DYLAN: Well, I want to get back to that statement first.
WEBERMAN: -- yeah --
DYLAN: I don t want to say that thing that I don't have my thing together.
WEBERMAN: -- right --
DYLAN: See, you, you can make somp'n* else up, but, uh -- don't leave that in there.
WEBERMAN: What should I say, then?
DYLAN: Let's see -- what's the statement? (pause) How 'bout, uh -- let's see -- how 'bout --
WEBERMAN: You said -- you don't have your thing together. You said, you know -- you're not ready to -- you --
DYLAN: -- oh yeah -- right -- I m not ready to go play concerts, man. That's th**
WEBERMAN: -- all right, I'm not ready --
DYLAN: -- that's not the same thing as saying --
WEBERMAN: -- all right --
DYLAN: -- I don't have my thing together
WEBERMAN: -- I'm not ready to go play concerts --
DYLAN: -- I'm not about to --
WEBERMAN: I'm not about to -- go play concerts. -- all right --
DYLAN: -- at this time.
WEBERMAN: Right -- I don't blame you, man. You know -- you, uh -- you know -- y-you don t want to be part of the scene -- you know -- uh, all kinds of terrible things could happen to you in that hour, man -- *y-know --
DYLAN: No, man -- like, what for? Why should I go play th*-for twenty thousand people, man? I mean, what --
WEBERMAN: -- **it would be**
DYLAN: -- you know --
WEBERMAN: -- more than twenty thousand.
DYLAN: Hey, I've been there before --
WEBERMAN: You make people happy, man*.*
DYLAN: I've been there before, I --
WEBERMAN: You make people happy --
DYLAN: I've done it before --
WEBERMAN: You set the whole trend in rock, man --
DYLAN: I did --
WEBERMAN: -- if you started doing things like that --
DYLAN: You shoulda been at the Isle of Wight, man. I'd just like to see how much you'd still be talking --
WEBERMAN: The Isle of Wight --
DYLAN: -- if you were at the Isle of Wight.
WEBERMAN: -- was a capitalist rip-off, man. I'm not talking about that kind of a scene -- I m talking --
DYLAN: Were you --
WEBERMAN: -- about --
DYLAN: -- at Woodstock? (pause) Were you at Woodstock?
WEBERMAN: I-I wasn t at Woodstock, man --
DYLAN: Well, then you *never didn't* --
WEBERMAN: -- I'm not talking about Woodstock --
DYLAN: -- seen those kind of things --
WEBERMAN: I'm not talking about a free concert, man. I'm not talking about that -- I'm talking about a benefit, you dig -- at Madison Square Garden, or something like that, man --
DYLAN: Go, *on* let's finish the article --
WEBERMAN: (pause) Uh, you know -- 'but I don t have my thing together. Bullshit.
DYLAN: Uh, no, no -- we're going to change that --
WEBERMAN: *Uh*, right, right -- uh, somp'n in what you said before -- but, you gotta -- 'all you gotta do is show up and plunk your guitar then a hundred thousand freaks will come -- **hear the duh-duh-duh** ' 'Sorry, Al -- I can t do it. But I will write a song about political prisoners on my next album.' 'I don t want promises for nine months later. I wanna see some action, now. See, Bob -- you set the trends in rock -- and if you become, like, a human being -- a lot of other performers will go along. (pause) The sun had set and Dylan's wife had called him for dinner -- on the phone ***and *** --'
DYLAN: Oh, that -- that whole last paragraph -- that, man -- I didn t think that was necessary.
WEBERMAN: 'Bob gave me his phone number and asked me to call him when I'm on the radio -- or if something comes up. Ever hear me on the radio, Bob?' 'Just a couple of times on Alex Bennett's show -- I dug it when he asked if you had any personal messages for me. What do you think of Bob Fass?' 'He's a revolutionary brother, but he don't dig it when I attack you -- course* you were an old friend of his.' 'Well, Al, so long -- Uh, one more thing -- you re not gonna get into my life' -- 'Why?' --
DYLAN: (breath) **Le** those two sentences, man. I don't get them at all. I don't understand them, even --
WEBERMAN: -- why, if you do, I might gain a soul --
DYLAN: Yeah, well, that's shit -- those last two sentences. I don't think I said that.
WEBERMAN: Yes, you did. That's just what you said, man. You said, You re not gonna get into my life -- I said, 'Why?' -- * then you said, 'If you do, I might gain a soul.'
DYLAN: I don't understand that, do you?
WEBERMAN: (pause) Uhh -- I don't know -- I don't know -- it could be looked at in a number of ways, man -- you could *** --
DYLAN: Yeah, why don't you -- d'why don t you take it out of your article and look at it in a number of ways -- and let s d'uh -- you know, and -- and roll it around awhile -- and then when you -- when we know what it means -- why don't you tell me, and then -- ah, let's see if it's worth putting in an article --
WEBERMAN: (pause) Uh** --
DYLAN: Is that fair? I don t know what it means man.
WEBERMAN: So,* how would you have me in the article?
DYLAN: I don't know. It's your article. (pause) **Shit, I mean** --
WEBERMAN: ****, I just lost you. All right, man -- like, uh --
DYLAN: I don't know --
WEBERMAN: **but** **that's** what happened during our --
DYLAN: I know that's what happened.
WEBERMAN: -- first conversation --
DYLAN: But that ain't what happened, man -- ***?*** like, that last, uh -- that last sentence don't **end any** article -- you know that. That didn t happen like that. I re'ember --
WEBERMAN: -- all right --
DYLAN: -- saying something like that, but it didn't have anything to do with how you're using it -- you're just taking it out of context.
WEBERMAN: **saytin now**
DYLAN: Then you re like some -- **
WEBERMAN: All right --
DYLAN: -- fucking Look Magazine --
WEBERMAN: -- **you want me to put it into context -- you **wanta do it back kinda ** -- then I say, 'Is that a threat?' -- and then you say, you know -- 'no, it is, but I know people who can kill you' -- that's what I remembered --
DYLAN: Oh no -- man!
WEBERMAN: -- or something like that, man.
DYLAN: No!
WEBERMAN: I was very paranoid -- in a very paranoid mood, man.
DYLAN: Well, don't take it out on me, man. I mean, come on --
WEBERMAN: Well, that's why I changed it around, man. I don t have you, uh -- comin' on like that. That's why I took it out, you know -- so, I left it -- I left it -- other interpretation -- I might gain a soul. You couldn't --
DYLAN: I don't want to say that, *man --
WEBERMAN: ***you couldn t ????***
DYLAN: -- 'cause I don't -- that** sounds *shitty --
WEBERMAN: ***that***
DYLAN: -- what the --
WEBERMAN: -- **that's** **so fucking** quotable, man --
DYLAN: W-what does that mean -- I mean, like, I -- eh, uh** -- that don't -- aaoh -- it leaves me cold, man -- like, uh -- it s, uh -- doesn t even sound like me.
WEBERMAN: But you said it -- those are your exact words.
DYLAN: I gained a soul -- uh**, what could that mean?
WEBERMAN: Man, you know -- you ought'a stand behind things that you say.
DYLAN: (breath) Yeah, man, but I -- that was taken --
WEBERMAN: **that's the truth***
DYLAN: -- right outta, right out of -- I do stand behind
most of what I say, man -- but you know, I'm nyh--
WEBERMAN: **No,** you don't stand behind anything you say, man.
DYLAN: Sure, I do -- sure, I do.
WEBERMAN: ***
DYLAN: -- I just don t dig it --
WEBERMAN: ***inaudible*** ***Dylan, man*** *that s for sure --
DYLAN: Man, I'm gonna do an article on you, man. I
think I'm gonna write a song about you, too.
WEBERMAN: Well, I could use the publicity.
DYLAN: Yeah, *well -- that s one reason why I wouldn t, man --
WEBERMAN: (laughter)
DYLAN: -- but, uh --
WEBERMAN: (laughter)
DYLAN: -- I got a good song, man -- if I ever want* to do one --
WEBERMAN: What s it called?
DYLAN: It s called "Pig" --
WEBERMAN: I'm a pig, eh?
DYLAN: -- yeah.
WEBERMAN: Aw, bullshit, I'm a --
DYLAN: -- yeah, man --
WEBERMAN: -- pig, man --
**DYLAN: -- yeah, man --**
WEBERMAN: You re the one who's a pig --
DYLAN: -- oh, no -- not at all --
WEBERMAN: -- Oh, yeah --
DYLAN: -- not at all, (laugh) man -- not at all.
I don't think I'm gonna write it, though --
just because of that publicity thing. I don't
dig that -- at all. But, I got the song, man.
WEBERMAN: **You re killing me*** --
DYLAN: -- I'll sing it for you. (pause) Well,
I don't have it finished, actually -- but, uh --
WEBERMAN: -- I'm a pig, **man?
DYLAN: -- hey, man --
WEBERMAN: I don't have a million fucking dollars, man --
DYLAN: I don t ha -- ***d'uh *wait* -- what
does that have to do with it?
WEBERMAN: 'Cause you have a million fucking dollars,
man. See, you ain t'th' eh -- you ain't that much
better than the cat who --
DYLAN: (breath)
WEBERMAN: -- has nothing, man. You dig it* -- the cat
who's walking around the bowery, man -- it s true,
like -- you know --
DYLAN: -- (whisper) waaht* --
WEBERMAN: -- in some ways you're better, but you ain't
a million dollars better worth -- you know what I mean?
Like, in times like this **?** like, you know,
when you have a million dollars in this society, man
-- it means, that other people don't have it -- you
know -- (pause) uh -- don't you dig what I mean --
nobody should have, like -- a million dollars, man
-- nobody should be allowed to accumulate that
much wealth -- you know -- that much surplus wealth
-- when, uh -- peop*le, uh*, when there are other people
around that don t have shit. You know -- and not -- 'cau --
'cause of their fuckin' skin color, man -- not because of,
uh -- of anything else -- 'cause they're despised --
'cause they re not like *straights* -- like hate anyone
who s different than them in any kind of a way --
DYLAN: -- ay a* --
WEBERMAN: -- right?
DYLAN: -- yeah, man -- I think you re over --
you're overlooking --
WEBERMAN: -- no! **I m telling you,** man**
DYLAN: -- a lot, man. You're overlooking a lot --
WEBERMAN: **I've had friends, man* -- I've had friends --
that got a lotta money together -- you know -- and, uh,
I told them, man -- you -- you should put some of this
fuckin' money back in the community -- most of it --
enough that, you know -- keep enough so th' you can live
decently -- but don't fuckin' , uh -- you know, they didn't
have peanuts compared to you, man. You know, and y' --
I told them to go fuck themselves if they're gonna fuckin'
rip off, uh -- the, you know -- people not putting
anything back -- but you're just a capitalist -- that's
all, man. 'Cept, instead of producing, uh -- you know,
yah -- instead of producing, uh -- uh, cars, or guns --
you produce, uh -- you know -- records -- music.
DYLAN: Hey man, that's, uh -- that's something, though.
WEBERMAN: It s somp'n, man -- but lately, it's nothin.
DYLAN: (pthtt)*
WEBERMAN: **but** not only do you keep the money, but you
d' -- the lyrics themselves have no kind of, uh -- redeeming
value -- you're -- they're just -- in fact, they're
reactionary -- you know. You're just, uh -- every --
all the shit is hitting the fuckin' fan -- and you're
singin' 'Hope it -- looks like nothin' but rain' -- you
know -- uh --
DYLAN: -- that's a good song, man -- <_sign on the window_/_new morning_>
WEBERMAN: -- what are you --
DYLAN: -- like --
WEBERMAN: -- a weatherman?
DYLAN: -- a what?
WEBERMAN: -- a weatherman?
DYLAN: -- *do you mind?*
WEBERMAN: -- **if it's** nothin but rain --
DYLAN: (laugh)
WEBERMAN: -- but I wanted, uh -- if I want to fuckin , uh --
DYLAN: -- is your tape recorder still on, man?
WEBERMAN: **and it**
DYLAN: -- is it still running?
WEBERMAN: -- yeah.
DYLAN: Oh, it didn't break down?
WEBERMAN: Uh -- no, no -- it's -- it's a good one.
DYLAN: Yeah -- well, I ain't gonna call you no more, man
-- just because of that. I mean -- I don't trust yah.
WEBERMAN: Why, wuh -- don't tell me you didn't tape-record
my conversation --
DYLAN: -- no, man, I -- would, uh --
WEBERMAN: -- any conversations with me, man --
DYLAN: -- no, what do I want to do that for --