Sobre dor de cotovelo ou canções de dor de corno: "Sara" de Bob Dylan

Várias canções do sensacional Blood on Tracks parecem se referir à separação de Bob Dylan da sua esposa depois de 12 anos de casamento. “You’re a Big Girl Now,” “Idiot Wind,” e “Shelter From the Storm” são dignas daqueles Chico Buarques mais tristes.

Agora, "Sara" [nome da sua ex-esposa] é outra história. Imagine que um desses barangos de música sertaneja caísse num caldeirão de LSD e lesse Drummond e Bandeira por três anos todos os dias. Depois imagine que esse tal Frankenstein sertanejo tomasse um pé na bunda da esposa depois de 12 anos de casado. O resultado seria “Sara”:

Sara

Bob Dylan

I lay on a dune, I looked at the sky,
When the children were babies and played on the beach.
You came up behind me, I saw you go by,
You were always so close and still within reach.

Sara, Sara,
Whatever made you want to change your mind?
Sara, Sara,
So easy to look at, so hard to define.

I can still see them playin' with their pails in the sand,
They run to the water their buckets to fill.
I can still see the shells fallin' out of their hands
As they follow each other back up the hill.

Sara, Sara,
Sweet virgin angel, sweet love of my life,
Sara, Sara,
Radiant jewel, mystical wife.

Sleepin' in the woods by a fire in the night,
Drinkin' white rum in a Portugal bar,
Them playin' leapfrog and hearin' about Snow White,
You in the marketplace in Savanna-la-Mar.

Sara, Sara,
It's all so clear, I could never forget,
Sara, Sara,
Lovin' you is the one thing I'll never regret.

I can still hear the sounds of those Methodist bells,
I'd taken the cure and had just gotten through,
Stayin' up for days in the Chelsea Hotel,
Writin' "Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" for you.

Sara, Sara,
Wherever we travel we're never apart.
Sara, oh Sara,
Beautiful lady, so dear to my heart.

How did I meet you? I don't know.
A messenger sent me in a tropical storm.
You were there in the winter, moonlight on the snow
And on Lily Pond Lane when the weather was warm.

Sara, oh Sara,
Scorpio Sphinx in a calico dress,
Sara, Sara,
You must forgive me my unworthiness.

Now the beach is deserted except for some kelp
And a piece of an old ship that lies on the shore.
You always responded when I needed your help,
You gimme a map and a key to your door.

Sara, oh Sara,
Glamorous nymph with an arrow and bow,
Sara, oh Sara,
Don't ever leave me, don't ever go.

Pediram à cantora Jessica Pratt escrevesse aqui sobre sua canção de amor favorita e ela escolheu "Sara" e disse o seguinte:

“’Sara’ has always stuck out in my mind as one of the most gut-wrenching love songs of all time. It’s a deeply personal song that comes as a sober closer to a fantastical, dream-like album with songs about boxers, mob bosses, mythical brides, lovers and outlaws in Mexico. With forlorn lyrics about lost domestic bliss, Dylan reveals intimate moments from an entire relationship, as though the whole thing’s flashing before his eyes. There’s something about the song’s biographical nature that makes it all the more painful, and with that legendary line, stayin’ up for days in the Chelsea Hotel writing “Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands” for you, he references a love song he had written for the same women nearly 10 years earlier. His plea feels genuine, but there’s an element of guilt and sappiness to his tone that gives you the impression he knows he doesn’t deserve her anymore. In the end, it’s the futility of his words that make each howling refrain of her name turn the knife a little deeper. It’s harrowing to witness the desperation of a man who put so much work into remaining mysterious bare his anguish to the world in one last grand gesture to keep the woman he loves.”

Eu prossigo com a minha tese: esse é um clássico de fossa brega!