don’t think twice it’s all right

Your tuppence

1. 
   wz / 7 April 2011 12:31

   fata din poze

   describing their meeting in his memoir, chronicles, volume one, dylan wrote: “right from the start i couldn’t take my eyes off her. she was the most erotic thing i’d ever seen. she was fair skinned and golden haired, full-blood italian. the air was suddenly filled with banana leaves. we started talking and my head started to spin. cupid’s arrow had whistled past my ears before, but this time it hit me in the heart and the weight of it dragged me overboard… meeting her was like stepping into the tales of 1001 arabian nights. she had a smile that could light up a street full of people and was extremely lively, had a kind of voluptuousness – a rodin sculpture come to life.”

   it was not until they met that dylan’s writing began to address issues such as the civil rights movement and the threat of nuclear war. they started living together in early 1962 much to the disapproval of her family. as dylan’s fame grew, rotolo found the relationship increasingly stressful. she wrote: “bob was charismatic: he was a beacon, a lighthouse, he was also a black hole. he required committed backup and protection i was unable to provide consistently, probably because i needed them myself.” “i could no longer cope with all the pressure, gossip, truth and lies that living with bob entailed. i was unable to find solid ground. i was on quicksand and very vulnerable”

   rotolo left new york in june, 1962, with her mother, to spend six months studying art at the university of perugia in italy. dylan’s separation from his girlfriend has been credited as the inspiration behind several of his finest love songs, including “don’t think twice, it’s alright”, “tomorrow is a long time”, “one too many mornings”, and “boots of spanish leather”.

   rotolo’s political views were widely regarded as having influenced dylan’s topical songwriting. dylan also credited her with interesting him in the french poet, arthur rimbaud, who heavily influenced his writing style. the influence of bertolt brecht on dylan’s songwriting has also been acknowledged by dylan as stemming from rotolo’s participation in brechtian theater during their relationship. in chronicles, dylan describes the impact of the song “pirate jenny” while attending a brecht show on which rotolo worked. dylan’s interest in painting can also be traced back to his relationship with rotolo.

   rotolo emphasised her shared values with dylan in an interview with author robbie woliver: “people say i was an influence on him, but we influenced each other. his interests were filtered through me and my interests, like the books i had, were filtered through him… it was always sincere on his part. the guy saw things. he had an incredible ability to see and sponge—there was a genius in that. the ability to create out of everything that’s flying around. to synthesize it. to put it in words and music.”

   suze rotolo
   1943-2011

   source: wikipedia

   

   

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