One track on Empire Burlesque stands out as completely different in style and sound from the rest of the album. Most of the tracks feel very modern, but the final song — ‘Dark Eyes’ — sounds like it could have fit in nicely on Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan or another of his earliest recordings.
It’s a spare, haunting track that continues the trend of Dylan putting his most transcendent material in the last spot on the tracklist. Might as well go out strong, I suppose.
I found a wonderful description of the origin of ‘Dark Eyes’ in Dylan’s autobiographical book Chronicles, Volume One. I recommend the book to anybody with even a passing interest in Dylan’s life and work, not so much for its insight into those subjects but because it’s achingly well written. I’ll quote the passage about ‘Dark Eyes’ below.
All the songs were mixed and finalized except Baker kept suggesting that we should have an acoustic song at the end of the record, that it would bring everything to the right conclusion. I thought about it and I knew he was right, but I didn’t have anything. The night the album was being completed, I told him I’d see what I could come up with, saw the importance of it.
I was staying at the Plaza Hotel on 59th Street and had come back after midnight, went through the lobby and headed upstairs. As I stepped out of the elevator, a call girl was coming towards me in the hallway – pale yellow hair wearing a fox coat – high heeled shoes that could pierce your heart. She had blue circles around her eyes, black eyeliner, dark eyes. She looked like she had been beaten up and was afraid that she’d get beat up again. In her hand, crimson purple wine in a glass. “I’m just dying for a drink,” she said as she passed me in the hall. She had a beautifulness, but not for this kind of world. Poor wretch, doomed to walk this hallway for a thousand years.
Late that night I sat at a window overlooking Central Park and wrote the song ‘Dark Eyes.’ I recorded it the next night with only an acoustic guitar and it was the right thing to do. It did complete the album.
Chalk this song up as another classic I never would have discovered but for this blog.
They’re drinking up and walking and it is time for me to slide
I live in another world where life and death are memorized
Where the earth is strung with lovers’ pearls and all I see are dark eyes
A cock is crowing far away and another soldier’s deep in prayer
Some mother’s child has gone astray, she can’t find him anywhere
But I can hear another drum beating for the dead that rise
Whom nature’s beast fears as they come and all I see are dark eyes
They tell me to be discreet for all intended purposes,
They tell me revenge is sweet and from where they stand, I’m sure it is.
But I feel nothing for their game where beauty goes unrecognized,
All I feel is heat and flame and all I see are dark eyes.
Oh, the French girl, she’s in paradise and a drunken man is at the wheel
Hunger pays a heavy price to the falling gods of speed and steel
Oh, time is short and the days are sweet and passion rules the arrow that flies
A million faces at my feet but all I see are dark eyes
Meet Me In Montauk 
well, this is a pleasant surprise. Such a beautiful song. If only Dylan had done more of this in the 80’s!
Cover
This song is wonderful, as is the description of how it was written.
The lyric that I find most effective is “They tell me revenge is sweet and from where they stand, I’m sure it is.” Wow – that may be one of the simplest and most effective observations I’ve heard.
It’s hard to believe this song is on the same album as yesterday’s SOTD. Based on comments yesterday that Dylan may have been playing with his audience and his critics, this album closer becomes even more intriguing. Does Chronicles offer any insight into that possibility?
Regardless, I love this song.
Even a lousy Dylan album contains great, great gems, as we’ll see on the next record. Dark eyes is a keeper.
Bob was looking for his footing at this time, and luckily he found it again but not for a few more years.
I saw him once on the street at this point – mid 80’s – and it was evident to me that he was not in great shape.
He’s been quoted as saying that he feels detached from everything he did between Blond on Blond and Time out of Mind.
[…] This song is one of Dylan’s gifts to the world. It gives me chills. You can read about its origins here: “Late that night I sat at a window overlooking Central Park and wrote the song ‘Dark […]