DylanCelebration

When we sing “Oseh Shalom” we ask that the Holy One bring heavenly peace to our conflict-ravaged earth. Hopefully, as we pray these words, we do recognize that this won’t happen magically; God needs us to play our part. We are, as our tradition recognizes, partners in the holy work of tikkun olam, or healing our broken world.

To perform that sacred labor well, we need to maintain a vision of what we seek to build. In difficult days like these, that can be challenging. It is all too easy to become cynical and lose sight of our idealistic goals. Artists and activists can help here. They call us to follow our better angels and offer a glimpse of what our communities and nations might look like if we do just that.

Bob Dylan has written countless protest songs, crying out against war, injustice, and racism in classics like “The Times They are A-Changin’,” “Masters Of War,” and “Hurricane”. But he also recognizes the need to share his dream of what a more just society looks like—and does this with soul-stirring words and music in his 1964 song “When The Ship Comes In”:

Oh, the time will come up

When the winds will stop

And the breeze will cease to be breathin'

Like the stillness in the wind

Before the hurricane begins

The hour that the ship comes in

And the seas will split

And the ship will hit

And the sands on the shoreline will be shaking

Then the tide will sound

And the wind will pound

And the morning will be breaking

This morning, instead of dwelling on the latest doom and gloom flooding your social media, renew your vision of a brighter future.

For starters, listen to the rousing version of “When The Ship Comes In” by The Clancy Brothers, from Dylan’s 30th Anniversary Concert in 1992. It is, as the introduction notes, “Dylan with an Irish accent”—which works perfectly.