We’ve shown you Bill Murray in full-blown literary mode, reading long passages from Huck Finn and poems by Wallace Stevens, Billy Collins and Emily Dickinson. (My favorite is the poetry reading at the construction site.) Now it’s time to add Bob Dylan to that list. And, why not? Dylan is the undisputed “poet laureate of rock ‘n’ roll.” Who would argue with that?
The poem recited — or rather muttered in Murray’s inimitable style — is “Shelter from the Storm,” found on Dylan’s 1975 album, Blood on the Tracks. The scene comes from the film “St. Vincent,” which you can find in theaters on October 10. “Shelter from the Storm” begins:
’Twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood
When blackness was a virtue and the road was full of mud
I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”And if I pass this way again, you can rest assured
I’ll always do my best for her, on that I give my word
In a world of steel-eyed death, and men who are fighting to be warm
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”
Read along with the full poem here.
Related Content:
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Bill Murray Gives a Delightful Dramatic Reading of Twain’s Huckleberry Finn (1996)
Bill Murray Reads Great Poetry by Billy Collins, Cole Porter, and Sarah Manguso
13 Lectures from Allen Ginsberg’s “History of Poetry” Course (1975)
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