Rolling Thunder Review, 1975 or 76;
The Warehouse Auditorium, New Orleans.
Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, T-Bone Burnett,
Scarlet Rivera on violin. I was there.
This straight looking short haired dude comes out,
Begins reciting IF: "If you can keep your head
When all about you are losing theirs and blaming you ... "
Around me, the crowd, got restless, began booing.
He kept on, spoke to us the entire poem.
"If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch"
Over the catcalls and boos he continued.
By the end, his quiet dignity and perseverance
Won over the crowd, they quieted, listened, rapt.
When he finished, the place went wild cheering him
Yes, he'd kept his head, proved himself a man.
Bob Dylan walked out next to him,
Waited through the cheers, raised his hand
And, to an astonished crowd said: "Another
Round of applause for Dennis Hopper!"
29 May 2010 Larry Chamberlin
[Quoted passages from IF by Rudyard Kipling]
