Expecting Rain

 
Johanna Parker wrote:
Brussels painting:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/richwall100/5807629547/

Some time ago, Johanna Parker asked me to check out this drawing Bob called Brussels. So on a very sunny morning I began my stroll for Johanna. This is what I found out
The easiest to recognize in the drawing is the stock exchange, so that is where I started.
I walked into the Stoof (Stove) street, an old cobbled street. It is one of the many small streets around the Grand Place and nothing spectacular. I wondered why Bob did not choose to draw the beautiful medieval Grand Place of Brussels lying just around the corner. The drawing is clearly only an impression rather than detailed reality, you do not get a direct view of the stock exchange from any of the small streets surrounding it, yet I was quite sure that it was the Stove street. But why this street?
I studied the drawing in my hand very closely. With the drawing in my hand I walked up and down the Stoof street looking for the arcades in the drawing and for more clues. I walked the street up again, to spot from which exact angle the drawing was made. I was now in the Brewers’ Street facing the Stove street depicted in the drawing. I stopped to catch my breath (it was very hot and I needed a drink) and found myself just in front of this sign I never even knew was there.
It just stared at me… It reads:
It all made sense now. Just opposite to this sign is Hotel Amigo; now the most classy (and expensive) hotel in Brussels but in 1873 it was the prison where the smaller criminals were held captive before trial.
I went inside the hotel to have a well deserved drink. I learned that Verlaine was held captive here for over two years after he shot Rimbaud and that he wrote many poems during that time.

Il pleut doucement sur la ville
(pour Arthur Rimbaud)

Il pleure dans mon coeur
Comme il pleut sur la ville,
Quelle est cette langueur
Qui pénètre mon coeur?
O bruit doux de la pluie
Par terre et sur les toits!
Pour un coeur qui s’ennuie
O le chant de la pluie!
Il pleure sans raison
Dans ce coeur qui s’écoeure.
Quoi! nulle trahison?
Ce deuil est sans raison.
C’est bien la pire peine
De ne savoir pourquoi,
Sans amour et sans haine,
Mon coeur a tant de peine!
Verlaine, Romances sans paroles, 1874

Bob played in Brussels in 1991 (coincidence or not, the sign dates from 1991)
When you exit the hotel you have the Rimbaud sign right in front of you and also the small arcades at the beginning of the Stove Street.
On my way home I went through the gallery where Verlaine bought the gun. It is now a cafeteria.

The Stock exchange: http://www.flickr.com/photos/setaou_be/109320250/
The Rimbaud sign: http://www.flickr.com/photos/60075889@N03/5856396223/
The Amigo hotel: http://www.flickr.com/photos/flyingoncemore/4062598723/
The St. Hubertus Gallery: http://www.flickr.com/photos/beboh/3642675831/


 

wow. this is so cool -- and i dont even understand how you got to tangled up in blue.

what a fantastic idea! (sorry if i missed other posts of the sort) Photos of actual places in Bob's paintings practically side by side w/the paintings including analysis. Wow -- again. I'm so impressed! So much more interesting than "When's the last time . . ." and all the whining about setlists, the state of bob's attire and/or where he is peeing today and all.

Thanks so much, wedding. I think this is the first real location of any DBS picture identified.

wow. this is so cool -- and i dont even understand how you got to tangled up in blue.

Check out the lyrics of tangled up in blue and you will find out. I thought it was just cool that the painting is all blue too. (Although other colors exist according to Johanna)

Thanks for the nice comments.

I got an invitation from a friend to go wine and dine at the hotel , to chat up the maître d'hotel and get proof of Bob's stay in 1991

Quoting Wedding


Wow!. That is fascinating. So is this thread. It really makes me want to have the book of the Drawn Blank Series.

Quoting Wedding

Quote:
Bob played in Brussels in 1991 (coincidence or not, the sign dates from 1991)


Wow!. That is fascinating. So is this thread. It really makes me want to have the book of the Drawn Blank Series.


Thank you, I appreciate it. Mind you, I had to walk around for at least an hour to really be sure. It seems that Bob draws quickly, like just wanting to save what intersted him in his memory. I must say that I did not like the drawing at first, too vaque, sloppy even. But on the other hand, the first moment I saw it, I sort of felt where this place was. Just like with his songs; you don't know what he's talking about but you get the feeling that it is important.

I was annoyed at first with Bob for not getting any clear directions on where to go and then just when I stood still to take my breath, I know that was the very spot. Very strange experience . I never knew about Verlaine shooting Rimbaud and I have been living in Brussels for a very long time.

Since my trip I am looking into all the poems Rimbaud (and Verlaine) wrote about Brussels and I have viewed Total Eclipse with Di Caprio. Great actor and one can easily see in this film why Dylan was often compared to Rimbaud.


Here's the translation of the poem of Verlaine (there is also a Rimbaud poem with the same title so don't get confused)

It Rains in my Heart - Translation Paul VERLAINE – Il pleure dans mon coeur


It rains in my heart
as on town and on mart,
pours down longings that start
to reign in my heart!

Oh soft ringing of rain
poured on earth, eave and pane, -
for poor heart feeling pain, -
oh the ringing of rain!

It rains without reason
in hurt heart fears have lease on.
What? - no season for treason?
Do I grieve without reason?

What most hurts me, I wait
‘Why’ not knowing, sad fate,
without love, without hate, ...
On my heart lies deadweight!

To end with a spicy note; Verlaine got 2 years not for shooting Rimbaud in the hand but for sodomy. Eighteenth Century what did you expect?

I just have to bump this, it's such a promising thread.

If anyone by any chance ever found out the real life locations for any of Bob's other paintings, PLEASE let us know.
For example, "Bell Tower In Stockholm":
Which church is this? Where has it been drawn from? Might be a hotel balcony; which hotel?
http://dylanstubs.com/pictures/Drawn_Bl ... kholm.html

Where is the "Komba Hotel" located? Is it a hotel at all? And is there any trace of the "Spieldose" establishment seen in the picture?
http://dylanstubs.com/pictures/Drawn_Bl ... Hotel.html

"Dad's Restaurant"?
http://dylanstubs.com/pictures/Drawn_Bl ... ant_2.html

Also, the various New Orleans pictures, etc, etc.

Nice work, Johanna. Interesting to see those pics.

Thanks, but the photos and detective story were done by wedding. It's very very interesting to get a glimpse behind Bob's inspiration.

This is great...Cheers to you wedding

I got a kind messege, which among other things included this information - thank you, you know who you are.

After the great success of wedding's detective work in Brussels, I'm looking again for people who can help with research of the inspiration behind Bob's drawings and paintings. This goes especially for the works which name places in their titles, those should be easiest to figure out. Thanks to wedding and Snowcap for their help!! Still we need people in the relevant places to check out the tangible locations for some more of Bob's works and get to the stories behind the inspiration.

In order of their appearance in Drawn Blank, here is what needs checking out:
Bragg Apartment, New York City
Is there any known link between Bob and somebody called Bragg in NYC?
http://dylanstubs.com/pictures/Drawn_Blank/drawn3.html
http://dylanstubs.com/pictures/Drawn_Bl ... _City.html

Vista from Balcony
Does this place look familiar to anybody?
http://dylanstubs.com/pictures/Drawn_Bl ... lcony.html

Carbondale Motel
Do we know where Bob stayed while on tour between 1989 - 1992 when the sketches were made?

Cathedral
Another view from a balcony, can anybody identify this church?

Mexico
Seems almost impossible to figure this one out with so vague a description, but someone might know where Bob stayed?

House in New Bedford
Does anybody recognize this, and is there a story behind this exact place that might have interested Bob?
http://dylanstubs.com/pictures/Drawn_Bl ... dford.html
http://dylanstubs.com/pictures/Drawn_Bl ... ord_2.html

New Orleans Walkway #1
New Orleans Walkway #2
Freret Street New Orleans
We know that Bob stayed in NOLA during the recording of Oh Mercy, and he is said to own property there. Beyond that, what is his connection to Freret Street, and does anybody recognize the walkways?
http://dylanstubs.com/pictures/Drawn_Bl ... leans.html

Washington D.C. Courtyard
Does anybody recognize the place, or know what Bob was doing there between 1989 - 1992?

Reno Balcony
Presumably a hotel - which hotel, what street?

Buffalo Neighborhood
Exactly where and when?

Dallas Hotel Room
Does anyone know at which Dallas hotel Bob stayed between 1989 - 1992 and can provide a link with pictures of the rooms?
http://dylanstubs.com/pictures/Drawn_Bl ... _room.html

House on Chestnut Street
Which city, and is there a story behind that location?

Front Porch of House on Hayes Street
Which city, and is there a story behind that location?

Rooftop Bar
This was drawn in Williamsport, PA, in 1991. The venue was the Capital Theatre - does anybody know the name of the rooftop bar overlooking the place at the time?

Komba Hotel
This is more likely to be Komba Gewerkschaft [trade union] in Germany, but does anybody recocnize the location?
http://dylanstubs.com/pictures/Drawn_Bl ... Hotel.html
http://dylanstubs.com/pictures/Drawn_Bl ... Mscan.html

This appears to be The Heritage Motel on 1209 West Main Street in Carbondale, Illinois.
Check this photo and compare it to the sketch or paintings:
http://heritagemotelcarbondale.com/imag ... 1_0192.jpg





Bob's friends and fellow folksinger Paul Clayton was from New Bedford. Does anybody know where he lived - could this be his family home?



Calling clarx, and all expectingrain members from New Orleans, what do you think about Bob's pictorial tribute to the city? Do you recognize the walkways, and is there anything interesting to know about Freret Street that could have caught Bob's interest?



From what I figure, this is likely to be the Supreme Court, and it's just like Bob to not paint the historic facade, but the view down the steps to the parking lot. Would he have had any business there between 1989 - 1992? He played Washington D.C. on 17-18 October, 1989.

Links dylanstub doesn't work ... the whole web site doesn't work

StewART made two threads and I posted it in Visions too - the site is changing servers, will be back up asap.

Found it(This thread) The conversation about the Life Magazine Cover made me think of you doing this, and I wanted to say what an interesting idea it is- it's like when you're given the self tour headphones and hear the back stories.