WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN



We all wear the same thorny crown.


WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN





In the still of the night, in the world's ancient light

Where wisdom grows up in strife

My bewildered brain toils in vain

Through the darkness on the pathways of life

Each invisible prayer is like a cloud in the air

Tomorrow keeps turning around

We live and we die, we know not why

But I'll be with you when the deal goes down

We eat and we drink, we feel and we think

Far down the street we stray

I laugh and I cry, and I'm haunted by

Things I never meant nor wished to say

The midnight rain follows the train

We all wear the same thorny crown

Soul to soul our shadows roll

And I'll be with you when the deal goes down

Well, the moon gives light, and it shines by night

Well, I scarcely feel the glow

We learn to live, and then we forgive

O'r the road we're bound to go

More frailer than the flowers, these precious hours

That keep us so tightly bound

You come to my eyes like a vision from the skies

And I'll be with you when the deal goes down

Well, I picked up a rose, and it poked through my clothes

I followed the winding stream

I heard the deafening noise, I felt transient joys

I know they're not what they seem

In this earthly domain full of disappointment and pain

You'll never see me frown

I owe my heart to you, and that's sayin' it true

And I'll be with you when the deal goes down





PERFORMANCES


Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada - October 11, 2006

Seattle, Washington - October 13, 2006

Portland, Oregon - October 14, 2006

San Francisco, California - October 16, 2006

Sacramento, California - October 18, 2006

Los Angeles, California - October 20, 2006

Long Beach, California - October 21, 2006

Chicago, Illinois - October 27, 2006

St. Paul, Minnesota - October 29, 2006

Madison, Wisconsin - October 31, 2006

Toronto, Ontario, Canada - November 7, 2006

Montreal, Quebec, Canada - November 8, 2006

Portland, Maine - November 9, 2006

Boston, Massachusetts - November 12, 2006

Uniondale, New York - November 13, 2006

Amherst, Massachusetts - November 15, 2006

East Rutherford, New Jersey - November 16, 2006

Fairfax, Virginia - November 17, 2006

New York City, New York - November 20, 2006

Stockholm, Sweden - March 28, 2007

Oslo, Norway - March 30, 2007

Gothenburg, Sweden - April 1, 2007

Copenhagen, Denmark - April 2, 2007

Hamburg, Germany - April 4, 2007

Münster, Germany - April 5, 2007

Brussels, Belgium - April 6, 2007

Amsterdam, The Netherlands - April 8, 2007

Amsterdam, The Netherlands - April 9, 2007

Glasgow, Scotland - April 11, 2007

Newcastle, England - April 12, 2007

Sheffield, England - April 14, 2007

London, England - April 15, 2007

London, England - April 16, 2007

Birmingham, England - April 17, 2007

Düsseldorf, Germany - April 19, 2007

Stuttgart, Germany - April 20, 2007

Frankfurt, Germany - April 21, 2007

Paris, France - April 23, 2007

Geneva, Switzerland - April 25, 2007

Turin, Italy - April 26, 2007

Assago, Italy - April 27, 2007

Zürich, Switzerland - April 29, 2007

Mannheim, Germany - April 30, 2007

Leipzig, Germany - May 2, 2007

Berlin, Germany - May 3, 2007

Herning, Denmark - May 5, 2007

Florence, Massachusetts - June 26, 2007

Bethel, New York - June 30, 2007

Essex Junction, Vermont - July 1, 2007

Quebec City, Quebec - July 3, 2007

Montreal, Quebec - July 4, 2007

Ottawa, Ontario - July 5, 2007

Orillia, Ontario - July 7, 2007

Interlochen, Michigan - July 10, 2007

Toledo, Ohio - July 12, 2007

Cleveland, Ohio - July 14, 2007

Kansas City, Missouri - July 16, 2007

Morrison, Colorado - July 20, 2007

Tucson, Arizona - July 24, 2007

Paso Robles, California - July 27, 2007

Christchurch, New Zealand - August 8, 2007

Wellington, New Zealand - August 10, 2007

Auckland, New Zealand - August 11, 2007

Brisbane, Australia - August 13, 2007

Sydney, Australia - August 16, 2007

Melbourne, Australia - August 17, 2007

Melbourne, Australia - August 19, 2007

Nashville, Tennessee - September 20, 2007

Clemson, South Carolina - September 23, 2007

Columbia, Maryland - September 28, 2007

Bridgeport, Connecticut - September 30, 2007

Portland, Maine - October 4, 2007

Ypsilanti, Michigan - October 12, 2007

Columbus, Ohio - October 13, 2007

Cincinnati, Ohio - October 15, 2007

Bloomington, Illinois - October 20, 2007

Chicago, Illinois - October 28, 2007

Dallas, Texas - February 22, 2008

Dallas, Texas - February 23, 2008

Mexico City, Mexico - February 26, 2008

Mexico City, Mexico - February 27, 2008

Monterrey, Mexico - February 29, 2008

Guadalajara, Mexico - March 2, 2008

São Paulo, Brazil - March 5, 2008

São Paulo, Brazil - March 6, 2008

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - March 8, 2008

Santiago, Chile - March 11, 2008

Córdoba, Argentina - March 13, 2008

Buenos Aires, Argentina - March 15, 2008

Rosario, Argentina - March 18, 2008

Punta del Este, Uruguay - March 20, 2008

Zacatecas, Mexico - March 25, 2008

Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada - May 19, 2008

Reykjavik, Iceland - May 26, 2008

Odense, Denmark - May 28, 2008

Tallinn, Estonia - June 4, 2008

Ostrava, Czech Republic - June 9, 2008

Bergamo, Italy - June 16, 2008

Zaragoza, Spain - June 24, 2008

Cuenca, Spain - July 1, 2008

Lorca, Spain - July 4, 2008

Mérida, Spain - July 10, 2008

Baltimore, Maryland - August 10, 2008

Saratoga Springs, New York - August 17, 2008

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada - August 20, 2008

Tulsa, Oklahoma - August 27, 2008

Temecula, California - September 4, 2008

Santa Barbara, California - September 7, 2008

Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada - October 25, 2008

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada - October 29, 2008

La Crosse, Wisconsin - November 5, 2008

Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada - November 9, 2008

Oshawa, Ontario, Canada - November 12, 2008

Oneonta, New York - November 19, 2008

Oslo, Norway - March 25, 2009

Malmö, Sweden - March 28, 2009

Copenhagen, Denmark - March 29, 2009

Paris, France - April 8, 2009

Amsterdam, The Netherlands - April 11, 2009

Milano, Italy - April 15, 2009

Geneva, Switzerland - April 20, 2009

London, England - April 25, 2009

Edinburgh, Scotland - May 3, 2009

New Britain, Connecticut - July 15, 2009

Simpsonville, South Carolina - July 29, 2009

The Woodlands, Texas - August 2, 2009

Albuquerque, New Mexico - August 9, 2009

Stateline, Nevada - August 16, 2009

Seattle, Washington - October 4, 2009

Los Angeles, California - October 14, 2009

Magna, Utah - October 19, 2009

Denver, Colorado - October 21, 2009

Kitchener, Ontario, Canada - November 7, 2009

Boston, Massachusetts - November 14, 2009

New York City, New York - November 19, 2009

Tokyo, Japan - March 25, 2010

Tokyo, Japan - March 29, 2010

Sofia, Bulgaria - June 3, 2010

Jackson, Wyoming - August 14, 2010

Oakland, California - August 24, 2010

Kalamazoo, Michigan - October 29, 2010

Akron, Ohio - November 2, 2010

Darling Harbour, Australia - April 27, 2011

Madison, Wisconsin - November 5, 2012

Rome, Italy - November 7, 2013























"WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN" was recorded early in 2006 for 'Modern Times', released in August of 2006. The live debut of "WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN" in Vancouver, British Columbia during the opening night of the fall tour of 2006 was the first song from 'Modern Times' performed on stage. Altogether this song appeared in 19 of the 29 shows during that tour.

During the fine European tour in the spring of 2007 "WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN" appeared in every show except the first one. The first European version was with Bob on guitar, all others with Bob on piano. During two of these European versions, in Düsseldorf and in Frankfurt, I had the pleasure to be a part of the audience.

During the North American summer tour of 2007 "WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN" was performed in 15 of the 27 shows; and during the New Zealand and Australia tour in August 2007 "WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN" appeared in seven of the 12 shows. During the USA fall tour of 2007 "WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN" was performed in 10 of the 30 shows.

In 2008 "WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN" was performed fifteen times during the (mainly Latin American) tour in February and March.
[Check out the mp3 below of the third Dallas show from Feb.23rd, and listen to the last verse.]

During the (mainly European) tour from May to July 2008 "WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN" appeared ten times, at first during one of the warmup shows in Canada, then in Iceland, in Denmark, in Estonia, in the Czech Republic, in Italy, and finally four times in Spain. The last Spanish version, in Mérida, I had the privilige to witness from the center of the first row. It sure was a great addition to the concert, and to my ten day holiday in Spain.

From August 2008 to November 2008 "WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN" was performed in 12 more shows in North America, before in the spring of 2009 "WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN" appeared in another nine European concerts, in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, France, The Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, England, and Scotland. During the summer 2009 minor league baseball stadium tour in the US "WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN" was performed five more times; and during the fall tour of 2009 it appeared seven times.

The first two performances of "WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN" in 2010 were in March, in Tokyo, Japan; and the next one was in June, in Bulgaria. In the US "WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN" appeared four times in 2010. In 2011 Dylan chose to perform "WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN" only once, in April, in Darling Harbour, Australia; and in 2012 Bob Dylan again chose to perform "WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN" only once, in November, in Madison, Wisonsin.

One year and two days later, during the "static set list year" 2013, the one and only appearance of "WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN" was in Rome in November, during the second of the two "mix up" shows, in the middle of Dylan's fine European autumn tour. To my ears this unique gem is one of Dylan's finest vocal performances of that year (for mp3 link see below).










~ MP3 ~ WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN ~ VANCOUVER ~ OCTOBER 11, 2006 ~


~ MP3 ~ WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN ~ NEW YORK ~ NOVEMBER 20, 2006 ~


~ MP3 ~ WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN ~ DÜSSELDORF ~ APRIL 19, 2007 ~


~ MP3 ~ WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN ~ FRANKFURT ~ APRIL 21, 2007 ~


~ MP3 ~ WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN ~ FLORENCE ~ JUNE 26, 2007 ~


~ MP3 ~ WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN ~ BETHEL ~ JUNE 30, 2007 ~


~ MP3 ~ WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN ~ TUSCON ~ JULY 24, 2007 ~


~ MP3 ~ WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN ~ DALLAS, TEXAS ~ FEBRUARY 22, 2008 ~


~ MP3 ~ WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN ~ DALLAS, TEXAS ~ FEBRUARY 23, 2008 ~


~ MP3 ~ WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN ~ SANTIAGO DE CHILE ~ MARCH 11, 2008 ~


~ MP3 ~ WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN ~ CORDOBA, ARGENTINA ~ MARCH 13, 2008 ~


~ MP3 ~ WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN ~ BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA ~ MARCH 15, 2008 ~


~ MP3 ~ WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN ~ ROSARIO, ARGENTINA ~ MARCH 18, 2008 ~



~ MP3 ~ WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN ~ MILANO ~ APRIL 15, 2009 ~



~ MP3 ~ WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN ~ GENEVA ~ APRIL 20, 2009 ~



~ MP3 ~ WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN ~ KITCHENER ~ NOVEMBER 7, 2009 ~



~ MP3 ~ WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN ~ NEW YORK CITY ~ NOVEMBER 19, 2009 ~



~ MP3 ~ WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN ~ SYDNEY ~ APRIL 27, 2011 ~



~ MP3 ~ WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN ~ MADISON, WISCONSIN ~ NOVEMBER 5, 2012 ~



~ MP3 ~ WHEN THE DEAL GOES DOWN ~ ROME, ITALY ~ NOVEMBER 7, 2013 ~











Biblical references:


~ John 14:1-3 ~


“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also."


~ John 19:2-5 ~

And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands. Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!”