ROCK OF AGES, CLEFT FOR ME LET ME HIDE MYSELF IN THEE
PERFORMANCES 1999.02.02, PENSACOLA, FLORIDA 1999.11.17, DURHAM, NEW HAMPSHIRE 1999.11.19, ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY 2000.03.16, SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA 2000.03.19, POCATELLO, IDAHO 2000.03.20, NAMPA, IDAHO 2000.03.24, BOZEMAN, MONTANA 2000.03.27, RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA 2000.03.30, FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA 2000.04.04, OMAHA, NEBRASKA
Rock of Ages, cleft for me Let me hide myself in Thee Let the water and the blood From Thy wounded side which flowed Be of sin the double cure Save from wrath and make me pure Not the labor of my hands Can fulfill Thy law’s demands Could my zeal no respite know Could my tears forever flow All for sin could not atone Thou must save, and Thou alone Nothing in my hand I bring Simply to the cross I cling Naked, come to Thee for dress Helpless look to Thee for grace Foul, I to the fountain fly Wash me, Savior, or I die While I draw this fleeting breath When mine eyes shall close in death When I soar to worlds unknown See Thee on Thy judgment throne Rock of Ages, cleft for me Let me hide myself in Thee
I have only listened to the first and the third performance so far, where Bob only sings the first and the last verse with a lyric change in the first. There are nights when Bob Dylan chooses to sing a hymn like that, telling his audience (so far only inside the US) quite frankly, that he still is the "Property of Jesus" and continues to be "hanging on to a solid rock". This solid rock is his major place of refuge while he draws this fleeting breath and it is the place he is "ready to go" to when his eyes shall close in death. In his mind he is already in the Highlands, for he is certain that one day he will rise to worlds unknown (that's where I'll be when I get called home) and behold his risen Savior on his throne.