“You outlive the clocks that have been chasing you”

Bob Dylan has given his insight into the positives and negatives of aging, saying you “outlive the clocks that have been chasing you”.

The iconic artist contributed to a piece in the New York Times on the occasion of Donald Trump’s 80th birthday today (June 14), with a selection of octogenarians giving their perspective on what it means to hit that milestone.

Dylan, 85, opted not to address Trump directly or reference his politics, but instead gave a thoughtful reflection on his own experiences.

“The best thing about being 80 is that you outlive the clocks that have been chasing you,” he wrote. “It’s freedom from that lie that anything was ever under control. You don’t chase the parade anymore. You’re an old king from some vanished country. You’re harder to program.”

He also pointed to some negatives, adding: “The old fire in your heart still tells you to do this and that, but your body says we already did it. Also, nothing surprises you. It sounds like a luxury but it’s not, and also you’ve run out of illusions.”

“The really worst part about being 80 is that you find, at last, you’ve got an understanding of something that might have altered everything in the past, had it come at a time when something could still be altered,” he added. “When you’re young you think that time moves forward. At 80 you know that it doesn’t, it stands still. We’re the ones that move.”

Others in the piece could not resist poking at the President, with Robert De Niro writing: “The president doesn’t listen to advice. He surrounds himself with feckless clowns who keep their positions by supporting his every whim. If I were able to pierce the shell of cruelty, greed, corruption and stupidity for one piece of advice … I would advise him to get some good advice from good people, and follow it.”

Feminist writer Gloria Steinem gave her own advice to Trump: “Resign”.

Dylan’s ‘Rough And Rowdy Ways’ world tour has been going since 2021, and the latest North American dates have seen him dipping deep into his archives to play ‘I Shall Be Released’ for the first time in 18 years and ‘You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere’ for the first tine in 14 years.

Elsewhere, Dylan paid tribute to Shane MacGowan with a cover of ‘A Rainy Night In Soho’ in Dublin back in November, while at another show in Ireland, he performed a traditional folk ballad for the first time in 34 years.

It was also reported last year that Dylan had been working on new music with “members of his band” in Albany, New York. He has also contributed to Willie Nelson’s new album ‘Dream Chaser’, which came out last month.