Bob Dylan / Robert Hunter / 5:44
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, keyboards; Charlie Sexton: guitar; Stu Kimball: guitar; David Hidalgo: guitar (?); Donnie Herron: steel guitar; Tony Garnier: upright bass; George G. Receli: drums / Recording Studio: Groove Masters, Santa Monica, California: January–March 2012 / Producer: Jack Frost (Bob Dylan) / Sound Engineer: Scott Litt
This is Dylan’s only co-authored title on Tempest, written with lyricist Robert Hunter. “Duquesne Whistle” may be from the recording sessions for Together Through Life, in which most of the songs were Co-written with Hunter. “Duquesne Whistle” may have been based on the catastrophic EF5 tornado that struck Duquesne and Joplin, Missouri, in May 2011, but it is more likely that the song evokes Du Quoin (pronounced Duquesne), Illinois. “I wanna stop at Carbondale and keep on going / That Duquesne train gon’ rock me night and day” brings to mind the train route through the heartland’s musical heritage, with Chicago to the north and New Orleans to the south. The song, in any case, is an opportunity for Dylan to ride the train of nostalgia and make an introspective journey to the heart of his feelings, wounds, and fears, and to evoke in the last verse his youth in the Midwest: “The lights of my native land are glowing /… That old oak tree, the one we used to climb.”
In the introduction, Dylan recalls a sepia-toned period. The rhythm is played on steel guitar, doubled on electric and piano, and backed by an acoustic guitar. The result is irresistible and transports listeners to an earlier time. The rest is a train song swinging with delight, saturated guitars alternating with a “gypsy pump” rhythm. Too bad the solo at the end was not played in imitation of Django Reinhardt. Dylan is excellent, and his raspy voice probably never sounded so good. A beautiful opening track, “Duquesne Whistle” was released as a single, with the B-side containing an alternative version of “Meet Me in the Morning,” recorded during the Blood on the Tracks sessions. Dylan released a music video for this new single, directed by Nash Edgerton.