EVERYTHING IS BROKEN


EVERYTHING IS BROKEN
	PERFORMANCES SINCE 1998 1998.06.03, BERLIN, GERMANY 1998.09.24, EUGENE, OREGON 1999.02.02, PENSACOLA, FLORIDA 1999.02.05, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE 1999.02.17, CLEVELAND, OHIO 1999.02.19, BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK 1999.02.24, AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS 1999.04.11, SAN SEBASTIÁN, SPAIN 1999.04.19, MURCIA, SPAIN 1999.10.26, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (LATE SHOW) 1999.11.11, AUGUSTA, MAINE 1999.11.14, WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS 2000.09.20, BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND 2000.09.25, PORTSMOUTH, ENGLAND 2001.03.03, TOKYO, JAPAN 2001.04.24, COLUMBIA, MISSOURI 2001.07.22, PESCARA, ITALY 2001.07.24, ANZIO, ITALY 2001.07.26, NAPOLI, ITALY 2001.07.28, TAORMINA, ITALY 2001.08.12, SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS 2001.08.16, WICHITA, KANSAS 2001.08.24, LAS VEGAS, NEVADA 2001.08.25, LANCASTER, CALIFORNIA 2001.10.21, DENVER, COLORADO 2001.10.25, ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA 2003.05.06, CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA
	Broken lines broken strings Broken threads broken springs Broken idols broken heads People sleeping in broken beds Ain't no use jiving Ain't no use joking Everything is broken Broken bottles broken plates Broken switches broken gates Broken dishes broken parts Streets are filled with broken hearts Broken words never meant to be spoken Everything is broken Seem like every time you stop and turn around Something else just hit the ground Broken cutters broken saws Broken buckles broken laws Broken bodies broken bones Broken voices on broken phones Take a deep breath feel like you're chokin' Everything is broken Every time you leave and go off someplace Things fall to pieces in my face Broken hands on broken ploughs Broken treaties broken vows Broken pipes broken tools People bending broken rules Hound dog howling bull frog croaking Everything is broken
From 1989 to 1993 “EVERYTHING IS BROKEN” had almost 250 stage appearances, from 1994 until now about 50. I had seen it in Bad Mergentheim 1991, in Wiesbaden 1993 and in Mannheim 1996, before I saw both performances in 2000 of this thought provoking song. “EVERYTHING IS BROKEN” had its first stage appearance in 2000 in Birmingham on September 20th (in the number 18 spot, after appearing already in that position on the Glasgow cue sheet as second choice three days earlier, where the third choice "TO BE ALONE WITH YOU" was performed; first choice in Glasgow had been "MAN OF PEACE", which then was performed in Newcastle, between Glasgow and Birmingham). The second and last performance of "EVERYTHING IS BROKEN" in 2000 was in Portsmouth on September 25th, where it kicked the pillbox hat out of the main-set-ending-spot, and preceded that version of "THINGS HAVE CHANGED", which was included on the official live album "Live 1961–2000: Thirty-Nine Years of Great Concert Performances", released in 2001. In Tokyo in March 2001 Bob performed “EVERYTHING IS BROKEN” again in the same show as "DOWN IN THE FLOOD", as he did already six months before in Birmingham. The performance in April 2001 in Missouri was the first US appearance of "EVERYTHING IS BROKEN" in more than 18 months. Two months later Bob closed another main set with this song, in Pescara, Italy. In Anzio, Italy, this song closed the first electric set; and in Napoli and Taormina it opened the second electric set. In August 2001, in Springfield, "EVERYTHING IS BROKEN" closed the main set again, in Wichita it started the second electric set once more, before in Las Vegas and Lancaster it closed the main set again. In Las Vegas it was also performed once more in a show which Bob Dylan opened with "HALLELUJAH I'M READY TO GO", as in Portsmouth and Napoli. The only two performances of "EVERYTHING IS BROKEN" after September 11th 2001 were in Denver and St. Paul. In 2002 it was not performed at all. The next performance was in May 2003, as the opening song in Charleston, South Carolina, which turned out to be the last appearance to date of this fine song. Biblical references: ~ Isaiah 24 ~ The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant. ~ Psalm 51 ~ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. See for yourself "if the Bible is right".