A text sent to the world from a hospital room on July 30, 2011.
Through Bob Dylan’s lyrics in Japanese translation,
the sense of confinement, repetition, and absurdity is lived—not observed.
This is not appreciation, but a record of lived time.

2016-10-14.
The following was sent to the world from a hospital room on 2011-07-30.
The following was sent to the world from a hospital room on 2011-07-30.
Stuck inside of Mobile, singing the Memphis Blues again.
All bolding and enlargement in the text are mine.
Oh, the junkman draws a circle.
On the block, here and there.
I wonder what it’s all about, I might ask.
But he won’t say a word.
The ladies are kind to me,
They decorate me with tape and such.
But deep down inside,
I know there is no escape.
Oh, mama, really, is this the end?
Stuck inside of Mobile,
Singing the Memphis Blues again.
Meanwhile, Shakespeare is in the alley,
With pointed shoes and bells,
Talking to a French girl.
She says she knows me well.
I want to send a letter
To know if she really spoke.
But the post office has been robbed,
And the mailbox is locked.
Oh, mama, really, is this the end?
Stuck inside of Mobile,
Singing the Memphis Blues again.
Mona keeps warning me
Not to go near the railroad,
Saying the railroad men
Will drink your blood like wine.
And I said, “Gee, I didn’t know that,
But the only one I ever met
Wiped my eyelids
And took a swing at my cigarette.”
Oh, mama, really, is this the end?
Stuck inside of Mobile,
Singing the Memphis Blues again.
Grandpa died last week,
He’s buried in the rocks now,
But everyone still talks
About what a shock it was.
But I knew it would come to that,
I knew he was beyond help,
Already when he set fires
And shot Main Street full of holes.
Oh, mama, really, is this the end?
Stuck inside of Mobile,
Singing the Memphis Blues again.
Now the senator arrives,
Showing everyone his gun,
Handing out free tickets
And inviting them to his son’s wedding.
But I almost got busted—
Is that my luck?
To be arrested for having no ticket
And found under a truck?
Oh, mama, really, is this the end?
Stuck inside of Mobile,
Singing the Memphis Blues again.
Then the preacher looked troubled,
When I asked him why
He was dressed up so sharp
With a twenty-pound headline pinned to his chest.
But when I proved it to him, he cursed me,
So I whispered, “Even you can’t hide.
You and I, we’re the same—
Satisfied now?”
Oh, mama, really, is this the end?
Stuck inside of Mobile,
Singing the Memphis Blues again.
Now the rain man gave me two cures,
And said, “Jump right in.”
One was Texas medicine,
The other was railroad gin.
Like a fool I mixed them,
They suffocated my mind,
Everyone looked uglier,
And I lost all sense of time.
Oh, mama, really, is this the end?
Stuck inside of Mobile,
Singing the Memphis Blues again.
Lucy says, “Please,
Come into my honky-tonk lagoon,
I’ll show you my waltz for free,
Under the Panama moon.”
I said, “Oh yeah, sure,
You must know my partner’s debut.”
She said, “The one who debuted with you
Knows your desires,
But I know what you want to do.”
Oh, mama, really, is this the end?
Stuck inside of Mobile,
Singing the Memphis Blues again.
Now the bricks are stacked on Darland Street,
Neon madmen climb,
Everything falls so perfectly
I wonder if the timing’s all aligned.
Here I sit patiently,
Waiting to find out
How much you’ll have to pay
So this won’t all happen again.
Oh, mama, really, is this the end?
Stuck inside of Mobile,
Singing the Memphis Blues again.

(Lyrics by Bob Dylan, from “Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again”)