Ong and the Orality of American Song (page5)

(ix) Situational rather than abstract
Almost any song from Bob Dylan's catalogue would be a testament to American song's penchant for the abstract while remaining, "close to the living human lifeworld," (49). Ong feels that in oral tradition it is important to maintain some abstraction but not stray from life as we know it. For instance, "My Back Pages" is a song that Dylan wrote about rejecting his labeling of a protest singer. Definitely one of Dylan's most imagery loaded songs, note the operational form of reference to display his point:
In a soldier's stance, I aimed my hand, At the mongrel dogs who teach
Fearing not that I'd become my enemy, In the instant that I preach
My pathway led by confusion boats, Mutiny from stern to bow.
Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now.

While the verse is a slightly abstract way of making his point, it is grounded in many ideas that are very real life frames of reference. He uses of illusions of soldiers and ships to ground his idea in abstract but humanistic context.

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