Yet Untitled 142 - "Three Brothers"

A bro poem and a tribute to Bob Dylan's amazing storytelling

Apr 06, 2025

Dearest Yet Untitler,

I recently spent some memorable time with my two brothers. We try to get a photo together when we’re in the same place and this time was no different. I have a bunch of such photos and running through each one is a thread of emotions. There are various shades to these emotions - so many colours to them - but the whole spectrum of the sentiment, I feel, is best defined by the word ‘bond’.

I had wanted to write about this bond today without being sentimental, so I played about a bit. I find that verse allows me to play about in a way I like, with meter and rhyme throwing me into unexpected places where prose sometimes does not carry me so easily. I find writing poetry to usually be surprising, and this poem below about a bond between three brothers took some interesting turns.

As I wrote it, I found myself emulating Bob Dylan, one song specifically: “Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts” from the album Blood on the Tracks. I’ve always considered this song a masterpiece of dramatic writing, and I’m certain that my humble endeavour below lands nowhere close to the extended narrative acrobatics of Dylan’s song.

But still…😁

If you don’t know it, have a listen…

…but perhaps after you read my homage below, so mine doesn’t immediately strike you like a complete bank robbery 🥷.

Here’s…

Three Brothers

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Three brothers met in a tavern
On a frosty night
The gamblers placed their last bets
And the brothers caught the light.

One brother carried a pistol 
The other carried a rake 
The third, a hammer and a pestle,
He had a tattoo of a snake. 

There was silence in the tavern 
People were on their guard 
Miners returning from their cavern 
Hurled insults at the bard. 

The bard was indisposed. 
The shadows, dark and deep 
A shotgun hung unused 
Within the tavern owner’s reach. 

When the brothers took a table 
Over in the corner far
The gamblers hollered over 
“Which of you has the scar??”

The most rotten gambler had spoken 
His hand was on his knife
One brother stroked his hammer 
One looked out into the night.

The brothers had arrived
Like a trinity of kings.
Lords of the yellow valleys 
With falcons known to sing. 

The youngest of those brothers: 
The one with the crescent scar 
He stood up for his brothers 
With eyes afire with war. 

The maid and bard proclaimed their love 
Soon after that famous night 
The nuptials were smooth and and swift
In the soft, morning light.

The bard wrote a famous song 
Of the brothers - how they won
Without a gun, without a blade
He wrote it for his son.

Now, don’t leave without listening to “Lily…”.

To me, this is one of those songs that stands true testament to Dylan’s particular genius, that shows him at his peak capacity with a kind of storytelling that only he can pull off. The narrative is so fluid and visual, and don’t even get me started on the character of the Jack of Hearts, who - like a phantom, a blurred face in the mirror -moves in and out of this movie that the song evokes while keeping you constantly guessing!

Here are the lyrics, for you to take a closer look.

Is there a song that encapsulates your relationship with your siblings or any other family? Hit me up, I’d really like to know.