I Wish I Felt Nothing | Say when you're alone It's better 'cause nobody knows you When no one's your friend It's better 'cause nobody leaves you So you turned your back On a world that you could never have 'Cause your heart's been cracked And everyone else's is goin' mad But I hear voices And I see colors But I wish I felt nothing Then it might be easy for me Like it is for you Now all of these people Come up from deep holes Pullin' you down And it's just no use When all the abuse follows you down By the morning you've gone Leavin' me here all alone Sayin' it's no mystery I know that nobody here needs me But I hear voices And I see colors But I wish I felt nothing Then it might be easy for me Like it is for you And I know you believe that you and me don't belong here And the worst we could do Is keep trying to pretend we care But I hear voices And I see colors But I wish I felt nothing Then it might be easy for me Like it is for you Like it is for you

 
notes |
words and music by Jakob Dylan
appears on Bringing Down the Horse,

-Shortly after recording with the Wallflowers in 1995, veteran steel guitarist Leo LeBlanc succumbed to cancer. The death of his cherished collaborator subconsciously inspired Dylan to write I Wish I Felt Nothing. 2.23.97 USA Today

-"A fella who played pedal steel on the record". Le Blanc died last year of cancer, and the album is dedicated to him. "He just loved making music," Dylan says. US Magazine 6.96 

-"I started to write it in the studio, and I was kind of on autopilot," Dylan says. "It occurred to me later that the song seemed to be about Leo. I was learning lessons from him for the last couple years of his life. He was in his 60s, and there's obviously a lot you can learn from a guy who played so long with so many great people. He loved music. He was willing to play with us, people half his age, just because he liked the music we were making." 2.23.97 USA Today

-Michael was hired to play for the recording sessions of Bringing Down the Horse.  The band asked him to play on the CD, but he turned it down.  Later, they asked again and he accepted, then joined the band.  "I Wish I Felt Nothing" is the only track on Bringing Down the Horse that he doesn't play on.