There’s a Flaw in My Flue

The words

A man alone by a smoky fireplace keeps seeing the face of a lost love whenever the chimney acts up.

The song mixes comedy and heartbreak: the singer sits by a faulty fireplace, and every time it smokes and sputters he is reminded of the person he has lost. The domestic, slightly absurd image sits against a genuinely sad feeling. Dylan plays it straight, as a slow ballad, which makes the oddness of the conceit all the more touching.

Words by Johnny Burke