The video for Bob Dylan‘s new single, ‘Duquesne Whistle’ has debuted over at Rolling Stone’s website, and it’s hard to recall the last time we’ve seen a video this dark and contradictory to the song’s tone, while at the same time being thoroughly entertaining.

As the clip, directed by Nash Edgerton, opens, a handsomely scruffy young man is waiting for the object of his affections, a Zooey Deschanel type, as she emerges from a building. He follows her down the street, steals a red rose from a flower vendor and accosts her at her mid-’70s AMC Gremlin. Instead of being charmed by the attention, she maces the sucker and speeds off.

The mating ritual repeats itself the next day, but this time the florist whistles for the cops. However, in his attempt to escape, our young romantic tries to create a stumbling block for the fuzz by throwing a ladder down to the ground without realizing (or caring) that a man was perched on the ladder. He is arrested and spends a night in the clink.

Upon his release, a group of thugs hired by the ladder-climber grab the man, take him to a warehouse and proceed to beat him with a baseball bat. He’s then thrown back out onto the street, where Dylan and his group, which features a guy dressed like Gene Simmons, walk over him without so much as breaking stride.

Lest you think this is out of character for the peace-loving Dylan, remember that he worked with director Sam Peckinpah, noted for his use of violence, in 1973′s ‘Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid.’

‘Duquense Whistle’ is the first single from ‘Tempest,’ which will be released on Sept. 11.

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