There is no question that Bob Dylan had the most important influence on songwriting among any lyricist in history. You ask any of the most important lyricists of rock and roll: Jagger, McCartney, Lennon, Davies, Townshend, Springsteen, Costello, Strummer, Simon, Stipe, Bono, Knopfler, Fagen, Morrison, Hendrix, Henley, Hynde, Plant, Anderson, Waters, Peart, Van Zandt, Young, Hunter (Grateful Dead), Robertson, etc.- and there is not one of them who will not say that Dylan was a huge influence on their lyrics, with many saying that he is #1 in their book (Townshend, Lennon, Springsteen, Costello, etc.). He was the name that came up again and again when I read interviews with all these artists, to the point where I said, "man, I have to get some cassettes from this guy" when I wasn't even that familiar with him. There may be personal favorites (mine is Townshend, I just like his lyrics a bit better than Dylan's, but not much), but there is absolutely no question that Dylan is by far the most influential lyricist in the history of music.
True. He is also one of the most influential singers, the first to break through singing with a voice that wasn't traditionally pleasant. Without him, there'd be no Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, Tom Petty, Elvis Costello, Neil Young, Joe Jackson, Lou Reed, Bruce Springsteen... need I go on? And to the poster(s) that called for other people to sing his songs, for me it's Dylan's voice, entirely original phrasing and sense of rhythm even more than his lyrics that make him a favorite. Most of the time I can't stand covers of Dylan. They just make me think how much is lost in translation, how much of his poetry lives in his voice.
blood on the tracks faints. the alternate/acoustic version is superior to the proper release in every way possible. she is going to do 'you gonna make me lonesome when you go'. that is going to be embarrassingly awesome! going to be fun watching that little teenybopper try to pull that off. my favorite album is a toss-up b/t blood on the tracks or highway 61...depends on my mood. love and theft if my favorite post 70's dylan album - sugar baby is one of my all time favorite dylan tunes as well as one of the all-time great album closers.
I saw them at Hofheinz Pavilion in January of '74. Incredible. Simply amazing. One of my favorite Dylan songs? It's one I've quoted here more than once. He wrote it in 1965 and why it didn't make it to an LP until 1967 has always made me wonder. Positively 4th Street You got a lotta nerve To say you are my friend When I was down You just stood there grinning You got a lotta nerve To say you got a helping hand to lend You just want to be on The side that’s winning You say I let you down You know it’s not like that If you’re so hurt Why then don’t you show it You say you lost your faith But that’s not where it’s at You had no faith to lose And you know it I know the reason That you talk behind my back I used to be among the crowd You’re in with Do you take me for such a fool To think I’d make contact With the one who tries to hide What he don’t know to begin with You see me on the street You always act surprised You say, “How are you?” “Good luck” But you don’t mean it When you know as well as me You’d rather see me paralyzed Why don’t you just come out once And scream it No, I do not feel that good When I see the heartbreaks you embrace If I was a master thief Perhaps I’d rob them And now I know you’re dissatisfied With your position and your place Don’t you understand It’s not my problem I wish that for just one time You could stand inside my shoes And just for that one moment I could be you Yes, I wish that for just one time You could stand inside my shoes You’d know what a drag it is To see you - Bob Dylan
Of war and peace the truth just twists Its curfew gull just glides Upon four-legged forest clouds The cowboy angel rides With his candle lit into the sun Though its glow is waxed in black All except when 'neath the trees of Eden. The lamppost stands with folded arms Its iron claws attached To curbs 'neath holes where babies wail Though it shadows metal badge All and all can only fall With a crashing but meaningless blow No sound ever comes from the Gates of Eden. The savage soldiers sticks his head in sand And then complains Unto the shoeless hunter who's gone deaf But still remains Upon the beach where hound dogs bay At ships with tatooed sails Heading for the Gates of Eden. With a time-rusted compass blade Alladin and his lamp Sits with Utopian hermit monks Side saddle on the Golden Calf And on their promises of paradise You will not hear a laugh All except inside the Gates of Eden. Relationships of ownership They whisper in the wings To those condemned to act accordingly And wait for succeeding kings And I will try to harmonize with songs The lonesome sparrow sings There are no kings inside the Gates of Eden. The motorcycle black madonna Two-wheeled gypsy queen And her silver-studded phantom cause The gray flannel dwarf to scream As he weeps to wicked birds of prey Who pick up on his bread crumb sins And there are no sins inside the Gates of Eden. The kingdoms of Experience In the precious wind they rot While paupers change possessions Each one wishing for what the other has got And the princess and the prince Discuss what's real and what is not It doesn't matter inside the Gates of Eden. The foreign sun, it squints upon A bed that is never mine As friends and other strangers From their fates try to resign Leaving men wholly totally free To do anything they wish to do but die And there are no trials inside the Gates of Eden. At dawn my lover comes to me And tells me of her dreams With no attempts to shovel the glimpse Into the ditch of what each one means At times I think there are no words But these to tell what's true And there are no truths outside the Gates of Eden.
Speaking of quasi-popular Dylan songs, I always thought this one was awesome: <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IV9yB5PyI1w" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Who killed Davey Moore? unreleased, appeared on Bootleg Series 1-3 and 6 <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Vr5Nb8652JI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Who killed Davey Moore Why an’ what’s the reason for? “Not I,” says the referee “Don’t point your finger at me I could’ve stopped it in the eighth An’ maybe kept him from his fate But the crowd would’ve booed, I’m sure At not gettin’ their money’s worth It’s too bad he had to go But there was a pressure on me too, you know It wasn’t me that made him fall No, you can’t blame me at all” Who killed Davey Moore Why an’ what’s the reason for? “Not us,” says the angry crowd Whose screams filled the arena loud “It’s too bad he died that night But we just like to see a fight We didn’t mean for him t’ meet his death We just meant to see some sweat There ain’t nothing wrong in that It wasn’t us that made him fall No, you can’t blame us at all” Who killed Davey Moore Why an’ what’s the reason for? “Not me,” says his manager Puffing on a big cigar “It’s hard to say, it’s hard to tell I always thought that he was well It’s too bad for his wife an’ kids he’s dead But if he was sick, he should’ve said It wasn’t me that made him fall No, you can’t blame me at all” Who killed Davey Moore Why an’ what’s the reason for? “Not me,” says the gambling man With his ticket stub still in his hand “It wasn’t me that knocked him down My hands never touched him none I didn’t commit no ugly sin Anyway, I put money on him to win It wasn’t me that made him fall No, you can’t blame me at all” Who killed Davey Moore Why an’ what’s the reason for? “Not me,” says the boxing writer Pounding print on his old typewriter Sayin’, “Boxing ain’t to blame There’s just as much danger in a football game” Sayin’, “Fistfighting is here to stay It’s just the old American way It wasn’t me that made him fall No, you can’t blame me at all” Who killed Davey Moore Why an’ what’s the reason for? “Not me,” says the man whose fists Laid him low in a cloud of mist Who came here from Cuba’s door Where boxing ain’t allowed no more “I hit him, yes, it’s true But that’s what I am paid to do Don’t say ‘murder,’ don’t say ‘kill’ It was destiny, it was God’s will” Who killed Davey Moore Why an’ what’s the reason for? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davey_Moore_(boxer,_born_1933)#Last_fight_and_death
It was never even on a proper album, only the greatest hits and other collections. In 1967 it would have been a single.
Another outtake, from Blonde on Blonde, that only ever appeared on The Bootleg Series (1-3): <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VnDRKlhMYk0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
You have to love the Onion and their sarcasm: LOS ANGELES—Although his father, Bob Dylan, is widely considered to be the voice of a generation, Jakob Dylan, lead singer of folk-rock band the Wallflowers, said Monday he remains unconvinced that his father is the family's most talented songwriter. "I definitely think the verdict is still out," said Dylan, adding that time will be the ultimate judge of whether he or the elder Dylan will turn out to be more influential. "Sure, by the time Dad was 21, he had already written 'Blowin' in the Wind,' but let's not forget I'm only 38. I'm still maturing as an artist, and I have a whole notebook of ideas." Dylan added that he may have caused a greater stir in the music world than his father ever did when he was mercilessly booed for performing an acoustic version of "One Headlight" at Pennsylvania's Fayette County Fair in 2005
My Dylan playlist - 50 songs total: Tangled Up in Blue Mr. Tambourine Man Lay Lady Lay I Shall Be Released (version from The Basement Tapes) Blind Willie McTell Brownsville Girl Knockin' On Heaven's Door Sara Blowin' In The Wind Hurricane Jokerman My Back Pages She's Your Lover Now Girl From The North Country (Johnny Cash version) Like a Rolling Stone Million Dollar Bash All Along The Watchtower Idiot Wind Just Like A Woman Every Grain Of Sand Ring Them Bells All I Really Want To Do Tight Connection To My Heart Positively 4th Street Forever Young (slower version) You Ain't Goin' Nowhere You're A Big Girl If Not For You Caribbean Wind The Times They Are A-Changin' Maggie's Farm Song To Woody Quinn The Eskimo (Basement Tapes version) Neighborhood Bully The Groom's Still Waiting At The Altar Abandoned Love The Levee's Gonna Break Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again Series Of Dreams The Man In Me Angelina Jolene I Shall Be Free The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll Copper Kettle (The Pale Moonlight) Highway 61 Revisited Call Letter Blues Gotta Serve Somebody Something There Is About You This Wheel's On Fire
