Bob Dylan — Profound, prophetic & a little bit magic
A list of thought provoking lyrics and an awesome playlist too
“Robert Allen Zimmerman is a fuckin’ prophet”. I’ve said that a time (or twelve) in the midst of lively banter between myself and various music-loving friends. Because when music comes up, Robert Allen Zimmerman, AKA Bob Dylan, comes up. And when Bobby comes up, music lovers all have their two cents — on his sound, his muses and mentors and absolutely on the topic of his lyrical genius (or recklessness, if you prefer).
I’ll be honest here, I fall into the category of folks who believe lyrics to be the soul of a song, while the music is the dressing — the smart outfit, the pretty attire, the good comfortable shoes. I believe the two dance together in a symbiotic relationship, and when it works, there is a little bit of magic let loose in the world.
Some of Dylan’s songs wear dusty overalls and walk around with busted knuckles and bare feet. Others, often surprisingly, show up in formal wear with a pocket full of change — the kind that can purchase open ears in blue collar neighborhoods as well as in political arenas.
His lyrics are original and raw and fearless, and more than that, Dylan’s music speaks. It tells stories, it makes you think and consider and contemplate. And really, when considering the art experiment that is our lifetimes, isn’t this exactly what we ache for in a song?
Since before humankind stood up straight, the music we make has been our connection to each other and to our world. It has also been a fantastic study of empathy in the human heart, a record of the human condition and often even the prophetic outcome of it all.
When it comes to making music, Bob Dylan has “a different kind of penetrating magic” (words the writer himself used when describing lyrics in a 2004 CBS interview).
And now this elusive, quiet spoken wordsmith has just been awarded a Nobel Prize in Literature — the first singer-songwriter to be given this honor since the award’s inception in 1901. This also marks the first time an American has won the prize in over two decades.*
At the time of this writing, five days after he was awarded this honorable distinction, Bob Dylan has yet to respond to the Nobel Prize officials at the Swiss Academy. This doesn’t surprise many folks as Dylan has a habit of being scarce when it comes to awards and interviews. Sara Danius, Secretary of the Academy, doesn’t take offense to his standoffish nature, “It will be a big party in any case and the honour belongs to him”.
President Obama, professed Dylan fan, had a similar reaction regarding his obscurity after an invitation to sing at the White House in 2013:
“Here’s what I love about Dylan: He was exactly as you’d expect he would be…That’s how you want Bob Dylan, right? You don’t want him to be all cheesin’ and grinnin’ with you. You want him to be a little skeptical about the whole enterprise.”
With 500 songs and more than 40 albums, you could spend a lifetime weeding through, discussing, dissecting and interpreting Dylan’s music. It’s an impressive collection to say the least and his collective work has certainly made him a champion of human rights on a significant level - and a worthy candidate for this prestigious recognition.*
There’s no way to choose favorites when it comes to Dylan’s music. But what I do have for you here are some lyric excerpts from some of his most profound and thought-provoking songs. I’ve also attached a pretty groovy playlist which features these (and more) for your listening pleasure.
In no particular order of preference, here are 10 times Dylan hit the lyrical nail on the head:
- Blowin’ in the Wind
How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, ’n’ how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, ’n’ how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died? - Masters of War
Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good?
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could?
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul - Desolation Row
Then they bring them to the factory
Where the heart-attack machine
Is strapped across their shoulders
And then the kerosene
Is brought down from the castles
By insurance men who go
Check to see that nobody is escaping
To Desolation Row - Forever Young
May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift - The Times They Are a-Changin’
Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don’t stand in the doorway
Don’t block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There’s a battle outside
And it is ragin’ - Hurricane
How can the life of such a man
Be in the palm of some fool’s hand?
To see him obviously framed
Couldn’t help but make me feel ashamed
To live in a land
Where justice is a game - Like a Rolling Stone
You used to laugh about
Everybody that was hanging out
Now you don’t talk so loud
Now you don’t seem so proud
About having to be scrounging for your next meal - Every Grain Of Sand
I hear the ancient footsteps like the motion of the sea
Sometimes I turn, there’s someone there, other times it’s only me
I am hanging in the balance of the reality of man
Like every sparrow falling, like every grain of sand - It’s alright ma I’m only bleeding
Disillusioned words like bullets bark
As human gods aim for their mark
Make everything from toy guns that spark
To flesh-colored Christs that glow in the dark
It’s easy to see without looking too far
That not much is really sacred - Only a pawn in their game
He’s taught in his school
From the start by the rule
That the laws are with him
To protect his white skin
To keep up his hate
So he never thinks straight
’Bout the shape that he’s in
But it ain’t him to blame
He’s only a pawn in their game
To hear these and more, enjoy the playlist here — Two and a half hours of pure Dylan goodness to soak up!
*Of Note:
The Nobel Prize, created by Alfred Nobel in his last will and testament, recognizes those who embody the “greatest benefit on mankind” in physics, chemistry, peace, physiology/medicine, and literature. In literature, this prestigious recognition is awarded based on “lasting literary merit and consistent idealism on some significant level”.
*Of Note:
Some argue that Dylan is not, in fact, the first musician to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. In 1913 Rabindranath Tagore, an Indian poet and musician (and friend of Mahatma Gandhi), was awarded this distinction. He was like Dylan in that his work reflected his commitment to non-violent social change. Though he was awarded the honor of the Nobel Prize, the decision appeared to have been made based on his literary works, rather than his music. Just for a fun bit of trivia, though, 3 of Tagore’s songs are now National Anthems for India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. You can read more about this fascinating man from Alex Lubet at Quartz India.
To view an archive of all of Bob Dylan’s songs, click here.
