The Swedish Academy has just today awarded the Nobel Prize in Literaure to Bob Dylan, the American song writer and musician!
The Academy gave him the prestigious Prize for having created new poetic expressions within the great American Song tradition!
Bob Dylan Nobel in Literature
It was last May when we first talked about Bob Dylan here. It was May 25th 2016, on his 75 birthday!
Bob Dylan is widely recognized for a number of songs
you too probably know, songs like Blowing in the wind, Mr. Tambourine Man,
Like a rolling Stone, Knocking on heaven’s door, The Times they are A
‘changing, A hard rain’s gonna fall, Masters of War, Hurricane, Just Like a Woman and many
others that became an anthem long ago.
But if you dive into Bob Dylan´s Lyrics you
will also find surrealistic lyrics as in
Desolation Row,
All along the watchtower or
Stuck inside the Mobile,
Or shocking crude lyrics like The Ballad of
Hollis Brown, love charged lyrics as in Sara, Simple Twist of
fate, Girl from the North country, the impressionist Visions of
Johanna, storytelling as in Tangled up in Blue or Joey, Tale
songs, like Black Diamond Bay or The Ballad of Frankie Lee and
Judas Priest, or some conscience shakers as The Lonesome Death of
Hattie Carroll, Oxford Town or Death of Emmett Till among many
others.
The essential list for Bob Dylan is a never
ending list, because there are several masterpieces such as
It’s alright Ma (I’m only bleeding),
I shall be released, Jokerman,
The Changing of the Guards
The list could go on and on . . . I bet if you
take a look on Dylan’s work you will complete the list with your favorite ones.
It is not only that his songs are good stories,
it is more than that, each song represents its own world, in a few sentences he
invents a universe that embodies the reality he is describing.
For an impressive list of Dylan´s songs, lyrics and guitar chords, (more than six hundred songs), please check the following link;
For an impressive list of Dylan´s songs, lyrics and guitar chords, (more than six hundred songs), please check the following link;
Alphabetical List of Songs
It is always a good time to explore Bob Dylan´s work, but now with the Nobel Prize, you have no excuse! Bob Dylan is a part of our collective mind!
Positively 4th Street (Outtake)
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 gota 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
