American singer-songwriter (born 1941)
Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941) is an American folk and rock singer-songwriter, born in Duluth, Minnesota. In 2016 Dylan received the Nobel Prize in Literature, "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition".
From: Wikiquote (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Pen Names:
Bob Landy
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Robert Milkwood Thomas
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Tedham Porterhouse
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Blind Boy Grunt
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Jack Frost
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Elston Gunn
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Boo Wilbury
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Lucky Wilbury
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Sergei Petrov
Birth Name:
Robert Allen Zimmerman
Native Name:
Robert Dylan
Alternative Names:
Robert Zimmerman
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Dylan
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Robert Dylan né Robert Allen Zimmerman
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Robert Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman)
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Shabtai Zisl ben Avraham
From Wikidata (CC0)
"My Back Pages"
Crimson flames tied through my ears
Rollin' high and mighty traps
Pounced with fire on flaming roads
Using ideas as my maps
"We'll meet on edges, soon," said I
Proud 'neath heated brow
Ah, but I was so much older then
I'm younger than that now.
Half-wracked prejudice leaped forth
"Rip down all hate," I screamed
Lies that life is black and white
Spoke from my skull, I dreamed
Romantic facts of musketeers
Foundationed deep, somehow
Ah, but I was so much older then
I'm younger than that now.
Girls' faces formed the forward path
From phony jealousy
To memorizing politics
Of ancient history
Flung down by corpse evangelists
Unthought of, though, somehow
Ah, but I was so much older then
I'm younger than that now.
A self-ordained professor's tongue
Too serious to fool
Spouted out that liberty
Is just equality in school
"Equality," I spoke their word
As if a wedding vow
Ah, but I was so much older then
I'm younger than that now.
In a soldier's stance, I aimed my hand
At the mongrel dogs who teach
Fearing not I'd become my enemy
In the instant that I preach
My existence led by confusion boats
Mutiny from stern to bow
Ah, but I was so much older then
I'm younger than that now.
Yes, my guard stood hard when abstract threats
Too noble to neglect
Deceived me into thinking
I had something to protect
Good and bad, I define these terms
Quite clear, no doubt, somehow
Ah, but I was so much older then
I'm younger than that now.
Bob Dylan, Another Side of Bob Dylan (1964)
"I And I"
Been so long since a strange woman has slept in my bed
Look how sweet she sleeps, how free must be her dreams
In another lifetime she must have owned the world, or been faithfully wed
To some righteous king who wrote psalms beside moonlit streams.
I and I
In creation where one's nature neither honors nor forgives
I and I
One say to the other, no man sees my face and lives.
Think I'll go out and go for a walk
Not much happening here, nothing ever does
Besides, if she wakes up now, she'll just want me to talk
I got nothing to say, 'specially about whatever was.
I and I
In creation where one's nature neither honors nor forgives
I and I
One say to the other, no man sees my face and lives.
Took an untrodden path once, where the swift don't win the race
It goes to the worthy, who can divide the word of truth
Took a stranger to teach me, to look into justice's beautiful face
And to see an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
I and I
In creation where one's nature neither honors nor forgives
I and I
One say to the other, no man sees my face and lives.
Outside of two men on a train platform there's nobody in sight
They're waiting for spring to come, smoking down the track
The world could come to an end tonight, but that's all right
She could still be there sleeping when I get back.
I and I
In creation where one's nature neither honors nor forgives
I and I
One say to the other, no man sees my face and lives.
Noontime, and I'm still pushing myself along the road, the darkest part
Into the narrow lanes, I can't stumble or stay put
Someone else is speaking with my mouth, but I'm listening only to my heart
I've made shoes for everyone, even you, while I still go barefoot.
I and I
In creation where one's nature neither honors nor forgives
I and I
One say to the other, no man sees my face and lives.
Bob Dylan, Infidels (1983)
"Sweetheart Like You"
Well the pressure's down, the boss ain't here
He gone North, for a while
They say that vanity got the best of him
But he sure left here in style
By the way, that's a cute hat
And that smile's so hard to resist
But what's a sweetheart like you doing in a dump like this ?
You know, I once knew a woman who looked like you
She wanted a whole man, not just a half
She used to call me sweet daddy when I was only a child
You kind of remind me of her when you laugh
In order to deal in this game, got to make the queen disappear
It's done with a flick of the wrist
What's a sweetheart like you doing in a dump like this ?
You know, a woman like you should be at home
That's where you belong
Taking care for somebody nice
Who don't know how to do you wrong
Just how much abuse will you be able to take ?
Well, there's no way to tell by that first kiss
What's a sweetheart like you doing in a dump like this ?
You know you can make a name for yourself
You can hear them tires squeal
You can be known as the most beautiful woman
Who ever crawled across cut glass to make a deal.
You know, news of you has come down the line
Even before ya came in the door
They say in your father's house, there's many mansions
Each one of them got a fireproof floor
Snap out of it baby, people are jealous of you
They smile to your face, but behind your back they hiss
What's a sweetheart like you doing in a dump like this ?
Got to be an important person to be in here, honey
Got to have done some evil deed
Got to have your own harem when you come in the door
Got to play your harp until your lips bleed.
They say that patriotism is the last refuge
To which a scoundrel clings
Steal a little and they throw you in jail
Steal a lot and they make you king
There's only one step down from here, baby
It's called the land of permanent bliss
What's a sweetheart like you doing in a dump like this ?
Bob Dylan, Infidels (1983)