Dylan started his musical odyssey in 1959 when he began playing in Dinkytown, Minneapolis while attending the University of Minnesota. Shortly after starting to play he changed his stage name to Bob Dylan, after being influenced by the poetry of Dylan Thomas before legally changing his name in 1962.
Much of his best known work is from the 1960s, when he became an informal documentarian and reluctant figurehead of American unrest, promoted by Joan Baez. Some of his songs, such as "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are A-Changin'", became anthems of the anti-war and civil rights movements, with Joan Baez and Dylan singing together at the March on Washington in 1963. However he later became disenchanted with the civil liberty protest scene, feeling that he had been used by them.
His album Bringing It All Back Home marked a move away from the folk scene and a move towards rock and roll and Dylan began to consciously distance himself from his early association with civil rights. He also started to become irritated when being interviewed, often given facetious or irreverent answers to questions. Bringing It All Back Home was a controversial album as it the first on which he played electric guitar. This was seen by some of his fans as a betrayal of this folk roots, with some saying that it obscured his meaningful and poetic lyrics.
The second half of the 1960s was marked by a string of well received releases, with his song "Like a Rolling Stone", released in July of 1965, later being named "The Greatest Song of All Time" by Rolling Stone magazine in 2004, placing #1 in a list of 500 titles. It also marked the formation of Dylan's backing band The Hawks (who would later call themselves simply The Band). Dylan embarked on a world tour of Australia and Europe in 1966, during which he seemed to be under a lot of strain and pressure by both his fans, the music press and his own promoters. Dylan himself admitted that he began taking drugs seriously whilst on this tour, and found it immensely hard work. On returning to New York he crashed his motorbike, sustaining serious injuries in the process, and went into a period of withdrawal while he recuperated. During the late 1960s, Dylan again changed stylistic tradition, moving away from the psychedelic culture of the time. It was then that he recorded All Along the Watchtower, perhaps more famously recorded by Jimi Hendrix.
The 1970s were a period during which Dylan was more sporadic in his output, releasing some poorly received LPs. He rarely appeared in person until 1974, when he began touring again with his backing band The Band. He also wrote one of his most extensively covered songs, Knockin' On Heaven's Door, as well as what is now recognised as one of his best albums Blood On The Tracks. Towards the end of the 1970s, Dylan discovered Christ, and released some albums of gospel music. He started to talk to the crowd about his faith during his performances, and wouldn't play any of his early work, which alienated some of his previous fans.
Dylan today still remains an influential and popular artist; despite a period of little note between 1980-2000, his 2006 album Modern Times reached the US chart at #1, as did his 2009 album Together Through Life, in the US, Britain, France and several other countries. His 2012 album Tempest was also critically acclaimed. Since 1988, Dylan has been on the so-called Never Ending Tour, during which his performances have provoked controversy, with some critics claiming that his lyrics have become incomprehensible, an experience which is not helped by his tendency to change his set-list and vocals almost every performance.
Bob Dylan's strong influence over the past few years is becoming even more prominent amongst a growing group of younger emerging artists such as George Ellias and Devendra Banhart. Dylan's early lyrics incorporated politics, social commentary, philosophy and literary influences, defying existing pop music conventions and appealing widely to the counterculture of the time. While expanding and personalizing musical styles, Dylan has shown steadfast devotion to traditions of American song, from folk and country/blues to rock and roll and rockabilly, to Gaelic balladry, even jazz, swing and Broadway.
Dylan performs with the guitar, keyboard and harmonica. Backed by a changing lineup of musicians, he has toured steadily since the late 1980s. He has also recently performed alongside other iconic artists, such as Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Tom Petty and Eric Clapton. Although his contributions as a performer and recording artist have been central to his career, his songwriting is generally held as his highest accomplishment.
Nobel Prize for Literature (2016) - On October 13, 2016, Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition”. The prestigious award has been given annually since 1901 and previous Nobel Laureates for Literature include Harold Pinter and Samuel Beckett. Here is the speech written by Dylan, although unable to attend:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/10/arts/bob-dylan-nobel-prize-acceptance-speech.html?_r=0
Billy
Bob Dylan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lawman on your trail, he'd like to catch ya
Bounty hunters, too, they'd like to get ya
Billy, they don't like you to be so free.
Campin' out all night on the berenda
Dealin' cards 'til dawn in the hacienda
Up to Boot Hill they'd like to send ya
Playin' around with some sweet senorita
Into her dark hallway she will lead ya
In some lonesome shadows she will greet ya
Billy, you're so far away from home.
There's eyes behind the mirrors in empty places
Bullet holes and scars between the spaces
There's always one more notch and ten more paces
Billy, and you're walkin' all alone.
They say that Pat Garrett's got your number
So sleep with one eye open when you slumber
Every little sound just might be thunder
Thunder from the barrel of his gun.
Guitars will play your grand finale
Down in some Tularosa alley,
Maybe in the Rio Pecos valley
Billy, you're so far away from home.
There's always some new stranger sneakin' glances
Some trigger-happy fool willin' to take chances
And some old whore from San Pedro to make advances
Advances on your spirit and your soul.
The businessmen from Taos want you to go down
They've hired Pat Garrett to force a showdown.
Billy, don't it make ya feel so low-down
To be shot down by the man who was your friend?
Hang on to your woman if you got one
Remember in El Paso, once, you shot one.
She may have been a whore, but she was a hot one
Billy, you been runnin' for so long.
Guitars will play your grand finale
Down in some Tularosa alley
Maybe in the Rio Pecos valley
Billy, you're so far away from home.
The song "Billy 1" by Bob Dylan portrays the dangerous and treacherous life of Billy the Kid, a notorious 19th-century outlaw. The lyrics describe the ongoing pursuit of Billy by lawmen, bounty hunters, and businessmen who want him dead. They seek to take away his freedom, and he finds no solace even in a brief love affair with a senorita because he is always on the run. Everywhere he goes, he is met with danger-- bullet holes and scars between spaces, eyes behind mirrors in empty places, and trigger-happy strangers.
The song tells the story of a man who has been living on the edge his entire life, and who knows that sooner or later, he will face his final showdown. The lyrics are filled with references to the West, both real and imagined, and Dylan does an excellent job of conveying the sense of danger and isolation that Billy must have felt. In the end, Billy knows that he is far away from home, and that his fate is inevitable. The song is a poignant tribute to a man who lived on the edge of society and never knew peace.
Line by Line Meaning
There's guns across the river aimin' at ya
People are pointing guns towards you, Billy.
Lawman on your trail, he'd like to catch ya
A policeman is chasing you and wants to catch you, Billy.
Bounty hunters, too, they'd like to get ya
Bounty hunters want to capture you, Billy.
Billy, they don't like you to be so free.
People don't like that you're so free, Billy.
Campin' out all night on the berenda
You're camping overnight on the berenda, Billy.
Dealin' cards 'til dawn in the hacienda
You're playing cards all night until dawn in the hacienda, Billy.
Up to Boot Hill they'd like to send ya
They want to send you to Boot Hill, Billy.
Billy, don't you turn your back on me.
Don't turn your back on me, Billy.
Playin' around with some sweet senorita
You're fooling around with a sweet senorita, Billy.
Into her dark hallway she will lead ya
She will lead you into her dark hallway, Billy.
In some lonesome shadows she will greet ya
She will greet you in some lonesome shadows, Billy.
Billy, you're so far away from home.
You're far away from home, Billy.
There's eyes behind the mirrors in empty places
There are eyes behind the mirrors in empty places, Billy.
Bullet holes and scars between the spaces
There are bullet holes and scars between the spaces, Billy.
There's always one more notch and ten more paces
There's always one more notch and ten more paces, Billy.
Billy, and you're walkin' all alone.
You're walking all alone, Billy.
They say that Pat Garrett's got your number
They say that Pat Garrett has your number, Billy.
So sleep with one eye open when you slumber
Sleep with one eye open when you slumber, Billy.
Every little sound just might be thunder
Every little sound might be thunder, Billy.
Thunder from the barrel of his gun.
Thunder from the barrel of his gun, Billy.
Guitars will play your grand finale
Guitars will play your grand finale, Billy.
Down in some Tularosa alley,
It will happen down in some Tularosa alley, Billy.
Maybe in the Rio Pecos valley
Maybe it will happen in the Rio Pecos valley, Billy.
Billy, you're so far away from home.
You're so far away from home, Billy.
There's always some new stranger sneakin' glances
A new stranger is always sneaking glances, Billy.
Some trigger-happy fool willin' to take chances
Some trigger-happy fool is willing to take chances, Billy.
And some old whore from San Pedro to make advances
An old whore from San Pedro is making advances, Billy.
Advances on your spirit and your soul.
Advances on your spirit and your soul, Billy.
The businessmen from Taos want you to go down
Businessmen from Taos want you to be defeated, Billy.
They've hired Pat Garrett to force a showdown.
They hired Pat Garrett to force a showdown, Billy.
Billy, don't it make ya feel so low-down
Don't you feel so low-down, Billy.
To be shot down by the man who was your friend?
To be shot down by the man who was your friend, Billy.
Hang on to your woman if you got one
If you have a woman, hold onto her, Billy.
Remember in El Paso, once, you shot one.
Remember that you shot someone in El Paso, Billy.
She may have been a whore, but she was a hot one
She may have been a whore, but she was attractive, Billy.
Billy, you been runnin' for so long.
You've been running for so long, Billy.
Guitars will play your grand finale
Guitars will play your grand finale, Billy.
Down in some Tularosa alley
It will happen down in some Tularosa alley, Billy.
Maybe in the Rio Pecos valley
Maybe it will happen in the Rio Pecos valley, Billy.
Billy, you're so far away from home.
You're so far away from home, Billy.
Lyrics © Ram's Horn Music
Written by: BOB DYLAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@sm8821
I mean, come on. Why is this one so underrated. Some of the finest music Dylan ever recorded.
@brittbeck9158
Hi, I don’t think it’s underrated. Every true Fan of Bob, like/love it.
It’s that kind of melody that goes to the heart, the lyrics are great.
Bob/Alias are gorgeous 🙏💙💕
@sm8821
Hi back. I appreciate that. You can't put it better than that. It goes to the ❤️ because Dylan poured his in it. You can feel it from the first note, to the last one.
@maca5645
This and Highway 61 are my fave Dylan records, i have worn them out.
@sm8821
Two of his best. 😉
@pacerodi
Just because he went to Mexico to record it.
@genehennigh3305
This just may be Dylan's most underrated songs. The harmonica itself is as poetic as good poetry. And poetry is one of Dylan's strong suits.
@andrewhindley7548
Great harmonica
@killianjohn4794
Patt: times have changed billy..
Billy: times maybe!!, not me!
The movie will never get old
@alberto-os1bx
Billy: few months in Mexico are not so bad......Alias: depends who you are.....ain't that something?