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
Blackjack Davey
Bob Dylan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A-whistlin' loud and merry
Made the woods around him ring
And he charmed the heart of a lady
Charmed the heart of a lady
"How old are you, my pretty little miss
How old are you, my honey?"
"I'll be sixteen come Sunday
Be sixteen come Sunday"
"Come and go with me, my pretty little miss
Come and go with me, my honey
Take you where the grass grows green
You never will want for money
You never will want for money
"Pull off, pull off them high-heeled shoes
All made of Spanish leather
Get behind me on my horse
And we'll ride off together
We'll both go off together"
Well, she pulled off them high-heeled shoes
Made of Spanish leather
Got behind him on his horse
And they rode off together
They both rode off together
At night the boss came home
Inquiring about this lady
The servant spoke before she thought
"She's been with Black Jack Dave
Rode off with Black Jack Davey"
"Well, saddle for me my coal black stud
He's speedier than the gray
I rode all day and I'll ride all night
And I'll overtake my lady
I'll bring back my lady"
Well, he rode all night till the broad daylight
'Till he came to a river ragin'
And there he spied his darlin' bride
In the arms of Black Jack Davey
Wrapped up with Black Jack Davey
"Pull off, pull off them long blue gloves
All made of the finest leather
Give to me your lily-white hand
And we'll both go home together
We'll both go home together"
Well, she pulled off them long blue gloves
All made of the finest leather
Gave to him her lily-white hand
And said good-bye forever
Bid farewell forever
"Would you forsake your house and home
Would you forsake your baby?
Would you forsake your husband, too
To go with Black Jack Davey
Ride off with Black Jack Davey?"
"Well, I've forsaken my house and home
And I'll forsake my baby
I'll forsake my husband, too
For the love of Black Jack Davey
Love my Black Jack Davey"
"Last night I slept in a feather bed
Between my husband and baby
Tonight I lay on the river banks
In the arms of Black Jack Davey
Love my Black Jack Davey"
"Blackjack Davey" is a traditional folk song that Bob Dylan made famous in his version. The song is a story of a woman who falls for a mysterious man named Blackjack Davey. Davey is known for his charms and is often accompanied by his horse. When Davey meets the woman, he offers to take her away with him to a place where she will never want for money. The woman agrees to go with him, and they ride off together on horseback.
Later on, the woman's husband and boss discover that she has run off with Davey. They set off in pursuit of her and eventually catch up to her and Davey by a raging river. Her husband demands that she come back with him, but she refuses, saying that she loves Blackjack Davey. The song ends with the woman proclaiming her love for Davey and forsaking her previous life.
The lyrics of "Blackjack Davey" are rich in symbolism and metaphor. The character of Blackjack Davey is a symbol of freedom and adventure, and represents a way of life that the woman yearns for. The fact that she is willing to leave her comfortable life behind for him suggests that she is dissatisfied with her current situation, perhaps feeling trapped or stifled. The image of the woman sleeping in a feather bed between her husband and her baby, and then on the river banks with Blackjack Davey, highlights the stark contrast between her old life and her new one.
Line by Line Meaning
Black Jack Davey come a-ridin' on back
Black Jack Davey arrived on horseback
A-whistlin' loud and merry
Black Jack Davey was whistling cheerfully
Made the woods around him ring
His whistle echoed throughout the surrounding woods
And he charmed the heart of a lady
Black Jack Davey enchanted a lady
Charmed the heart of a lady
He was successful in winning her affection
"How old are you, my pretty little miss
"May I know your age, my lovely lady
How old are you, my honey?"
What's your age, my dear?
She answered to him with a lovin' smile
She responded with a loving smile
"I'll be sixteen come Sunday
"I'll be sixteen years old this Sunday
Be sixteen come Sunday"
I'm almost sixteen years old
"Come and go with me, my pretty little miss
"Come with me, lovely lady
Come and go with me, my honey
Come and travel with me, my darling
Take you where the grass grows green
I'll take you to a lush, green pasture
You never will want for money
You won't have any money worries
You never will want for money
You won't have any money worries
"Pull off, pull off them high-heeled shoes
"Take off your high-heeled shoes
All made of Spanish leather
These shoes are made of Spanish leather
Get behind me on my horse
Get behind me on my horse
And we'll ride off together
We'll ride off together
We'll both go off together"
We're both gonna leave together
Well, she pulled off them high-heeled shoes
She took off her high-heeled shoes
Made of Spanish leather
The shoes were made of Spanish leather
Got behind him on his horse
She got behind him on his horse
And they rode off together
They rode away together
They both rode off together
They both rode away together
At night the boss came home
At night, the employer came home
Inquiring about this lady
Asking about the woman
The servant spoke before she thought
The servant spoke without thinking
"She's been with Black Jack Dave
"She was with Black Jack Dave
Rode off with Black Jack Davey"
She went with Black Jack Davey
"Well, saddle for me my coal black stud
"Bring me my black horse
He's speedier than the gray
It's faster than the grey one
I rode all day and I'll ride all night
I've been riding all day and I'll keep riding all night
And I'll overtake my lady
I'll catch up to my lady
I'll bring back my lady"
I'm gonna bring my lady back
Well, he rode all night till the broad daylight
He rode throughout the night until morning
'Till he came to a river ragin'
Until he arrived at a raging river
And there he spied his darlin' bride
And there he saw his beloved bride
In the arms of Black Jack Davey
In the embrace of Black Jack Davey
Wrapped up with Black Jack Davey
Wrapped up with Black Jack Davey
"Pull off, pull off them long blue gloves
"Take off the long blue gloves
All made of the finest leather
These were made from the best leather
Give to me your lily-white hand
Give me your pure white hand
And we'll both go home together
We'll go home together
We'll both go home together"
We'll go home together
Well, she pulled off them long blue gloves
She removed the long blue gloves
All made of the finest leather
The gloves were made from the best leather
Gave to him her lily-white hand
She gave him her pure white hand
And said good-bye forever
And said farewell forever
Bid farewell forever
Said goodbye forever
"Would you forsake your house and home
"Would you leave behind your home and family
Would you forsake your baby?
Would you leave your child behind?
Would you forsake your husband, too
Would you leave your husband too?
To go with Black Jack Davey
To go with Black Jack Davey
Ride off with Black Jack Davey?"
Ride away with Black Jack Davey
"Well, I've forsaken my house and home
"I've left behind my home and family
And I'll forsake my baby
And I'll leave my child behind
I'll forsake my husband, too
And I'll leave my husband too
For the love of Black Jack Davey
For my love of Black Jack Davey
Love my Black Jack Davey"
I love Black Jack Davey
"Last night I slept in a feather bed
"Last night, I slept in a soft bed
Between my husband and baby
Between my husband and child
Tonight I lay on the river banks
Tonight, I sleep on the riverbank
In the arms of Black Jack Davey
In the embrace of Black Jack Davey
Love my Black Jack Davey
I love Black Jack Davey
Lyrics © Special Rider Music
Written by: Bob Dylan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind