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
Cool Water
Bob Dylan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Each star's a pool of water, cool clear water
But with the dawn I′ll wake and yawn
And carry on to water
Cool, clear water
The shadows sway and seem to say
"Tonight we pray for water
And way up there He'll hear our prayer
And show us where there's water
Cool, clear water
Keep a-movin′, Dan, don′t you listen to him, Dan
He's a devil not a man
And he spreads the burning sand with water
Dan, can you see that big green tree
Where the water′s running free
And it's waiting there for you and me
Cool, clear water
Dan′s feet are sore, he's yearning for
Just one thing more than water
Cool, clear water
Like me, I guess, he′d like to rest
Where there's no quest for water
Cool, clear water
The lyrics of Bob Dylan’s song “Cool Water” are indicative of the thirst for survival in the barren desert. The song is a tale of a man, Dan, who is travelling through a hot and unforgiving land and searching for water. Each star, in his imagination, appears as a pool of cool, clear water; nonetheless, at the break of dawn, he must get up and continue his search for this precious resource. The shadows in the night remind him of his desire for water and so he prays for rain. In his belief, God will hear his plea and show him where he can find water.
As the song proceeds, Dan gets tired of searching for water, and his feet begin to hurt. He wishes to rest in a place where he can quench his thirst with cool, clear water without needing to roam around. The lyrics embody the worldly desires of humans who wish to lead a peaceful life in a place of abundance, where there is no need to worry about life’s basic necessities such as water.
Line by Line Meaning
And I'm a fool
I am foolish for dreaming of cool water in this harsh desert landscape.
Each star's a pool of water, cool clear water
The desert sky is playing tricks on me, making me see stars as pools of cool water.
But with the dawn I'll wake and yawn and carry on to water Cool, clear water
Despite being fooled by the sky and feeling foolish, I must rise and continue on in search of cool water.
The shadows sway and seem to say "Tonight we pray for water Cool, clear water." And way up there He'll hear our prayer And show us where there's water Cool, clear water
As I walk in the evening shadows, I hear them whispering to me to pray for water, and I believe that God will show me where to find it.
Keep a-movin', Dan, don't you listen to him, Dan He's a devil not a man And he spreads the burning sand with water Dan, can you see that big green tree Where the water's running free And it's waiting there for you and me Cool, clear water
I urge my friend Dan to keep moving and not listen to the voice tempting him with water, as it is a mirage. There may be hope in the form of a tree where water is truly flowing.
Dan's feet are sore, he's yearning for Just one thing more than water Cool, clear water Like me, I guess, he'd like to rest Where there's no quest for water Cool, clear water
Dan and myself are both exhausted from our search for water, and long for a place where we can rest without worrying about finding it.
Writer(s): Bob Nolan
Contributed by Alaina C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.