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
Do Right to Me Baby
Bob Dylan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't want to touch nobody, don't want to be touched
Don't want to hurt nobody , don't want to be hurt
Don't want to treat nobody like they was dirt.
But if you do right to me baby
I'll do right to you too
Ya got to do unto others
Don't want to shoot nobody, don't want to be shot
Don't want to buy nobody, don't want to be bought
Don't want to bury nobody, don't want to be buried
Don't want to marry nobody, if they're already married.
But if you do right to me baby
I'll do right to you too
Ya got to do unto others
Like you'd have them, like you'd have them, do unto you.
Don't want to burn nobody, don't want to be burned
Don't want to learn from nobody, what I gotta unlearn
Don't want to cheat nobody, don't want to be cheated
Don't want to defeat nobody if they already been defeated.
But if you do right to me baby
I'll do right to you too
Ya got to do unto others
Like you'd have them, like you'd have them, do unto you.
Don't want to wink at nobody, don't want to be winked at
Don't want to be used by nobody for a doormat
Don't want to confuse nobody, don't want to be confused
Don't want to amuse nobody, don't want to be amused.
But if you do right to me baby
I'll do right to you too
Ya got to do unto others
Like you'd have them, like you'd have them, do unto you.
Don't want to betray nobody, don't want to be betrayed
Don't want to play with nobody, don't want to be waylaid
Don't want to miss nobody, don't want to be missed
Don't put my faith in nobody, not even a scientist.
The song "Do Right to Me Baby" by Bob Dylan is about the golden rule - to treat others the way you want to be treated. The lyrics are straightforward and present the singer's desires to live a respectable and responsible life. He doesn't want to judge anyone; neither does he want to be judged himself. Similarly, he doesn't want to harm anybody, but he doesn't want to be a victim of others' cruelty either. The singer also doesn't want to deceive or be deceived, which is why he urges people to treat others properly.
The song's message is clear in that people should do good to others, and only then good things will come their way. The singer's repetition of the phrase "do right to me baby" implies that he is sending a message to someone special, possibly a lover, telling them to treat him well so he can reciprocate. In the end, the lyrics suggest that the songwriter doesn't trust anyone, not even scientists, but he still remains hopeful that people will do right by each other if they live by the golden rule.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't want to judge nobody, don't want to be judged
I do not wish to make judgments about others, nor do I want to be unfairly judged myself.
Don't want to touch nobody, don't want to be touched
I do not want to impose myself on others, nor do I want to be subjected to unwanted touch.
Don't want to hurt nobody, don't want to be hurt
I do not intend to cause harm to anyone, nor do I want to be hurt by others.
Don't want to treat nobody like they was dirt.
I do not want to dehumanize or disrespect anyone by treating them poorly.
But if you do right to me baby
I'll do right to you too
Ya got to do unto others
Like you'd have them, like you'd have them, do unto you.
However, if you treat me with kindness and respect, I will reciprocate those actions. We should all treat others the way we would like to be treated.
Don't want to shoot nobody, don't want to be shot
I do not intend to harm others with violence, nor do I want to be subjected to it myself.
Don't want to buy nobody, don't want to be bought
I do not want to use money or possessions to manipulate or control others, nor do I want to be subjected to such treatment.
Don't want to bury nobody, don't want to be buried
I do not want to cause harm to anyone, nor do I want to be harmed or killed myself.
Don't want to marry nobody, if they're already married.
I do not wish to deceive anyone or to be deceived in romantic relationships, including adultery.
Don't want to burn nobody, don't want to be burned
I do not wish to harm anyone with fire or other dangerous elements, nor do I want to be harmed myself.
Don't want to learn from nobody, what I gotta unlearn
I do not want to retain harmful or incorrect information that I need to unlearn, nor do I want anyone else to impose such information on me.
Don't want to cheat nobody, don't want to be cheated
I do not want to deceive anyone, nor do I wish to be deceived by others.
Don't want to defeat nobody if they already been defeated.
I do not want to cause additional harm or suffering to anyone who is already struggling, nor do I want to be subjected to such treatment myself.
Don't want to wink at nobody, don't want to be winked at
I do not wish to engage in dishonest or manipulative behavior to gain someone's approval, nor do I want anyone else to do so with me.
Don't want to be used by nobody for a doormat
I do not wish to be treated like a doormat, used and abused by others for their own gain, nor do I want to treat anyone else in such a manner.
Don't want to confuse nobody, don't want to be confused
I do not want to communicate in a way that is unclear or confusing to others, nor do I want anyone else to communicate with me in such a manner.
Don't want to amuse nobody, don't want to be amused
I do not want to entertain others at their expense or with harmful content, nor do I want to be entertained by such behavior.
Don't want to betray nobody, don't want to be betrayed
I do not want to deceive or betray anyone's trust, nor do I want to be deceived or have my trust betrayed by others.
Don't want to play with nobody, don't want to be waylaid
I do not wish to manipulate others or play games with them, nor do I want to be manipulated or have my time wasted by others.
Don't want to miss nobody, don't want to be missed
I do not want to neglect or forget about others, nor do I want to be neglected or forgotten myself.
Don't put my faith in nobody, not even a scientist.
I do not wish to blindly put my faith in anyone, even those with authority or expertise, without weighing evidence and coming to my own conclusions.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BOB DYLAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jari Kuukasjärvi
These songs are real gems, pure good gold
Lesley Halkett
I just love this song
Gilbert Garrido
I bought this album on tape, cassette, when it came out....still am excited.
caroline schaillee
I played this album to death ...still love it especially when translation literal concepts to more metaphorical messaging.
Helen Bostock
Amazing song from a fan
MLS juge
Can you all believe this is the same guy that wrote like a rolling stone. I love him so much and my life would be empty without him.
Yacine Charene
Perfect 🥰
JorgeLMarquez
no puedo disociarla del disco, pero aislada y abierta ahora en youtube, también funciona
Nate B
Without Bob selling his catalog we might not of heard the whole album
Sandra Wadsworth
🎶🎼🎵❤️💯👍