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 You Hear What I Hear?
Bob Dylan Lyrics
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Do you see what I see?
Way up in the sky, little lamb
Do you see what I see?
A star, a star, dancing in the night
With a tail as big as a kite
With a tail as big as a kite
Do you hear what I hear?
Ringing through the sky, shepherd boy
Do you hear what I hear?
A song, a song high above the trees
With a voice as big as the sea
With a voice as big as the sea
Said the shepherd boy to the mighty king
Do you know what I know?
In your palace warm, mighty king
Do you know what I know?
A Child, a Child shivers in the cold
Let us bring him silver and gold
Let us bring him silver and gold
Said the king to the people everywhere
Listen to what I say!
Pray for peace, people, everywhere
Listen to what I say!
The Child, the Child sleeping in the night
He will bring us goodness and light
He will bring us goodness and light
The song "Do You Hear What I Hear?" by Bob Dylan was first released in 1963. The song's lyrics were written by Noël Regney, and the melody was composed by his wife Gloria Shayne Baker. The song is a Christmas carol, with the lyrics telling a story of various characters seeing and hearing messages about the birth of Jesus Christ.
In the first verse, the night wind talks to a lamb, asking if it sees a star in the sky with a tail as big as a kite. Then, the second verse has the lamb asking a shepherd boy if he can hear a song ringing through the sky with a voice as big as the sea. The third verse introduces a king who is asked by the shepherd boy if he knows about the child who is shivering in the cold, and suggests that they bring him silver and gold. In the final verse, the king tells his people to pray for peace and listen to what he has to say, and says that the child will bring goodness and light.
The song's lyrics are open to interpretation, but it is generally agreed that they are about the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. The song's simple, poetic language and melodic structure have made it popular with audiences of all ages, and it has been covered by numerous artists over the years.
Line by Line Meaning
Said the night wind to the little lamb
The wind asked the lamb if it could see what it sees
Do you see what I see?
The wind was asking the lamb if it could see a certain something
Way up in the sky, little lamb
The wind was suggesting that the thing to see was up high in the sky
A star, a star, dancing in the night
The thing to see was a star that seemed to dance in the night sky
With a tail as big as a kite
The star had a tail so long that it looked like a kite
Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy
The lamb told the shepherd boy what it saw
Do you hear what I hear?
The lamb was asking the shepherd boy if he could hear something
Ringing through the sky, shepherd boy
The sound was coming from the sky
A song, a song high above the trees
The sound was actually a song that could be heard high above the trees
With a voice as big as the sea
The singer had a powerful voice that was as big as the sea
Said the shepherd boy to the mighty king
The shepherd boy shared what he had heard with the king
Do you know what I know?
The shepherd boy was asking the king if he knew what he knew
In your palace warm, mighty king
The king was in his cozy palace
A Child, a Child shivers in the cold
Despite the king's comfort, there was a Child somewhere in the world who was cold and shivering
Let us bring him silver and gold
The shepherd boy suggested that they should give the Child valuable gifts
Said the king to the people everywhere
The king addressed the people
Listen to what I say!
The king was urging the people to pay attention to his words
Pray for peace, people, everywhere
The king was encouraging everyone to pray for peace
The Child, the Child sleeping in the night
The Child whom the shepherd boy mentioned was sleeping soundly at night
He will bring us goodness and light
The Child's presence would bring goodness and light to the world
Lyrics © Kanjian Music
Written by: Noel Regney, Gloria Shayne
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind