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
Hard Times in New York Town
Bob Dylan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sing it to you right, but you might think it's wrong.
Just a little glimpse of a story I'll tell
'Bout an east coast city that you all know well.
It's hard times in the city,
Livin' down in New York town.
From Washington heights to Harlem on down.
There's a-mighty many people all millin' all around,
They'll kick you when you're up and knock you when you're down.
It's hard times in the city,
Livin' down in New York town.
It's a mighty long ways from the Golden Gate
To Rockefeller plaza n' the Empire State.
Mister Rockefeller sets up as high as a bird,
Old mister empire never says a word.
It's hard times from the country,
Livin' down in New York town.
Well, it's up in the mornin' tryin' to fins a job of work.
Stand in one place till your feet begin to hurt.
If you go a lot o' money you can make yourself merry,
If you only got a nickel, it's the Staten island ferry.
And it's hard times in the city,
Livin' down in New York town.
Mister Hudson come a-sailin' down the stream
And old Mister Minuet paid for his dream.
Bought your city on a one-way track,
If I had my way I'd sell it right back.
And it's hard times in the city,
Livin' down in New York town.
I'll take all the smog in California
'N every bit of dust in the Oklahoma plains,
'N the dirt in the caves of the Rocky Mountain mines.
It's all much cleaner than the New York kind.
And it's hard times in the city,
Livin' down in New York town.
So all you newsy people, spreadin' the news around,
You see'n listen to m' story, listen to m' song.
You see'n step on my name, you see'n try 'n' get me beat,
When I leave New York, I'll be standin' on my feet.
Hard times in the city,
Livin' down in New York town.
Bob Dylan's song Hard Times In New York Town is a commentary on the struggles of living in New York City. It starts with an invitation for people to listen to his song, which he admits might be seen as wrong. Then he goes on to provide a glimpse of the story of New York City, a place well known on the East Coast.
Dylan describes New York City as a friendly town with many people milling about, but notes that they will kick you while you're up and knock you while you're down. He then goes on to contrast San Francisco and Oklahoma with New York City, saying that despite the smog and dust in those places, they are much cleaner than New York City. Finally, he warns the news outlets spreading the news around not to try and beat him down.
The lyrics of the song are an early politically charged look at the difficulties facing the working class in America's largest city, New York. Bob Dylan wrote the song after he left his hometown in Minnesota and moved to New York City. The city's energy and frenetic pace affected him, and he started to write about his life and experiences.
Line by Line Meaning
Come you ladies and you gentlemen, a-listen to my song.
Attention everyone, please hear me out.
Sing it to you right, but you might think it's wrong.
I'll tell it like it is, but you may not agree.
Just a little glimpse of a story I'll tell
I'll share a short story with you about...
'Bout an east coast city that you all know well.
I'm talking about a city on the east coast that everyone knows.
Old new york city is a friendly old town,
New York City is known for being friendly.
From Washington heights to Harlem on down.
From the north to the south of the city.
There's a-mighty many people all millin' all around,
There are a lot of people moving around.
They'll kick you when you're up and knock you when you're down.
People treat you poorly whether you're successful or not.
It's a mighty long ways from the Golden Gate
It's very far from the west coast.
To Rockefeller plaza n' the Empire State.
To the famous Rockefeller Plaza and Empire State Building.
Mister Rockefeller sets up as high as a bird,
Rockefeller is in a position of power and wealth.
Old mister empire never says a word.
The people in power don't speak for the city.
Well, it's up in the mornin' tryin' to find a job of work.
It's difficult to find a job in the city.
Stand in one place till your feet begin to hurt.
You have to stand in one place for a long time to find work.
If you go a lot o' money you can make yourself merry,
If you have a lot of money, you can have a good time.
If you only got a nickel, it's the Staten island ferry.
If you're short on cash, your only option is the Staten Island ferry.
Mister Hudson come a-sailin' down the stream
The Hudson River flows through the city.
And old Mister Minuet paid for his dream.
Minuet probably invested in the city.
Bought your city on a one-way track,
People invested heavily, without thinking about future consequences.
If I had my way I'd sell it right back.
If he had the power, he'd undo the investments made in the city.
I'll take all the smog in California
He'll take the smog in California over the pollution in New York.
'N every bit of dust in the Oklahoma plains,
Even the dust in Oklahoma is better than New York's pollution.
'N the dirt in the caves of the Rocky Mountain mines.
Even the dirt in the mountains is cleaner than New York's pollution.
You see'n step on my name, you see'n try 'n' get me beat,
People may try to harm him or ruin his reputation.
When I leave New York, I'll be standin' on my feet.
He'll leave New York and bounce back.
It's hard times in the city,
Living in the city is tough.
Livin' down in New York town.
Especially in New York City.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BOB DYLAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@darshin95
Makes me nostalgic for 1960’s New York City and I’m born in the 90’s haha
@sadeyedlady
When I leave New York I'll be standin' on my feet. !! 💥
@MD-rd7bn
I’m not from NY, not even American. I listened to this in the sixties and I still listen to this sometimes. But this always gave me a feel of coming home, like so much of Bob’s songs.
Thank you Bob.
@timothydraper6626
It's motivated to get some of my uni work done during lockdown, a cussed determination to come out on top.
@yamapenny5960
👍🔺️‼️🍒
@mikekoch4151
I was listening to this song having an AM bong hit early morning on 9/11/01. Then I turned on the TV and I saw the planes slam into the world trade center. I will never forget that morning or this song.
@thescoobymike
Just a little glimpse of a star
@imovedy
Amazing song. Always puts a big smile on my face
@Mattology1
I like this. I had this and misplaced it
@jaybangot332
Tsktsktsk