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
Heart Of Mine
Bob Dylan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You can play with fire but you'll get the bill
Don't let her know
Don't let her know that you love her
Don't be a fool, don't be blind
Heart of mine
Heart of mine go back home
Don't let her see
Don't let her see where you're going
Don't put yourself over the line
Heart of mine
Heart of mine go back where you have been
It'll be only trouble for you if you let her in
Don't let her know
Don't let her know that you love her
Don't be a fool, don't be blind
Heart of mine
Hear of mine so malicious and so full of guile
Give you an inch and you'll take a mile
Don't let yourself fall
Don't let yourself stumble
If you can't do the time, don't do the crime
Heart of mine
In 'Heart of Mine', Bob Dylan warns his own heart to be still and not to reveal its love to the object of its desire. He wants his heart to refrain from exposing its true feelings because if it does, it will eventually have to pay a heavy price. In the first verse, Dylan advises his heart not to disclose its love to the person concerned as it will end up being hurt. He urges his heart on the second verse to retreat back to where it belongs because it does not have any reason to wander about or move from its normal way of life. On the third verse, Dylan warns his heart that allowing this person into its life would spell trouble and it would not benefit from it.
The fourth verse reflects how Dylan sees his own heart. He regarded it as malicious, guileful, and always looking for an opportunity to take advantage of being overtly emotional. Dylan ends the song with a warning that his heart should not put itself in a position where it could stumble if it isn't prepared to deal with the trouble that accompanies it.
Line by Line Meaning
Heart of mine be still
Take a deep breath, heart. Calm down.
You can play with fire but you'll get the bill
You can take risks, but you will face the consequences.
Don't let her know
Don't reveal your true feelings to her.
Don't let her know that you love her
Keep your love for her hidden.
Don't be a fool, don't be blind
Don't act foolishly. Be cautious.
Heart of mine
Heart, listen up.
Heart of mine go back home
Return to where you belong.
You got no reason to wander, no reason to roam
There's no need for you to stray away.
Don't let her see
Don't let her catch you in the act of leaving.
Don't let her see where you're going
Keep your destination unknown to her.
Don't put yourself over the line
Don't cross any boundaries.
Heart of mine go back where you have been
Retrace your steps and return to your old ways.
It'll be only trouble for you if you let her in
Allowing her into your heart will only cause problems.
Hear of mine so malicious and so full of guile
Heart, you can be deceitful and cunning.
Give you an inch and you'll take a mile
You tend to take advantage of a situation if given the opportunity.
Don't let yourself fall
Don't let yourself become vulnerable.
Don't let yourself stumble
Don't make any mistakes.
If you can't do the time, don't do the crime
Don't take any actions that you may regret later.
Heart of mine
Listen to these words, heart.
Lyrics © SPECIAL RIDER MUSIC
Written by: Bob Dylan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Juan Camacho
Heart of mine be still
You can play with fire but you'll get the bill
Don't let her know
Don't let her know that you love her
Don't be a fool, don't be blind
Heart of mine
Heart of mine go back home
You got no reason to wander, no reason to roam
Don't let her see
Don't let her see that you need her
Don't put yourself over the line
Heart of mine
🎵🎶🎵🎶
Heart of mine go back where you have been
It'll be only trouble for you if you let her in
Don't let her hear
Don't let her hear that you love her
Don't tie the tiles of her
Heart of mine
🎵🎶🎵🎶
Heart of mine so malicious and so full of guile
Give you an inch and you'll take a mile
Don't let yourself fall
Don't let yourself stumble
If you can't do the time, don't do the crime
Heart of mine
patnafs
true that and I wish I had heard this 2 years ago :-! ♪ Don't let her know that you love her
Don't be a fool, don't be blind ♪ Thank you Bob
Lyrics:
Heart of mine be still
You can play with fire but you'll get the bill
Don't let her know
Don't let her know that you love her
Don't be a fool, don't be blind
Heart of mine.
Heart of mine go back home
You got no reason to wander, no reason to roam
Don't let her see
Don't let her see that you need her
Don't put yourself over the line
Heart of mine.
Heart of mine go back where you have been
It'll only be trouble for you if you let her in
Don't let her hear
Don't let her hear you want her
Don't let her hear know she's so fine
Heart of mine.
Heart of mine you know that she'll never be true
She'll only give to others the love that she's gotten from you
Don't let her know
Don't let her know where you're going
Don't untie the ties that bind
Heart of mine.
Heart of mine so malicious and so full of guile
Give you an inch and you'll take a mile
Don't let yourself fall
Don't let yourself stumble
If you can't do the time, don't do the crime
Heart of mine.
source: https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/bobdylan/heartofmine.html
Jane Piepes
Isn't this terrific !!! Like many of his songs that are not nentioned as much, how great is this ?? !!! And what a driving rhythm ...and melody open to so many harmonies... and the lines are so beautiful. Let's get these song up here !!!!
Simone T
Yeah that's true, what a wise man, love dylan.
KEZ RK MAYALL
Always loved this track. It reminds me of my ex wife. I really like the Shot Of Love album aswell, I believe it's been very underrated.
Some really great tracks on it.
Jinx
Good songs don't have to be polished. Love this melody and the percussion. Ronnie Wood, Ringo Starr, the great keyboard session player William Smitty Smith, and Benmont Tench on keyboards also (Petty's Heartbreakers).
Jinx
correction - Tench didn't play on this song, but he did on other songs on the album
Maria da Conceição Figueira
Caramba , tem músicas que ouço do Bob que preenche outros prazeres. ❤❤❤ obrigada Bob.
Michael Miller
nice album...very distinctive...great sound...hard to forget this sound...and the tunes....and the message. Awesome that Bob did this.
Jane Piepes
Don't let you know that you love her .. how great is the SOUND in that harmony ?
This rocks ! 👠💼♠️
Igor Girolami
In pratica "parla" al suo cuore come al suo migliore amico...e gli parla 'a muso duro'...e il cuore si sa che brilla di luce propria...testo semplice profondo vero e quindi geniale.... (Onore e rispetto per la musica pensata e scritta dal profeta Bob Dylan )
Copper Smith
I first listened to this song on the New York City album by Peter Malick Group and thought this was originally performed by Norah Jones for a long time. It is not until recently that I learnt that this song is originally by you. The song writing is great. You really nailed it! And I love this song very much.