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
Lonesome River Edge
Bob Dylan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The lonesome wind blows and the water runs high
I can hear a voice call from out there in the darkness
But I sit here alone too lonesome to cry
Oh the water rolls high on the river at midnight
I sit on the shore to grieving and to cry
The woman I love she left me this morning
We met there one night on the banks of the river
Sat there holding hands and making a vow
That we never would part and be happy together
But a new love she's found, she's gone with him now.
Oh the water rolls high on the river at midnight
I sit on the shore to grieving and to cry
The woman I love she left me this morning
With no-one to love or kiss me goodnight
The opening lines of Bob Dylan's "The Lonesome River" set the tone for this melancholy ballad. An unnamed narrator describes sitting alone by the river, listening to the wind and the water. Despite the darkness and the sounds of the night, he is unable to cry, so lost is he in his sense of isolation.
As the song progresses, the singer reveals that the source of his despair is the loss of the woman he loves. She left him that morning, and he is left with no one to hold or comfort him. The memories of their time together by the river, when they pledged to never part, are painful reminders of what he has lost.
Dylan's lyrics capture the raw emotions of heartbreak and despair, reminding listeners that even the natural beauty of the world can be eclipsed by the pain of losing someone you love. The image of the lonesome river, rolling on through the night, serves as a powerful metaphor for the singer's own emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
I sit here alone on the banks of the river
I am sitting by myself next to the river
The lonesome wind blows and the water runs high
The wind is lonely and the river is flowing fast
I can hear a voice call from out there in the darkness
I hear a voice in the darkness
But I sit here alone too lonesome to cry
I am too sad to cry
Oh the water rolls high on the river at midnight
The river is at its highest point at midnight
I sit on the shore to grieving and to cry
I am at the shore crying in sorrow
The woman I love she left me this morning
The woman I love left me today
With no-one to love or kiss me goodnight
There is no one to love or kiss me goodnight
We met there one night on the banks of the river
We first met on this riverbank
Sat there holding hands and making a vow
We were sitting holding hands and making a promise to each other
That we never would part and be happy together
We promised to never leave each other and to be happy together
But a new love she's found, she's gone with him now.
She found a new love and left me.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: CARTER STANLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@addie2739
I just ❤ this man and his music ❤
@Irenehilda
The Banjo Tape was recorded at the home of Gil Turner on January 21 1963...according to Clinton Heylin in A Life In Stolen Moments...
@loriscunado3607
This is great. Thank you very much. I used to have some of this on vinyl in the 70s.
@caseyjones6778
i didnt know if i would ever hear this album again after i lost the only copy a couple of friends and i shared...noone knows where it came from...we just somehow had it, not the basement tapes, the banjo tape!!!
@Tomrogersmusic-
The book "Why Dylan matters" by Richard F. Thomas sent me here. In early chapters he puts emphasis on the obscure 'Goin back to Rome'. Thomas posits that Dylan should be in the pantheon of classical poets such as Virgil and Catullus... "When he first travelled there in 1963, he (Dylan) was immediately inspired. That's why he wrote Goin' back to Rome', that's where I was born. The trip to Rome, subsequent trips, and the adoption of the city as the place he was born seemed years later to incite a kind of artistic rebirth for Dylan, or at least coincided with that rebirth." Intriguing.
@jannybabe21
Me too.
@chancethadood
thank you!
@maradonatotti5142
24:50 Goin’ Back to ROME
@9stokey
Gerdes Folk City is the name
@9stokey
That is right,