Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota… Read Full Bio ↴Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota, United States) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career spanning more than 60 years.
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

Nothing Was Delivered
Bob Dylan Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Nothing is better, nothing is best
Take care of yourself, get plenty of rest

Nothing was delivered
But I can't say I sympathize
With what your fate is going to be
Yes, for telling all those lies
Now you must provide some answers
For what you sold that's not been received
And the sooner you come up with them
The sooner you can leave

Nothing is better, nothing is best
Take care of yourself, get plenty of rest

Now you know nothing was delivered
And it's up to you to say
Just what you had in mind
When you made everybody pay
No, nothing was delivered
Yes, and someone must explain
And as long as it takes to do this
Then that's as long that you'll remain

Nothing is better, nothing is best
Take care of yourself, get plenty of rest

Overall Meaning

In Bob Dylan and The Band's song "Nothing Was Delivered," Dylan tells a story of someone who promised something but wasn't able to deliver. The song is not a rant nor a rant of anger. In the opening verse, Dylan explicitly states that he shares this truth not because of pure spite or anger. He is merely stating the fact. The song's theme is about holding someone accountable for not delivering what they promised, and the person's fate for not fulfilling their obligations. Dylan is advocating for accountability and is giving the person a chance to make restitution by giving back all that they owe.

Dylan seems to be putting himself into the shoes of someone who wants to make things right in the song but didn't receive what they were expecting to receive. In the end, the song's message is simple: if you make a promise, deliver on it. Otherwise, you will have to answer to the person who relied on you for whatever it was you promised.

Line by Line Meaning

Nothing was delivered
The promised goods or services were not provided

And I tell this truth to you
The singer is stating a truthful fact

Not out of spite or anger
The singer is not motivated by negative emotions

But simply because it's true
The artist is stating a fact without embellishment

Now, I hope you won't object to this
The artist hopes their statement won't be met with resistance

Giving back all of what you owe
The recipient of the message owes something and needs to return it

The fewer words you have to waste on this
The singer wants to keep the conversation short

The sooner you can go
The artist wants the recipient to leave as soon as possible

Nothing is better, nothing is best
Nothing at all is preferable to a bad situation

Take care of yourself, get plenty of rest
Self-care is important in difficult times

Nothing was delivered
The promised goods or services were not provided

But I can't say I sympathize
The artist doesn't feel sorry for the recipient

With what your fate is going to be
The singer believes the recipient will face negative consequences

Yes, for telling all those lies
The recipient lied and is now facing the consequences

Now you must provide some answers
The recipient needs to explain what happened

For what you sold that's not been received
The recipient sold something that wasn't delivered

And the sooner you come up with them
The artist wants the recipient to provide answers quickly

The sooner you can leave
The singer wants the recipient to leave as soon as possible

Now you know nothing was delivered
The recipient has been informed of the lack of delivery

And it's up to you to say
The recipient is responsible for explaining the situation

Just what you had in mind
The recipient needs to clarify their intentions

When you made everybody pay
The recipient charged others for goods or services

No, nothing was delivered
The promised goods or services were not provided

Yes, and someone must explain
The situation needs to be clarified

And as long as it takes to do this
The singer is willing to wait for a full explanation

Then that's as long that you'll remain
The singer will not let the recipient leave until there's a full explanation

Nothing is better, nothing is best
Nothing at all is preferable to a bad situation

Take care of yourself, get plenty of rest
Self-care is important in difficult times

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Bob Dylan

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Nothing was delivered
And I tell this truth to you
Not out of spite or anger
But simply because it's true
Now, I hope you won't object to this
Giving back all of what you owe
The fewer words you have to waste on this
The sooner you can go
Nothing is better, nothing is best
Take care of yourself, get plenty of rest
Nothing was delivered
But I can't say I sympathize
With what your fate is going to be
Yes, for telling all those lies
Now you must provide some answers
For what you sold that's not been received
And the sooner you come up with them
The sooner you can leave
Nothing is better, nothing is best
Take care of yourself, get plenty of rest
Now you know nothing was delivered
And it's up to you to say
Just what you had in mind
When you made ev'rybody pay
No, nothing was delivered
Yes, 'n' someone must explain
That as long as it takes to do this
Then that's how long that you'll remain
Nothing is better, nothing is best
Take care of yourself, get plenty rest