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
Seeing The Real You At Last
Bob Dylan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But it looks like it don't
I'd like to get you to change your mind
But it looks like you won't.
From now on I'll be busy
Ain't going nowhere fast
I'm just glad it's over
Well, didn't I risk my neck for you
Didn't I take chances?
Didn't I rise above all
Most unfortunate circumstances?
Well, I had some rotten nights
Didn't think that they would pass
I'm just thankful and grateful
To be seeing the real you at last.
I'm hungry and irritable
And I'm tired of this bag of tricks
At one time there was nothing wrong with me
That you could not fix.
Well, I sailed through the storm
Strapped to the mast
Oh, but our time has come
And I'm seeing the real you at last.
When I met you, baby
You didn't show no visible scars
You could ride like Annie Oakley
You could shoot like Belle Star.
Well, I don't mind a reasonable amount of trouble
Trouble always comes to pass
All I care for about now
Is that I'm seeing the real you at last.
Oh, yes I am.
Well I'm gonna quit this baby talk now
I guess I should have known
I got troubles, I think maybe you got troubles
I think maybe we'd better leave each other alone.
Whatever you gonna do
Please do it fast
I'm still trying to get used to
Seeing the real you at last.
Oh, yes I am.
“Seeing The Real You At Last” is a song from Bob Dylan’s album Empire Burlesque, released in 1985. These lyrics are a reflection on a failed relationship. Dylan begins the song by expressing his frustration that even though the rain should calm things down, it doesn’t seem to be making a difference. He then admits that he wanted to convince his ex-partner to change their mind, but realizes that it is a lost cause. Instead of dwelling in that, Dylan accepts the situation and begins to work on himself, indicating that he is just glad the pain is gone and that he can finally see the true version of his ex-partner that he was blind to earlier. The theme of the song appears to be about the unveiling of someone's true self after an unsuccessful relationship.
As the song progresses, Dylan reflects on his journey with his ex-partner, the risks he took for them, and the unfortunate circumstances they faced together. He acknowledges that he had some bad days, but he is grateful for being able to see the real person now, as opposed to the idealized version he saw earlier. The portrayal of the singer’s frustration, acceptance, and final indignation indicates that he has had enough, and he is done with the relationship. He mentions that he is “hungry and irritable” and that he is tired of the “bag of tricks” that his partner uses. Dylan lowers his voice in the last verse, stating that he knows he is also troubled, but it is time to go their separate ways. Overall, this is a poignant song with a clear message of the transparency that comes from a bitter breakup.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, I thought that the rain would cool things down
But it looks like it don't
I'd like to get you to change your mind
But it looks like you won't.
Despite thinking time would change things, it hasn't. I want you to change but it seems like you won't.
From now on I'll be busy
Ain't going nowhere fast
I'm just glad it's over
And I'm seeing the real you at last.
I'll be busy and happy to finally see the real you; glad it's over and not going anywhere quickly.
Well, didn't I risk my neck for you
Didn't I take chances?
Didn't I rise above all
Most unfortunate circumstances?
I took risks and overcame terrible situations for you.
Well, I had some rotten nights
Didn't think that they would pass
I'm just thankful and grateful
To be seeing the real you at last.
I had terrible nights but I'm glad to finally see the real you.
I'm hungry and irritable
And I'm tired of this bag of tricks
At one time there was nothing wrong with me
That you could not fix.
I'm upset and worn out by your trickiness. Once you could fix everything about me, but not anymore.
Well, I sailed through the storm
Strapped to the mast
Oh, but our time has come
And I'm seeing the real you at last.
I survived the storm, but now it's our time - I see the real you now.
When I met you, baby
You didn't show no visible scars
You could ride like Annie Oakley
You could shoot like Belle Star.
When we met, you seemed strong and competent.
Well, I don't mind a reasonable amount of trouble
Trouble always comes to pass
All I care for about now
Is that I'm seeing the real you at last.
I'm okay with some trouble as long as it's the real you I'm seeing now.
Well I'm gonna quit this baby talk now
I guess I should have known
I got troubles, I think maybe you got troubles
I think maybe we'd better leave each other alone.
I'll stop treating you like a baby; we both have problems and maybe we should go our separate ways.
Whatever you gonna do
Please do it fast
I'm still trying to get used to
Seeing the real you at last.
Please act quickly - I'm still adjusting to seeing the real you.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BOB DYLAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind