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
Sooner or Later
Bob Dylan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To treat you so bad
You shouldn't take it so personal
I didn't mean
To make you so sad
You just happened to be there, that's all
When I saw you say "goodbye" to your friend and smile
I thought that it was well understood
I didn't know that you were sayin' "goodbye" for good
But, sooner or later, one of us must know
That you just did what you're supposed to do
Sooner or later, one of us must know
That I really did try to get close to you
I couldn't see
What you could show me
Your scarf had kept your mouth well hid
I couldn't see
How you could know me
But you said you knew me and I believed you did
When you whispered in my ear
And asked me if I was leavin' with you or her
I didn't realize just what I did hear
I didn't realize how young you were
But, sooner or later, one of us must know
That you're just doin' what you're supposed to do
Sooner or later, one of us must know
That I really did try to get close to you
I couldn't see
When it started snowin'
Your voice was all that I heard
I couldn't see
Where we were goin'
But you said you knew an' I took your word
And then you told me later, as I apologized
That you were just kiddin' me, you weren't really from the farm
An' I told you, as you clawed out my eyes that I
Never really meant to do you any harm
But, sooner or later, one of us must know
That you just did what you're supposed to do
Sooner or later, one of us must know
That I really did try to get close to you
The lyrics of Bob Dylan's "One of Us Must Know" speak about a love affair that has gone awry. The singer is confessing that he did not mean to treat the person he is addressing so badly. He acknowledges that he made her sad, but insists that she should not take it personally because he did not mean to hurt her. He then recounts a moment he shared with her when he thought she would be coming back to him soon, but she was really saying goodbye for good.
The singer then shifts to talking about how he could not see who the person really was because she had kept her mouth well hidden behind her scarf. She had whispered in his ear and asked if he was leaving with her or another person. He did not understand what he heard, and he did not realize how young she was. He confesses that he had tried to get close to her.
The chorus of the song repeats the line "Sooner or later, one of us must know" twice to indicate that at some point in the future, the truth will be revealed. One of them will realize that the other was just doing what they had to do. The singer insists that he had really tried to get close to her, but circumstances and misunderstandings got in the way. The song speaks to the fallibility of human relationships and how misunderstandings can ruin even the purest of intentions.
Line by Line Meaning
I didn't mean
To treat you so bad
You shouldn't take it so personal
I didn't intend to hurt you, so don't take it too personally
I didn't mean
To make you so sad
You just happened to be there, that's all
I didn't want to make you sad, you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time
When I saw you say "goodbye" to your friend and smile
I thought that it was well understood
That you'd be comin' back in a little while
I didn't know that you were sayin' "goodbye" for good
When I saw you say goodbye to your friend and smile, I thought you'd be back soon, but I was wrong and didn't realize you were leaving for good
But, sooner or later, one of us must know
That you just did what you're supposed to do
Sooner or later, one of us must know
That I really did try to get close to you
One of us will eventually realize that you were doing what you had to do, and I did try to connect with you
I couldn't see
What you could show me
Your scarf had kept your mouth well hid
I couldn't see
How you could know me
But you said you knew me and I believed you did
I couldn't see what you could teach me, and your scarf hid your mouth. I didn't understand how you could know me, but you told me you did, and I believed you
When you whispered in my ear
And asked me if I was leavin' with you or her
I didn't realize just what I did hear
I didn't realize how young you were
When you whispered in my ear and asked me to choose between you and someone else, I didn't fully understand what you were saying, and I didn't realize how young you were
I couldn't see
When it started snowin'
Your voice was all that I heard
I couldn't see
Where we were goin'
But you said you knew an' I took your word
When it started snowing, I couldn't see, but I heard your voice guiding me. I didn't know where we were going, but I trusted you when you said you knew the way
And then you told me later, as I apologized
That you were just kiddin' me, you weren't really from the farm
An' I told you, as you clawed out my eyes that I
Never really meant to do you any harm
Later, as I apologised, you revealed that you were joking and weren't really from the farm. Even as you attacked me, I still said I didn't mean to harm you
Lyrics © BOB DYLAN MUSIC CO
Written by: BOB DYLAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@juancamacho5746
I didn't mean
To treat you so bad
You shouldn't take it so personal
I didn't mean
To make you so sad
You just happened to be there, that's all
When I saw you say "goodbye" to your friend and smile
I thought that it was well understood
That you'd be comin' back in a little while
I didn't know that you were sayin' "goodbye" for good
But, sooner or later, one of us must know
That you just did what you're supposed to do
Sooner or later, one of us must know
That I really did try to get close to you
🎵🎶🎵🎶
I couldn't see
What you could show me
Your scarf had kept your mouth well hid
I couldn't see
How you could know me
But you said you knew me and I believed you did
When you whispered in my ear
And asked me if I was leavin' with you or her
I didn't realize just what I did hear
I didn't realize how young you were
But, sooner or later, one of us must know
That you're just doin' what you're supposed to do
Sooner or later, one of us must know
That I really did try to get close to you
🎵🎶🎵🎶
I couldn't see
When it started snowin'
Your voice was all that I heard
I couldn't see
Where we were goin'
But you said you knew an' I took your word
And then you told me later, as I apologized
That you were just kiddin' me, you weren't really from the farm
An' I told you, as you clawed out my eyes that I
Never really meant to do you any harm
But, sooner or later, one of us must know
That you just did what you're supposed to do
Sooner or later, one of us must know
That I really did try to get close to you
@scotchie42
May 1967, I had just returned from a year in Vietnam, I was stationed at Fort Belvoir, Washington DC, had 6 months left to serve. A soldier in our barracks had this album. He let me borrow it to take to the Post library so I could listen in a special soundproof room. I was blown away, bought my own copy and spent many nights just listening in amazement at this great album. I wore it out. It is still the best album ever made.
@markkrathbun3415
Preciate your service
@thomasmillott8061
I couldn't agree with you more....the best album EVER made. Think about that for a moment!
@scotchie42
FNA@@lovrodivic6949
@frozemoments7873
Amazing story...would love to hear the whole of it one day
@rottenrobb2583
Vietnam vets had their balls screwed on as tight as they will get. No matter how you feel about some rich man’s war the poor boys they shipped across the ocean to die in some god forsaken jungle deserve nothing but respect.
@terrancegeneeha418
Dylan is one of a kind. This album is out of this world.
@stephendaparma3303
👍🏻 🎯
@deeg8849
Totally. And the first double album that every other legendary artist tried to measure up against (Beatles white, hendrix ladyland, stones exile,etc). Although exile in my view surpassed
@EllieLindhorst
And yet it is the world