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
Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues
Bob Dylan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I didn't know what in the world I was gonna do
Them Communists they was comin' around
They was in the air
They was on the ground
They wouldn't gimme no peace
So I run down most hurriedly
I got me a secret membership card
And started off a-walkin' down the road
Yee-hoo, I'm a real John Bircher now
Look out you Commies
Now we all agree with Hitlers' views
Although he killed six million Jews
It don't matter too much that he was a Fascist
At least you can't say he was a Communist
That's to say like if you got a cold you take a shot of malaria
Well, I was lookin' everywhere for them gol-darned Reds
I got up in the mornin' 'n' looked under my bed
Looked in the sink, behind the door
Looked in the glove compartment of my car
Couldn't find 'em
I was lookin' high an' low for them Reds everywhere
I was lookin' in the sink an' underneath the chair
I looked way up my chimney hole
I even looked deep inside my toilet bowl
They got away
Well, I was sittin' home alone an' started to sweat
Figured they was in my T.V. set
Peeked behind the picture frame
Got a shock from my feet, hittin' right up in the brain
Them Reds caused it
I know they did, them hard-core ones
Well, I quit my job so I could work alone
Then I changed my name to Sherlock Holmes
Followed some clues from my detective bag
And discovered they was red stripes on the American flag
That ol' Betty Ross
Well, I investigated all the books in the library
Ninety percent of 'em gotta be burned away
I investigated all the people that I knowed
Ninety-eight percent of them gotta go
The other two percent are fellow Birchers, just like me
Now Eisenhower, he's a Russian spy
Lincoln, Jefferson and that Roosevelt guy
To my knowledge there's just one man
That's really a true American, George Lincoln Rockwell
I know for a fact he hates Commies 'cause he picketed the movie Exodus
Well, I fin'ly started thinkin' straight
When I run outta things to investigate
Couldn't imagine doin' anything else
So now I'm sittin' home investigatin' myself
Hope I don't find out anything, hm, great God
The song "Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues" by Bob Dylan is a satirical take on the paranoia and fear of communism that was rampant in the United States during the 1950s and 60s. In the song, the singer is afraid of the imagined Communist threat and joins the John Birch Society to try and combat it. However, he soon realizes the absurdity of his actions when he cannot find any communists anywhere. The lyrics highlight the irrational fear and hysteria that people had about communism at the time.
The first verse sets the scene of the singer feeling sad and blue because of the perceived Communist threat. He joins the John Birch Society, a right-wing political organization founded in 1958, and gets a "secret membership card." The second verse sees the singer praising Hitler's views, highlighting the blindness and danger of extremist ideologies. In the third verse, the singer searches for the elusive Communists in every nook and cranny but ultimately cannot find them. In the fourth verse, he believes the Reds (an old term for Communists) are in his TV and picture frame, showing the depth of his paranoia. In the fifth and final verse, the singer has become so obsessed with finding Communists that he investigates everything and everyone, ultimately turning to self-investigation.
Overall, the lyrics of the song are a biting commentary on the fear and paranoia around communism in the United States during the 1950s and 60s. Through a humorous lens, Dylan presents the absurdity of the situation and the panic that gripped the country.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, I was feelin' sad and feelin' blue
I was feeling down and out
I didn't know what in the world I was gonna do
I had no idea what to do
Them Communists they was comin' around
I believed that communists were everywhere
They was in the air
I thought they were in the skies
They was on the ground
I believed they were on the streets
They wouldn't gimme no peace
I was paranoid and always worried about them
So I run down most hurriedly
I ran as fast as I could
And joined up with the John Birch Society
I became a member of the John Birch Society
I got me a secret membership card
I got myself a secret membership card
And started off a-walkin' down the road
I began walking to get away from them
Yee-hoo, I'm a real John Bircher now
I was proud to be a member of the society
Look out you Commies
I believed that the communists should beware of me
Now we all agree with Hitlers' views
We agreed with Hitler's views despite his actions
Although he killed six million Jews
We don’t mind that he massacred six million Jews
It don't matter too much that he was a Fascist
We don’t care much that he was a fascist
At least you can't say he was a Communist
But you can't call him a communist
That's to say like if you got a cold you take a shot of malaria
It doesn’t make sense
Well, I was lookin' everywhere for them gol-darned Reds
I was looking for the communists everywhere
I got up in the mornin' 'n' looked under my bed
I even searched under my bed in the morning
Looked in the sink, behind the door
I searched everywhere in the house
Looked in the glove compartment of my car
I even checked the glove compartment of my car
Couldn't find 'em
But I couldn't find them
I was lookin' high an' low for them Reds everywhere
I wasn't giving up on finding them
I was lookin' in the sink an' underneath the chair
I searched all around the house
I looked way up my chimney hole
I even looked up the chimney
I even looked deep inside my toilet bowl
I searched my toilet bowl as well
They got away
But I couldn't find them
Well, I was sittin' home alone an' started to sweat
I was home alone and feeling anxious
Figured they was in my T.V. set
I thought they were inside my TV set
Peeked behind the picture frame
I even checked behind the picture frame
Got a shock from my feet, hittin' right up in the brain
I got scared and startled
Them Reds caused it
I blamed the communist for it
I know they did, them hard-core ones
I believed it to be the hard-core communists
Well, I quit my job so I could work alone
I quit my job to be alone
Then I changed my name to Sherlock Holmes
I changed my name to Sherlock Holmes
Followed some clues from my detective bag
I followed some clues that I found in my detective bag
And discovered they was red stripes on the American flag
I discovered that the American flag had red stripes on it
That ol' Betty Ross
That old flag maker, Betty Ross
Well, I investigated all the books in the library
I searched through all the books in the library
Ninety percent of 'em gotta be burned away
I believed that 90% of all books had to be burned
I investigated all the people that I knowed
I even investigated the people I knew
Ninety-eight percent of them gotta go
I believed that 98% of them were no good
The other two percent are fellow Birchers, just like me
The only people I trusted were fellow members of the John Birch Society
Now Eisenhower, he's a Russian spy
I believed that even Eisenhower was a Russian spy
Lincoln, Jefferson and that Roosevelt guy
I doubted the loyalty of great American leaders like Jefferson, Lincoln, and Roosevelt
To my knowledge there's just one man
But I knew of only one true American
That's really a true American, George Lincoln Rockwell
And that was George Lincoln Rockwell
I know for a fact he hates Commies 'cause he picketed the movie Exodus
I knew for a fact that he hated communists because he protest against the movie Exodus
Well, I fin'ly started thinkin' straight
I finally started thinking logically
When I run outta things to investigate
After I ran out of things to investigate
Couldn't imagine doin' anything else
I couldn't think of doing anything else
So now I'm sittin' home investigatin' myself
So now I'm left with investigating myself
Hope I don't find out anything, hm, great God
I hope I don't find anything bad about myself
Lyrics © BOB DYLAN MUSIC CO
Written by: BOB DYLAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@rickriffel6246
Here's the 2023 Talkin' Ron DeSantis Woke Blues
Well, I was feeling sad and feeling blue, I didn’t know what in the world I wus gonna do
Them WOKE they were coming around, they were in the air, they were on the ground
They wouldn't give me no peace
So I run down most hurriedly, And joined the Florida Republicans!
I got me a secret voting card, And started off a-walking down the road
Yee-haw, I’m a Ron DeSantis-er now! Look out you WOKERS!
Now we all agree with Hitler’s views, Although he killed six million Jews
It don’t matter too much that he was a Fascist, At least you can’t say he was WOKE!
That’s to say like if you got Covid you take a shot of Ebola
Well, I woos looking everywhere for them gol-darned WOKE, I got up in the morning and looked under my bed
Looked in the sink, behind the door, Looked in the glove compartment of my car
Couldn’t find them
I was looking high and low for them WOKERS everywhere, I was looking in the sink and underneath the chair
I looked way up my chimney hole, I even looked deep down inside my toilet bowl
They got away
Well, I was sitting home alone and started to sweat, Figured they was in my cellphone tablet!
Peeked behind the picture frame, Got a shock from my finger, hitting right up in the brain
Them WOKE caused it!
Well, I banned all the books in the library, Ninety percent of them gotta be burned away
I cancelled all the people that I know, Ninety-nine percent of them gotta go
The last one percent are fellow Republicans just like me!
Well, I finally started thinking straight, When I run out of things to investigate
Couldn’t imagine doing anything else, So now I’m sitting home investigating myself!
Hope I don’t find any WOKE, great God!
@dwaynewladyka577
These lyrics of this song have relevance, even today. Cheers!
@zackamania6534
They’re back and they wear red hats…red, ironically
@philiphalpenny3783
@ZACKAMANIA Fittingly, not ironically!
@squacamole3599
Too bad the Democrats have taken up this torch. Anything that questions the establishment, blame Russia ("Commies")🤦
@sherylwatson2877
Love you Bob, been a fan forever!!!!!!!!!!!!❤❤❤❤
@davidoakley2578
@ZACKAMANIA Trump was raised in the John birch society.
@HelianaSuper
I love this harmonica...
@326cher
This is the song Bob was banned from singing on the Ed Sullivan show!
@326cher
Our mutual friend Theodore Bikel used to be on Hootenany ❤!
@stephenmier7277
I looked down in my toilet bowl, it was DONOVAN