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
The First Noel
Bob Dylan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The angel did say
Was to certain
Poor shepherds
In fields as they lay
In fields where they may
Keeping their sheep
On a cold winter's night
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel
They looked up
And saw a star
Shining in the East
Beyond them far
And to the Earth
It gave great light
And so it continued
Both day and night
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel
This by the light
Of that same star
Three wise man came
From country far
To seek a king
Was there intent
And to follow the star
Wherever it went
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel
Noel
The First Noel is a classic Christmas Carol composed of several verses. In the first verse, the angel tells poor shepherds their message about the birth of a savior, Jesus Christ. The song emphasizes the way this message was delivered to ordinary people who had no prior knowledge of what was to come. This is an analogy to how the birth of a blessed child brought light to a world that had been in darkness for years.
The second verse emphasizes the appearance of a star in the sky that led the shepherds to the location of the newborn: "They looked up and saw a star shining in the East, beyond them far... both day and night." The star represents guidance and hope for the shepherd's journey. The final verse talks about three wise men who journey from a distant country in hopes of finding the newborn king, and following the same star that shone that clear and bright.
The overall message of The First Noel is about the arrival of the long-awaited Christ in the world, and how the message of his birth was spread to people of different backgrounds and lifestyles, including the shepherds and the wise men. Dylan's version strips down the typically bombastic arrangement of the hymn, offering a more contemplative and simplified approach to the song.
Line by Line Meaning
The angel did say
An angel spoke with a message
Was to certain
The angel spoke to specific people
Poor shepherds
The people who received the message were poor shepherds
In fields as they lay
The shepherds were resting in fields
In fields where they may
They were in the fields where their sheep were
Keeping their sheep
They were watching over their sheep
On a cold winter's night
It was a cold night in winter
That was so deep
The night was very dark
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
This is a repeated refrain
Born is the King of Israel
The message was that a king was born in Israel
They looked up
The shepherds lifted their gazes
And saw a star
They saw a bright star
Shining in the East
The star was shining in the eastern sky
Beyond them far
The star was far beyond where they were standing
And to the Earth
The star's light extended to the Earth
It gave great light
The star provided a bright light
And so it continued
The star's light continued
Both day and night
The star's light shone both day and night
This by the light
This is what the wise men followed
Of that same star
They followed the same star that the shepherds had seen
Three wise man came
Three wise men journeyed
From country far
They came from a distant land
To seek a king
They were searching for a king
Was there intent
The wise men were determined in their purpose
And to follow the star
They followed the star they saw
Wherever it went
They followed the star's path
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Traditional
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind