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
This Wheel's on Fire
Bob Dylan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We were goin' to meet again and wait
So I'm goin' to unpack all my things
And sit before it gets too late
No man alive will come to you
With another tale to tell
And you know that we shall meet again
If your mem'ry serves you well
Rolling down the road,
Best notify my next of kin
This wheel shall explode
If your mem'ry serves you well
I was goin' to confiscate your lace
And wrap it up in a sailor's knot
And hide it in your case
If I knew for sure that it was yours
But it was oh so hard to tell
And you know that we would meet again
If your mem'ry serves you well
This wheel's on fire
Rolling down the road
Best notify my next of kin
This wheel shall explode
If your mem'ry serves you well
You'll remember you're the one
That called on me to call on them
To get you your favors done
And after ev'ry plan had failed
And there was nothing more to tell
You knew that we would meet again
If your mem'ry served you well
This wheel's on fire
It's rolling down the road
Best notify my next of kin
That this wheel shall explode
The song "This Wheel's on Fire" by Bob Dylan and The Band talks about the inevitability of fate and the uncertainty of life itself. It is a song about the fragility of relationships and how they can be broken by circumstances beyond our control. The lyrics are full of imagery and metaphorical language that suggest that the members of the band are on a journey that they cannot control. The first stanza talks about the desire to reunite with someone, but also the understanding that things may not always go as planned. The lyrics suggest a sense of resignation to the fact that life is unpredictable and we cannot control what lies ahead.
The second stanza talks about the uncertainty of love and relationships. The singer wants to keep a souvenir of their love, but is not sure if it is his to take. It is a poignant reminder that love can be fleeting and that we may not know what we’ve lost until it’s gone. The third stanza talks about the importance of memories and how they shape our lives. The singer reminds the listener that even if they can't remember everything, they will always have the memories of their time together.
Line by Line Meaning
If your mem'ry serves you well
If you have retained all the necessary information in your memory
We were goin' to meet again and wait
We had planned to meet again in the future and wait for something
So I'm goin' to unpack all my things
Therefore, I will unload all of my belongings
And sit before it gets too late
And settle in before it becomes too late in the day
No man alive will come to you
No living person will approach you
With another tale to tell
To tell you another story
And you know that we shall meet again
And you are aware that we will cross paths again
This wheel's on fire
This situation is out of control and dangerous
Rolling down the road,
Developing and continuing in action
Best notify my next of kin
It would be wise to inform my family members in case something goes wrong
This wheel shall explode
The circumstances will ultimately become devastating
I was goin' to confiscate your lace
I had planned to take away your decorative string
And wrap it up in a sailor's knot
And tie it up in a particular kind of knot typically used by sailors
And hide it in your case
And conceal it in your container for storing items
If I knew for sure that it was yours
If I was certain that it belonged to you
But it was oh so hard to tell
But it was incredibly challenging to determine ownership
You'll remember you're the one
You will recall that you were the individual
That called on me to call on them
Who requested my assistance in getting something done through contacting others
To get you your favors done
In order to fulfill your requests
And after ev'ry plan had failed
And after all previous plans had fallen through
And there was nothing more to tell
And there existed no additional information or solutions to provide
That this wheel shall explode
That this situation will ultimately become devastating
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Richard Danko, Bob Dylan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@juancamacho5746
If your mem’ry serves you well
We were goin’ to meet again and wait
So I’m goin’ to unpack all my things
And sit before it gets too late
No man alive will come to you
With another tale to tell
But you know that we shall meet again
If your mem’ry serves you well
This wheel’s on fire
Rolling down the road
Best notify my next of kin
This wheel shall explode!
If your mem’ry serves you well
I was goin’ to confiscate your lace
And wrap it up in a sailor’s knot
And hide it in your case
If I knew for sure that it was yours . . .
But it was oh so hard to tell
But you knew that we would meet again
If your mem’ry serves you well
This wheel’s on fire
Rolling down the road
Best notify my next of kin
This wheel shall explode!
If your mem’ry serves you well
You’ll remember you’re the one
That called on me to call on them
To get you your favors done
And after ev’ry plan had failed
And there was nothing more to tell
You knew that we would meet again
If your mem’ry served you well
This wheel’s on fire
Rolling down the road
Best notify my next of kin
This wheel shall explode!
@reddwing4368
@@LebSista ok cool
Thanks so much for your response
Maybe we could share some songs we did comment poems too
I never show anyone my stuff but since we don t know each other
It ll be anonymous like our way of communicating poems
Anyway thanks again
Good luck
Take care
Hope too here from ya
@colinmoore317
One of my favourite dylan track. Pure genius. Colin
@sunman5649
Only Bob Dylan and Garth Hudson are alive😢one of the most beautiful songs of the basement tapes...In heaven they will continue to make music.🙏
@rockturtleneck
"Best notify my next of kin": This might be my favorite song from the Basement Tapes. It sounds like it was written and recorded during the Civil War.
@1DaTJo
OMG how many astonishing songs has Bob written. It’s just unbelievable.
@shuddupeyaface
It is.
@gushunter6709
Its not by Bob Dylan, its by The Band.
@1DaTJo
@@gushunter6709 no, it’s written by Bob Dylan and Rick Danko. Research it.
@dylanthompson4836
@@gushunter6709 lol bro it's Dylan, the band covered it on their debut a year after this.
@hooloinnit
@@1DaTJo rick danko, a founding member of the band? research it. Also this sounds a lot more danko than dylan.
@paulhoward2417
This is a beautiful storm. Dylan’s voice is astonishing.