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
on the road again
Bob Dylan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's frogs inside my socks
Your mama, she's a-hidin'
Inside the icebox
Your daddy walks in wearin'
A Napoleon Bonaparte mask
Then you ask why I don't live here
Honey, do you have to ask?
Well, I go to pet your monkey
I get a face full of claws
I ask who's in the fireplace
And you tell me Santa Claus
The milkman comes in
He's wearing a derby hat
Then you ask why I don't live here
Honey, how come you have to ask me that?
Well, I asked for something to eat
I'm hungry as a hog
So I get brown rice, seaweed
And a dirty hot dog
I've got a hole
Where my stomach disappeared
Then you ask why I don't live here
Honey, I gotta think you're really weird
Your grandpa's cane
It turns into a sword
Your grandma prays to pictures
That are pasted on a board
Everything inside my pockets
Your uncle steals
Then you ask why I don't live here
Honey, I can't believe that you're for real
Well, there's fist fights in the kitchen
They're enough to make me cry
The mailman comes in
Even he's gotta take a side
Even the butler
He's got something to prove
Then you ask why I don't live here
Honey, how come you don't move
Bob Dylan's On the Road Again is a surrealistic song that is packed with bizarre and dream-like imagery. It is a representation of a dude who has walked into a truly weird home. The opening stanza shows the singer waking up in the morning with a strange surprise of finding frogs stuffed in his socks. There is no explanation for why the singer's mother is hiding in the icebox or why his father is wearing a Napoleon Bonaparte mask. After that, the singer tries to pet someone's monkey, and it ends in a face full of claws. He then finds Santa Claus inside the fireplace, and the milkman with his derby hat offers no clarification for these oddities.
As the song progress, the singer still reacts to additional bizarre events, such as getting brown rice, seaweed, and a dirty hotdog instead of an appropriate meal, losing his stomach, his uncle stealing from him, his grandpa's cane turns into a sword, and his grandma praying to photographs on a board. It all culminates in fights in the kitchen, with everyone taking sides, even the butler has something to prove. The final line of the song, "Honey, how come you don't move," leaves the listeners wondering whether it is a question or a statement from the singer to the resident of the house.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, I woke up in the morning
I woke up and started my day.
There's frogs inside my socks
There are some uncomfortable things in my life that I must deal with.
Your mama, she's a-hidin'
Your mom is not here, and I don't know where she is.
Inside the icebox
She might be hiding in the fridge.
Your daddy walks in wearin'
Your dad comes in looking strange.
A Napoleon Bonaparte mask
He's wearing a mask of a famous military leader.
Then you ask why I don't live here
You question my living choices.
Honey, do you have to ask?
Do you really need to ask that question?
Well, I go to pet your monkey
I try to interact with your pet monkey.
I get a face full of claws
The monkey doesn't like me and scratches my face.
I ask who's in the fireplace
I wonder who or what is in the fireplace.
And you tell me Santa Claus
You joke and say Santa Claus is in the fireplace.
The milkman comes in
The milkman arrives at the house.
He's wearing a derby hat
He's wearing a specific type of hat.
Then you ask why I don't live here
You question my living choices again.
Honey, how come you have to ask me that?
Why do you keep having to ask me this question?
Well, I asked for something to eat
I requested food because I'm hungry.
I'm hungry as a hog
I'm very hungry.
So I get brown rice, seaweed
You give me an unusual meal of brown rice and seaweed.
And a dirty hot dog
In addition to the brown rice and seaweed, I receive a hot dog that's not very clean.
I've got a hole
I have an empty feeling within my abdomen.
Where my stomach disappeared
My stomach feels like it's missing.
Then you ask why I don't live here
You continue to question why I don't live here.
Honey, I gotta think you're really weird
I think you're strange for living in this kind of environment.
Your grandpa's cane
Your grandfather's walking stick.
It turns into a sword
The walking stick transforms into a sword.
Your grandma prays to pictures
Your grandmother is praying to some photos.
That are pasted on a board
They're displayed on a board for some reason.
Everything inside my pockets
All of the items in my pockets.
Your uncle steals
Your uncle takes them from me without permission.
Then you ask why I don't live here
Once again, you question my living choices.
Honey, I can't believe that you're for real
I truly find it hard to believe that this is a real situation that people live in.
Well, there's fist fights in the kitchen
People are fighting in the kitchen.
They're enough to make me cry
It's emotionally difficult for me to endure the fights.
The mailman comes in
The mailman enters the house.
Even he's gotta take a side
Even the mailman gets involved in the fights somehow.
Even the butler
The butler, who is supposed to be formal and professional, is affected by the chaos.
He's got something to prove
The butler has a motive that drives him to act a certain way.
Then you ask why I don't live here
For the final time, you wonder why I don't live in this situation.
Honey, how come you don't move
Instead of asking me, you should consider moving out of this environment yourself.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BOB DYLAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind