Om Bob Dylan:
“Manden kan jo ikke synge”
5 grunde til at folk ikke kan li Dylan
- De kender for lidt til Dylan og hans sange (har blot ignoreret ham)
- De forstår ham ikke . Hans tekster / poesi kan være vanskelig at forstå
- De kan ikke li' hans stemme. Dylan er ikke sanger , men en poet der som sit forbillede (Woody Guthrie), har valgt at fremføre sin poesi som musik og sang.
- Dylan er noget man skal vænne sig til , et tekstunivers som det kan tage tid at lære at kende - og mååske man heller aldrig kommer ti at forstå det!
- Hans stemme er blevet stadig dårligere over årene, og ikke gjort det lettere at høre hvad han faktisk siger.
Hvorfor nu det ?
En af mine rigtig gode venner spurgte en dag - "hva er det med ham Dylan?" . Som mange andre kunne han ikke forstå hvad jeg hørte eller så i Dylan. "Manden kan jo ikke synge " har jeg ofte hørt folk sige, som ikke kendte meget til Dylan.Bob Dylan er ikke skønsang som lefler for øregangen - Dylan er en historiefortæller. Hans stemme er rå, nasal og uperfekt, men den bærer følelser, vrede, sårbarhed og ironi på en måde, som en “pæn” stemme aldrig kunne. Det er netop den kant og autenticitet, der gør hans musik ægte. Når han synger “How does it feel?” i Like a Rolling Stone, mærker man det – ikke fordi det lyder smukt, men fordi det lyder sandt.
Dylan skriver med en lyrisk kraft, der trækker på både bibelske, litterære og mytologiske referencer. Hans tekster er ofte gådefulde, fyldt med metaforer og symbolske figurer. Jeg vil ikke påstå at jeg forstår en sang ( rettere digt) som "It a Hard Rain Gonna Fall". En tekst som på en gang er gådefuld, mystisk og skræmmende. Men hør selv ...
Ultrakort biografi
Bob Dylan blev født d. 24. maj 1941 og er i dag (okt. 2025) 84 år gammel. Dylan blev født i Minnisota og flyttede i 1961 som 19 årig til New York og begyndte at spille på cafeer og klubber i Greenwich Village.Hans første album udkom året efter med amerikanske folksongs - hans store idol var Woody Guthrie. Året efter i maj 1963 kom hans første album med egne originale sange "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan", som indeholder en lang række af hans nok mest kendte snage - som f.eks 'Blowing in the Wind', 'Its a Hard Rain a'gonna Fall', Girl from the North Country og 'Masters of War'.
I feb 1964 kom albummet 'The Times They Are a-Changin' som også er titelnumret på LP'en. Siden har Dylan udgivet 40 studiealbum og dusinvis af live optagelser, sessions mv.
Dylan har givet over 4.390 koncerter i sin karriere. Hans berømte Never Ending Tour begyndte i 1988 og har fortsat med omkring 100 koncerter om året i flere årtier. Han turnerer også i 2025 og besøger Kbh 21. okt
I klassikeren "It's a Hard Rain a'Gonna Fall" hedder det“I saw a newborn baby with wild wolves all around it.”
og senere i samme vers"I saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children"
En urovækkende og symbolsk linje, der illustrerer tekstens dystopiske og profetiske tone. I sangen Like a Rolling Stone (1964) som handler om miste alt, penge, job, hjem og status hedder det i omkvædet:“How does it feel / To be on your own / With no direction home / Like a complete unknown / Like a rolling stone?”
Dylan i billeder gennem 60 år
Dylan 1961
1970 'erne 
1992
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1960'erne og i 2024
Nogle sange / tekster man bør høre ...
1) It's a Hard Rain a'Gonna Fall (1963)
Sangen - rettere teksten - er opbygget som en samtale mellem far og søn , hvor faderen stiller spørgsmål som "Where have you been my blue eye son?" , "Who did you meet ...?", "What did you hear ..?" osv og drengen svarer med de mest kryptiske og dybt forroligende mareritsagtige historier... Men lyt nu selv - husk at slå undertekster til ...
A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall
Written by: Bob Dylan
Oh, where have you been, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, where have you been, my darling young one?
I’ve stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains
I’ve walked and I’ve crawled on six crooked highways
I’ve stepped in the middle of seven sad forests
I’ve been out in front of a dozen dead oceans
I’ve been ten thousand miles in the mouth of a graveyard
And it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, and it’s a hard
And it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall
Oh, what did you see, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, what did you see, my darling young one?
I saw a newborn baby with wild wolves all around it
I saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it
I saw a black branch with blood that kept drippin’
I saw a room full of men with their hammers a-bleedin’
I saw a white ladder all covered with water
I saw ten thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken
I saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children
And it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
And it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall
And what did you hear, my blue-eyed son?
And what did you hear, my darling young one?
I heard the sound of a thunder, it roared out a warnin’
Heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world
Heard one hundred drummers whose hands were a-blazin’
Heard ten thousand whisperin’ and nobody listenin’
Heard one person starve, I heard many people laughin’
Heard the song of a poet who died in the gutter
Heard the sound of a clown who cried in the alley
And it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
And it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall
Oh, who did you meet, my blue-eyed son?
Who did you meet, my darling young one?
I met a young child beside a dead pony
I met a white man who walked a black dog
I met a young woman whose body was burning
I met a young girl, she gave me a rainbow
I met one man who was wounded in love
I met another man who was wounded with hatred
And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall
Oh, what’ll you do now, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, what’ll you do now, my darling young one?
I’m a-goin’ back out ’fore the rain starts a-fallin’
I’ll walk to the depths of the deepest black forest
Where the people are many and their hands are all empty
Where the pellets of poison are flooding their waters
Where the home in the valley meets the damp dirty prison
Where the executioner’s face is always well hidden
Where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten
Where black is the color, where none is the number
And I’ll tell it and think it and speak it and breathe it
And reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it
Then I’ll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin’
But I’ll know my song well before I start singin’
And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall
Copyright © 1963 by Warner Bros. Inc.; renewed 1991 by Special Rider Music
2. "Like a Rolling Stone"
Under hans turne i England samme år blev han pevet ud af publikum og kaldt en Judas - en forrædder mod folk musikken. Dylan har aldrig - dengang eller siden - søgt at indsmigre sig hos publikum.
Like a Rolling Stone
Written by: Bob Dylan
Once upon a time you dressed so fine
You threw the bums a dime in your prime,
didn’t you?
People’d call, say, “Beware doll,
you’re bound to fall”
You thought they were all kiddin’ you
You used to laugh about
Everybody that was hangin’ out
Now you don’t talk so loud
Now you don’t seem so proud
About having to be scrounging for your next meal
How does it feel
How does it feel
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?
You’ve gone to the finest school all right, Miss Lonely
But you know you only used to get juiced in it
And nobody has ever taught you how to live on the street
And now you find out you’re gonna have to get used to it
You said you’d never compromise
With the mystery tramp, but now you realize
He’s not selling any alibis
As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes
And ask him do you want to make a deal?
How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?
You never turned around to see the frowns
on the jugglers and the clowns
When they all come down and did tricks for you
You never understood that it ain’t no good
You shouldn’t let other people get your kicks for you
You used to ride on the chrome horse with your diplomat
Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat
Ain’t it hard when you discover that
He really wasn’t where it’s at
After he took from you everything he could steal
How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?
Princess on the steeple and all the pretty people
They’re drinkin’, thinkin’ that they got it made
Exchanging all kinds of precious gifts and things
But you’d better lift your diamond ring, you’d better pawn it babe
You used to be so amused
At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used
Go to him now, he calls you, you can’t refuse
When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose
You’re invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal
How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?
Copyright © 1965 by Warner Bros. Inc.; renewed 1993 by Special Rider Music
live - Newport 1965
Her synger Dylan sangen meget tro mod originalen som du kan høre her: Studieoptagelsen af LIke a Rolling StoneLive in Manchester
Til publikum store mishag spiller man anden del af koncerten elektrisk - og det er et klassisk øjeblik i moderne musikhistorie !3) Tangled up in blue ...
Sangen er blevet kaldt en poetisk udgave af Picassos kubisme - hvor tid, sted og personer konstant ses fra forskellige vinkler og perspektiver.
Tangled Up In Blue
Written by: Bob Dylan
Early one mornin’ the sun was shinin’
I was layin’ in bed
Wond’rin’ if she’d changed at all
If her hair was still red
Her folks they said our lives together
Sure was gonna be rough
They never did like Mama’s homemade dress
Papa’s bankbook wasn’t big enough
And I was standin’ on the side of the road
Rain fallin’ on my shoes
Heading out for the East Coast
Lord knows I’ve paid some dues gettin’ through
Tangled up in blue
She was married when we first met
Soon to be divorced
I helped her out of a jam, I guess
But I used a little too much force
We drove that car as far as we could
Abandoned it out West
Split up on a dark sad night
Both agreeing it was best
She turned around to look at me
As I was walkin’ away
I heard her say over my shoulder
“We’ll meet again someday on the avenue”
Tangled up in blue
I had a job in the great north woods
Working as a cook for a spell
But I never did like it all that much
And one day the ax just fell
So I drifted down to New Orleans
Where I happened to be employed
Workin’ for a while on a fishin’ boat
Right outside of Delacroix
But all the while I was alone
The past was close behind
I seen a lot of women
But she never escaped my mind, and I just grew
Tangled up in blue
She was workin’ in a topless place
And I stopped in for a beer
I just kept lookin’ at the side of her face
In the spotlight so clear
And later on as the crowd thinned out
I’s just about to do the same
She was standing there in back of my chair
Said to me, “Don’t I know your name?”
I muttered somethin’ underneath my breath
She studied the lines on my face
I must admit I felt a little uneasy
When she bent down to tie the laces of my shoe
Tangled up in blue
She lit a burner on the stove
And offered me a pipe
“I thought you’d never say hello,” she said
“You look like the silent type”
Then she opened up a book of poems
And handed it to me
Written by an Italian poet
From the thirteenth century
And every one of them words rang true
And glowed like burnin’ coal
Pourin’ off of every page
Like it was written in my soul from me to you
Tangled up in blue
I lived with them on Montague Street
In a basement down the stairs
There was music in the cafés at night
And revolution in the air
Then he started into dealing with slaves
And something inside of him died
She had to sell everything she owned
And froze up inside
And when finally the bottom fell out
I became withdrawn
The only thing I knew how to do
Was to keep on keepin’ on like a bird that flew
Tangled up in blue
So now I’m goin’ back again
I got to get to her somehow
All the people we used to know
They’re an illusion to me now
Some are mathematicians
Some are carpenters’ wives
Don’t know how it all got started
I don’t know what they’re doin’ with their lives
But me, I’m still on the road
Headin’ for another joint
We always did feel the same
We just saw it from a different point of view
Tangled up in blue
Copyright © 1974 by Ram's Horn Music; renewed 2002 by Ram’s Horn Music
Den originale studio optagelse
Live performance i Japan
Love songs ...
Lay, Lady, Lay" 1969
Wedding Song" 1973
Teksten er i beskrivelsen under videoen ...Wedding Song
Written by: Bob Dylan
I love you more than ever, more than time and more than love
I love you more than money and more than the stars above
Love you more than madness, more than waves upon the sea
Love you more than life itself, you mean that much to me
Ever since you walked right in, the circle’s been complete
I’ve said goodbye to haunted rooms and faces in the street
To the courtyard of the jester which is hidden from the sun
I love you more than ever and I haven’t yet begun
You breathed on me and made my life a richer one to live
When I was deep in poverty you taught me how to give
Dried the tears up from my dreams and pulled me from the hole
Quenched my thirst and satisfied the burning in my soul
You gave me babies one, two, three, what is more, you saved my life
Eye for eye and tooth for tooth, your love cuts like a knife
My thoughts of you don’t ever rest, they’d kill me if I lie
I’d sacrifice the world for you and watch my senses die
The tune that is yours and mine to play upon this earth
We’ll play it out the best we know, whatever it is worth
What’s lost is lost, we can’t regain what went down in the flood
But happiness to me is you and I love you more than blood
It’s never been my duty to remake the world at large
Nor is it my intention to sound a battle charge
’Cause I love you more than all of that with a love that doesn’t bend
And if there is eternity I’d love you there again
Oh, can’t you see that you were born to stand by my side
And I was born to be with you, you were born to be my bride
You’re the other half of what I am, you’re the missing piece
And I love you more than ever with that love that doesn’t cease
You turn the tide on me each day and teach my eyes to see
Just bein’ next to you is a natural thing for me
And I could never let you go, no matter what goes on
‘Cause I love you more than ever now that the past is gone
Copyright © 1973 by Ram's Horn Music; renewed 2001 by Ram’s Horn Music
Shelter from the Storm (1975)
Shelter from the Storm
Written by: Bob Dylan
’Twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood
When blackness was a virtue and the road was full of mud
I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you
shelter from the storm”
And if I pass this way again, you can rest assured
I’ll always do my best for her, on that I give my word
In a world of steel-eyed death, and men who are fighting to be warm
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you
shelter from the storm”
Not a word was spoke between us, there was little risk involved
Everything up to that point had been left unresolved
Try imagining a place where it’s always safe and warm
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you
shelter from the storm”
I was burned out from exhaustion, buried in the hail
Poisoned in the bushes an’ blown out on the trail
Hunted like a crocodile, ravaged in the corn
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you
shelter from the storm”
Suddenly I turned around and she was standin’ there
With silver bracelets on her wrists and flowers in her hair
She walked up to me so gracefully and took my crown of thorns
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you
shelter from the storm”
Now there’s a wall between us, somethin’ there’s been lost
I took too much for granted, got my signals crossed
Just to think that it all began on a long-forgotten morn
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you
shelter from the storm”
Well, the deputy walks on hard nails and the preacher rides a mount
But nothing really matters much, it’s doom alone that counts
And the one-eyed undertaker, he blows a futile horn
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you
shelter from the storm”
I’ve heard newborn babies wailin’ like a mournin’ dove
And old men with broken teeth stranded without love
Do I understand your question, man, is it hopeless and forlorn?
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you
shelter from the storm”
In a little hilltop village, they gambled for my clothes
I bargained for salvation an’ they gave me a lethal dose
I offered up my innocence and got repaid with scorn
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you
shelter from the storm”
Well, I’m livin’ in a foreign country but I’m bound to cross the line
Beauty walks a razor’s edge, someday I’ll make it mine
If I could only turn back the clock to when God and her were born
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you
shelter from the storm”
Copyright © 1974 by Ram's Horn Music; renewed 2002 by Ram’s Horn Music
Dylan i det 21. årh
Albummet Modern Times (2006) markerer denne stilistiske drejning: musikken er enkel, ofte bygget på blues, swing og country, og arrangementerne er underspillede – næsten spartanske. Dylans stemme er blevet dybere, mere rusten og teatralsk – som en gammel fortæller, der har levet sine historier. Han synger med en autoritet og ro, der giver plads til ordenes vægt.
Teksterne kredser om tid, tro, tab og evighed, og han trækker på klassiske amerikanske sangtraditioner, Bibelen, Shakespeare og gamle folkemyter. Det er ikke længere ungdommens oprør, men livets eftertanke, der driver værket. Dylan i det 21. århundrede er en poetisk arketype – en moderne Homer, der synger om menneskets rejse gennem mørke og lys.
"Spirit on the water"(2006)
Spirit on the Water
Written by: Bob Dylan
Spirit on the water
Darkness on the face of the deep
I keep thinking about you baby
I can’t hardly sleep
I’m traveling by land
Traveling through the dawn of day
You’re always on my mind
I can’t stay away
I’d forgotten about you
Then you turned up again
I always knew
That we were meant to be more than friends
When you are near
It’s just as plain as it can be
I’m wild about you, gal
You ought to be a fool about me
Can’t explain
The sources of this hidden pain
You burned your way into my heart
You got the key to my brain
I’ve been trampling through mud
Praying to the powers above
I’m sweating blood
You got a face that begs for love
Life without you
Doesn’t mean a thing to me
If I can’t have you
I’ll throw my love into the deep blue sea
Sometimes I wonder
Why you can’t treat me right
You do good all day
Then you do wrong all night
When you’re with me
I’m a thousand times happier than I could ever say
What does it matter
What price I pay
They brag about your sugar
Brag about it all over town
Put some sugar in my bowl
I feel like laying down
I’m pale as a ghost
Holding a blossom on a stem
You ever seen a ghost? No
But you have heard of them
I hear your name
Ringing up and down the line
I’m saying it plain
These ties are strong enough to bind
I been in a brawl
Now I’m feeling the wall
I’m going away baby
I won’t be back ’til fall
High on the hill
You can carry all my thoughts with you
You’ve numbed my will
This love could tear me in two
I wanna be with you in paradise
And it seems so unfair
I can’t go back to paradise no more
I killed a man back there
You think I’m over the hill
You think I’m past my prime
Let me see what you got
We can have a whoppin’ good time
Copyright © 2006 by Special Rider Music
Beyond the horizon (2006)
Beyond the Horizon
Written by: Bob DylanBeyond the horizon, behind the sun
At the end of the rainbow life has only begun
In the long hours of twilight
’neath the stardust above
Beyond the horizon it is easy to love
I’m staring out the window
Of an ancient town
Petals from flowers
Falling to the ground
Beyond the horizon,
in the springtime or fall
Love waits forever, for one and for all
Beyond the horizon, across the divide
’Round about midnight, we’ll be on the same side
Down in the valley
the water runs cold
Beyond the horizon someone’s prayin’ for your soul
I lost my true lover
In the dusk, in the dawn
I have to recover
Get up and go on
Beyond the horizon, beyond love’s burning game
Every step that you take, I’m walking the same
Beyond the horizon, the night winds blow
The theme of a melody
from many moons ago
The bells of St. Mary,
how sweetly they chime
Beyond the horizon
I found you just in time
Slipping and sliding
Too late to stop
Riding and gliding
It’s lonely at the top
Beyond the horizon, the sky is so blue
I’ve got more than a lifetime to live lovin’ you
Copyright © 2006 by Special Rider Music
Martin Scorsese (2005) Dokumentar om Dylan
Dylan har sjældent givet interviews , men gennem dokumentaren her fortæller han til kameraet hvad han oplevelde og tænkte og gjorde i årene frem til ca. 1966.