The story of bob dylan in 20 songs | members only

7. “IT’S ALL OVER NOW, BABY BLUE” (1965)  [embedded content] On July 25, 1965, Dylan shocked his fanbase by “going electric” at Rhode Island’s Newport Folk Festival, playing part of his set

with a full electric band. The audience booed, with one famously shouting, “Judas!” “I couldn’t understand it,” Dylan told _SPIN _magazine in 1985. “I was a little embarrassed by the fuss

because it was for the wrong reasons.” He finished his performance with two acoustic songs, including this one from the newly released album _Bringing It All Back Home_. It was “his hard-ass

response” to the critics, as _Rolling Stone_ summed up the moment. 8. “FOURTH TIME AROUND” (1966)  [embedded content] Dylan and the Beatles had a love-hate relationship. Dylan famously

introduced the Fab Four to marijuana. But he also wasn’t happy when he suspected the Beatles were ripping off his ideas. After hearing the Beatles hit “Norwegian Wood,” written and sung

mostly by John Lennon, Dylan reportedly said, “What is this? It’s me, Bob. [John’s] doing me!” If you believe some critics, Dylan wrote “Fourth Time Around” to openly mock Lennon’s attempts

at imitating him. Lennon may have gotten the message, revealing in a 1968 _Rolling Stone_ interview that he “didn’t like” Dylan’s song. “I was very paranoid. I just didn’t like what I felt I

was feeling.” 9. “DAY OF THE LOCUSTS” (1970)  [embedded content] During the spring of 1970, Dylan traveled to Princeton University to accept an honorary Doctorate of Music degree. “Bob did

not want to go," his friend and fellow musician David Crosby remembered. "I said, ‘C’mon, Bob, it’s an honor!’” Dylan begrudgingly agreed to attend, and his experience resulted

in this song about the cicadas that almost drowned out the outdoor ceremony. Although it’s unlikely that, as the lyrics suggested, Dylan was seated next to a man whose “head was exploding,”

the rest feels like a snapshot from a very surreal day. 10. “YOU AIN’T GOIN’ NOWHERE” (1975)  [embedded content] After his 1966 motorcycle accident, Dylan holed up in upstate New York,

where he and his backing band the Hawks (who would later become the Band) laid down rough demos for songs never intended to be shared with the outside world. “That's really the way to

do a recording,” he told_ Rolling Stone_ in 1969. “In a peaceful, relaxed setting, in somebody's basement. With the windows open … and a dog lying on the floor.” One version of the

song, released in 1975 on _The Basement Tapes_, sums up perfectly his feelings of isolation during that time. “Strap yourself to the tree with roots/You ain't goin' nowhere,” he

sings. 11. “FOREVER YOUNG” (1974)  [embedded content] Although Dylan insisted in the _Biograph _liner notes that he was "not wanting to be too sentimental” when writing "Forever

Young,” it’s impossible to listen to it and not get a little choked up, especially if you’re a parent. "May you grow up to be righteous/ May you grow up to be true/ May you always know

the truth/ And see the lights surrounding you." Dylan, who at the time was a father to two daughters and three sons, hasn’t recorded many songs about parenting, but this one tells you

everything you need to know about him as a father . 12. “SARA” (1976)  [embedded content] Dylan wrote several songs about or inspired by his first wife, Sara Lownds. Some, like "Sad

Eyed Lady of the Lowlands," were so steeped in literary allusion that it could be difficult to understand what he was sharing about their relationship. But with “Sara,” the closing song

on his 1976 album _Desire_, he wore his heart on his sleeve, directly addressing his “radiant jewel, mystical wife.” Sara herself showed up to the studio to watch him record it, and before

Dylan played the first note, he reportedly looked at her and said, “This one’s for you.” No ambiguity there. 13. “TANGLED UP IN BLUE” (1975)  [embedded content] “The songs are my parents

talking," Jakob Dylan once said about his father's 1975 album _Blood on the Tracks_. Dylan himself has denied that anything on the album, including this memorable opening track, is

based on his doomed marriage. He even insisted at one point that the songs were actually inspired by Russian writer Anton Chekhov’s short stories. He might be telling the truth, or maybe

not. He often introduced “Tangled Up in Blue” in concert by saying, “[This song] took me 10 years to live, and two years to write.”