Untold’s Exclusive Interview With Bob Dylan

Untold’s Exclusive Interview With Bob Dylan

Interview conducted by Larry Fyffe

 

Location: The ‘Untold Office’ on the roof of the 12-storey Saint James Hotel in New York City

Untold: Thanks for coming up to visit us, Bob….You sound a bit winded……Anyway, we know you’re a busy man …so let’s get right on with the interview….Here’s what our reader survey tells us that they want from you:

You must provide some answers
For what you sell has not been delivered
And as soon as you come up with them
The sooner you can leave

Untold: So the first question to you, Bob is …

How many roads must a man walk down
Before you can call him a man?

Dylan: Well, in my case, it was just one …

Oh, Howard just pointed with his gun
And said, that way down on Highway 61

Untold: Yes, and how many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?

Dylan: You’ll have to ask the white dove that one …

If I had wings like Noah’s dove
I’d fly the river to the one I love

Untold: Yes, and how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they’re forever banned?

Dylan: It doesn’t really matter. Cannon balls are not used that much anymore ….

But now we got weapons of the chemical dust
If fire them we’re forced to, then fire them we must

Untold: Yes, and how many years can a mountain exist
Before it is washed to the sea?

Dylan: Beats me …

Beyond here lies nothin’
But the mountains of the past

Untold: Yes, and how many years can some people exist
Before they’re allowed to be free?

Dylan: If they’re lucky, maybe a hundred …

And I answer them most mysteriously
Are birds free from the chains of the skyway?

Untold: Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn’t see?

Dylan: Sometimes you don’t have to pretend …

I’m gazing out the window of the St. James Hotel
And I know no one can sing the blues like Blind Willie McTell

Untold: Yes, and how many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?

Dylan: Just once on a cloudless day ….

I’m looking up into the sapphire-tinted skies
I’m well dressed, waiting for the last train

Untold: Yes, and how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?

Dylan: One good one, I should think …

You know, I know, the sun will always shine
So baby please stop crying ’cause it’s tearing up my mind

Untold: Yes, and how many deaths will it take ’til he knows
That too many people have died?

Dylan: In your particular case, just one:

Ten thousand men dressed in oxford blue
Drummin’ in the morning, in the evening they’ll be coming for you

Untold: Oh ……… thanks, Mr. Dylan ….. for clearing things up….Be careful climbing down that ladder on the side of the hotel when you leave …. You have a train to catch!

What is on the site

1: Over 400 reviews of Dylan songs.  There is an index to these in alphabetical order on the home page, and an index to the songs in the order they were written in the Chronology Pages.

2: The Chronology.  We’ve taken all the songs we can find recordings of and put them in the order they were written (as far as possible) not in the order they appeared on albums.  The chronology is more or less complete and is now linked to all the reviews on the site.  We have also recently started to produce overviews of Dylan’s work year by year.     The index to the chronologies is here.

3: Bob Dylan’s themes.  We publish a wide range of articles about Bob Dylan and his compositions.  There is an index here.  A second index lists the articles under the poets and poetic themes cited – you can find that here.

4:   The Discussion Group    We now have a discussion group “Untold Dylan” on Facebook.  Just type the phrase “Untold Dylan” in, on your Facebook page or follow this link 

5:  Bob Dylan’s creativity.   We’re fascinated in taking the study of Dylan’s creative approach further.  The index is in Dylan’s Creativity.

6: You might also like: A classification of Bob Dylan’s songs and partial Index to Dylan’s Best Opening Lines

 

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