Author Archives: TonyAttwood

Bob Dylan: The Symbolism Of The Pine Tree by Larry Fyffe In Roman/Greek mythology, the One Great God is hermaphroditic; the Olympians, out of fear, castrate her/him, and she becomes the Great Mother Goddess, Earth. The detached male organ becomes … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood I think we last met Black Jack Davey in Bob Dylan and Cowboy Jesus (part V) and it’s no surprise that we’ve come across this song before because it is a fundamental of the English and Scottish … Continue reading →

By Aaron Galbraith and Tony Attwood Introduction by Aaron… You might have noticed that usually for this series I’ve tried to maintain a theme for each episode…a particular song, artist, genre or some other theme linking the selections together. Well, … Continue reading →

Previously in this series The Mississippi-series, part 1; no polyrhythm here please The Mississippi-series, part 2: the line that never was. The Mississippi- series, part 3: Belshazzar on the steppe The Mississippi-series, part 4: Bertolt, Bobby, Blind & Boy The Mississippi-series, … Continue reading →

by Larry Fyffe Bob Dylan, singer/songwriter/musician, as previously noted, draws inspiration from the poetry of John Keats, Edgar Allan Poe, and Robert Frost for his song “Key West”; he also mixes in the poetry of Geoffrey Chaucer with lyrics from … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood From our 2015 review of “If you ever go to Houston” David Hildago, who played accordion on the album, is quoted in Uncut magazine as saying of this song that, “It started out like a Jimmy Reed tune … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood If we look at the lyrics of Dylan’s songs in the second half of the 1980s we see a very troubled writer, as the titles of the recent articles in this series suggest… 1984: Back to the old … Continue reading →

  by Larry Fyffe In the song “Key West (Philosopher Pirate)”, Bob Dylan pirates the ‘negative capability’ philosophy of John Keats, written on the wall. In the poem ‘Ode On A Grecian Urn’,  Keats looks upon a painting of a … Continue reading →

by Jochen Markhorst Like the earlier compositions such as “Desolation Row” and “Where Are You Tonight?”, “Mississippi” can’t really be dealt with in one article. Too grand, too majestic, too monumental. And, of course, such an extraordinary masterpiece deserves more … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood Tioga Pass is a song that was seemingly recorded at Sunset Sound Studios in Hollywood, on 16 June 1987 and according to the only note we have concerning the song, it was written by Robert Hunter and … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood It is often stated that The Roving Gambler, a song which Bob has sung many times in concert, is a American folksong that originates in the first decade of the 20th century.  It has a wide of … Continue reading →

  by Larry Fyffe Much like the writings of the GrecoRoman mythologists, and of the Abrahamics, Zoroastra says the Almighty is a good force that some individuals choose to ignore. Mani instead says black and dark forces struggle for dominance … Continue reading →

Music selected by Aaron Galbraith, commentary by Tony Attwood Having written over half a dozen of these Play Lady Play articles I am getting to understand my own preferences for interpretations of Dylan’s music.  And what it comes down to … Continue reading →

The Mississippi-series, part 8 The Mississippi-series, part 1; no polyrhythm here please The Mississippi-series, part 2: the line that never was. Mississippi- series, part 3: Belshazzar on the steppe The Mississippi-series, part 4: Bertolt, Bobby, Blind & Boy The Mississippi-series, part … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood In this series I am looking at the themes of the song lyrics written by Dylan each year and noting how they change, year by year. In the years leading up to 1989 I summarised the articles … Continue reading →

By Mike Johnson (kiwipoet) Watch out, Lester Take it, Lou Join the monks The C.I.O Tell ’em all that Tiny Montgomery says hello Part 1 – The Promised Land in sight. Going from 1991 to 1992 is a bit like … Continue reading →

The idea of the Bob Dylan Showcase is twofold.  One part of it allows anyone who has recorded a Dylan song and who is a reader of our site to submit the recording and we’ll put it up. The other … Continue reading →

Bob Dylan And Frankenstein (Part II) This article continues from Bob Dylan and Frankenstein by Larry Fyffe Singer/songwriter Bob Dylan is rather consistent in the themes that he expresses though his often dark-humoured song lyrics – consistent yes, yet very … Continue reading →

Research by Aaron Galbraith, Text by Tony Attwood In this series of articles, Aaron casts his net across the range of lady signers who perform Dylan songs, and offers Tony a number of video links with the instruction, “review these”. … Continue reading →

The Mississippi series The Mississippi-series, part 1; no polyrhythm here please The Mississippi-series, part 2: the line that never was. Mississippi 3: Belshazzar on the steppe The Mississippi-series, part 4 The Mississippi-series, part 5 The Mississippi-series, part 6 by Jochen … Continue reading →