Author Archives: TonyAttwood

By Aaron Galbraith and Tony Attwood We (which is to say Aaron) has/have found a Dylan co-composition which we have missed; a third Dylan/Ginsberg track. Ginsberg wrote the poem after he visited the War victims of East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, … Continue reading →

By Aaron Galbraith (song selection and introductions) and Tony Attwood (meandering pontifications while the music plays). This time we have looked for John Wesley Harding covers.   So without further ado… Indigo Girls – All Along The Watchtower. Aaron: I liked … Continue reading →

Bob Dylan’s release of a seventeen-minute song about the assassination of President Kennedy strangely coincided with the Corona lockdown, taking the world by surprise, even more so, as it perfectly blended in with the gloomy atmosphere of the time. The … Continue reading →

by Larry Fyffe Over time, lyrics of folk or country songs often become entangled up with one another, deliberately or otherwise: On the wings of a snow-white dove He sends his pure sweet love A sign from above On the … Continue reading →

Maggie’s Farm (1965) part II – Even the president of the United States by Jochen Markhorst The former President is a fan. Since 2015 Barack Obama annually publishes his Spotify playlist. On the first, his August 2015 summer holiday list, … Continue reading →

By Aaron Galbraith Dylan’s first recorded and released work was as harmonica player for Harry Belafonte on his version of “Midnight Special” – mentioned recently in part 1 of Jochen’s commentary on “Maggie’s Farm”  This was released on the album … Continue reading →

by Aaron Galbraith and Tony Attwood Please note, since we put this post on line we have had a report that the videos themselves are not visible in all parts of the world.  If you find you can’t access any … Continue reading →

by Larry Fyffe Paradise Part 1 is here. Seems, according to Bob Dylan, that Miles Standish is Captain Arab of the good ship “Mayflower”: Hanging in shining array along the walls of the chamber Cutlass and coselet of steel, and … Continue reading →

by Jochen Markhorst The list of Grammy Award winners reveals that 1961 was not a bad year, in Musicland. Ray Charles wins four, including for his best vocal performance single record on “Georgia On My Mind” and one for the … Continue reading →

This song lyric comes from the summer 1961 “McKenzie manuscript and the picture is of Bob Dylan in 1961 taken by John Cohen  from the Bob Dylan Roots page. The story that is reported that Bob met Ramblin Jack Elliott … Continue reading →

By Mike Johnson (Kiwipoet) Please note there is a complete index to the Never Ending Tour series here. 1993 Part One – Tangled up in guitars. 1993 is a stand out year for the Never Ending Tour. I’m tempted to … Continue reading →

by Patrick Roefflaer Down in the Groove Released: May 13, 1988 Photographer: Peter Carni Art director:  Rick Griffin In July 1987 Bob Dylan, accompanied by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, performs a few concerts on a double bill with Grateful … Continue reading →

by Michael Johnson When ‘With God on our Side’ appeared in 1962, no one was in any doubt that this was an anti-war song aimed at the meaninglessness of war. Its refrain mocks the way nations call upon God when … Continue reading →

  By Larry Fyffe In his song ‘False Prophet’, Bob Dylan grabs hold of Frederick Nietzsche’s arm, and searches for meaning in life: Well, I’m an enemy of treason An enemy of  strife I’m the enemy of the unlived meaningless … Continue reading →

  by Jochen Markhorst Bob Dylan’s Blues (1962): part I – A Greatest Hit??? Bob Dylan’s Blues (1962): part II – Come back to the five and dime, Jimmy Reed On August 6, 1986, Dylan plays a rather acclaimed concert … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood There is an index to all the articles in this series, which traces the themes within Dylan’s songs from his earliest writing, up to 2016 (thus far).  Details at the foot of this piece. Considering the songs … Continue reading →

By Larry Fyffe As I went out one morning I bumped into WH Auden The threepenny opera: Bob Dylan and WH Auden In spite of what he jokingly claims, singer/singerwriter Bob Dylan is quite influenced by the humanist messages uncovered … Continue reading →

This article continues from Bob Dylan Blues part 1: a greatest hit by Jochen Markhorst Not only on Greatest Hits, but also on Freewheelin’ “Bob Dylan’s Blues” is an odd duck. The other twelve songs are all coherent, either tell … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood This series focuses on the many songs that Bob Dylan has brought to a public performance, but then played just the once and walked away from thereafter.   There are around 50 of such songs in the repertoire.  … Continue reading →

Research by Aaron Galbraith, vague meanderings by  Tony Attwood In this new series we are planning to have a look at the work of Bob Dylan, the man in the background.  And not always the man using his own name. … Continue reading →