Author Archives: TonyAttwood

By Larry Fyffe In the lyrics below, singer/songwriter Bob Dylan leaves a word blank for the listener or reader thereof to fill in. Many so-called ‘Dylanologists’ have wasted page upon page in an attempt to provide the correct answer to … Continue reading →

by Jochen Markhorst “Spent a week in the hospital, then they moved me to this doctor’s house in town. In his attic. Had a bed up there in the attic with a window lookin’ out. Sarah stayed there with me. … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood This series looks at the subject matter of Bob Dylan’s songs year by year, trying to see a pattern in his writing across a year, rather than analysing his work song by song, as has been the … Continue reading →

by mr tambourine I am not that big of a fan of Dylan covers, to tell you the truth. But I also can’t be immune when I see a gift. I am also not that familiar with the work of … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood and Aaron Galbraith High Water – you know the song – but just to remind you here it is… According to the official site Bob has played the song 712 times in concert between 2001 and 2018, … Continue reading →

By Larry Fyffe A consistent theme expressed by singer/songwriter Bob Dylan through his lyrics is the loss of a Paradise that might have been – lost because of greed. Humorously expressed in the following song: “I think I’ll call it … Continue reading →

  by Jochen Markhorst   PLAYBOY: Do you think you have a purpose and a mission? BOB DYLAN: Henry Miller said it: The role of an artist is to inoculate the world with disillusionment. Playboy interview, March 1978 They met … Continue reading →

By Mark Thompson Stanza 1: I live on a street named after a Saint Women in the churches wear powder and paint Where the Jews, and Catholics, and the Muslims all pray I can tell they’re Proddie from a mile away Goodbye Jimmy Reed, … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood Boom Boom Mancini was written by Warren Zevon and is a song about a boxer – as we all know Bob Dylan has a particular interest in boxing and has recorded Hurricane and Davey Moore.  He also … Continue reading →

  By Larry Fyffe During the American Civil War, general Stonewall Jackson is accidentally shot by his own men. Surgeon Zimmerman puts the monstrous Civil War back together by gathering alliterative parts and pieces from different poets in his song … Continue reading →

by mr tambourine Time Out Of Mind is the most unique album in Dylan’s career for many reasons. First of all, the timing of its release is very specific in itself.   Seven years without any new original material (since Under … Continue reading →

(I Must) Love You Too Much (1978) by Jochen Markhorst  Will Freeman, the protagonist of Nick Hornby’s filmed novel About A Boy (1998), lives a luxurious, empty life in London and can afford it thanks to his father’s inheritance; Dad … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood In this series of articles I have been trying to look at each and every Dylan composition and summarise in one or two words the theme within the song.   This has proved reasonably straightforward much of the … Continue reading →

This article continues from The Symbolism of the Red River Part I by Larry Fyffe Regular British troops and Canadian militia under Colonel Garner Wolselley put down the ‘Red River Rebellion’ in Manitoba; inhabitants of the the area, including its … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood What Chrissie Hynde has done is, to me, an example of artistic inspiration of the highest order.  We’ve already covered “In the Summertime” when  Jochen picked this video for his review of the song.  But Aaron had … Continue reading →

In the Play Lady Play series Aaron selects the music, and Tony on the other side of the Atlantic writes the commentary on it.  There is a list of earlier episodes from this series at the end of the piece. … Continue reading →

  by Larry Fyffe James Arness stars as Marshall Matt Dillon, and Ken Curtis as his Deputy in the TV series western series called “Gunsmoke”. The singer/songwriter Robert Zimmerman is said to have taken the name “Bob Dylan” from that … Continue reading →

  by Jochen Markhorst Joni Mitchell owes her breakthrough to Judy Collins, who recorded the immortal “Both Sides Now” of the then still completely unknown Canadian in 1967 for her seventh album Wildflowers. It is also released as a single … Continue reading →

The Bob Dylan Showcase is a place where readers of Untold Dylan can either add their own music to lyrics that Bob Dylan lyrics where Dylan did not write any music, or can reinterpret Dylan songs, or can indeed put … Continue reading →

As you may know, alongside this blog there is a Facebook group. Recently there was quite a bit of political discussion, which I (as moderator) found it very hard to moderate, so we decided to hive off that part of … Continue reading →