Author Archives: Tony Attwood

  You can find an index to our current and recent series on the home page. By Tony Attwood When, many many years ago, I first started researching  pop and rock music as an academic subject, one of the issues … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood This song appeared on the Bootleg series and it is reported Bob performed it three or four times on tour (depending on which source you use) in concerts.   You can find a recording of it here It … Continue reading →

  Commentary by Tony Attwood I do love being sent copies of Dylan songs sung by performers who are either amateurs or whose work, as professionals, has not yet reached a wider audience. I have another one to offer today, … Continue reading →

Bob Dylan spends close to nine minutes in “Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts” telling a story in which nearly every important character is named after a playing card, and almost nothing is spelled out. There is a robbery, … Continue reading →

A review of “I’M GLAD I’M NOT ME” by Ethan Warren Published by Columbia University Press. Review by Tony Attwood These days the view seems to be that by and large everything Dylan does is significant.  But I have been … Continue reading →

  The Philosophy of Modern Song was Bob Dylan’s publication provided after he was awarded an honorary doctorate for his work as a songwriter.   My suspicion was that Bob didn’t actually realise that he was going to be required to … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood As you may have noted in the past, occasionally readers of Untold Dylan do send us their own recordings of Dylan songs, and from time to time I do like to publish one or two of these.  … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood “The Philosophy of Modern Song” was Bob Dylan’s publication, provided after he was awarded an honorary doctorate for his work as a songwriter.   My suspicion was that Bob didn’t actually realise that he was going to be … Continue reading →

    Fifty years after it was written, ‘Isis’ still opens the same way, with a marriage on the fifth day of May and a narrator who cannot sit still. What follows is a fever dream of the American West … Continue reading →

There is a strange moment that happens when you return to a Dylan record you have known for years. The words arrive exactly where you expect them, you know when the harmonica is coming, and yet suddenly there is a … Continue reading →

  By Tony Attwood “Let It Be Me” was originally released in 1954 in French under the title “Je t’appartiens”, but later, with an English version of the lyrics it was a hit for the Everly Brothers in some six … Continue reading →

  By Tony Attwood “Waist Deep in the Big Muddy” was written by Pete Seeger in 1967.   It tells the true story of a platoon attempting to wade a deep river with an officer pushing the men on despite it … Continue reading →

  By Tony Attwood Recently on one of the Sky TV channels in the UK we had The Other Side of the Mirror: Bob Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival.    It was first broadcast on BBC Four on October … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood An interesting choice from Bob as I can remember as a child buying this track – and listening to it now, I am sure why.   Certainly, at the age I bought it I don’t think I fully … Continue reading →

  By Tony Attwood In the old days, when we had records that played at 78rpm, we used to say there were three types of song: songs about love, songs about lost love and songs written for some new dance … Continue reading →

  By Tony Attwood From time to time we have articles submitted whcih point out that certain lyrics or maybe a melody in a Dylan song are copied from somewhere else.  I suspect most of us know that “Blowin in … Continue reading →

   By Tony Attwood The last time I wrote about this song I wrote “To fall in love with you” is the third most accessed file on this site.  The only articles that have been read more are “Hard Rain’s … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood In my previous article I wrote about “Don’t let me be misunderstood” but restricted my commentary because of technical problems.  Fingers crossed (which of course makes typing more difficult). Here is the Nina Simone version which I … Continue reading →

    We have in the past looked at – or perhaps I should say listened to – songs Bob has written but then never played, or maybe played just once, in concert.  There has also been a series on … Continue reading →