Category Archives: Uncategorized

Dylan and Petrach Part 1 Dylan and Petrach Part 2   By Larry Fyffe “Which side are you on?”, writes Bob Dylan in a song that foretells of a schism that develops, and threatens to tear apart forever scholars who … Continue reading →

by Jochen Markhorst Indonesian writer Eka Kurniawan writes beautiful books and will one day win the Nobel Prize for his magical-realistic, sociocritical oeuvre, but he cannot write songs. “It’s the hardest thing there is. You have so few words at … Continue reading →

by Tony Attwood There are something around 300 songs that Dylan has written and/or recorded which, according to the official web site, he has never played on stage.   They range from the mysterious “Unknown instrumental” to some Christmas classics as … Continue reading →

Bob Dylan And Delmore Schwartz (Part I) appears here By Larry Fyffe Singer/songwriter Bob Dylan comes in contact with the nonabstract, co-ordinating conjunctive style of  Ezra Pound’s poetry indirectly through the poetics of Delmore Schultz – ‘the thing’ is the … Continue reading →

This article continues from Tangled up in Harmonicas Part 1. An index to all the articles in the series is given at the foot of this article, and in the index file Bob Dylan Master Harpist. By Mike Johnson (Kiwipoet) … Continue reading →

The songs of Country Joe and the Fish & Samuel Walker Research by Aaron Galbraith and text by Tony Attwood For me Country Joe and The Fish was one of the alternative bands popularised in the UK by DJ John … Continue reading →

  by Larry Fyffe In stories of romance, the heroes thereof often get into trouble big time: they usually manage to get away at the last second.  In the New Testament, though details are lacking, it appears that Jesus of … Continue reading →

by Jochen Markhorst The western fascination for the exotic mysticism of ancient Egypt is even older than the introduction of Egyptology in the nineteenth century. Already in Mozart’s Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute, 1791), the opera full of freemason mystique, the … Continue reading →

By Aaron Galbraith and Tony Attwood Aaron suggested that there are enough songs about Bob Dylan to make a new series, so here we are, starting out with the Joan Baez songs. And Tony picked up on the idea – … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood Between 1960 and October 2012 Dylan played this song 12 times in public, and by general agreement during this time he discovered all the depths there are in this song after they had been destroyed by years … Continue reading →

By Larry Fyffe Singer/songwriter Bob Dylan follows the Post Modernist convention of smashing  traditional templates. Below, he strips away the fourteen-line format of the Petrarchan sonnet by placing the sestet between two quatrains instead of  positioning it as the second … Continue reading →

by Jochen Markhorst Somewhere in the last part of his Black Coffee Blues trilogy, in “Smile, You’re Traveling” (2000), the multifaceted phenomenon Henry Rollins expresses his love for Sinatra, and specifically for his 50s albums: “I like the records he … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood In Chronicles: Volume One, Bob Dylan wrote, “The Luke the Drifter record, I just about wore out. That’s the one where he sings and recites parables, like the Beatitudes. I could listen to the Luke the Drifter … Continue reading →

  By Larry Fyffe Observed by a well-respected Victorian poet is that Darwin’s monkey man puts Christian faith to the test: Who trusted God was love indeed And love Creation’s final law Though Nature, red in tooth and claw With … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood This is anothe song I’ve missed in putting together to directory of reviews of every Bob Dylan composition.  Here is the song in question (there is a fair bit of tuning up at the start – they … Continue reading →

by Jochen Markhorst “Buddy” is deeply hurt in The Incredibles (Brad Bird, 2004). The young fan is so eager to become Mr.Incredible’s helper, has crafted all kinds of gadgets with which he can compensate for his lack of superpowers, has … Continue reading →

  by Larry Fyffe Tossa’s Clorinda (like Virgil’s Camilla) is a literary archetype – a soul guided by the white-faced virgin Moon goddess Diana, a beautiful goddess who comes to be associated with Satan and ugly witches. Clorinda re-appears in … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood Stone Walls and Steel Bars was written by Ray Pennington and Roy Marcum and was originally recorded by The Stanley Brothers in 1963.  Bob Dylan first played it on 23 August 1997 and played it a total … Continue reading →

By Paul Hobson and Tony Attwood There is an index to this series at https://bob-dylan.org.uk/dylan-re-imagined  Mama you’ve been on my mind This recording “Mama you’ve been on my mind” comes from the late 1990s. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd5wL73ttio This is an approach to … Continue reading →

  By Larry Fyffe A number of songs by Bob Dylan are inspired by not-so-happy stories featuring ‘chivalrous’ romance, and ancient mythology: Gypsy Davey with a blow torch, he burns out their camps With his faithful slave Pedo, behind him … Continue reading →