Monthly Archives: August 2018

By Tony Attwood This is a song maybe by Bob Dylan, maybe by Old Crow Medicine Show, maybe by Donna Terry Weiss and maybe not.  I’ll try and untangle it and give you my view, but obviously I have no … Continue reading →

by Jochen Markhorst The name of Dorsey William “Billy” Burnette III will be mentioned in an still-to-be-written Great Definite Rock Encyclopedia. Billy is visible to the general public from 1987 to 1995, when he is a member of Fleetwood Mac. … Continue reading →

Bob Dylan And Wilf Carter by Larry Fyffe In the popular song below, there are references to a traditional American folksong which has a number of variations – titles include: ‘Rye Whiskey’, ‘Jack-o-Diamonds’, and ‘Moonshiner’: Bye, bye, Miss American Pie … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood “The Love that Faded” is a song with the music composed by Bob Dylan around the song notes that were found after Hank Williams died.  It appears on “The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams” album, which is … Continue reading →

  By Larry Fyffe Everybody knows that Canadian Maritimers rule the world even though the popular music industry, dominated by American promoters, underplay the fact. The persona that Bob Dylan takes on when he starts out on his musical journey … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood The composition Jack O’Diamonds has been reported as being composed by Bob Dylan and Ben Carruthers, and it has a very interesting origin and evolution.  Whether this is a “real” Bob Dylan composition, I’ll leave you to … Continue reading →

by Jochen Markhorst An older couple strolls through a park in Rome, when the man is suddenly struck by a shocking insight: he does not love his wife at all. He shares this awareness with her, but it does not … Continue reading →

Preface by Tony Attwood I have received information from James Dring which updates the original article on this song published here in 2008.  I’m adding this today (1 May 2023) prior to the original article so that if you are … Continue reading →

by Larry Fyffe In the lyrics of Bob Dylan’s songs are bird symbols derived from the writings of the ancient alchemists. A precursor of modern chemistry, alchemy searches for a means to transmute base metals into silver or gold. From … Continue reading →

By Jochen Markhorst Already in the first English translation of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, 1823 by Edgar Taylor, the bloody, cruel originals are watered down. Later, in the twentieth century the edifying theories of influential child psychologists like Bruno Bettelheim and … Continue reading →

Bob Dylan and Edar Allen Poe: the howl in the songs, can be found here. By Larry Fyffe Throughout many of his songs, Bob Dylan mixes the Judeo-Christian good God and evil Devil working in the world side by side … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood According to one article I have found Ronnie Wood seemed  to be expecting some lyrics from Bob Dylan when they worked together on Wood’s album “Not for beginners” which included as its final track “King of Kings” – … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood Steel Bars is a song that Bob Dylan wrote with Michael Bolton for his Time, Love & Tenderness album. Commenting very briefly on this song Heylin makes two points.  One was that Dylan was at a very … Continue reading →

  By Sandra Tibble He feels helpless to rescue her from her fate which is  inextricably tied to their sad ending in marriage. It is a fait accompli. He had the strange joy of loving her and now the awakened mind sings … Continue reading →

  By Jochen Markhorst Bismarck, the capital of North Dakota. On a freezing January afternoon in 1961, the then sixteen-year-old narrator walks back from school with his best friend and neighbour, Gene. They are overtaken by sirens and flashing lights, … Continue reading →

  By Larry Fyffe In the song ‘Maybe Someday’, Bob Dylan takes a somewhat Gnostic point of view – physical human bodies are bound up in a physical world from which there is no happy escape – alas, imagined spiritual … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood The first thing to say is that although we don’t know of any songs Bob has written in recent years that isn’t definite proof that he hasn’t been playing around with some new ideas while on tour.  … Continue reading →

By  Jochen Markhorst Chronocentrism, it is called; the very human phenomenon in which one believes to be living in an exceptional time. With politicians it is a chronic ailment; they refer to ‘these difficult times’ in every discussion, or ‘these … Continue reading →

by Jochen Markhorst The gatekeeper of Pontius Pilate, one Cartaphilus, is a most unpleasant man. When Jesus tries to pass, at the beginning of the Stations of the Cross, this Cartaphilus strikes a nasty blow on His back and snarls … Continue reading →

by Larry Fyffe In his basement, singer/songwriter/musician Bob Dylan mixes up various forms of artistic medicine. In the romantic drama, ‘Now And Forever’, Gary Cooper stars as an unscrupulous swindler named Jerry Day who plans to sell the custody rights … Continue reading →