| Bob Dylan – Hurricane Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Regardless of Carter's guilt or innocence, regardless of the trite rhymes (such as Billy Bragg's personal bugbear, 'Middleweights' and 'Out of state plates'), regardless of the fact that he has seemingly disowned the song (if his live sets are anything to go by) and regardless of the inaccuracies, this song is great. If you are not affected by the way the violin grows and grows throughout the tune, or the sheer earnestness of Dylan's delivery, then you are not a fan of music. Dylan is imperfect, and this is nowhere near as righteous as Hattie Carroll, but this is still one of the great opening tracks of all time. |
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| Bob Dylan – One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later) Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| I like the fact that this and Visions of Johanna are next to each other on Blonde on Blonde. Switch the track listing and this is where Bob begins to accept the break-up, whereas VOJ comes later when he has a new beau but knows she will never quite match up. | |
| Bob Dylan – If You See Her, Say Hello Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| Great vocals on this from Bobby too. It really annoys me when philistines claim that he can't sing - some of his vocals on BOTT are just as heart-wrenching as the lyrics. | |
| Bob Dylan – You're a Big Girl Now Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Agreed, check out the way he intonate the 'I can change I swear' line on Hard Rain. Pure desperation, pure brilliance. |
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| Bob Dylan – Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Has anyone else noticed that this is the second occurence of a French girl in an alley? See Bob Dylan's 115th Dream: "They asked me for some collateral And I pulled down my pants They threw me in the alley When up comes this girl from France..." Both great songs, full of humour and some great Dylanisms. |
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| Bob Dylan – Ballad of a Thin Man Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I used to earn my trade in the murky, venal, and repulsive world of music journalism. I made the mistake of believing that my trade as relevant as that of the bands and artists on stage that I would casually denounce or heap praise on, depending on my mood of the day/the amount of alcohol or narcotics consumed/my readiness to please their PR agents and so on. Then I actually paid attention to this track and it made a complete mockery of what I was doing, and revealing the whole industry for what it is, 40 years before I even picked up a pen in anger. I can only assume that NME hack Johnny Sharp chose the lyrics to this song for his 'Crap Lyrics' book because he still believes that by lavishing The Next Big Thing with hyperbole and cliche, he is somehow a relevant and opinion-influencing. Thankfully, I'm much happier now I'm out of this putrid game. Thank you Bob. |
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| Bob Dylan – Boots of Spanish Leather Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Like so many Dylan songs, you can take what you want from this track. I think the magic of this song is how easy it is to identify with the subject matter. I've just lost my own true love, and she's thousands of miles away, but it needn't be so literal. When the one you love has lost their feelings towards you, they can be sitting right next to you, but they are still miles away. What is great about Dylan is that, through the inevitable roller-coaster of emotions involved in a relationship, he has the perfect song for each one. Idiot Wind for the anger, Visions of Joanna for when you realise that your new love will never quite match up, Like a Rolling Stone for when you finally accept that you're better off, ect ect. Unfortunately, I'm still in the Boots of Spanish Leather phase. |
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