Why Bob Dylan?

In January of 2022, my dad and I, one Saturday morning, took a drive. Our main conversation topic had been about getting concert tickets to an artist playing in Atlanta that summer, but I talked him into seeing Bob Dylan that April. At the time, I was still in my undergraduate degree, going into my senior year; I was not thrilled to attend any concert a week before finals but buying those tickets quickly became a great decision. Throughout that spring semester, I had gone through my collection of Dylan albums in preparation for that night. And when that night finally came, it felt as if life was delicately falling into place in an extremely satisfying manner. After fangirling over Dylan for the last decade, my appreciation, love, and respect was solidified as I sat in the audience in awe of this experience, releasing happy tears.

Because Dylan is such a major part of my life, it is necessary to determine why and how his purposeful vocation as a musician became a vehicle for influence and impact. This question of Why did not come to me until I read Richard F. Thomas’s book called Why Bob Dylan Matters a few years ago. Thomas, a professor at Harvard, shares his expertise in everything grossly related to Dylan. He utilizes his intellectualism to originally determine why Dylan had the tendency to incorporate classically included subjects of the humanities in his lyrics. Thomas’s notion of “why” Dylan is important may be from mutual affiliation with classicism, but Thomas also shares with the audience that musicians have the power to mean different things to various individuals. For Thomas, he was able to empathize emotionally with Dylan’s lyrical recognition of historical figures and events in proximity with his graduate studies. Handing the baton to the audience openly allows them to investigate how Dylan holds meaning in their lives. I took Thomas’s invitation and came to the conclusion that Dylan’s lyrics and powerful melodies are what officially united me with Dylan.

I was not captivated by Dylan’s voice, his outward appearance, but I was captivated by how brutally honest his lyrics tend to be. While vulnerability is not often expressed by other musicians, Dylan’s key component to his songwriting is expressing real life in meaningful ways, which is easily applicable and tangible. In “Oh Sister,” Dylan says, “Time is an ocean but it ends on the shore / You may not see me tomorrow.” Dylan artistically resembles T.S. Eliot’s poem called “Prufrock,” but the essence of these lyrics stopped me in my tracks. When I first listened to this song, I was experiencing a battle between time and transitioning seasons. Since I am not a fan of change, Dylan projected exactly what I was experiencing and helped me understand my situation.

Dylan’s expressions of vulnerability are often perfectly captured in several of his bootleg series. The first bootleg series I listened to was “Basement Tapes.” Volume 11 consists of outtakes, live, and unreleased songs Dylan coordinated with The Band. Like “Oh Sister,” “Tears of Rage” from “Basement Tapes” released the same feelings upon listening. Dylan says, “and life is brief.” I often pair the lyrics to “Nothing was Delivered” in the same series, which says, “Nothing is better / Nothing is best / Take care of your health and get plenty of rest.” These lyrics may mean absolutely nothing to an average individual, but I know these lyrics to all three songs— among others— are my Why.

Dylan commonly composes lyrics concerning time, purpose, and life because he learned how to value the world around him. Thus, it prompts the listener to realize how life is so much more than a fantasy. Dylan’s love for life helped me cherish the little moments in time life was “moving too fast like a jet plane.” (You’re a Big Girl Now.) Whether I was hanging out with friends, studying in the library, or in my dorm, Dylan taught me how to enjoy the simplicity around me. And in a world of increasing complexity, enjoying the simple things all around you is a good and noble thing.

Everyone’s experience of Dylan is drastically different. Perhaps one day you will find your Why? As for myself, my Dylan experience will continue to change as I discover more of his music and continue moving through the seasons of life Dylan happens to have a song connected towards.

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