Surprising: Bob Dylan

“A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”

Oh, where have you been, my blue-eyed son?
And where have you been, my darling young one?
I’ve stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains
I’ve walked and I’ve crawled on six crooked highways
I’ve stepped in the middle of seven sad forests
I’ve been out in front of a dozen dead oceans
I’ve been ten thousand miles in the mouth of a graveyard
And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, and it’s a hard
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall

Oh, what did you see, my blue-eyed son?
And what did you see, my darling young one?
I saw a newborn baby with wild wolves all around it
I saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it
I saw a black branch with blood that kept drippin’
I saw a room full of men with their hammers a-bleedin’
I saw a white ladder all covered with water
I saw ten thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken
I saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children
And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, and it’s a hard
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall

And what did you hear, my blue-eyed son?
And what did you hear, my darling young one?
I heard the sound of a thunder, that roared out a warnin’
I heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world
I heard one hundred drummers whose hands were a-blazin’
I heard ten thousand whisperin’ and nobody listenin’
I heard one person starve, I heard many people laughin’
Heard the song of a poet who died in the gutter
Heard the sound of a clown who cried in the alley
And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall

Oh, what did you meet, my blue-eyed son?
Who did you meet, my darling young one?
I met a young child beside a dead pony
I met a white man who walked a black dog
I met a young woman whose body was burning
I met a young girl, she gave me a rainbow
I met one man who was wounded in love
I met another man who was wounded in hatred
And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall

And what’ll you do now, my blue-eyed son?
And what’ll you do now, my darling young one?
I’m a-goin’ back out ‘fore the rain starts a-fallin’
I’ll walk to the depths of the deepest dark forest
Where the people are many and their hands are all empty
Where the pellets of poison are flooding their waters
Where the home in the valley meets the damp dirty prison
And the executioner’s face is always well hidden
Where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten
Where black is the color, where none is the number
And I’ll tell and speak it and think it and breathe it
And reflect from the mountain so all souls can see it
And I’ll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin’
But I’ll know my song well before I start singin’
And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, and it’s a hard
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall

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Bob Dylan was popular 40 or 50 years ago. When I was in my 20s I didn’t listen to much music from the 1920s or 30s- imagining not knowing who George Gershwin was!

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His forever tour has been selling out forever.

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It’s how he identified

Sure.

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Well, that’s alright, Tweeter.

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I’m going to catch it, just after going to the Last, Absolutely Final, No This Time We Really Mean It, tour of the Who. Or is that the Stones? I forget the difference these days

I’ve seen it three times in five years. Marvelous experience each time. Snark all you want. He rocks.

Jealousy is mine

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This may be my all time best Dylan track and version

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Bob Dylan, the Mozart of rock music, is, simply put, the greatest living musician today, full stop.

There were four genuine genius musicians in the 20th century: Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, John Lennon and Bob Dylan.

As a teenager I remember saying that I “didn’t get” Dylan. But I was listening to Billy Joel so what the f**k did I know.

Then I went to college and a roommate had a copy of Blood on the Tracks and after one listening I was all in and that opened the floodgates to all his other material.

One of the greatest wordsmyths of all time. Yes, his voice can be an acquired taste, but evocative and expressive it was (and still is on nights when he has control of it). There is a reason that everyone from his generation and long afterwards were compared to him and although many were labeled The New Dylan none of them ever lived up to that cursed moniker.

Any artist that produces material over 7 decades is going to whiff a few and he did. But his oeuvre is brimmed with high art that only a rare few can be compared too.

Perhaps that Gen Z guy isn’t very musically educated in general. By the time he was born Dylan was no longer much of a cultural icon and his days of chart hits were mostly over. However, he continued to make high art (see 1997’s Time Out of Mind).

Of the four I mentioned, Elvis was the only one whose music I didn’t care for, but I certainly knew who he was and some of his popular songs. And later in life I learned about other artists that were either gone or similarly in the twilight of their careers like Ella Fitzgerald (arguably another musical genius).

Dylan is the last musical genius standing.

Oh yeah, the “boxer song”?
Hurricane

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A bold claim! I presume this does not exclude the genius of all the jazz and blues and reggae and R&B artists that accompanied (and inspired) these men . . .

Guy

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Yes, it’s a ridficulous claim. Dylan is in there but there are literally hundreds if not thousands over that 100 year period.

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I thought that “bold” was a kinder way to open up our thinking on these matters. :joy:

Guy

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Is this some sort of new slang?

I regard your claim as “ridiculous”.

Learn to proofread.

I was referring to pop/mainstream as vocalists or song writers. Of course many other geniuses can be named (which I did with Ella) such as Ray Charles, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, etc.

Talking about overrating

It could also be argued that they were the Justin Beibers of their generations

Culturally, ok. Dylan was a big deal, his music is still everywhere. Lyrically, debateable, but I agree with you this was his strongest suit. Musically, not particularly talented. Famously not a great guitar player, not much about his music (sans lyrics) that is particularly interesting. IMO as a musician, and still subjective (some people live pop music)

I think a case could be made for Billy Joel. I like some modern metal drummers, though the songs probably sound like Dylan did to the 60-somethings of the 60s

Such a great tune. Musically this one really shines, it feels like a hurricane or a boxing match. Even Dylan’s annoying and complainy voice suits, it shouldn’t be pleasant to listen to

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Lmao only four? I love Dylan and Lennon but come on. You only mentioned people from English speaking countries. Where is Piazzolla, Tom Jobim, Miles Davis, Stravinsky and a long etc.

Too funny.

They were not common at all.

Depends on how you define it. However, these were the Mount Rushmore of them.