Bob Dylan: 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature

“The singer and songwriter Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday for ‘having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition,’ in the words of the Swedish Academy.

“He is the first American to win since the novelist Toni Morrison, in 1993. The announcement, in Stockholm, came as something of a surprise. Although Mr. Dylan, 75, has been mentioned often as having an outside shot at the prize, his work does not fit into the literary canons of novels, poetry and short stories that the prize has traditionally recognized.

“‘Mr. Dylan’s work remains utterly lacking in conventionality, moral sleight of hand, pop pabulum or sops to his audience,’ the former Rolling Stones bass player Bill Wyman wrote in a 2013 Op-Ed essay in The New York Times arguing for Mr. Dylan to get the award. ‘His lyricism is exquisite; his concerns and subjects are demonstrably timeless; and few poets of any era have seen their work bear more influence.’

“Mr. Dylan was born on May 24, 1941, in Duluth, Minn., and grew up in Hibbing. He played in bands as a teenager, influenced by the folk musician Woody Guthrie, the authors of the Beat Generation and modernist poets. He moved to New York in 1961 and began to perform in clubs and cafes in Greenwich Village. The following year, he signed a contract with the record producer John Hammond for his debut album, ‘Bob Dylan’ (1962). His many other albums, which the Swedish Academy described as having ‘a tremendous impact on popular music,’ include [‘The Freewheelin’ (1963)], ‘Bringing It All Back Home’ and ‘Highway 61 Revisited’ (1965), ‘Blonde On Blonde’ (1966) and ‘Blood on the Tracks’ (1975), [‘Desire’ (1976)], ‘Oh Mercy’ (1989), ‘Time Out Of Mind’ (1997), [‘Love and Theft’ (2001)],  and ‘Modern Times’ (2006).

“‘Dylan has recorded a large number of albums revolving around topics like the social conditions of man, religion, politics and love,’ the Swedish Academy said in a biographical note accompanying the announcement. ‘The lyrics have continuously been published in new editions, under the title ‘Lyrics.’ As an artist, he is strikingly versatile; he has been active as painter, actor and scriptwriter.’

“The academy added: ‘Since the late 1980s, Bob Dylan has toured persistently, an undertaking called the ‘Never-Ending Tour.’ Dylan has the status of an icon. His influence on contemporary music is profound, and he is the object of a steady stream of secondary literature.’

“Mr. Dylan, whose original name is Robert Allen Zimmerman… The Nobel, one of the world’s most prestigious and financially generous awards, comes with a prize of 8 million Swedish kronor, or just over $900,000. The literature prize is given for a lifetime of writing rather than for a single work… Previous Nobel laureates in literature have included giants like Rudyard Kipling, William Faulkner, John Steinbeck and Gabriel García Márquez…”

Bob Dylan Awarded Nobel Prize in Literature

Masters of War by Bob Dylan (1963)

Damn you masters of war – you that build the big guns

You that build the death planes; you that build all the bombs

You that hide behind walls; you that hide behind desks

I just want you to know I can see through your masks

You that never done nothin’, but build to destroy

You play with my world, like it’s your little toy

You put a gun in my hand, and you hide from my eyes

And you turn and run farther when the fast bullets fly

Like Judas of old, you lie and deceive

A world war can be won; you want me to believe

But I see through your eyes, and I see through your brain

Like I see through the water that runs down my drain

You fasten all the triggers, for the others to fire

Then you sit back and watch, while the death count gets higher

You hide in your mansion, while the young people’s blood

Flows out of their bodies and is buried in the mud

You’ve thrown the worst fear that can ever be hurled

Afraid to bring children, into the world

For threatenin’ my baby, unborn and unnamed,

You ain’t worth the blood that runs in your veins

How much do I know, to talk out of turn

You might say that I’m young; you might say I’m unlearned

But there’s one thing I know, though I’m younger than you

Even Jesus would never forgive what you do

Let me ask you one question: is your money that good

Will it buy you forgiveness; do you think that it could

I think you will find, when your death takes its toll

All the money you made will never buy back your soul

And I hope that you die, and your death will come soon

I’ll follow your casket, on a pale afternoon

And I’ll watch while you’re lowered, down to your deathbed

And I’ll stand over your grave ‘til I’m sure that you’re dead

The Times They Are A-Changin’ by Bob Dylan (1964)

Come gather ‘round people, where ever you roam

And admit that the waters around you have grown

Accept it that soon you’ll be drenched to the bone

If your time to you is worth savin’

Then you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone

For the times they are a-changin’

Come writers and critics who prophesy with their pens

And keep your eyes wide; the chance won’t come again

And don’t speak too soon, for the wheel’s still in spin

And there’s no tellin’ who that it’s namin’

And the loser now will be later to win

For the times they are a-changin’

Come senators and congressmen please heed the call

Don’t stand in the doorways; don’t block up the hall

For he who gets hurt will be he who has stalled

There’s a battle outside and it’s ragin’

It’ll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls

For the times they are a-changin’

Come mothers and fathers throughout the land

Don’t criticize what you can’t understand

Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command

Your old road is rapidly agin’

Please get out of the new one if you can’t lend your hand

For the times they are a-changin’

The line is drawn; the curse it is cast

The slow one now will later be fast

As the present now will later be past

Your order is rapidly fadin’

And the first one now will later be last

For the times they are a-changin’