The Lyrics
1961-2020
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Table of Contents
About The Book
A beautiful, comprehensive volume of Dylan’s lyrics, from the beginning of his career through the present day—with the songwriter’s edits to dozens of songs, appearing here for the first time.
Bob Dylan is one of the most important songwriters of our time, responsible for modern classics such as “Like a Rolling Stone,” “Mr. Tambourine Man,” and “The Times They Are a-Changin’.” The Lyrics is a comprehensive and definitive collection of Dylan’s most recent writing as well as the early works that are such an essential part of the canon. Well known for changing the lyrics to even his best-loved songs, Dylan has edited dozens of songs for this volume, making The Lyrics a must-read for everyone from fanatics to casual fans.
Excerpt
Ramblin’ outa the wild West
Leavin’ the towns I love the best
Thought I’d seen some ups and downs
’Til I come into New York town
People goin’ down to the ground
Buildings goin’ up to the sky
Wintertime in New York town
The wind blowin’ snow around
Walk around with nowhere to go
Somebody could freeze right to the bone
I froze right to the bone
New York Times said it was the coldest winter in seventeen years
I didn’t feel so cold then
I swung onto my old guitar
Grabbed hold of a subway car
And after a rocking, reeling, rolling ride
I landed up on the downtown side
Greenwich Village
I walked down there and ended up
In one of them coffee-houses on the block
Got on the stage to sing and play
Man there said, “Come back some other day
You sound like a hillbilly
We want folk singers here”
Well, I got a harmonica job, begun to play
Blowin’ my lungs out for a dollar a day
I blowed inside out and upside down
The man there said he loved m’ sound
He was ravin’ about how he loved m’ sound
Dollar a day’s worth
And after weeks and weeks of hangin’ around
I finally got a job in New York town
In a bigger place, bigger money too
Even joined the union and paid m’ dues
Now, a very great man once said
That some people rob you with a fountain pen
It didn’t take too long to find out
Just what he was talkin’ about
A lot of people don’t have much food on their table
But they got a lot of forks ’n’ knives
And they gotta cut somethin’
So one mornin’ when the sun was warm
I rambled out of New York town
Pulled my cap down over my eyes
And headed out for the western skies
So long, New York
Howdy, East Orange
Product Details
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster (November 1, 2016)
- Length: 688 pages
- ISBN13: 9781451648768
Raves and Reviews
“This Nobel acknowledges what we’ve long sensed to be true: that Mr. Dylan is among the most authentic voices America has produced, a maker of images as audacious and resonant as anything in Walt Whitman or Emily Dickinson.” —Dwight Garner, The New York Times
“The Nobel Prize in Literature confirms his status as something more than a songwriter of a kind with those who preceded him. For those who follow him closely, savoring his witticisms, poignant observations and the unexpected word at precisely the right time, the acknowledgment is long overdue, with all respect to Messrs. Murakami, Roth, Sondheim and others. Sentence by sentence and verse by verse, Mr. Dylan’s body of work is worthy of maximum celebration.” —Jim Fusilli, The Wall Street Journal
“The Nobel committee got this right—Dylan’s ongoing achievement in American song is a literary feat to celebrate in this gaudiest of ways.” —Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone
“He was the rebel, the healer, the bard in blue jeans and oversized shades who sang a generation through war and peace, past the perils of unrest and self-complacency. . . . And now Dylan has entered that pantheon, shoving against the boundaries of the definition of ‘literature’ just as he pushed past so many borders in music.” —Carolyn Kellogg, Los Angeles Times
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High Resolution Images
- Book Cover Image (jpg): The Lyrics Hardcover 9781451648768
- Author Photo (jpg): Bob Dylan Courtesy of the author(0.1 MB)
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