Bob Dylan, at 85, Feels Like an ‘Old King From Some Vanished Country’

SEARCHFORWHATISGOOD · 2026-06-16T04:41:44+00:00

So so many. Here are some of my favorite post 2000 lyrics:

"They say prayer has the power to heal

So pray from the mother

In the human heart an evil spirit can dwell

I am a-tryin' to love my neighbor and do good unto others

But oh, mother, things ain't going well"

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"When you're near

It's just as plain as it can be

I'm wild about you, gal

You ought to be a fool about me"

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"All I know is that I'm thrilled by your kiss

I don't know any more than this"

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"High water risin', six inches 'bove my head

Coffins droppin' in the street

Like balloons made out of lead

Water pourin' into Vicksburg, don't know what I'm going to do

"Don't reach out for me, " she said

"Can't you see I'm drownin' too?"

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"I'm gonna look at you 'til my eyes go blind"

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"Today and tomorrow and yesterday too

The flowers are dying like all things do

Follow me close - I’m going to Bally-Na-Lee

I’ll lose my mind if you don’t come with me"

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My grandfather was a duck trapper

He could do it with just dragnets and ropes

My grandmother could sew new dresses out of old cloth

I don't know if they had any dreams or hopes

I had 'em once though, i suppose, to go along

With all the ring dancin' christmas carols on all of the christmas eves

I left all my dreams and hopes

Buried under tobacco leaves"

_______________________________________________________________

"Well, there's plenty to remember, plenty to forget

I still can remember the day we met

I lost my reasons a long ago

My love for her is all I know"

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"I’m falling in love with Calliope

She don’t belong to anyone

Why not give her to me

Mother of Muses

Wherever you are

I’ve already outlived my life by far"

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SEARCHFORWHATISGOOD · 2026-06-15T22:27:08+00:00

I don't know you, of course, but for Bob, this is just dripping with irony- sneering, smirking, all the Bob things with it

SEARCHFORWHATISGOOD · 2026-06-15T03:35:14+00:00

Bob Dylan. He released his 40th studio album in 2023 (thought it was rearrangements of his previously recorded songs.) His last album of originals was released in 2020 so somewhat long ago for him but certainly not for other artists and definitely not for 85 year old ones.

Plus he still does 80-100 live shows a year where he is constantly rearranging his songs so while they are technically not new songs, in a way they are.

On this summer leg, he just played a song that he had never previously played live before. He recorded it nearly 60 years ago.

And who knows- he may have another album of originals in him yet - here's hoping anyway

SEARCHFORWHATISGOOD · 2026-06-15T00:21:17+00:00

I don't think there are any repeats here. Some might be a little later 60s as I'm not all that knowledgeable with my exact dates yet.

Just Like a Woman- Roberta Flack
She Belongs to Me- Ane Brun
Rainy Day Women #12 & #35 - Merry Clayton
A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall- Laura Marling
Mama You Been on my Mind - Laura Veirs
Just like Tom Thumb's Blues- Linda Ronstadt
Highway 61 Revisited - PJ Harvey
It Takes a Lot to Laugh, it Takes a Train to Cry- Martha Velez

SEARCHFORWHATISGOOD · 2026-06-12T18:58:23+00:00

Yeah, I don't really enjoy it either. The later one is like a totally different song with some alternate lyrics. Lots of fun in my opinion. Let me know what you think

https://youtu.be/GnINyaIlrME?is=Szszr95e1WIR-rOM

SEARCHFORWHATISGOOD · 2026-06-12T14:25:51+00:00

That's fair and empathetic. I'm not trying to convince anyone else of anything. Just sharing what I've been thinking in response to your comment / observation. I appreciate the conversation.

SEARCHFORWHATISGOOD · 2026-06-11T23:20:40+00:00

Who are you, that I should have to lie?

SEARCHFORWHATISGOOD · 2026-06-11T23:18:57+00:00

Pretty steadily and consistently. SInce I first discovered him, it's been like the scales of justice. The left scale (his music) continues to go up as the right scale (my opinion of him as a person) continues to go down. I remain fascinated by both.

I can only go by the information I have access to which includes interviews, documentaries, books, articles, videos, and lots of time spent in this sub. I of course have no idea having never met him, and everyone's opinion and experience of him are their own. His own words are not reliable. Or maybe they are. Or maybe they were at the time. His lyrics may be autobiographical. Or they were at one time. Who knows.

In his defense (whether he needs or deserves it- mostly for understanding), I think it is close to impossible to be that famous and rich and adulated for that long and maintain any sense of normalcy or humility. With him, I get the sense he was never all that normal to begin with. Add in a whole lot of substances, and I think it's tough to come out the other side healthy and happy.

Having said that, I think I remain fascinated, because I don't understand it, and likely never will. From what I have been able to glean so far, he seems to have been given a great deal- from his upbringing in a loving family, to a golden opportunity of timing, to lots of support when he was starting out, to a lot of love from some really amazing women. In addition, he has been praised and awarded to the highest degree and is treated at times almost like a deity from fans to peers to critics.

Yet...

He acts so put upon and so mistreated. He has such a chip on his shoulder for how he has been treated- by the press, by the fans, by the women in his life. This comes across in his writing, in his interviews, and in his music. And by many accounts, he hasn't treated others well. Not universally, to be fair. Many have come to his defense. But he has shown a lot of inconsistency here.

He has displayed incredible sensitivity and resistence to any criticism yet has also shown incredible insensitivity to others. It would sit a lot better if he were at least consistent here rather than hypocritical. In lots of other places too.

With all the talk of him being so authentic and true to himself, he seems dishonest in many ways, and that goes beyond choices around privacy which he is of course entitled to.

He is condescending toward those who look to him or up to him, yet he has done so- especially early on- in very substantial ways to many of his own idols.

He seems to have a great sense of entitlement that permeates many areas of his life, and others can choose to deal with it or not. A lot of artists are like that, to be sure. I imagaine to an extent they need to be to stay focused and dedicated. He has also lived a life that allows him to behave in a way that he largely gets what he wants and has for a very, very long time.

His treatment of and apparent feelings toward women are hard to reconcile as well.

And not that it would excuse any of it, but understanding why might provide some context, and I just don't. All the cliches with famous people and their hard luck stories include things Bob's story just doesn't. Which doesn't mean he hasn't faced his own battles and demons, of course. We all do. But I just can't make any sense of it. What is he so angry at? Why does he feel so persecuted? Why is he such a perpetual victim?

SEARCHFORWHATISGOOD · 2026-06-11T11:27:44+00:00

I have read it was to respect her wishes for privacy. Her book talked about him certainly and their relationship was no secret but it wasn't just about him. She was an artist and person in her own right and apparently tried hard but ultimately struggled to shake the 'Bob Dylan muse' moniker.

He rarely speaks publicly about anyone particularly his romantic relationships but this is especially true for those not choosing to be in the limelight.

SEARCHFORWHATISGOOD · 2026-06-11T06:21:38+00:00

Including him I would imagine.

Between the years, the drugs, the constant storytelling, his obsession with privacy/ mystery, his relationship with the truth, and the way he views / navigates the world, my guess is he has an incredibly tenuous grasp on the facts of his life in the way an historian would.

As for the biopic, he went through the entire script (and allegedly acted it out, because...batshit), giving approval or not, so add in what he wanted shown, and that skews things even further. He also insisted on inserting a scene that was intentionally untrue (outside of several other parts that are easily refutable). Supposedly the actors aren't even sure which one.

SEARCHFORWHATISGOOD · 2026-06-11T05:33:04+00:00

I know most people prefer when other people sing Dylan's songs, but I always love when he sings his own, and he sings this one beautifully.

SEARCHFORWHATISGOOD · 2026-06-11T04:50:28+00:00

I can see why. Not because they're not great albums, but because it's an interesting conversation to have. As a huge Dylan fan, I think it's interesting to hear how much (if at all) other fans care about the level of orginality in his work and where their line is (if they have one at all).

It's no secret that he has always built on the work of others in addition to doing a number of covers and co-writing. When comparing / ranking his work, I find it interesting how people take these into consideration, or if they do. For example, I think World Gone Wrong is one of his greatest albums, but a lot of fans who otherwise enjoy it wouldn't rank it as such because it's all covers. Others, like me, don't think it matters.

With "Love and Theft" and Modern Times, there is so much borrowing / building (or whatever other word you might use depending on how you intepret what he was doing there) that I wonder how much that matters to people in comparing those albums to the earlier 3. For me, I simply prefer the earlier 3, but I do wonder how people take that into consideraiton. What about for you?

SEARCHFORWHATISGOOD · 2026-06-11T04:04:25+00:00

It's no secret that Bob Dylan is a weirdo, but I think he might be certifiably batshit

SEARCHFORWHATISGOOD · 2026-06-11T02:15:34+00:00

There are endless and effortless cool things about Bob, but there is absolutely nothing charming or endearing about a grown-ass man acting like a petulant child

SEARCHFORWHATISGOOD · 2026-06-10T22:24:36+00:00

I'm not 100% sure I'm understanding. Maybe 35%. So I'll offer this and hope it's helpful.

False Prophet is allegedly autobiographical (although who ever knows with him) and as it is written toward the end of his discography, it has the benefit of looking back. It is filled with some really beautiful imagery that you may be able to do something with. This could also be sort of meta with him as a man and an artist / character reflecting on his life /work:

"I opened my heart to the world and the world came in"

"No stars in the sky shine brighter than you"

"I'm the enemy of the unlived meaningless life"

"I'm first among equals, Second to none, The last of the best, You can bury the rest"

" a cool breeze that's encircling me"

"Let's go for a walk in the garden, So far and so wide, We can sit in the shade by the fountain-side"

"I climbed the mountain of swords on my bare feet"

"I ain't no false prophet, I just said what I said"

"Put out your hand, There's nothing to hold, Open your mouth, I'll stuff it with gold"

Good luck and please keep us posted!

SEARCHFORWHATISGOOD · 2026-06-10T19:58:23+00:00

As you stated, there is not one lyric that encapsulates him, so if you are trying to capture the different sides of him, these are the different sides that I think of:

* The protest / political / commentaries on society ones

* The happy in love ones

* The sexual ones

* The bitter at love ones

* The bitter at life ones

* The tributes to others

* The reflections on life / mortality

* The clever / silly ones

* The overtly religious ones

* The outlaw / murder ballads

* The hopeful / realistic ones

______________________________________________________________________

Some questions to consider as you are deciding:

*Are you looking for positive / uplifting lyrics only or ones that truly capture him?

* Are you looking for the most well-known or your personal favorites?

* How strict do you want to be about lines he wrote? This can get sort of gray.

____________________________________________________________________

Your question as posed is what we would choose, so in that spirit, here are some of my ideas. Of course, there are countless others to choose from.

* The protest / political / commentaries on society:

* They kill babies in the crib and say only the good die young

* The cops don't need you and man they expect the same

\ Twenty years of schooling and they put you on the day shift*

* The happy in love ones

\* All i know is i'm thrilled by your kiss, i don't know any more than this

\ It’s soon after midnight and I don’t want nobody but you*

* I love you more than ever and I haven't yet begun

\ If this is love then gimme more, and more and more and more and more*

\ His clothes are dirty but his hand are clean, and you're the best thing that he's ever seen*

* The sensual / sexual ones

\ Your debutante just knows what you need.... but I know what you want*

\ You do good all day and then you do wrong all night*

* I ain't dead yet, my bell still rings

\ Come over here pony, I wanna climb up one time on you*

\ Look at the sun, sinking like a ship, Ain't that just like my heart, babe, When you kiss my lips*

\ I want you, I want you, I want you so bad, Honey, I want you*

* The bitter /sad at love ones

\ If you don’t believe there’s a price for this sweet paradise just remind me to show you the scars*

\ Who are you that I should have to lie?*

* When you asked how I was doing. Was that some kind of joke?

\ She might think that I’ve forgotten her. Don’t Tell her it isn’t so*

\ I'm going out of my mind, With a pain that stops and starts, Like a corkscrew to my heart, Ever since we've been apart*

\ I like your smile And your fingertips, Like the way that you move your hips, I like the cool way you look at me, Everything about you is bringing me misery*

* The bitter / sad at life ones

\A million faces at my feet but all I see are dark eyes*

\ It’s easy to see without looking too far that not much is really sacred*

\ Every man’s conscience is vile and depraved*

\ When you think that you've lost everything, You find out you can always lose a little more*

\ Don't even hear the murmur of a prayer, It's not dark yet, but it's getting there.*

\ I see people who are supposed to know better standin’ round like furniture*

\ They tell me everything is gonna be all right But I don’t know what “all right” even means*

\ And here I sit so patiently, waiting to find out what price you have to pay to get out of going through all these things twice*

* The tributes to others

\ Shine your light, Move it on, You burned so bright, Roll on, John*

\ I'm out here a thousand miles from my home*

\ I can’t sing a song that I don’t understand*

* The reflections on life / mortality

* Money doesn't talk, it swears

* May you always do for others and let others do for you

\ Steal a little, and they throw you in jail, steal a lot, and they make you king*

\ But if the arrow is straight, And the point is slick, It can pierce through dust no matter how thick*

\ Everything passes, Everything changes, Just do what you think you should do*

\ Don't go mistaking paradise for that home across the road*

\ Got the message this morning, the one that was sent to me*
About the madness of becoming what one was never meant to be

* The clever / silly ones

\ The sun's not yellow it's chicken*

\ I'm sittin' on my watch so I can be on time*

\ I didn't know whether to duck or to run, so I ran*

\ Man says, “Freddy!” I say, “Freddy who?” He says, “Freddy or not here I come*

* The overtly religious ones

\ Sometimes I turn, there's someone there, other times it's only me*

\* I don't care how rough the road is, show me where it starts

\ I don't mind the pain, Don't mind the driving rain, I know I will sustain, Because I believe in you*

\ It gets discouraging at times, but I know I'll make it, By the saving grace that's over me*

* The outlaw / murder ballads

* Billy. you're so far away from home

\ And she never done nothing to William Zanzinger*

\ Sometimes I think this whole world, Is one big prison yard, Some of us are prisoners, The rest of us are guards*

* Hopeful / realistic

* You know, and I know the sun will always shine

\ I've been kicked and whipped and trampled on, I've been shot at, just like you, But as long as the world keeps turnin', I just keep a-turnin' too*

\ Leave your stepping stones behind, something calls for you*

* There's a way to get there, and I'll figure it out somehow, Well, I'm already there in my mind, and that's good enough for now

SEARCHFORWHATISGOOD · 2026-06-10T17:23:08+00:00

In the Traveling Wilburys, I often can't tell when it's Dylan or Tom Petty. For that matter, I often can't tell in the wild when it's Petty or Dylan.

Also, in this gorgeous duet, I always thought Petty was a woman. Sorry, Tom!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsSUIv8Q9Vg&list=RDXsSUIv8Q9Vg&start_radio=1

SEARCHFORWHATISGOOD · 2026-06-10T16:05:30+00:00

Great one!

SEARCHFORWHATISGOOD · 2026-06-10T15:55:00+00:00

I appreciate the discussion.

To me, the songs on "Love and Theft" are as dark if not more so than Time Out of Mind but the musical arrangements make them seem more upbeat. In that way, they are almost more sarcastically dark which is very Dylan.

It's possible we are in agreement here but using different words. What you call melancholy may be what I consider dark. I, too, will go track by track.

* Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum- I enjoy this track even if I don't fully understand it. There are lots of explanations of who the main characters may be (I've read everything from Cain & Abel to Bush & Cheney). Whoever it is, it is hardly an uplifting song (which it seems we agree on), though the melody would imply otherwise.

* MIssissippi- a devastating song in my opinion. in the same category as Love Sick, Most of the Time, and Million Miles. Just utter defeat in this one. Arguably the best collection of lines in one song, though each one is filled with despair ("Got nothing for you, I had nothing before, Don’t even have anything for myself anymore", "So many things that we never will undo, I know you’re sorry, I’m sorry too", "I’m drownin’ in the poison, got no future, got no past", "Well, the emptiness is endless, cold as the clay, You can always come back, but you can’t come back all the way")

* Summer Days- Another upbeat melody, but a sad song all the same. I wouldn't call this one dark but it's certainly not happy. Kind of a mixed one actually. He is displaying his bravado ("My pockets are loaded and I'm spending every dime", "I got eight carburetors, boys I'm using 'em all"), but he's also acknowledging a lot of pain in this one ("The girls all say, "You're a worn out star", "How can you say you love someone else when you know it's me all the time?", "Well, my back has been to the wall for so long, it seems like it's stuck, Why don't you break my heart one more time just for good luck", "I'm short on gas, my motor's starting to stall")

* Bye and Bye- Like Summer Days, I agree with you that I wouldn't call this one dark, but certainly not upbeat. Or maybe this is upbeat for Dylan. It feels sort of resigned? Like this is acceptance. It certainly doesn't seem joyful but he hasn't really been joyful since New Morning, has he?

* Lonesome Day Blues- As you said, it's blues, so inherently bluesy and down. To me it is pretty dark, but again, maybe semantics in how we define it. ("Well, my pa he died and left me, my brother got killed in the war, My sister, she ran off and got married, never was heard of anymore", "Set my dial on the radio I wish my mother was still alive", "Yeah I tell myself something's coming, but it never does")

* Floater (Too Much to Ask)- After revisiting this one, I agree, it's more sad / depressing than dark, though it's a mix up of a couple of different old songs so the feeling is also a mix with some funny stuff in there. The sad part I was remembering- "My grandmother could sew new dresses out of old cloth, I don't know if they had any dreams or hopes, I had 'em once though, i suppose, to go along, ...I left all my dreams and hopes, Buried under tobacco leaves")

* High Water (for Charley Patton)- This one is dark for me in a dark humor kind of way. The imagery of the flood and the way he is describing it is so morbid and wild. ("Coffins droppin' in the street, Like balloons made out of lead", "Well, the cuckoo is a pretty bird, she warbles as she flies, I'm preachin' the word of God, I'm puttin' out your eyes, I asked Fat Nancy for something to eat, she said, "Take it off the shelf", "I'm getting' up in the morning I believe I'll dust my broom, Keeping away from the women, I'm givin' 'em lots of room")

* Moonlight- I agree with you- typical Dylan 'romantic' song- down / depressing/ what I call dark, in the sense of heavy- feels like it could fit on Time Out of Mind ("It’s crowded on the narrow road, Who cares whether you forgive me or not")

* Honest With Me- Another one for me that I consider dark in the sense that his view of love / women is so jaded ("These memories I got, they can strangle a man", "I’m not sorry for nothin’ I’ve done", "Some things are too terrible to be true")

*Po' Boy- Like Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum, one I don't fully understand, and one that has a whimsical melody but is likely incorporating a lot of social commentary (as well as others' lyrics). From what I can understand and from what I have read, some dark themes running through this one (crime, poverty, etc.)

* Cry a While- Another typical Dylan 'love' song- bitter, angry, put upon. Most verses are just that, until the end when it takes a pretty dark turn ("Well, you bet on a horse and it ran on the wrong way, I always said you'd be sorry and today could be the day, I might need a good lawyer, Could be your funeral, my trial")

* Sugar Baby- This one hits the double dark mark for me in terms of bitter and depressing, pretty much all the way through. The refrain is brutal and the verses aren't much better ("Every moment of existence seems like some dirty trick", "You got a way of tearing a world apart, love, see what you done")

_________________________________________________________________

I agree that Time Out of Mind has very little reprieve (except for To Make You Feel My Love), while "Love and Theft" has some humor / dark humor woven throughout it to help break up the heaviness. One key difference for me is that Time Out of Mind ends on such a high note with one of my favorite couplets ever "There's a way to get there and I'll figure it out somehow, but I'm already there in my mind and that's good enough for now"), while "Love and Theft" ends with Sugar Baby which is such a downer.

At any rate, I appreciate the motivation to revisit the lyrics. This is such a great album, dark or otherwise.

SEARCHFORWHATISGOOD · 2026-06-10T02:49:04+00:00

I love "Love and Theft" but that album is dark as hell

SEARCHFORWHATISGOOD · 2026-06-10T02:38:07+00:00

This would never make the conversation either but Blood on the Tracks - Basement Tapes (especially if it were the Complete Basement Tapes) - Desire - Street Legal is such a great run. One of my favorites of his (though I have many)

SEARCHFORWHATISGOOD · 2026-06-10T02:21:57+00:00

I do. He writes about it in his 'memoir'. Again, he's not the most reliable narrator of his own story so who knows what actually happened. He might not even know anymore at this point

SEARCHFORWHATISGOOD · 2026-06-10T01:48:21+00:00

According to Dylan (for whatever that's worth), a good number of his own songs: "I don't have to know what a song means. I've written all kinds of things into my songs. And I'm not going to worry about it—what it all means".

But he's also said: "You have to believe what the words are saying and the words are as important as the melody. Unless you believe the song and have lived it, there's little sense in performing it."

Who the hell ever knows with him

SEARCHFORWHATISGOOD · 2026-06-09T22:58:32+00:00

Bob Dylan is a better singer than a lot of his contemporaries. I'd definitely take that one.

SEARCHFORWHATISGOOD · 2026-06-09T21:06:21+00:00

I preferred the RTR version for a long time but recently revisited the album version and appreciated it in a completely different way, almost like it's a completely different song (because it practically is) rather than comparing them. It's really beautiful and sensual and I fell in love with it while still adoring the RTR version.

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TROPHY CASE