Why Bob Dylan is a Poetic Genius
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ค. 2021
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i cant imagine how anyone could say Bob Dylan isn't a poet, all his songs are so layered with mystery and meaning.
I mean, he has won the Nobel price of literature...
He's popular, mainstream. Nothing that a lot of people like can have deep meaning.
/s
I don’t disagree that he is a poet…but I do disagree that all of his songs have meaning. Especially in the mid-sixties I think he was more interested in piecing together words that sounded good phonetically over having any real meaning to them (ex. Subterranean Homesick Blues, Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat)
Then a lot of people will take every line and over-analyze and give some kind of meaning to it and come up with their own interpretation but if you asked Mr. Dylan himself, he would probably say something like whatever you think it means or I have no idea what it means.
But yes, many of his songs are layered with deep meaning. Especially his earlier work and then Blood on the Tracks and Desire
Nobody is saying Bob Dylan isnt a poet...nobody who is taken seriously or is mainstream enough to be quoted. Still, it's hard to pose the question if everybody agrees on the answer.
He's not a poet
Ngl I always thought all lyricism was automatically poetry, didn't realize there was controversy lol
Same lol
His Nobel Lit prize a couple years ago really brought the question back
honestly same
There isn't, really. Poets can be pretty gatekeepy with what is and isn't poetry. But to me, the mere existence of free verse poetry means that if strings of sentences sound musical and beautiful when put together, they can be considered poetry in some way.
I always thought that it was something like "a square is a rectangle but a rectangle is not a square" scenarios. Like lyricism is a form of poetry, but poetry is not lyricism.
Polyphonic: This video was brought to you by Brilliant.
Me: Yes, I'm listening to the brilliant's voice right now.
I think my favorite Dylan lyric is:
_I ain't saying you treated me unkind_
_You coulda done better, but I don't mind_
_You just kinda wasted my precious time_
_But don't think twice, it's all right_
But…
_And take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind_
_Down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves_
_The haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach_
_Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow_
_Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free_
_Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands_
_With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves_
_Let me forget about today until tomorrow_ …
Those might be the most beautiful lyrics ever.
“Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky
With one hand waving free”
So imba. This line(s) is poetry unto itself.
If this is not poetry what is?
@@billh.1940 The answer is:
Poor people have it.
Rich people think they need it.
What is it?
@@CipherSerpico don't know but the rich want everything from everyone. Me, I will settle for the love of a good woman, and peace of mind!
Btw I have both. Peace and love 😘!
The funnest thing was singers who sung don't think twice as a love song, but it is a breakup song. Sonny and Cher comes to mind.
Go way from my window! 😂. I always thought mr tambourine was his dealer.
@@billh.1940 The poor have it;
The rich _think_ they need it…
“If this is not poetry, what is”?
_Nothing._
The answers to your question, and to my “riddle” - are both _”Nothing”._
There’s a longer version of that “Riddle”, but i heard that when I was very young, and it always stayed with me, because-similar to what you said: I’ve never cared about being rich; I’ve always only cared about “love”, “beauty”, and all that jazz.
So yeah, for whatever reason, that riddle popped in my head when I read your comment.
👊
Also…
Two of my favorite covers of all time, are two Dylan covers.
• “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” by
*Dion* (DiMucci):
th-cam.com/video/X6cE-uQanfs/w-d-xo.html
• And, *Jon Martyn’s* version of “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright”:
th-cam.com/video/zwnskM2Bsrw/w-d-xo.html
I think both of them did a brilliant job of reinterpreting the song.
I would definitely recommend checking those out.
For me Bob Dylan is a poet. Listen to Desolation row and Hard rains gonna fall. His songs/poems is often an allegory to something important along side history and culture.
one of the best of all time at that
Desolation Row has to be one of the greatest long poems of modern time. There is no one way to interpret it, it is up to the listener or reader to decide. The call outs to grim historical events, and yet that isn't even the focus of the song.
Visions of Johanna and its alright ma are 2 of my favs
Was just thinking Desolation Row would have been a better study
Desolation Row is such a haunting work of art, it's insane. Its like going in trance with every listen. No wonder it inspired Watchmen. Greatness inspires greatness.
In this video I'll break down one of Dylan's most esteemed pieces, Wiggle Wiggle.
In the chorus, Dylan urges the listener to "Wiggle wiggle wiggle like a bowl of soup".
This is clearly in reference to the dish known as 'soup'. In 2006, he visited the Chef Boyardee factory so it's very likely he has consumed soup at least once. Soup has been a constant inspiration for poets, including Jasper Hemmin who once wrote "I ate some soup for lunch" in a letter to his mother.
It was a nursery rhyme album for his young daughter. It was a lame joke 10 years ago
@Eggbutt - Yale wants to know your location. (tbh Wiggle Wiggle is a hoot)
This ducking comment made me cry laughing
Dang...."wiggle wiggle".......LMFAO...eggbut..giggle..giggle..too
The entire Under The Red Sky was written for kids. Starting with the lyrics to the title song
Under the Red Sky.
Great song wiggle wiggle
Who else but Dylan
I've always said Mr Tamborine Man is Dylans best piece of poetry
very important song in the development of psychedelic music
It's very good, but i'd have to say it's "Ballad of a Thin Man"
Tangled up in blue is a perfect example of Dylan's lyrical genius
Visions of Johanana is my favourite
Everything said here I affirm, but even his most direct is poetry unto itself. Hurricane Forever Young, Murder Most Foul, just to name the few.
Though his most poetic I can say is All Along The Watchtower and Desolation Row.
"I don't call myself a poet, because I don't like the word. I'm a trapeze artist."
-Bob Dylan
Fun fact: T.S Eliot won the literature nobel prize, just like bob dylan.
Fun fact: TS Eliot is an anagram of toilets, just like Bob Dylan is an anagram of bony bald.
W.B.Yeats too
@@Eggbutts
Or Bland Boy
@@Eggbutts or nobby lad
Kissinger and Obama won the Peace Prize so it is worthless. He is not a poet. Neruda is. Come on.
For me, mister tambourine is Bob himself, but I actually always interpreted the song as man walking down an ampty street after a great night, insisting that he isn't sleepy, not realising that he is already asleep as the world around him becomes more and more 'dream like'
A drug deal.
@@diamondcomplex2376 No.
I understand this song.
Dylan admitted he wrote it to describe his wait for a pot dealer one night. Maybe not a drug dealer but that's what the song's about. Waiting for weed. Bwahaha ha ha ha.
@@JoeKoOhNo trolling. Classic Dylan
I'm 14 and I've been a fan of your work for a while, I watched this video not knowing much about Bob Dylan or his music, and I liked this song so much I decided to learn it on guitar since I've started learning guitar again recently, I learnt to sing it aswell and once I'd gotten good at it I went to my mom and asked if she wanted to hear this song I'd learnt. I was a bit shaky at first but I got into it pretty good and realised she was crying, turns out this was a song her mom used to play for her when she was a kid, her mom had died recently and she'd been quite depressed but it made her so happy. This is the effect music can have and I'm glad I have found your channel so that I can appreciate music more.
Beautiful
Awesome 👏 👏
Young man.!!! Keep learning
You are a lucky young man. You are just beginning to discover the music of a true genius. There is a huge amount of incredible music to take in....
Mr. Tambourine Man has always hovered just overhead, a few yards away, bathed in colored light, and casting his spell out to the crowd. He is the artist on the stage.
That's pretty good Mike.
Yes, he's a poet. Look at something like Desolation Row, that's a masterpiece
^ This guy Dylans!
So you are Peter Gabriel?
Desolation Row is a song. It is a masterpiece, but it’s not a poem.
@@TheMarshmelloKingPoems are songs
@@keepthefaith6909No. poems are poems and songs are songs. Songs with poetic lyrics are ……… songs!
Poems sung aloud are ?
Of course this debate is semantic nonsense.
Another Dylan video by Polyphonic! Life is good right now!
Dylan and Paul Simon are wonderful poets. Blowin in the wind is a masterpiece of poetry.
True, although Paul Simon keeps mocking Dylan in lot of songs. lol
@@zackzallie8735 Really? What songs ?
@@rman52 The song A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission) by Simon and Garfunkel is one of the funny examples.
@@zackzallie8735 I think that one is actually a tribute to Dylan, not making fun of him. The whole song is in Dylan's style. And in the lyrics he makes fun of a guy that doesn't know Bob Dylan from Dylan Thomas. Now this one is a funny parody of Dylan. th-cam.com/video/JUQDzj6R3p4/w-d-xo.html
@@zackzallie8735 One song with only two recordings back in the 60s hardly counts as "keep" mocking but okay xD
maybe it's all about that vagueness of tambourine man figure.
when you imagine it, you're not seeing someone, or even dylan himself.
you're seeing a vague figure of an anonymous musician who we will never know.
and that's poetry. that's music. that's bob dylan.
thank you for the video. it was indeed brilliant.
Very true! He's like "The Stranger" archetype.
Who even thinks that Bob isn't a poet? That man's lyrical skills are beyond anyone I've ever listened to.
can you try to do a writing analysis of bowie's literary style? imo his choice of words is second to none
That's be sick
Why dont you do it? :3
So true, this would make for a great video
something seems off about calling it second to none as well
@@thechordwizard8429 you're right, changing it. my bad I didn't notice it
It would be really cool if he made it into a series. Bowie, Dylan, Paul Simon, Townes Van Zandt, Leonard Cohen, would all be good editions
For me It’s alright ma I’m only bleeding exemplifies everything I love about Dylan’s sharp, humorous and absurdist writing and contains better bars than 99% of anything any rapper today has written
“He not busy being born is busy dying.” Great song.
It sure is a foreign sound to some ears.
But it's alright ma... it's life and life only.
Thank you I wanted to make sure someone posted about it's alright ma. Imo, his best work and just as relevant today as it was upon its release. Hard rain gonna fall is amazing as well as far as a "poem" goes. His writing was just magical.
I think the song is about transcendence. I always felt like Mr Tambourine Man was the muse - or maybe God if you will. I think it's about desire to have purpose - to be open and willing to take the ride, or see the vision - or follow the path. I feel like what he's asking for transcends music or art of any kind in a way - it's more like he's asking to understand the moment in a way that can't be described by words or pictures. I think this song - as well as many of his songs exist on many levels, and it's probably best to not think about them too much. I have a feeling Dylan himself probably didn't think about them too much when he was writing them - at least the really good ones. Only a poet can write stuff like this - but Dylan also said, "Anybody that calls themselves a poet - isn't a poet." So there's that.
I agree with this totally about transcendence (or the sacred). However I do think Dylan i knew quite well what he was writing about. However because it was so, much a gestalt, a flow,
I agree he probably did not want everything dissected like a frog on a table. which we do anyway
He's always been a song and dance man
My Tambourine Man , a musician who can take me out of reality and into a different world, discribed by lyrics and music , is Jimi Hendrix. To me no other musical poet can envelop me in his musical world quite as Hendrix. I can hear songs like ,,Castles Made Of Sand'' or ,,1983...'' for the hundreth time and be immediately pulled in the song ; simply by his lyrical work beyond his musical interpretation and underlining of those very lyrics. It's just like re-reading a good book like ,Lord of the Rings': You know the story and know whats coming but halfway through the first page you're straight back in this world.
Jimi Hendrix was basically trying to write like Dylan
Mr. Tambourine Man is my favourite Dylan’s song. Finally some attention to this overlooked lyrical masterpiece!
He's receiving the Nobel Prize for literature so I think he's earned to be known as a poet.
Minnesotan here. He’s a damn legend!
Brazillian here. He's a damn legend !
his consciousness is far beyond.
I've been wanting to go to Duluth and Hibbing to see where he was born and raised.
His book, Tarantula, is a really intriguing read. It was definitely interesting reading his poetry that was not meant to be put to song.
I’m not discounting your opinion but I’ll share mine as well. I don’t think Tarantula is poetry. It’s really just avant-garde stream of consciousness writing. 99% of it can’t be tied into the entirety as a whole, there’s very little to derive or analyze from it. I’ve really tried connecting the dots and it’s just impossible. I’m a huge English literary analysis nerd so I used a lot of techniques I like to use when analyzing books, none of it worked. I really do believe it’s just drugged up stream of consciousness writing. Not to say it’s bad, I don’t. think it’s good either though. It’s extremely interesting to read and it was a fun challenge to try to analyze though I found very little to make conclusions from.
It's meaningless and it sucks. I wasted forty-five minutes reading that piece of shit. Try Joyce if you want "intriguing" literature.
Bob Dylan is undoubtedly a poet, you listen to his album span from those released in 1960s - 1970s, you will find one of the best pieces of songwriting and lyricism.
Forever Young Bob Dylan !
Yes, lyrical poet. Singular, objective answer.
Not nearly as interesting as the video
Yes, a songwriter. Singular, objective answer.
@@Awesomebaconman123 drugs are medicine, tomato potato
According to Elton John in his biography "Me," Bob Dylan, the greatest lyricist of all time, was horrible at charades because he couldn't tell you how many syllables a word had or what it rhymed with without taking a minute to think about it😂
This is very interesting. I've always wondered how much craft there was to his songwriting. I do believe he edits a lot, but I guess it's all based more on feel rather than meter.
I think Bob was messing with Elton because charades is stupid 😆
Thank you for letting Bob borrow your coat
@@brown22sugar25 I’m so proud of myself for getting the reference you were making without having to think about it😂😂
(You are referencing the lyric from American Pie aren’t you? Just making sure I was right before I got too excited 😂)
@@jamesdean9183 yes
Visions of Johanna and Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands is downright poetry!
The album Desire is pure poetry. The way he sings about Sara or his adventure on Isis.
Also One moe cup of coffee is as beautiful as dark
The music is on that album is so rare I’ve never heard anything like it.
One of the greatest albums ever made in my opinion
I completly agree. That album has a very unique sound, and the lyrics were just as good. To me, 1975-1976 is Dylan at his second peak. His first being 64-66.
I love your style of editing so much, it's always on point!
Thank you for everything you do with this channel Polyphonic! Out of all the TH-camrs I'm subscribed to, I get the most excited whenever I see that you've released a new video! You're a master at what you do!
Bob the greatest EVER
Im speechless… I get just as emotional listening to your comments as I do when I listen to the songs themselves!!! 😍😍😍 I found myself going on about my day listening to your videos in the background, but paying attention to every single one of your words!!! And I find myself answering out loud when you bring up a question and my heart literally skips a beat every time I hear your answer as I’m answering .. and our answer is the same!!! So far on every video I’ve watched I thought to myself « Wow! That’s it! This guy knows exactly what it is! » you are amazing!!! How you paint with words the beautiful métaphores from these amazing songs takes my breath away!!! 😍😍😍
You captured perfectly what the song has always meant for me. Beautifully put. That song is just pure bliss
I always enjoy your analyses, especially of Dylan’s songs. Thanks for this.
I’m really happy that I’ve happened across your channel. Your videos are very enjoyable and so well done. I absolutely love the focus on the powerful combination of music and poetry. Personally I feel like they go hand in hand. Thank you for the excellent content. 🤘
Excellent work. A loving look at this poet’s deep love of the world of language and music that he is immersed in and is simultaneously inventing as he lives. This beauty is well worth the contemplations and your efforts have born fine fruit.
Great video! One of my favourites you’ve done so far
Mr Tambourine Man is a muse - yours, mine, Dylan's, anyone's, everyone's... It's that moment of inspiration that leads to creation, that moment you lose yourself in the Zen timelessness that follows
What? Who in their right mind would doubt he's a poet? 😦
Mr. Tambourine Man has always been one of the most special songs to me personally. It's also the reason why I started playing the guitar.
For me Mr. Tambourine Man always has this special place in my heart, because I could easily relate to the meaning it had my mind.
The song is about Dylan and some friends, being up late and just making interesting conversations (Something my friends and I do a lot). The verses being the conversations about random subjects, such as politics (the empire in the sand), loneliness (empty streets and having nowhere to go) and adventure (I'm ready to go anywhere).
Everytime we reach the chorus, someone decides they're not tired yet and they ask the tambourine man to play another song. The songs being a new conversation all together, so they don't have to go home yet.
For me this song is just a metaphore for all the late nights, me and my friends have spent at bars, talking about whatever comes to mind. We even discussed Mr. Tambourine Man and came up with this meaning for the song!
One of my favourite videos in a while! Very good!!
Wow, just WOW! I felt it, really, when you said "let me forget about today until tomorrow" as an explanation of YOUR experience with Dylan's music, using HIS words. Truly beautiful, I'm really hoping on more vids on Dylan. Keep up the good work :))
What an incredibly beautiful, sensitive and smart interpretation of this song. Thank you for sharing ❤
I was waiting and searching for this for some years now... thank you
Amazing. AMAZING. As a huge Bob Dylan fan myself, I really look forward to seeing your future videos on him. Would love to see a deconstruction of "Jokerman".
From sleeping through Literature in high school to watching an explanation of poetry on YT years later
Excellent essay! One of your bests. Thank you for sharing these insights!
This was such a fantastic video. The artistry in your animation perfectly matches the subject matter, you set the perfect tone and maintained a level of quality which didn't overshadow the analysis but effectively partnered with it. Damn great job, you earned a subscription.
I belive that MR tamburin man is the feeling from just flying away in music those early mornings after being out with friends, the cigarets lying all aorund, emot bottelse and all that
Great video, Bob Dylan really is a fascinating character and one of the greatest lyricists of all time.
Your work is marvelous and you seem to have the same passion for Dylan's music and poetry as I do. It would be great if one day you did a similar approach to "Its alright, ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" - probably my favourite lyric of him.
Big love from Brazil!
THANK YOU. This song means so much to me, I think it's the perfect unison between 60's pop and everlasting poetry-Dylan at his peak. I always pictured mr. Tambourine Man as sort of a beautiful performer in a foreign town, just like you said, calming the worries and sorrows of the song's narrator.
Mr Tambourine man is anyone who feels music as the escape from daunting reality and as a coping mechanism to the inevitable hardship.
Lemme just say how detailed and passionate these videos are well done bro well done 👍
Bob Dylan is definitely a poet. His storytelling is one of a kind.
The human, the musician, the artist in me ..is very grateful for your work ..I love you, your channels and these videos ..💙
Best Bob content on youtube!!!! Thanks for the video ❤
Bob Dylan the goat got more bars than jay z
What masterful analysis! Thank you very much! Your thoughts on Dylan's writing are really inspiring on themselves and take his songs to a new level for me, going deep into meaning and context (specially because English isn't my first language). Once again thank you very much for sharing your thoughts.
Mr Tambourine Man is music itself....a nameless personification of music. We who take refuge in music's sheltering arms are the observer. I have heard the many drug references/interpretations, but I would ask you to (just once) see music as that "mood changing" substance and listen to the song again. Whether it is discomfort, boredom, happiness, depression, or celebration....many of us look for a tambourine man in that situation. The music isnt magical, but our need of it in those moments makes it seem like a drug/trip/magic.
What a fantastic video and analysis! Loved it, please more Dylan content! :-)
I was waiting for a video like this from you, thank you
My all time favorite song. The imagery in his final verse takes you somewhere else
Beautiful video, man. One of the all time great songs.
This channel never fails to amaze me
Thank you so much for this. Your contents are always insightful and informative. 🥺💙
I love this channel. Would love to see you cover the poetry of Tom Waits.
Thank you for making a video about Mr. Tambourine Man. Dylan, to me, is unquestionably a poet. As always, your videos are unquestionably brilliant.
Thank you, Polyphonic, as always for a great video.
your videos just keep getting better
Great job. I really enjoyed this video. I appreciate the research, personal insight and professionalism.
The last verse in this song is the most beautiful I've ever heard. It's pure Magic, it always takes my mind on a trip of wonder, fantasy, and imagination. I want this song played at my funeral .
Your tone death analysis of "Mr Tambourine Man" was laid out like the dissection of a corpse. I need time to restore myself so that I can appreciate this beautiful piece work again.
It’s always a good day when it’s a Bob Dylan video
13:07 I totally was expecting "That's JUST A THEORY!"
a SONG THEORY
Show MatPat this video
Thanks for making this video - my son Dylan and I enjoyed it thoroughly
This is such an awesome video! Love the deep dive into the lyrics! If you did any more Dylan Dives into lyrics Don't Think Twice Its Alright would be a really awsome one to do :)
Here from.indonesia ......real dylan fans since 1961 ......speak indonesian ....ok , bob dylan adalah sosok seorang yg sangat tinggi kemamouannya membuat puisi yg dituangkan ke setiap lagu2 nya ,tdk perlu debat atas hal.itu , dng ksesederhanaan nada pada setiap lagunya namun ditutup oleh bunyi puisi atau seruan yg membuat hti setiap orang tergugah dan berpikir .....daya magnit power lagunya justru dr isi puisinya yg di aransir hingga jadi sebuah lagu yg punya arti dlm dan indah ....love to dylan , ever n forever , dewa musikku slmnya , disini dr indonesia jakarta sweet regard for you guys
12:56 is a brilliant poem in a poem about what Dylan’s work meant to the author. I’m in awe!
I personally believe that Bob Dylan is a poet, he is my favorite singer/songwriter. Great video as always Polyphonic.
i rarely comment but this video is a true masterpiece in every sence of the world. the mapping to prove your claim using countless different sources astonished me. i have rarely seen videos this well put together. thank you and please protect this :>)
I really enjoyed this vid, thank you for your great work!
This video is a masterpiece
This College English paper would have gotten an A+ back in the 1970's... Loved it! Thanks! :)
Beautiful. Insightful. Unpretentious. I usually avoid anything that hints at explaining the meaning of a song. This one doesn't impose any interpretation on the listener. It just enhances whatever this great song already means to you.
So perfectly well said! Great observation!
I enjoyed this thoroughly! I'm from New Orleans and never knew there was a connection, thanks.
Such an amazing video.
Thank you so much
For me, Mr tambourine man is the friend I had in high-school who first introduced me to this song. I can't hear it without thinking about her, and the many road trips we went on together.
brilliant, man. Great take.
He's a poet in the original sense of the word: a maker, a troubadour. His words are more impactful when sung than on the page. But poetry is written to be sung.
For me Mr. Tambourine Man has always been any musician you hear after a prolonged period of elation that ended too soon for you. Be that a busker on the street, someone jamming in the park or someone on a stage in a small pub in the wee small hours
Loved it. Agree: Dylan is a brilliant poet. Thank you.
This is beautiful video essay man
awesome work!
Bravo! Another great video!!!
I knew a guy in college who thought that music started and ended with Dylan. Wonder where he is now and if he saw this.
babe wake up new polyphonic video