The Daily Telegraph

Dylan’s most famous lyrics they are a-changin’

Nobel winner substantia­lly rewrites songs and draws sketches to illustrate them for new London exhibition

- By Patrick Sawer

FOR decades, fans and academics alike have pored over the lyrics to the songs of Bob Dylan. Now the singer himself has reopened the debate over the meaning of his work, by changing key words and entire lines in some of his best-known songs.

As part of an exhibition in London, Dylan has written out many of his most famous lyrics by hand, accompanyi­ng them with sketches to illustrate their content or meaning.

But, in keeping with his mercurial reputation, Dylan has made significan­t changes to the lyrics of previously familiar songs, in some cases extensivel­y rewriting the words of tracks such as Tangled Up In Blue and Rainy Day Women #12 & 35.

The changes show that Dylan – who was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 2016 – continues to refuse to be pinned down over the interpreta­tion of his work.

The catalogue to the Mondo Scripto exhibition – the singer himself came up with the name – states: “One of Bob Dylan’s most critically acclaimed songs Tangled Up In Blue (1975) has been almost completely redrafted for the exhibition. Dylan sees his songs as never being complete and has continuall­y reworked the lyrics of this single since it was released.

“While many of the songs in this exhibition have small word and syntax changes, other songs that have been significan­tly rewritten are: Gotta Serve Somebody (1979); If You See Her, Say Hello (1975); Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 (1966); When I Paint My Masterpiec­e (1971) and You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (1975).”

In one example he has changed lines in Tangled Up In Blue from: “And I was standin’ on the side of the road/rain fallin’ on my shoes/heading out for the East Coast/lord knows I’ve paid some dues gettin’ through/tangled up in blue” to “And he was standin’ on the side of the road/rain fallin on his shoes/heading out for the East Coast/ Radio blasting the news coming through tangled up in blue”.

The exhibition reopens the debate about whether his work – and that of other great musicians – can be regarded as poetry in its own right or is merely enjoyable as throwaway pop.

That debate was famously encapsulat­ed by Prof Christophe­r Ricks, the former Oxford professor of poetry, who argued that Dylan’s work stands comparison with that of the Romantic poet John Keats.

When he was asked in 1965 whether he regarded himself as a poet, Dylan famously countered: “I think of myself more as a song-and-dance man.”

With his exhibition at the Halcyon Gallery in New Bond Street, Dylan is again encouragin­g his audience to ask questions about what art is and where rock’n’roll stands alongside it.

Paul Green, the president of the Halcyon, said: “Like many great artists, Dylan is once again going through a period of reflection to re-address his body of work as he grows older.”

Dylan, 77, has long taken to changing the occasional word to a song during live performanc­es, but writing down such changes for public viewing would appear to give these alteration­s a more permanent status.

He has also included sketches inspired by each song, referencin­g a moment in the lyric to help illuminate his words. These include one of Napoleon, echoing his mention of a “Napoleon in rags” in his 1965 song Like A Rolling Stone, frequently taken to be a reference to the singer himself.

“Dylan has said that, just as Shakespear­e’s words were meant to be performed, his words are meant to be listened to when sung to music,” said Mr Green. “But with these graphite drawings he is giving us an insight into the songs, as if he is helping us to decode his work. These sketches are very poignant; some are biographic­al, some are illuminati­ng an aspect of that song.”

Mondo Scripto is at the Halcyon Gallery, New Bond Street, London, from Oct 9 and through November.

‘While many songs have small word and syntax changes, others have been significan­tly rewritten’

 ??  ?? The exhibition features sketches by Bob Dylan inspired by lyrics from some of his best-known songs
The exhibition features sketches by Bob Dylan inspired by lyrics from some of his best-known songs

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