It’s a hard song!
Singer subs (& flubs) for Dylan at Nobel
Patti Smith performed on behalf of Bob Dylan at the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden, Saturday morning — and forgot the lyrics to his famous tune “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall.”
The rock icon — who was accepting Dylan’s prize in literature — suddenly started mumbling the lyrics in the second verse in front of over 1,500 onlookers, including the king and queen of Sweden.
“I apologize. I’m sorry. I’m so nervous,” Smith, 69, said, covering her face and asking the orchestra to start over.
The audience at Stockholm’s Concert Hall clapped as the singer regained her composure and finally got through Dy- lan’s 1962 song from his second album, “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan.”
Dylan, 75, declared that he would not attend the prestigious awards in November, telling the Swedish Academy that “other commitments make it unfortunately impossible.”
However, a statement from Dylan was read aloud by the United States ambassador to Sweden, Azita Raji, at the ceremony.
“I’m sorry I can’t be with you in person, but please know that I am most definitely with you in spirit and honored to be receiving such a prestigious prize,” it reads, according to Rolling Stone.
“If someone had ever told me that I had the slightest chance of winning the Nobel Prize, I would have to think that I’d have about the same odds as standing on the moon,” it says.
The statement ends with himhim thanking the academy for considering whether his songs are truly considered literature and “for providing such a wonderful answer.”
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize at a separate ceremony in Oslo, Norway, for reaching a deal to end a five-decade-long conflict with the Rev-Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.
Notables in attendance in Stockholm included Princess Victoria, Madeleine and Sofia of Sweden, and, oddly enough, Conan O’Brien — who seemed rather unimpressed by the ceremony as he let out a yawn.