100 Days
of Bob Dylan
My Journey to Ascertain the Genius that is Bob Dylan
How Does it Feel?
The first morning I woke up at college, someone in my dorm had these two huge speakers turned facing out of his window and blaring, “Like a Rolling Stone.” It was the first real day out on your own and you hear, “How does it feel to be on your own, away from home, like a rolling stone?”
Since that first day at State University of New York in 1973, my father has grown a deep appreciation for Bob Dylan. As a Milennial, this same adoration did not come naturally. I just didn’t get it. Why Bob Dylan? He’s not even a good singer. His lyrics don’t really make sense. Why do people think he’s the best songwriter?
In an effort to get to know my father on a deeper level, and to understand the impacts of Bob Dylan’s legacy, I set out on a journey to explore the music for myself. Part of the expedition included this book, “Dylan: 100 Songs and Pictures” by Peter Doggett.
Each song posted here includes content from this book along with other sources I cited where applicable.
BOOK: “Dylan: 100 Songs & Pictures”
Blog Posts
Bob Dylan – Song #88: “Most of the Time”
Link to Song: Most of the Time What you should know about this song: "I think he's amazingly sensitive to all kinds of outside experience, the same as any artist who is really good at something. His songs take us to another level. he is absolutely a poet. He made...
Bob Dylan – Song #87: “Ring Them Bells”
Link to Song: Ring Them Bells What you should know about this song: "It's mysterious and dark... Some of the songs on this record are the best songs I've hard in a while. And his voice sounds very sensuous. He's such a fine lyricist and craftsman with words. He's...
Bob Dylan – Song #86: “Brownsville Girl”
Link to Song: Brownsville Girl What you should know about this song: "It has to do with a guy standing on line and waiting to see an old Gregory Peck movie that he can't quite remember - only pieces of it - and this whole memory thing happens, unfolding before his...
Bob Dylan – Song #85: “Blind Willie McTell”
Link to Song: Blind Willie McTell What you should know about this song: Originally, Dylan experimented with this song for the Infidels album in 1983. However, it wasn't included on a record until The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 in 1991. "I started playing it live...
Bob Dylan – Song #84: “Jokerman”
Link to Song: Jokerman What you should know about this song: "Jokerman" went through a series of revisions in the early 1980s before it was chosen as the opening track for Infidels. Throughout his 1984 tour and again in his 1994 tour, Dylan regularly opened his shows...
Bob Dylan – Song #83: “Every Grain of Sand”
Link to Song: Every Grain of Sand What you should know about this song: "That's a good poem to music. it's a beautiful melody, too, isn't it?" - Bob Dylan, 1991 "'Every Grain of Sand' was an excellent song, a very painless song to write. It took like 12 seconds - or...
Bob Dylan – Song #82: “Saving Grace”
Link to Song: Saving Grace Melbourne Mass Choir version: Saving Grace What you should know about this song: When Dylan released his Slow Train Coming and Saved albums, he received an array of criticism from the public regarding his conversion to Christianity and the...
Bob Dylan – Song #81: “I Believe in You”
Link to Song: What you should know about this song: "I Believe in You" is one of Dylan's most expressive songs when it comes to his faith in God. They ask me how I feel And if my love is real And how I know I'll make it through And they, they look at me and frown...
Bob Dylan – Song #80: “Gotta Serve Somebody”
Link to Song: Gotta Serve Somebody Etta James Version: Gotta Serve Somebody What you should know about this song: "Gotta Serve Somebody" was the opening track for the radically different Slow Train Coming album. The song won Dylan his first ever Grammy Award, winning...
Bob Dylan – Song #79: “Senor (Tales of Yankee Power)”
Link to Song: Senior (Tales of Yankee Power) What you should know about this song: "'Senior' was one of them border type things... sort of lost Yankee on gloomy Sunday, carnival type of thing... I see this as the aftermath of when two people who were leaning on each...
Bob Dylan – Song #78: “Romance in Durango”
Link to Song: Romance in Durango What you should know about this song: This song was partly inspired by Dylan's experiences in Mexico on the set of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. Dylan co-wrote it with playwright Jacque Levy. "The first thing that came was an image I...
Bob Dylan – Song #77: “Oh, Sister”
Link to Song: Oh, Sister What you should know about this song: This spontaneous and remarkable piece was the result of minimal rehearsals between Bob Dylan and Emmylou Harris, the vocalist tasked with harmonizing to Dylan's lead. For the next three years until July...