The notion that Bob Dylan is a stellar songwriter isn’t a new statement by any means. Anyone who has listened to Dylan’s music knows that fact well. Hell, even Dylan knows that fact well. There was one song in particular that keyed Dylan into his talent. Find out which song that is, below.
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The Bob Dylan Song That Impressed Bob Dylan
Someone’s got it in for me
They’re planting stories in the press
Whoever it is I wish they’d cut it out quick
But when they will I can only guess
“Idiot Wing” sees Dylan deliver a robust diatribe. The lengthy runtime feels like it was a breeze for Dylan to hit. According to the folk icon, the lyrics flowed out of him as easy as breathing.
“There could be a myriad of verses for the thing,” Dylan once said. “It doesn’t stop. It wouldn’t stop. Where do you end? You could still be writing it, really. It’s something that could be a work continually in progress.”
They say I shot a man named Gray
And took his wife to Italy
She inherited a million bucks
And when she died it came to me
I can’t help it if I’m lucky
The ease he felt writing this song made him realize what a great lyricist he was.
“Although, on saying that, let me say that my lyrics, to my way of thinking, are better for my songs than anybody else’s,” he continued. “People have felt about my songs sometimes the same way as me. And they say to me, your songs are so opaque that, people tell me, they have feelings they’d like to express within the same framework.”
Idiot wind
Blowing every time you move your mouth
Blowing down the back roads headin’ south
Idiot wind
Blowing every time you move your teeth
You’re an idiot, babe
It’s a wonder that you still know how to breathe
Though his comments perhaps weren’t the most humble, he is stating the obvious. Music fans have long heralded Dylan’s artistry. Check out the track below. Is this Dylan’s best work?
I ran into the fortune-teller
Who said, “beware of lightning that might strike”
I haven’t known peace and quiet
For so long I can’t remember what it’s like
There’s a lone soldier on the cross
Smoke pourin’ out of a boxcar door
(Photo by John Byrne Cooke Estate/Getty Images)
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