My Top Ten Favourite Songs by Bob Dylan (Pt. 10)

Bob Dylan is like the superhero of modern poetry, his writing is phenomenal. You may not completely be on board with his singing voice (though, I am—all the time), but you have to admit that he is the greatest songwriter who ever lived. Bob Dylan didn't just spring out of nowhere though, he has many influences that we're going to talk briefly about in this introduction (or, more accurately, we're going to pick a few and talk about them). Bob Dylan's influences are some quite obvious, and some quite a bit out there. What we're going to look at are the ones that you can possibly relate to, in the world of folk, country, and rock music.

Quite possibly, one of the singers and musicians that Bob Dylan most associates himself with is Woody Guthrie. Now, if you haven't heard of Woody Guthrie, then I'm sorry, you have been living in a cave. A folk and country singer by tradition, Dylan famously visited a very sick Woody Guthrie in hospital, and wrote a song called "Song for Woody," on his self-titled album for the dying singer. Bob Dylan would regularly visit Woody Guthrie, and by the time of the memorial concert in 1968, Bob Dylan had successfully founded a new audience for Guthrie's music. Bob Dylan used Guthrie's style in his first few albums, the socially-active protest folk song was a most famous style of Guthrie's, including what some consider to be "America's Second National Anthem" the song "This Land is Your Land" (which Bob Dylan would go on to perform Live at the Rolling Thunder Revue 1975).

Another musician that Bob Dylan takes inspiration from is the father of modern country and folk music, Hank Williams. Now, everyone who likes rock music respects and loves Hank Williams for exactly what he did in commercializing the genre, and making it well-loved amongst everyone. Hank Williams wrote some great songs, and Bob Dylan definitely took influence from him, especially on the earlier albums, and on (I feel) the albums Nashville Skyline and Desire. Hank Williams may have had a short life, dying eventually of alcohol-abuse related illness at 29—but he wrote some brilliant songs. If you want to explore more then read my article on "My Essential Hank Williams Songs."

Bob Dylan has also referred to Little Richard, Elvis Presley, and others as his influences, but nobody writes songs quite as good as Bob Dylan. Since having his debut album released with a little chubby-faced young man on the front, to Bob Dylan now being almost 80 years' old—he has sure come a long way from having these idols to using them for his influence, to now, becoming an idol himself.

Many artists have tried and failed to imitate Bob Dylan's style. From Mumford and Sons (who are awful, they really are!), to the politically active rock bands of the 1970s and 80s, to the modern folk revival that is (at the moment) failing badly, and even to Bob Dylan's own son—Jakob. Everyone has tried and not really succeeded in copying his style.

Bob Dylan will always be the only one who can do it properly, with the correct balance between lyricism and music. He has become one of the gods.

Again, the album's in the brackets, and we're going to count up to number 100 from 91. I might do another one, I'm not sure yet (which obviously means I already have 101-110 planned, and probably written already). I hope you enjoy (and have enjoyed) counting to 100 with me, and thank you for your on-going support in reading these articles!

91. "When the Ship Comes In" ('The Times They Are a-Changin'')

"And like Goliath they'll be conquered...."

This song is beautiful, and is a lovely addition to the album. A heavily political song, either way you look at it, the song is a poetic mixture of lyrical greatness and subtlety. The biblical imagery is strong, and so is the apocalyptic imagery I believe. I think Bob Dylan wrote this song to be a slightly more optimistic version of "The Times They Are a-Changin,'" and succeeded in writing a more hopeful end-of-the-world drama. I love this song, and I hope you do too.

92. "Mr. Tambourine Man" ('Bringing it All Back Home')

"Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free silhouetted by the sea..."

The height of Bob Dylan's folk career, and also seemingly the marker for the end; this is Bob Dylan at one of his most enigmatic songs. Some people think it's about a drug dealer, others think it is a dream narrative, and some even think it's an apocalyptic nightmare. But whatever it is about, this song has some of the best Bob Dylan lyrics you have ever heard. The verses are perfectly composed, and it has some very clear draws between the old and the new Bob Dylan. Maybe the old Bob Dylan is Mr. Tambourine Man...

93. "When You Gonna Wake Up" ('Slow Train Coming')

"God don't make promises that He don't keep. You got some big dreams baby, but in order to dream you gotta still be asleep."

One of the stronger songs of the Gospel Era in my opinion, it is a brilliant addition to the sound of Slow Train Coming. The song has a brilliant story, and an awesome sound. The lyrics of this song may be simple, but there's something about the song that is quite deep and meaningful. I don't like people who say they "don't acknowledge" or "don't like" the Gospel era, because I don't think of them as Bob Dylan fans. Why? It means they don't support Bob Dylan's choices to write about what he wants to write about—they only think about themselves. Truthfully, I've never really met a real Bob Dylan fan that doesn't like anything in the Gospel Era, there's really something for all of us!

94. "Winterlude" ('New Morning')

"Winterlude, this dude thinks you're fine..."

I love listening to this song, I know it's probably cheesy and a bit strange when it comes to sound—it's also one of his more obscure songs. But I love it for the fact that it sounds so simple and sweet. The songs from New Morning all have different sounds and I love the album for its example of Bob Dylan moving from Nashville Skyline and into his new era. Winterlude is a beautiful song, and makes for one of those great romances of Bob Dylan's life—Bob Dylan may know how to do complex lyrics, but he also knows when to keep it simple too.

95. "The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest" ('John Wesley Harding')

"Well, the moral of the story the moral of this song, is simply that one should never be where one does not belong..."

I love this epic so much, because it's so incredibly complex. We get the image of two different people and two different places; one where they belong and one where they don't. The story is actually really interesting, and you can really get into it after a bit. It has all the essentials of a modern short story, and all the makings for a modern tragedy. I think it's a highly underrated song on the album and would love for you to listen to it today!

96. "Under Your Spell" ('Knocked Out Loaded')

"Something about you that I can't shake, don't know how much of this I can take, baby I'm under your spell."

I like this song, you guys are just mean. "Under Your Spell"is one of those songs that you enjoy, but you don't tell anyone you enjoy it, purely because it's on this album. I'm not going to lie to you, I've been told that it's pretty cool that I can say I like Knocked Out Loaded with a straight face, and very seriously at that. To be honest, I like a few songs off this album but "Precious Memories"—that I cannot get behind. This song though, it's brilliant, and starts off the album beautifully. It's also where the album's name comes from, and is like a mixture between soft rock and ballad. Trust me, it's pretty good.

97. "Sugar Baby" ('Love and Theft')

"I got my back to the sun 'cause the light is too intense..."

"Sugar Baby"is one of the strongest songs on the album Love and Theft. That's saying something since I can't really fault the album. It's Bob Dylan coming back with that folk rock resurgence, and this song is a beautifully dark addition to the album, as an anti-love song and a love elegy. It's nothing like anything that Bob Dylan has done before and yet, the sound echoes the old Bob Dylan from the 70s and the 60s. This song is so beautiful, and I am aware that there are people who don't like it, but please try to get on board!

98. "What Good Am I?" ('Oh Mercy')

"If I shut myself off so I can't hear you cry, what good am I?"

This song is a beautiful (again) anti-love song. It has a brilliant message and story interwoven into it and fits perfectly with the echoing sound of the album Oh Mercy. There's something really beautiful about the way this song has been written. Again, we have simple lyrics against a background of amazing music. Bob Dylan really does know when to tone it down slightly, and it makes for a lovely listening experience that will be used again in the album Time Out of Mind. This album and especially this song has a mysticism about it that nobody can copy.

99. Belle Isle ('Self Portrait')

"I've known you're a maid I love dearly and you've been in my heart all the while. For me there is no other damsel than my bloomin' bright star of Belle Isle."

I love and adore this song, and though Bob Dylan didn't write it, he sings it beautifully. It may be on an album not every Bobcat loves and respects, but this traditional folk song was performed by Bob Dylan in a way that nobody else could sing it. Bob Dylan uses the vocals that he experiments with on New Morning to add depth and meaning to this song. It's possibly one of my favourite songs on the whole album, and it's very special to me since it was the first song I ever heard from this album. This is the reason why I have never been able to dislike Self Portrait.

100. "Is Your Love in Vain?" ('Street-Legal')

"All right, I'll take a chance, I will fall in love with you. If I'm a fool you can have the night, you can have the morning too. Can you cook and sew, make flowers grow? Do you understand my pain? Are you willing to risk it all? Or is your love in vain?"

Street-Legal is an interesting album, as I have said countless times my idea of torture is having to listen to the song "New Pony" (sorry Bob, but that song is god awful). The album itself has some brilliant gems on it. For example this song "Is Your Love in Vain?"is a beautiful mixture between the love and romance song and the love elegy/anti-love song. The blend between wanting someone and wanting their own space, Bob Dylan creates this iconically human character who has no idea how he wants to live, but knows he loves someone.

Conclusion

I hope you have enjoyed this list (and that little introduction) of Bob Dylan's songs in my favourites (numbers 91-100). I have said that there may be another one on the way, but for now I'm going to see how many we can get to. I have enjoyed making these lists and I hope you've enjoyed reading them too, I hope we can agree on some of the songs offered in this top 100!