Bob Dylan
American · 20th–21st century
Nobel Prize-winning singer-songwriter. Known for poetic, politically engaged lyrics. 'Blowin' in the Wind' is among the most celebrated protest songs ever written.
Connection to Taylor Swift
Uncle Jerry’s benchmark for the songwriter as serious poet. He measures the ten-minute All Too Well against Dylan’s long-form “Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands”, links loml’s “winds of fate” to “Blowin’ in the Wind” and its unseen forces, and cites Dylan’s Ophelia in “Desolation Row” as a precedent for the way artists keep reworking the figure Taylor takes up in The Fate of Ophelia.
Notable Works
- Blowin' in the Wind, Like a Rolling Stone, Blood on the Tracks
Appears in the Archive
Context within the Archive
Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands
Uncle Jerry names Bob Dylan's 'Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands' as his personal favorite long-track song and says he will see if Taylor measures up to it. He calls it 'a beautifully written poem' and 'stunningly well written,' and notes it as one of the reasons Dylan won the Nobel Prize in Literature. The reference frames the 10-minute version of All Too Well within a tradition of long-form songwriting.
Blowin' in the Wind
“When you blew in with the winds of fate”
Uncle Jerry connects 'winds of fate' to Bob Dylan's 'Blowin' in the Wind,' asking 'Is it something blowing in the wind? That would be Bob Dylan. What's the truth?' He draws the parallel between both works' exploration of unseen, unknowable forces, the wind that moves things but can't be seen, as a metaphor for truth and fate in relationships.
Desolation Row
Angela & Uncle Jerry cite Bob Dylan's use of Ophelia in the poem/song Desolation Row as an example of how artists have historically reused the Ophelia figure. Uncle Jerry quotes the relevant stanza to illustrate how Ophelia has been appropriated by various artists, contextualizing Taylor's use as part of a broader tradition.