Bob Dylan won a Nobel prize for literature

[doug3030]

The times they are a'changin

[derekcohen]

Well deserved! He changed the world with his insightful lyrics and poetry.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[ian]

My immediate thought when I heard was these lyrics from Eric Bogle

Do you know any Dylan

When I was nineteen I was young, I was keen
I had only one burning ambition
To be a folk-singer, a dope-smoking swinger
Singing songs that were based on tradition
So I bought a guitar and I practiced real hard
I wasn't much good but I was willing
Till to my chagrin my girlfriend walked in
And she asked, "can you sing any Bob Dylan"

Chorus:
I said, "No, no, a thousand times no
I'd rather see my life's blood spilling
I'll sing anything, even God Save The Queen
But I just won't sing any Bob Dylan"

So with my guitar I traveled real far
Trying to gain recognition
I sung me songs all over, from Glasgow to Dover
In pubs, clubs and in seamen's missions
I've traveled the road now for seven long years
The pace sure it was killing
And everywhere that I went from Dublin to Kent
They asked, "can ye sing some Bob Dylan"

Ever since then, again and again
I get asked this same bloody question
And I always reply in my own quiet way
With a totally indecent suggestion
But the last straw came one night at the Holiday Inn
I had a young girl and she was willing
So I unzipped her dress, she said, "I'll say yes
If you only will sing some Bob Dylan!"

I said yes.......eh, no!, a thousand times........ etc

Well now my friends, that was the end
Of all my traditional aspirations
Cause if being a folkie means losing your nookie
There's one way to end the frustration
So the next time I appeared at the Old Dublin Pub
The audience as usual were willing
I took me coat and I ruptured me throat
And I started to sing like Bob Dylan

.......... Do your best imitation of a well-known Bob Dylan song..........

Well the audience went wild
Every man woman and child
And they clapped till their raw hands were
And they said that, so to speak, my style was unique
And it was just what the folk scene was needing
So all you young folkies who can bash out a song
If you want to obtain the top billing
You'll murder all the pros, just sing through your nose
And then you'll sound just like Bob Dylan!

[cava]

When they gave Barack Obama a peace prize for starting wars, it was then that I realised the Nobel Awards had reached a new low and were substantially irrelevant.

This was confirmed with Bob Dylans award.

(Just for the record, I do like some of his songs)

[TermiMonster]

When they gave Barack Obama a peace prize for starting wars, it was then that I realised the Nobel Awards had reached a new low and were substantially irrelevant.

I thought Henry Kissinger's was a vastly lower point than Barack Obama.
I was a bit peeved when I saw him dishing out medals at the 2000 Olympics. (To Marion Jones, if I remember correctly) HK is not my favourite yank (not my least favourite, but most don't get Nobel prizes for dropping bucketloads of bombs.)
TM

[ian]

When they gave Barack Obama a peace prize for starting wars,

I thought Barack's award was for not being George Bush !

From the official site:
The Nobel Peace Prize 2009 was awarded to Barack H. Obama "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples".

Given that nominations for the 2009 Peace prize closed 11 days after Obama was sworn in, (allowing for the time difference between Washington and Sweden), Barack must have done something extraordinary that we have all forgotten in those 11 days.

[derekcohen]

Can one equate prizes for literature with peace? There is no doubting that politics plays a part in these choices

Nevertheless, in my opinion, Bob Dylan deserves the award. This is recognition for his being the voice of a generation, the soul of Kerouac, Ginsberg and Burroughs. History shows that his lyrics and music contributed significantly to the moral outrage in the Vietnam era, and beyond. He was the voice.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[doug3030]

He was the voice.

Just one of the many voices from that era.

[derekcohen]

Just one of the many voices from that era.

True, but one needs a significant body of work to qualify as a laureate. Who else of that era would you nominate ahead of (or alongside) Dylan?

Regards from Perth

Derek

[BobL]

If Winston Churchill deserves a Nobel Prize for literature then so does Bob.

[doug3030]

Derek, I would rather spend my time exchanging ideas with someone whose mind is not fully committed to their original opinion. That is futile so I am not going there.

I just came in to sing a couple of bars of "Alice's Restaurant" and walk out again.

Cheers

Doug

[Lappa]

True, but one needs a significant body of work to qualify as a laureate. Who else of that era would you nominate ahead of (or alongside) Dylan?

Regards from Perth

Derek

Leonard Cohen for one.

[derekcohen]

With a name like that he should have won!

Regards from Perth

Derek

[derekcohen]

Derek, I would rather spend my time exchanging ideas with someone whose mind is not fully committed to their original opinion. That is futile so I am not going there.

I just came in to sing a couple of bars of "Alice's Restaurant" and walk out again.

Cheers

Doug

Doug, I opened the conversation. I did not close it. To repeat, do you have alternate candidate(s)?

Regards from Perth

Derek

[BobL]

Doug, I opened the conversation. I did not close it. To repeat, do you have alternate candidate(s)?

Regards from Perth

Derek

His cryptic or obvious answer suggests Arlo Guthrie?

I would not call myself an aficionado of either but FWIW I think Arlo is a superior entertainer/singer but Dylan is the better writer and is somewhat more prolific, and the prize is for literature (inc poetry).

Here's Cohen on Dylan winning the award
https://www.theguardian.com/music/20...dal-on-everest

I don't really care who wins it out of those three - its finally an appropriate tribute to that type of protest subversive poetry which my parents laughed at and ridiculed.

I have to admit I will be narked if a rapper gets it in my lifetime!