When Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016, he was recognized “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.”[1] Undoubtedly, from his earliest compositions through late-stages of career, Dylan has expanded our concept of songwriting and what a song could be or mean. In response to receiving the award, Dylan wrote in his Nobel lecture, “Our songs are alive in the land of the living. But songs are unlike literature. They’re meant to be sung, not read. The words in Shakespeare’s plays were meant to be acted on the stage. Just as lyrics in songs are meant to be sung, not read on a page. And I hope some of you get the chance to listen to these lyrics the way they were intended to be heard: in concert or on record or however people are listening to songs these days.”[2] Dylan ends his Nobel lecture with a clear assertion that his songs are not poems or closet dramas, but are meant to be experienced through performance. For decades, author and scholar Andrew Muir has provided a blueprint for meaningful engagement with both the figurative language in Dylan’s lyrics – allusion, pun, metaphor, word play, and the like – and the performing of them. His work has inspired numerous Dylan fans and scholars to enter the discussion. In this special bonus track, Andrew and I discuss his interpretations of Dylan’s work to further illuminate the joy of Dylan’s songwriting and live performances.
Bio:
Andrew Muir is the author of The True Performing of It: Bob Dylan & William Shakespeare, Troubadour: Early and Late Songs of Bob Dylan, and One More Night. He is also the author of Homer, the Slut, Judas!, Bits & Bobs, and a Substack entitled, More True Performing. He’s also written for Nina Goss’s Montague Street, Dignity, ISIS, On the Tracks, and Freewheelin’. This work is widely respected by Dylan fans and scholars alike, masterfully blending his deep musical insight with literary and cultural analysis. He often draws connections between Dylan’s work and the works of figures like Shakespeare, Donne, and Dostoevsky. All of this has made him one of the canonical authors in the Dylanverse.
Links:
Website:
https://www.a-muir.co.uk/
Substack:
The True Performing of It: Bob Dylan & William Shakespeare: https://www.amazon.com/True-Performing-Dylan-William-Shakespeare/dp/1912733951
Troubadour: Early and Late Songs of Bob Dylan: https://www.amazon.com/Troubadour-Early-Late-Songs-Dylan/dp/0954494504/ref=sr_1_2?crid=C8ZHJTZX2AT9&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0d2ChTHBgxwiAWDio-ZBOag5FyVsNTZwHy-xqLMQkps.FpJMDex4rcfXZsujMie9COBjCWGzLl3hPDSul7N8fDA&dib_tag=se&keywords=troubadour+muir&qid=1758671190&sprefix=troubadour+muir%2Caps%2C104&sr=8-2
[1] https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/2016/press-release/#:~:text=Spanish%20%5Bpdf%5D,live%20here%20on%20nobelprize.org.
[2] https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/2016/dylan/lecture/
