Bob Dylan - Nobel Prize for Literature

MLF · 10-13-16, 12:36 PM

Take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind
Down the foggy ruins of time
Far past the frozen leaves
The haunted frightened trees
Out to the windy bench
Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow
Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky
With one hand waving free
Silhouetted by the sea
Circled by the circus sands
With all memory and fate
Driven deep beneath the waves
Let me forget about today until tomorrow.

Mr Tambourine Man 1965

Yes, and how many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, and how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, and how many deaths will it take 'till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind

Blowing in the Wind 1963

Oberon · 10-13-16, 12:46 PM

In before people complain about the decision.

Anyway, my favourite:

Quote:

Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside ragin'
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is rapidly agin'
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'

As true today as it was back then.

MLF · 10-13-16, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oberon

In before people complain about the decision.

I studied his lyrics in English lessons at school in 1966.
Listened to PM tonight and Pam Ayres summed things up by saying that some of his lyrics (poems) gave comfort to kids in those days, for example:-

"I can see that your head
Has been twisted and fed
With worthless foam from the mouth
I can tell you are torn
Between stayin' and returnin'
Back to the South
You've been fooled into thinking
That the finishin' end is at hand
Yet there's no one to beat you
No one to defeat you
'Cept the thoughts of yourself feeling bad

I've heard you say many times
That you're better 'n no one
And no one is better 'n you
If you really believe that
You know you have
Nothing to win and nothing to lose
From fixtures and forces and friends
Your sorrow does stem
That hype you and type you
Making you feel
That you gotta be just like them."

To Ramona 1964

Onkel Neal · 10-13-16, 02:03 PM

10-13-16, 02:22 PM

Thoroughly deserved.

u crank · 10-13-16, 04:16 PM

No one is better. No one has had a wider influence and why did this take so long?

Congrats Mr. Zimmerman.

A few more examples of his brilliance...

"You walk into the room with your pencil in your hand
You see somebody naked and you say, "Who is that man?"
You try so hard but you don't understand
Just what you will say when you get home
Because something is happening here but you don't know what it is
Do you, Mr. Jones?"

Ballad Of A Thin Man

"At midnight all the agents and the superhuman crew
Come out and round up everyone that knows more than they do
Then they bring them to the factory where the heart-attack machine
Is strapped across their shoulders and then the kerosene
Is brought down from the castles by insurance men who go
Check to see that nobody is escaping to Desolation Row"

Desolation Row

"Darkness at the break of noon
Shadows even the silver spoon
The handmade blade, the child's balloon
Eclipses both the sun and moon
To understand you know too soon, there is no sense in trying"

It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)

Platapus · 10-13-16, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oberon

In before people complain about the decision.

Why would anyone complain about the decision? It is a private organization and they can award whom ever they want.

Torplexed · 10-13-16, 07:34 PM

Hmmm. If Dylan can win a Nobel, it might be time to nominate Leonard Cohen.

Oberon · 10-13-16, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Platapus

Why would anyone complain about the decision? It is a private organization and they can award whom ever they want.

I'm actually surprised that someone hasn't complained, like they usually do over who gets the peace prize.

Sailor Steve · 10-13-16, 10:20 PM

I'm complaining! I'm offended that some peacenik hippy writing all those anti-war lyrics should get the Peace Prize! It's an affront to all...

Wait, whut?

Catfish · 10-14-16, 02:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Platapus

Why would anyone complain about the decision? It is a private organization and they can award whom ever they want.

Because Dylan was and is 100-percent anti war, he demonstrated and still is against the Vietnam war, the US belligerent engagement in the middle East and against racism.
For right-wingers and "patriots" this is usually enough to throw with dirt.

fumo30 · 10-14-16, 04:56 AM

Complaining would be outrageous, because Bob is the worlds official goodguy and everyone's holy duty is to admire him. I wouldn't dare complaining the decision, cause after doing that, most propably no-one here ever gonna talk a word to me again.

..But there's a woman named Joni Mitchell, who allegedly said that "Everything about Bob is a deception" .
Does she know something about Bob we don't?

Jimbuna · 10-14-16, 06:04 AM

I'm certainly not going to complain but to be totally honest, I'm not really all that interested.

I spent my youth listening to other musicians and songwriters in the main.

Skybird · 10-14-16, 06:08 AM

You want a mud slinger? Well, I leave it to that I have nothing against Dylan and his texts, but I cannot see them to be of the literary quality deserving such a prestigious award. For the quality of that music he makes they are okay, sometimes even more than just that. But thats it for me. An above-average song writer - not more. That he became so influential, says more about the audience than about him.

On the other hand, the literature Nobel has been given to quite some questionable writers in the past as well, and imo already is as discredited as is the Peace Nobel as well. If Dylan can get this, than many others could get it as well.

BTW, the Nobel prize for literature was not founded by Alfred Nobel. The Swedish Riksbank took it upon them in the 50s I think to found it in the name of Nobel who then could not defend himself anymore. But hey, that is tradition in Sweden, the Peace Nobel is being hiacked for purposes Nobel had not founded it for, to. Most Peace Nobel prizes, the overwhelming majority, are not qualified by Nobel'S definition.

I personally think this award this year is as politicised and maybe abused as is the Peace Nobel. Many Nobels in the past years have been given not so much for achieved arms reductions, but as a hint that some Swedes think the laureate in the future should be successful in doing something in the future that they want to see being accomplished, may it be arms reduction, or women's rights, ecological things, and what else there was. Obama was the best example: getting the award at the beginning of his presidency already while he still ha not achieved anything - but everybody was hysteric about this holy figure of light and thought he would save the world as a result of the Nobel prize rewarded to him. Dylan's anti-war texts may have gotten him the reward this year while syria and Ukraine are on our mind, the conflict with Russia is obvious, and the war with IS and Muslim terrorism is raging on. Their quality maybe have less to do with it than fans may want to hear.

In other words: the literature Nobel, like the Peace Nobel and often the alchemy Nobel as well, gets used as kind of magic spell again.

Again, I have nothing against Dylan, I am no fan of his music style, but thats all there is about it. But I cannot see his song text offering that literary quality that they must be awared with such a prestigious award.

The Nobel awards for sciences are what they are, and I lack the knoweldge so that i cold judge their justfiication, it seems often the right guys get them indeed, mybe late, but still.. But the prizes for Peace, literature and very often: alchemy are bare of any credibility these days, i think. Generally speaking, not focussing on Dylan here.

Now you have your complainer!

Catfish · 10-14-16, 07:12 AM

Well we saw how this worked out for Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin in 1994..

However generally, the idea to influence people to do something positive is not a bad idea. Or to place them in the spotlight, as a symbol for others.

I guess Dylan is not the badest of decisions; there may be other/better singers or bands, but with that intentional political influence? Ok i still think there are others who deserve it more.

OT
The new geman mob despises all though, even when it's positive. Fury, hate and deliberate misunderstanding is the hype here, you just have to choose your subject and then voice your (self)righteous complaints. See Facebook.
Ranting has become a lifestyle of itself

10-13-16, 12:36 PM	#1
MLF Weps Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: SW France Posts: 361 Downloads: 137 Uploads: 0	Bob Dylan - Nobel Prize for Literature Take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind Down the foggy ruins of time Far past the frozen leaves The haunted frightened trees Out to the windy bench Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky With one hand waving free Silhouetted by the sea Circled by the circus sands With all memory and fate Driven deep beneath the waves Let me forget about today until tomorrow. Mr Tambourine Man 1965 Yes, and how many times must a man look up Before he can see the sky? Yes, and how many ears must one man have Before he can hear people cry? Yes, and how many deaths will it take 'till he knows That too many people have died? The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind The answer is blowin' in the wind Blowing in the Wind 1963 __________________ Je pense donc je fuis!

10-13-16, 02:03 PM	#4
Onkel Neal Born to Run Silent Join Date: Jan 1997 Location: Cougar Trap, Texas Posts: 21,383 Downloads: 541 Uploads: 224	__________________ SUBSIM - 26 Years on the Web

10-13-16, 04:16 PM	#6
u crank Old enough to know better Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Prince Edward Island Posts: 11,744 Downloads: 136 Uploads: 0	No one is better. No one has had a wider influence and why did this take so long? Congrats Mr. Zimmerman. A few more examples of his brilliance... "You walk into the room with your pencil in your hand You see somebody naked and you say, "Who is that man?" You try so hard but you don't understand Just what you will say when you get home Because something is happening here but you don't know what it is Do you, Mr. Jones?" Ballad Of A Thin Man "At midnight all the agents and the superhuman crew Come out and round up everyone that knows more than they do Then they bring them to the factory where the heart-attack machine Is strapped across their shoulders and then the kerosene Is brought down from the castles by insurance men who go Check to see that nobody is escaping to Desolation Row" Desolation Row "Darkness at the break of noon Shadows even the silver spoon The handmade blade, the child's balloon Eclipses both the sun and moon To understand you know too soon, there is no sense in trying" It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) __________________ “Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.” ― Arthur C. Clarke

10-13-16, 07:34 PM	#8
Torplexed Let's Sink Sumptin' ! Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 5,823 Downloads: 43 Uploads: 0	Hmmm. If Dylan can win a Nobel, it might be time to nominate Leonard Cohen. __________________ --Mobilis in Mobili--

10-13-16, 10:20 PM	#10
Sailor Steve Eternal Patrol Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: High in the mountains of Utah Posts: 50,369 Downloads: 745 Uploads: 249	I'm complaining! I'm offended that some peacenik hippy writing all those anti-war lyrics should get the Peace Prize! It's an affront to all... Wait, whut? __________________ “Never do anything you can't take back.” —Rocky Russo

10-13-16, 02:22 PM	#5
AndyJWest Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	Thoroughly deserved.

10-14-16, 04:56 AM	#12
fumo30 Grey Wolf Join Date: Jan 2016 Posts: 872 Downloads: 15 Uploads: 0	Complaining would be outrageous, because Bob is the worlds official goodguy and everyone's holy duty is to admire him. I wouldn't dare complaining the decision, cause after doing that, most propably no-one here ever gonna talk a word to me again. ..But there's a woman named Joni Mitchell, who allegedly said that "Everything about Bob is a deception" . Does she know something about Bob we don't? Last edited by fumo30; 10-14-16 at 05:13 AM.

10-14-16, 06:04 AM	#13
Jimbuna Chief of the Boat Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: 250 metres below the surface Posts: 190,473 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 13	I'm certainly not going to complain but to be totally honest, I'm not really all that interested. I spent my youth listening to other musicians and songwriters in the main. __________________ Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something. Oh my God, not again!!

10-14-16, 06:08 AM	#14
Skybird Soaring Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: the mental asylum named Germany Posts: 42,604 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	You want a mud slinger? Well, I leave it to that I have nothing against Dylan and his texts, but I cannot see them to be of the literary quality deserving such a prestigious award. For the quality of that music he makes they are okay, sometimes even more than just that. But thats it for me. An above-average song writer - not more. That he became so influential, says more about the audience than about him. On the other hand, the literature Nobel has been given to quite some questionable writers in the past as well, and imo already is as discredited as is the Peace Nobel as well. If Dylan can get this, than many others could get it as well. BTW, the Nobel prize for literature was not founded by Alfred Nobel. The Swedish Riksbank took it upon them in the 50s I think to found it in the name of Nobel who then could not defend himself anymore. But hey, that is tradition in Sweden, the Peace Nobel is being hiacked for purposes Nobel had not founded it for, to. Most Peace Nobel prizes, the overwhelming majority, are not qualified by Nobel'S definition. I personally think this award this year is as politicised and maybe abused as is the Peace Nobel. Many Nobels in the past years have been given not so much for achieved arms reductions, but as a hint that some Swedes think the laureate in the future should be successful in doing something in the future that they want to see being accomplished, may it be arms reduction, or women's rights, ecological things, and what else there was. Obama was the best example: getting the award at the beginning of his presidency already while he still ha not achieved anything - but everybody was hysteric about this holy figure of light and thought he would save the world as a result of the Nobel prize rewarded to him. Dylan's anti-war texts may have gotten him the reward this year while syria and Ukraine are on our mind, the conflict with Russia is obvious, and the war with IS and Muslim terrorism is raging on. Their quality maybe have less to do with it than fans may want to hear. In other words: the literature Nobel, like the Peace Nobel and often the alchemy Nobel as well, gets used as kind of magic spell again. Again, I have nothing against Dylan, I am no fan of his music style, but thats all there is about it. But I cannot see his song text offering that literary quality that they must be awared with such a prestigious award. The Nobel awards for sciences are what they are, and I lack the knoweldge so that i cold judge their justfiication, it seems often the right guys get them indeed, mybe late, but still.. But the prizes for Peace, literature and very often: alchemy are bare of any credibility these days, i think. Generally speaking, not focussing on Dylan here. Now you have your complainer! __________________ If you feel nuts, consult an expert.

10-14-16, 07:12 AM	#15
Catfish Dipped Squirrel Operative Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: ..where the ocean meets the sky Posts: 17,765 Downloads: 38 Uploads: 0	Well we saw how this worked out for Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin in 1994.. However generally, the idea to influence people to do something positive is not a bad idea. Or to place them in the spotlight, as a symbol for others. I guess Dylan is not the badest of decisions; there may be other/better singers or bands, but with that intentional political influence? Ok i still think there are others who deserve it more. OT The new geman mob despises all though, even when it's positive. Fury, hate and deliberate misunderstanding is the hype here, you just have to choose your subject and then voice your (self)righteous complaints. See Facebook. Ranting has become a lifestyle of itself __________________ >^..^<*)))>{ All generalizations are wrong.