The Nobel Prize committee has been making strange decisions for a while now, such as giving out the Peace Prize for things that haven’t been done. And giving the Prize for literature to a songwriter is certainly unusual. But if any modern songwriter deserves it, Bob Dylan does.
For younger readers who may not be familiar with his lyrics, here are some examples of his awesome way with words:
‘There must be some way out of here’
said the joker to the thief
‘There’s too much confusion,
I can’t get no relief’
Businessmen, they drink my wine,
plowmen dig my earth
None of them along the line
know what any of it is worth.”
(All Along the Watchtower)
Then 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 beach
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)
Come writers and critics who prophesy 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’.
(The Times They Are a-Changin’)