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Letras: 1962-2001
This collection of the complete works of Bob Dylan includes all the material from his successive recordings and, for the first time, all of his compositions after 1985, with the sole exception of Modern Times . Furthermore, this is a bilingual edition in which the translated verse serves as a bridge to the original, but also aspires to possess some rhythmic properties that allow for the reading of each lyric as an autonomous composition. Esta colección de las obras completas de Bob Dylan incluye el material descartado en sus grabaciones sucesivas y, por primera vez, todas las composiciones posteriores a 1985 con la sola excepción de Modern Times . Se trata, además, de una edición bilingüe donde el verso traducido sirve de puente hacia el original pero aspira a poseer propiedades rítmicas que permitan leer cada letra como una composición autónoma.
1280 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1998
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About the author
Bob Dylan
625 books1,541 followersBob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman) is an American singer-songwriter, author, musician, poet, and, of late, disc jockey who has been a major figure in popular music for five decades. Much of Dylan's most celebrated work dates from the 1960s, when he became an informal chronicler and a reluctant figurehead of American unrest. A number of his songs, such as "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are a-Changin'", became anthems of the anti-war and civil rights movements. His most recent studio album, Modern Times, released on August 29, 2006, entered the U.S. album charts at #1, making him, at age sixty five, the oldest living person to top those charts.
Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize in Literature (2016).
Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize in Literature (2016).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
October 13, 2016
A book nobody could write
Although this is on my read-shelf I didn't actually read it from first to last page. But I listened to Bob's albums hundreds of times, reading along the lyrics from this book, although I don't have to, because I know most of the words by heart. Sometimes I wonder how a single man could write so many great songs; and still going strong. It makes me happy to live at the same time on the same planet as His Bobness being able to see him live on stage on his never-ending-tour.
I have the bilingual English/German edition that contains translations of the lyrics made by Gisbert Haefs which are actually rather good. The literal translation was sacrificed in favor of the song matching rhythm and rhyme, but that's a good thing!
This is the third edition of the book I own after Lyrics, 1962-1985 (up to the album Empire Burlesque) and Writings and Drawings (up to New Morning). This book has accompanied me my whole life.
Update 10/13/16
Congrats to His Bobness for receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature 2016!
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
July 16, 2013
my bible :)
February 10, 2023
Taken as a whole, Dylan's work is wholly a rolling stone of power and prose.
May 28, 2011
I testi sono tradotti benissimo, con cura, e soprattutto alla fine ci sono quasi un centinaio di pagine di note del traduttore che aiutano a capire i testi dal punto di vista oggettivo.
October 19, 2016
''The tune that is yours and mine to play upon this earth,
We'll play it out the best we know, whatever it is worth,
What's lost is lost, we can't regain what went down in the flood,
But happiness to me is you and I love you more than blood.
It's never been my duty to remake the world at large,
Nor it is my intention to sound a battle charge,
'Cause I love you more than all of that with a love that doesn't bend,
And if there is eternity, I'd love you there again''
Bilo mi je teško da pesme koje godinama znam odvojim od melodije i posmatram ih na papiru samo kao reči, ali zato kad sam se skoncentrisala, ovo je bilo pravo uživanje. U ovoj zbirci ima stvarno prelepih stihova i ideja. Nevezano za Nobelovu nagradu i temu ''zašto baš on'', ovo je vrlo prijatno za čitanje. Na mahove mi se činilo da ne postoji tema koju nije pesmom obradio: društvena nepravda, ratovi, ljubomora, čežnja, prijateljstvo, priroda, religija... sviđa mi se njegov senzibilitet. Kao kad bi Balašević dobio Ninovu nagradu, to mi je najbolja paralela. Nije da bih se žalila :)
We'll play it out the best we know, whatever it is worth,
What's lost is lost, we can't regain what went down in the flood,
But happiness to me is you and I love you more than blood.
It's never been my duty to remake the world at large,
Nor it is my intention to sound a battle charge,
'Cause I love you more than all of that with a love that doesn't bend,
And if there is eternity, I'd love you there again''
Bilo mi je teško da pesme koje godinama znam odvojim od melodije i posmatram ih na papiru samo kao reči, ali zato kad sam se skoncentrisala, ovo je bilo pravo uživanje. U ovoj zbirci ima stvarno prelepih stihova i ideja. Nevezano za Nobelovu nagradu i temu ''zašto baš on'', ovo je vrlo prijatno za čitanje. Na mahove mi se činilo da ne postoji tema koju nije pesmom obradio: društvena nepravda, ratovi, ljubomora, čežnja, prijateljstvo, priroda, religija... sviđa mi se njegov senzibilitet. Kao kad bi Balašević dobio Ninovu nagradu, to mi je najbolja paralela. Nije da bih se žalila :)
March 24, 2008
okay, i've had enough what else can you show me?
June 5, 2015
Lyrics runs counter to the usually printed collections of lyrics which contain lots of glossy pictures of the "artist" in action (at least this was a recognizable genre in my youth; I wonder is it still?), perhaps with printed chord changes, musician/producer/video credits, or even printed music. Lyrics consists of nothing but album covers in chronological order, and lyrics from songs (and outtakes later released) on the albums, printed in black text on white pages. So if you are interested enough in this book to be reading reviews and considering spending $45 list price (discounted at Amazon and other sites) for something that is available freely on the internet song by song, the question this review really should answer is: why should you buy this book?
Christopher Ricks, in his seminal Dylan's Visions of Sin, makes the point that music consists of three components (words, set to music, performed) and must be considered in this context, as Dylan has been a master of all three components and the synergisms they offer. But the graphic layout and typography of Lyrics challenges us to view these lyrics as poems. There is no attempt to associate the lyrics with the music to which they are set, and to the many performances of the music and lyrics.
The challenge is faced and answered. This is poetry of a quantity, quality, humor, passion, and depth that is an embarrassment of riches. Consider, for example "Long Ago, Far Away", written in 1962 when Dylan was a just-noticed 20-year-old newcomer to New York.
One man had much money
One man had not enough to eat
One man he lived just like a king
The other man begged on the street
Long ago, far away
Things like that don't happen
No more, nowadays
Notice the wisdom of the restraint displayed in "much money", not the normative "too much money" that could be easily pointed down an accusatory finger at the reader, and the ending lines "Things like that don't happen no more, nowadays" which would find an echo later in the amazing "Red River Shore" of the mature poet--which isn't in this edition because it was released on an official bootleg after this volume was published. Note also that, as befits a poetry anthology, this book consists only of songs for which Dylan has the writing credits not other songs he later made his own in performance like "The Water is Wide" duet with Joan Baez from the Rolling Thunder tour.
For another example, lets look briefly at his most famous word poem "Like a Rolling Stone" In performance, particularly in the searing live performance in the 1965 England tour documented in C. P. Lee's Bob Dylan: Like the Night, it is easy to miss the difference between the first chorus:
To be without a home
and the subsequent choruses:
To be on your own
with no direction home.
In the difference lies the poetry in the words printed in black and white on paper separate from the music and the performance.
Another evidence of the poetry on the page is the way that reading these words echos inside the mind's ear apart from the music. Sometimes the tune comes naturally to mind, but more often, even for the poems set to the best known tunes, the mind searches for how to map the words to the music without the performance. The poetry stands alone.
The poet also grows through cycles, an effect that is noticeable by reading through the collection chronologically front to back. The first nine albums show an outpouring of passion and emotion as words express emotion as if tumbling freeform from the mind of the poet. Then in the early 70's during the first downturn in Dylan's never ending career, there is a dropoff in the quality and quantity of the poetry that included even the critically acclaimed Basement Tapes. Yes, you heard right. These are rightly considered classics of American music, but reading the poetry of the lyrics reveals a profound truth--the classic quality of the Tapes are in the music and performance, not the poetry.
With 1975's Planet Waves Dylan began another nine-album cycle of high-quality poetic outburst that shows the mature poet in full control of his artistry and passion. After a second decline in the early 90s (Empire Burleque, Knocked Out Loaded, and Down in the Groove), Dylan the poet re-emerged yet again this time with poetry of wisdom that matched and transcended his early poetry of passion and his middle poetry of maturity. This period continues today in several albums beyond the publication date of Lyrics.
So yes, I think you should, if you are a fan of Dylan, purchase Lyrics, even though you, like me, may already have pulled the lyrics down from bobdylan.com and other sites and added them to your iTunes library and your iPod. Separating the poetry from the performance will enhance your appreciation of this classic book of poems
Christopher Ricks, in his seminal Dylan's Visions of Sin, makes the point that music consists of three components (words, set to music, performed) and must be considered in this context, as Dylan has been a master of all three components and the synergisms they offer. But the graphic layout and typography of Lyrics challenges us to view these lyrics as poems. There is no attempt to associate the lyrics with the music to which they are set, and to the many performances of the music and lyrics.
The challenge is faced and answered. This is poetry of a quantity, quality, humor, passion, and depth that is an embarrassment of riches. Consider, for example "Long Ago, Far Away", written in 1962 when Dylan was a just-noticed 20-year-old newcomer to New York.
One man had much money
One man had not enough to eat
One man he lived just like a king
The other man begged on the street
Long ago, far away
Things like that don't happen
No more, nowadays
Notice the wisdom of the restraint displayed in "much money", not the normative "too much money" that could be easily pointed down an accusatory finger at the reader, and the ending lines "Things like that don't happen no more, nowadays" which would find an echo later in the amazing "Red River Shore" of the mature poet--which isn't in this edition because it was released on an official bootleg after this volume was published. Note also that, as befits a poetry anthology, this book consists only of songs for which Dylan has the writing credits not other songs he later made his own in performance like "The Water is Wide" duet with Joan Baez from the Rolling Thunder tour.
For another example, lets look briefly at his most famous word poem "Like a Rolling Stone" In performance, particularly in the searing live performance in the 1965 England tour documented in C. P. Lee's Bob Dylan: Like the Night, it is easy to miss the difference between the first chorus:
To be without a home
and the subsequent choruses:
To be on your own
with no direction home.
In the difference lies the poetry in the words printed in black and white on paper separate from the music and the performance.
Another evidence of the poetry on the page is the way that reading these words echos inside the mind's ear apart from the music. Sometimes the tune comes naturally to mind, but more often, even for the poems set to the best known tunes, the mind searches for how to map the words to the music without the performance. The poetry stands alone.
The poet also grows through cycles, an effect that is noticeable by reading through the collection chronologically front to back. The first nine albums show an outpouring of passion and emotion as words express emotion as if tumbling freeform from the mind of the poet. Then in the early 70's during the first downturn in Dylan's never ending career, there is a dropoff in the quality and quantity of the poetry that included even the critically acclaimed Basement Tapes. Yes, you heard right. These are rightly considered classics of American music, but reading the poetry of the lyrics reveals a profound truth--the classic quality of the Tapes are in the music and performance, not the poetry.
With 1975's Planet Waves Dylan began another nine-album cycle of high-quality poetic outburst that shows the mature poet in full control of his artistry and passion. After a second decline in the early 90s (Empire Burleque, Knocked Out Loaded, and Down in the Groove), Dylan the poet re-emerged yet again this time with poetry of wisdom that matched and transcended his early poetry of passion and his middle poetry of maturity. This period continues today in several albums beyond the publication date of Lyrics.
So yes, I think you should, if you are a fan of Dylan, purchase Lyrics, even though you, like me, may already have pulled the lyrics down from bobdylan.com and other sites and added them to your iTunes library and your iPod. Separating the poetry from the performance will enhance your appreciation of this classic book of poems
October 18, 2009
DARK EYES
Oh, the gentlemen all are talking
And the midnight moon is on the riverside,
They're drinking up and walking,
And it’s time for me to slide…
I live inside another world
Where life and death are memorized,
Where the earth is strung with lovers' pearls –
And all I see are dark eyes.
A cock is crowing far away,
Another soldier's deep in prayer,
Some mother's child has gone astray,
She can't find him anywhere.
But I can hear another drum
Beating for the dead that rise,
Whom nature's beast fears as they come –
And all I see are dark eyes.
They tell me to be discreet
(for all intents and purposes),
They tell me that revenge is sweet
And from where they stand, I'm sure it is.
But I feel nothing for their game
Where beauty goes unrecognized,
All I feel is heat and flame –
And all I see are dark eyes.
Oh, the French girl, she's in paradise
And a drunken man is at the wheel;
Hunger pays a heavy price
To the falling gods of speed and steel…
Oh, time is short and the days are sweet
And passion rules the arrow that flies,
A million faces at my feet –
But all I see are dark eyes.
April 9, 2017
I first got into Dylan by listening to Slow Train Coming and Street Legal on borrowed records from my godfather. Particular amalgam of his lyrics and music with his voice was so unique and contagious that some of the songs immediately got under my skin (and stayed there for ever).
While reading this book I got familiar with Dylan's huge discography, listening to some of the songs for the first time. The fascinating thing is the broadness of topics and approaches he took, as well as the ease with which he is changing songs' (or should I say poems') structures. Obviously not meant just to be read (too many repeats in some of the songs) it is more like a record of old folk tales and it reads with the same intensity.
While reading this book I got familiar with Dylan's huge discography, listening to some of the songs for the first time. The fascinating thing is the broadness of topics and approaches he took, as well as the ease with which he is changing songs' (or should I say poems') structures. Obviously not meant just to be read (too many repeats in some of the songs) it is more like a record of old folk tales and it reads with the same intensity.
July 8, 2009
Lo confieso soy un Dylaniano empedernido, este bebé de más de mil páginas lo he leído por segunda vez, y mis primeras impresiones sólo se volvieron más patentes.
La edición en español tiene la bendición de ser bilingüe, además de contar con un apartado de notas explicativas sobre los contextos, referencias y datos poco conocidos de cada una de las canciones que escribió en esos 39 años.
El único GRAN pero:
Algunas traducciones son insufribles, ignorantes del contexto y clavadas en la propia interpretación del que traduce la canción, no de la canción en si.
Aun así, creo que es un must para los fans
La edición en español tiene la bendición de ser bilingüe, además de contar con un apartado de notas explicativas sobre los contextos, referencias y datos poco conocidos de cada una de las canciones que escribió en esos 39 años.
El único GRAN pero:
Algunas traducciones son insufribles, ignorantes del contexto y clavadas en la propia interpretación del que traduce la canción, no de la canción en si.
Aun así, creo que es un must para los fans
March 29, 2012
I was hoping to learn a little bit more about Dylan and how he went about his business of writing song lyrics by reading them myself. Much has been said about Bob Dylan "The Poet", but nobody has really said he isn't, until me. Yes, Bobby can rhyme. He can write great lyrics. But he is not a great poet. I am not concerned what the experts have to say on this matter regarding the merits of his poetry. I am telling you, stick to Wallace Stevens, Emily Dickinson, Jack Gilbert, or me, if what you need is an authentic poem. If a good rhyme is all you need, and you want to call that poetry, then I say stick with Dr. Seuss.
October 21, 2011
The first edition of this book (long out of print) was probbaly the best. It included drawings by Dylan and some brief typewritten stream of consciousness stories. Very cool. That edition, however, cuts off at 1971 or so. It remains one of my favorite books from my high school years. The current edition has all the lyrics through 2001.
January 17, 2015
I loved just reading Bobs lyrical genius. I listed this as poetry for a reason and it is well deserving of that title.
This book also went about the task of introducing me to less well known songs that I had not heard before.
So here's to Bob Dylan, the man who helped bring politically charged music to the forefront of the 60's. ✌️
This book also went about the task of introducing me to less well known songs that I had not heard before.
So here's to Bob Dylan, the man who helped bring politically charged music to the forefront of the 60's. ✌️
February 3, 2017
I read this book several years ago. It was assigned for a college literature class. The professor was a huge Dylan fan and it was very interesting as he talked on the world happenings and influences that produced these lyrics. I am not a particular fan of his music style but the class and his lyrics did change my appreciation for his talent.
January 1, 2015
The greatest poet of the 20th century
January 29, 2017
This Book Is My Favorite.
October 3, 2023
Not long ago, I met this wonderful guy at work that was obsessed with music from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. We so came to talk about Bob Dylan and my colleague told me what a great writer he thought Dylan was. I agreed and remembered I still had this collection of song lyrics at home on my book shelf; I had browsed through the collection before but never actually read it all.
Finally tonight, after a long day of emotions and thoughts carrying me from one place to another, I sat down and read them all - and once more fell in love with the great poet that Dylan is. His words make me feel hopeful, sad, faithful, consoled, contemplative, and so much more. And I have the feeling, the more often I read his songs, the more I find truth and wisdom in them. Among my very favorites are Precious Angel, In the Summertime, Not Dark Yet, Highlands, and Mississippi.
Finally tonight, after a long day of emotions and thoughts carrying me from one place to another, I sat down and read them all - and once more fell in love with the great poet that Dylan is. His words make me feel hopeful, sad, faithful, consoled, contemplative, and so much more. And I have the feeling, the more often I read his songs, the more I find truth and wisdom in them. Among my very favorites are Precious Angel, In the Summertime, Not Dark Yet, Highlands, and Mississippi.
May 3, 2022
All the lyrics from "Bob Dylan" through "Love and Theft," including to songs left off the albums but later released. Can't be relied upon, as lyrics here and there were revised after the fact and others rely on drafts that don't match the recordings. Alternately poetic, witty, inspiring and gnomic, his verses are best heard, not read. Quite a body of work, though, with expressions that have entered the vernacular. Someone ought to give him a Nobel.
December 27, 2018
I always thought Dylan was a genius, but reading the lyrics in this large volume reads as beautiful poetry. He really deserved that Nobel Prize for Literature! I was also surprised by the amount of songs he wrote and gave away. Don't miss this.
January 9, 2024
I don't know that many Bob Dylan songs so it's probably better suited for bigger fans. Interesting to see that it won the Nobel Prize, definitely did capture some history in words and rhymes.
February 23, 2025
Dylan’s lyrics stand the test of time.
November 17, 2016
Clearly reading 600 pages of lyrics is not the proper way of "doing" Bob Dylan. On the other hand, I have always enjoyed reading lyrics in general, and he did get a Nobel prize in literature. I was somewhat disappointed, as I was waiting from something phenomenal, but it seems to me that he wrote what every rock&roller has ever written: anxiety of life, anxiety of love and anxiety of world. But maybe indeed he was the first one of them all, an therefore deserves his prize. Nevertheless, I do not feel an urge to start listening to his music based on the texts.
December 28, 2023
Nemirno zbogom ime pjesme
Oh nijednu djevojku koju sam ikada dotakao
Nisam dotakao s nekom lošom namjerom.
I nijednu djevojku koju sam ikada povrjedio
Nisam povrjedio svjesno.
Ali da bismo ostali prijatelji i izgladili stvari
Treba vremena kao i da ja ostanem ovdje.
A kako su moje noge sada brze
I okrenute na suprotnu stranu od prošlosti,
Poželjeću vam zbogom i krenuti svojim putem.
Poezija je najuzvišeniji oblik komunikacije koji stoji daleko iznad bilo koje druge umjetnosti.
Oh nijednu djevojku koju sam ikada dotakao
Nisam dotakao s nekom lošom namjerom.
I nijednu djevojku koju sam ikada povrjedio
Nisam povrjedio svjesno.
Ali da bismo ostali prijatelji i izgladili stvari
Treba vremena kao i da ja ostanem ovdje.
A kako su moje noge sada brze
I okrenute na suprotnu stranu od prošlosti,
Poželjeću vam zbogom i krenuti svojim putem.
Poezija je najuzvišeniji oblik komunikacije koji stoji daleko iznad bilo koje druge umjetnosti.
February 20, 2013
Dylan se merece siempre *****, pero algunas de las traducciones de las letras de la versión bilingüe son tan horrorosas.
¿A quién se le ocurre inventar toda una letra para que rime? For Bob's sake! Me recordó a las "invenciones" de Whitman por parte de Borges.
¿A quién se le ocurre inventar toda una letra para que rime? For Bob's sake! Me recordó a las "invenciones" de Whitman por parte de Borges.
February 18, 2015
This is one of those statements that will spark some vehement disagreement but I think that no one and I mean no one, lyrically, writes a better song that Bob Dylan. Period.
There. I said it.
And this collection of lyrics backs me up.
There. I said it.
And this collection of lyrics backs me up.
January 9, 2008
The ultimate "sing-a-long" book for those who don't know the lyrics....
May 22, 2011
no comment. MASTERPIECES!
Want to read
July 31, 2011If you wonder why Bob Dylan matters, this is why. This is a voluminous compilation of his lyrics. Bob Dylan the poet.
August 26, 2012
Genious! Nobel worthy!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews