What Bob Dylan Wanted at Twenty-three

Bob Dylan on the otherworldliness of creativity (2004) “I don’t know how I got to write those songs. Those early songs were almost magically written.” It is reminiscent of how mathematical discoveries tend to speak themselves—not to the experienced—but to the young. Show more

Those casual fans wonder why he can’t be more like the Stones, unfailing jukeboxes of their earlier selves. They want to squint and see the young Dylan, with his Pre-Raphaelite hair and his Brando sneer. They want, at least for an hour and a half, a magic act: a man in his eighties who is a man in his youth.

In 1964, on a folk tour around England, Bob Dylan considered quitting. He said, “I play these concerts, and I ask myself: ‘Would you come see me tonight?’ and I have to truthfully say: ‘No, I wouldn’t come...'" Burnt out and ready to quit playing music, Dylan asked himself,… Show more