Bob Dylan

Music American 1941 310 quotes

Nobel laureate, transformed popular song into literature

Most quoted

"Sometimes you say things in songs even if there's a small chance of them being true. And sometimes you say things that have nothing to do with the truth of what you want to say and sometimes you say things that everyone knows to be true."

— from Interview

"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. The battle outside ragin' will soon shake your windows and rattle your walls."

— from Song (The Times They Are a-Changin'), 1963

"Some people feel that if you just want to be a rock 'n' roll singer or something, then you should go for it. But I think that if you're not, then you should be honest about it."

— from Interview, 1965

All quotes by Bob Dylan (310)

I'm not trying to change the world. I'm just trying to make a living.

Interview with Cameron Crowe 1985

I don't have any answers. I just have questions.

Interview with Cameron Crowe 1985

I don't know what I'm doing. I just do it.

Interview with Cameron Crowe 1985

I'm not a spokesman for anything. I'm just a guy who writes songs.

Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award Acceptance Speech 1991

I don't think about my place in history. I just think about the next song.

Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award Acceptance Speech 1991

I'm not trying to be anything. I'm just trying to be myself.

Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award Acceptance Speech 1991

I don't know what the future holds. I just know I'm going to keep playing music.

Theme Time Radio Hour 2001

I'm not a philosopher. I'm a musician.

Theme Time Radio Hour 2001

I don't think about my audience. I just think about the song.

60 Minutes Interview 2004

I'm not trying to please anybody. I'm just trying to make good music.

60 Minutes Interview 2004

I don't have any regrets. I just have experiences.

60 Minutes Interview 2004

I'm not a legend. I'm just a guy who plays the guitar.

Interview with Jonathan Cott 2007

I don't know what my purpose is. I just know I'm supposed to be here.

Interview with Jonathan Cott 2007

I'm not trying to be profound. I'm just trying to be honest.

Interview with Jonathan Cott 2007

I don't think about my influence. I just think about the music.

Presidential Medal of Freedom Acceptance Speech 2012

I'm not a role model. I'm just a guy who sings songs.

Presidential Medal of Freedom Acceptance Speech 2012

I don't have any advice. I just have my own experiences.

Presidential Medal of Freedom Acceptance Speech 2012

I'm not a poet. I'm a songwriter.

Nobel Lecture in Literature 2016

My songs are alive in the land of the living.

Nobel Lecture in Literature 2016

If a song is good, it will last.

Nobel Lecture in Literature 2016

Contemporaries of Bob Dylan

Other Musics born within 50 years of Bob Dylan (1941).

Leonard Bernstein

1918–1990 · American

Louis Armstrong

1901–1971 · American

1926–1991 · American

1940–1980 · English

1899–1974 · American

1930–2004 · American