Bob Dylan
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)
The highest purpose of art is to inspire.
The only way to live is to be free.
I'm just trying to stay out of the way of the lightning.
I'm not interested in being a star.
The world is full of people who are trying to get you to be something you're not.
I don't write for anybody. I write for myself.
The truth is, I'm a mystery to myself.
I'm not a preacher. I'm not a teacher. I'm just a guy who writes songs.
The only thing that matters is the song.
The world is a stage, and we're all just players.
I'm not a spokesman for a generation.
I'm not going to be a celebrity.
The only way to get through life is to laugh.
I'm not a protest singer.
The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.
I'm not a messiah. I'm just a guy.
The only thing that's constant is change.
I'm not a folk hero. I'm just a person.
The road is long, with many a winding turn.
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind. The answer is blowin' in the wind.
Contemporaries of Bob Dylan
Other Musics born within 50 years of Bob Dylan (1941).