The Impact of Bob Dylan on the Beatles

Diplomarbeit

zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades einer Magistra der Philosophie

an der Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz

vorgelegt von

Julia LAMMER

Am Institut für Anglistik Begutachter: Ao. Univ. Prof. Mag. Dr.phil. Hugo Keiper

Graz, 2016

I

Eidesstattliche Erklärung

Ich erkläre ehrenwörtlich, dass ich die vorliegende Arbeit selbständig und ohne fremde Hilfe

verfasst, andere als die angegebenen Quellen nicht benützt und die den benutzten Quellen

wörtlich oder inhaltlich entnommenen Stellen als solche kenntlich gemacht habe. Ich habe

diese Diplomarbeit bisher weder im In- noch im Ausland in irgendeiner Form als

Prüfungsarbeit vorgelegt.

Graz, Mai 2016

……………………............ Julia Lammer

II

Diese Arbeit ist nur eine unter vielen – aber die Menschen, die dahinterstehen sind

einzigartig! Ich möchte meiner Familie, ganz besonders meinen Eltern, für ihre finanzielle

und moralische Unterstützung während meiner Studienzeit danken. Von Herzen danken will

ich auch meinem Freund Franz für sein Verständnis und seine aufbauenden Worte während

der letzten Monate, die ich größtenteils über Büchern und vor dem Computer verbracht habe.

Des Weiteren möchte ich mich auch bei meinem Betreuer Ao. Univ. Prof. Mag. Dr.phil. Hugo

Keiper für seine gewissenhafte Betreuung, seine Ratschläge und seine Zeit bedanken. Ein

großer Dank gilt auch dem Team der Fachbibliothek für Anglistik und Amerikanistik, für ihre

tatkräftige Unterstützung bei der Beschaffung meiner verwendeten Literatur.

Zu guter Letzt möchte ich mich bei all meinen Freunden für die motivierenden und

bereichernden Gespräche während der Diplomarbeitsphase bedanken.

III

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1

2. Terminology ............................................................................................................ 3

2.1. Song Sections ................................................................................................... 3

2.1.1. Verse ................................................................................................................ 3

2.1.2. Refrain ............................................................................................................. 3

2.1.3. Pre-Chorus ....................................................................................................... 4

2.1.4. Chorus .............................................................................................................. 5

2.1.5. Bridge ............................................................................................................... 5

2.2. Song Forms ..................................................................................................... 5

2.3. Hook Line ........................................................................................................ 6

3. The Beatles .............................................................................................................. 6

3.1. Formation, Rise and Career ............................................................................. 6

3.2. The Beatles’ Musical Development ................................................................ 7

3.2.1. The Songwriters: John Lennon and Paul McCartney ...................................... 8

3.2.2. The Beatles’ Early Song Forms ....................................................................... 9

3.2.3. The Beatles’ Musical Formation over the Years ........................................... 10

4. Bob Dylan .............................................................................................................. 15

4.1. Early Years and Career ................................................................................. 15

4.2. Bob Dylan’s Musical Style ........................................................................... 15

4.2.1. The History of the American Folk Song ........................................................ 16

4.2.2. The Beginning of the Folk Music Trend in the 1960s ................................... 19

4.2.3. Dylan’s Musical Background ........................................................................ 21

4.2.4. Early Influences and Debut Album ............................................................... 22

4.2.5. Protest Music of the 1960s Folk Revival ....................................................... 25

4.2.5.1. Dylan’s Protest Folk Music ................................................................. 27

4.2.6. Bob Dylan’s Song Style: Characteristics ....................................................... 31

IV

4.2.6.1. Song Form ........................................................................................... 31

4.2.6.2. Characteristics derived from the British Street Ballads and American

Folk and Protest Songs ....................................................................... 32

4.2.6.3. Surreal Imagery .................................................................................. 38

4.2.6.4. Introspective Lyrics ............................................................................ 39

5. Similarities and Differences between Bob Dylan and The Beatles .................. 40

5.1. Music ................................................................................................................ 40

5.2. Lyrics ............................................................................................................... 42

6. The Impact of Bob Dylan on the Beatles ............................................................ 43

6.1. First Contact ..................................................................................................... 44

6.2. Dylan’s Impact on Individual Members of the Beatles ................................... 45

6.3. Dylan’s Influence on the Beatles’ Work .......................................................... 46

6.3.1. Dylan’s Influence on the Beatles’ Music ....................................................... 47

6.3.2. Dylan’s Influence on the Beatles’ Lyrics ...................................................... 49

6.3.2.1. Similarities in Language Use ............................................................. 49

6.3.2.2. Topics ................................................................................................. 51

6.3.2.3. Introspective Lyrics ............................................................................ 53

6.3.2.4. Surreal Imagery .................................................................................. 55

6.3.3. “I’m A Loser” ................................................................................................ 57

6.3.4. “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away” ...................................................... 59

7. Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 63

8. Bibliography ......................................................................................................... 66

9. Appendix: Lyrics .................................................................................................. 71

1. Introduction

1

1. Introduction

“Anyone who is one of the best in his field – as Dylan is – is bound to influence people.”

– John Lennon1

No other band in the history of popular music has had such a lasting influence on pop and

rock music as the Beatles. By opening up a wide scope of possibilities as true innovators in

musical style, they paved the way for countless musicians and bands that followed. The

Beatles musical and cultural influence extends into the 21st century and their iconic music

fascinates people even today. However, when it comes to their music, the Beatles themselves

drew inspiration from a number of sources, many of which can be ascribed to the influences

of other musicians and bands. One of these influences was the exceptional artist, Bob Dylan.

The main aim of this thesis is to evaluate Dylan’s impact on the Beatles’ music and

development as musicians by investigating their work. Based on information gathered in

secondary literature, and by analyzing the Beatles’ music and lyrics, the thesis will try to

determine to what extent and in which manner Dylan affected them. In the first part of this

thesis, a short list of important terms regarding song structure and song forms is given, in

order to provide the reader with the necessary knowledge of song analysis. After that, the

thesis continues by giving an overview of the Beatles formation and rise, followed by an

outline of the band’s musical and lyrical development over the years.

Aside from the Beatles, Bob Dylan is among the most talented musicians that have ever

appeared on the Rock scene. Over the years, Dylan has covered various different genres,

including folk, blues, pop and rock, never letting himself be defined by one particular genre.

However, only Dylan’s early years as a musician are of interest with respect to his impact on

the Beatles. At the beginning of his career, Dylan was greatly influenced by the protest music

movement of the 1960s folk revival. Therefore, this thesis contains a detailed description of

the backgrounds of the American folk revival, including the musical influences that most

1 Quoted in: Turner, Steve (1994). A Hard Day’s Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles’ Song. 2nd ed. Zürich: Olms. p. 65.

1. Introduction

2

helped shape Dylan’s musical style at that time. Furthermore, this thesis attempts to

characterize Dylan’s song style in order to create a framework for its subsequent analysis.

Next, the thesis continues with a comparison of the Beatles and Dylan’s musical style in order

to examine similarities and differences between their music and lyrics. Based on the

framework and information gathered in secondary literature, the Beatles’ work will be

investigated with the aim of identifying Dylan’s influence on their music and lyrics.

2. Terminology

3

2. Terminology

2.1. Song Sections

Throughout the last sixty years, the most successful hit songs have been constructed with the

help of a small number of basic elements. Practically all of the chart toppers incorporate a

combination of the three primary song sections: verse, chorus and bridge (cf. Josefs 1996: 8).

2.1.1. Verse One of the three main types of song sections is the verse, which can basically be defined as

“the section of a song in which the melody and harmony repeat, but the lyric changes.”

(Josefs 1996: 9) One of its main functions is to serve as a vehicle for communicating the

information of a song (cf. Braheny 2006: 83). It presents characters, tone and setting of the

song and develops the storyline (cf. Ettl 2010: 7). Another important function of the verse is

to successfully lead to other song elements, such as another verse, the chorus, the bridge or a

hook line. In general, each verse has different lyrics or at least presents essential new

information, but it may also include certain parts of preceding verses. The melody, on the

other hand, is basically the same for each verse, although it may vary sometimes, due to the

need for adjustment on account of the lyrics (cf. Braheny 2006: 83).

2.1.2. Refrain

The refrain is “the central idea, either the title or a line containing the title, or a very important

lyric that occurs as part of each verse” (Perricone 2000: 87). Since some song forms lack a

chorus, the refrain serves as vehicle for repeating the title (cf. Braheny 2006: 86). As a result,

it is commonly confused with the chorus, although the refrain is not even regarded a proper

song section (cf. Ettl 2010: 9). Traditional folk music frequently used refrains, since it needed

several verses to narrate the story or present the argument. An alternating verse-chorus song

form would have simply made the song too long (Braheny 2007: 86). A representative

example of this is Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changing”:

2. Terminology

4

Come gather ‘round people

Wherever you roam

And admit that the waters

Around you have grown

And accept it that soon

You’ll be drenched to the bone

If your time to you is worth savin’

Then you better start swimmin’ our you’ll sink like a stone

For the times they are a-changin’ [refrain]

Come writers and critics

Who prophesize with your pen

And keep your eyes wide

The chance won’t come again

And don’t speak to 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’ [refrain]

[…] (Dylan 2006: 81)

2.1.3. Pre-Chorus “Pre-choruses are melodic segments that are different from the verses, chorus, or bridge”

(Braheny 2006: 85). The pre-chorus is sometimes also referred to as the “transitional bridge”

(Perricone 2000: 87) and serves as a conjoining element between the verse and the chorus (cf.

ibid: 87). The primary function is to “build tension to increase the feeling of release in the

chorus” (Braheny 2006: 85).

2. Terminology

5

2.1.4. Chorus

In contemporary songwriting, the song element called the chorus can be roughly defined as

“the section of the song that repeats musically as well as lyrically.” In general, the chorus

serves as the catchy, easily remembered ‘sing-along’ section of the song and should not

contain new or detailed pieces of information (cf. Blume 2004: 7). Usually, lyrics of the

chorus do not change and convey the essential or immanent meaning of the song.

Furthermore, the title of the song is frequently part of the chorus and can generally be found

in the first or last line of chorus (cf. Braheny 2006: 84). Due to its catchy quality, the chorus is

often referred to as the hook, or at least contains the hook (cf. ibid: 83).

2.1.5. Bridge

This song component can usually be defined as “the section that appears only once in a song,

both musically and lyrically” (Josefs 1996: 10), although there are always exceptions. In

terms of music, the bridge serves as a harmonic and melodic counterpart to the previous

sections and generally appears later in a song (cf. ibid: 10). Due to melodic repetition, people

may become tired of a song’s music; therefore, the bridge tries to reclaim the listener’s

attention (cf. Braheny 2006: 84). This can be achieved by introducing new melodies, rhythms,

or chords that have not been employed in preceding sections of the song (cf. Blume 2004: 12).

The contrasting function of the bridge is also reflected in the lyrics. It gives the songwriter the

opportunity to add new information to the song and to “lead the listener back to the chorus

and the title from a new angle” (ibid: 12). By changing lyrical personas, or switching from

concrete imagery to universal statements (or vice versa), new perspectives can be added to the

song (cf. Braheny 2006: 84). In addition, the bridge is absolutely optional and does not appear

in every song form.

2.2. Song Forms The manner in which the songwriter arranges the different song components is called the song

form. A song can incorporate any or all of the aforementioned sections in various ways (cf.

Josefs 1996: 10). Some song forms are more popular than others, but mostly they are defined

3. The Beatles

6

by the genre. The following song forms are taken from Josefs (ibid: 10-14) and Braheny

(2006: 87) and are considered the basic types. Of course, variations exist.

• AAA (or strophic) form

• AABA (or verse-verse-bridge-verse) form

• Verse-chorus forms

• Verse-chorus-bridge form

• Verse-pre-chorus-chorus form

2.3. Hook Line One of the most important components of a song is the hook. It can be determined as “the part

of the song that is repeated frequently and therefore tends to remain in the mind of the

listener” (Josefs 1996: 15). The hook is typically part of the chorus and can be placed in

various positions. Usually, it is repeated more than once during the song. Song forms that do

not have a chorus, such as the AAA form or the AABA form, tend to place the hook in the

opening or closing line of a verse (cf. ibid: 16).

3. The Beatles

3.1. Formation, Rise and Career In 1957, 16-year-old John Lennon formed a skiffle group with some of his friends from

Quarry Bank School. Skiffle was a mixture of country blues and Dixieland jazz, and featured

acoustic guitars, a homemade bass, and a washboard as instruments. In July 1957, the band

members met Paul McCartney at a garden party, where he impressed the young men with his

upside-down (left-handed) guitar playing and authentic reproductions of Little Richard songs.

Soon after this encounter, Paul joined the Quarry Men and he and John became close friends.

In 1958, fourteen-year old George Harrison, a friend of Paul, started hanging around with the

band. Despite the fact that he was really young, John and the others agreed to let him join the

band as the lead guitarist. The band frequently played local gigs in Liverpool and went on a

small tour in England. During the summer of 1960, Alan Williams, the band’s unofficial

3. The Beatles

7

manager, arranged a residency for them in the famous “Kaiserkeller” in Hamburg. Lacking a

fulltime drummer, the band hired Pete Best to come along to Germany with them. The Beatles

returned to Hamburg for several times over the following two years. In 1962, Brian Epstein2

managed to get the band a contract at Parlophone records, a subsidiary of EMI. In August of

the same year, the band had their first recording sessions in London, where the head of

Parlophone, George Martin, decided to replace Pete Best with Ringo Starr. By September

1962, the band (in its final constellation) had recorded their first songs, including “P.S. I Love

You”, “Love Me Do” and “Please, Please Me” (cf. Stuessy and Lipscomb 2006: 104–106).

Within one year, the Beatles released two albums and instantly became one of the most

popular bands in Britain. Newspapers were filled with interviews and articles about the four

charming young men. As a result of their success in Britain, the pop group set their sights on

conquering the American market, and the international success that came along with it. After

conquering the U.S. the Beatles went on a worldwide tour, including Holland, Australia,

Scandinavia and the Far East. However, nothing could compare to their popularity in Britain

and the US. By 1965, the ‘fab four’ had released six albums and two movies, but also decided

to retreat from the stage (cf. Stuessy and Lipscomb 2006: 108; 111). Partly as a result of

various new influences, such as drugs and far eastern cultures, the Beatles started to

experiment in the recording studio. The results were records such as Revolver and Sgt

Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, which were rather unconventional for that time (cf. ibid:

115). Due to artistic differences the Beatles announced their break-up in 1969 (cf. ibid: 130).

3.2. The Beatles’ Musical Development The Beatles’ worldwide success speaks for itself and can mainly be attributed to their

outstanding musical talent. This chapter is going to take a closer look at the Beatles musical

development over the years with regard to their songwriting and musical style.

2 Brian Epstein became the Beatles manager in February 1962. The Beatles' early success has mainly been attributed to Epstein's management style.

3. The Beatles

8

3.2.1. The Songwriters: John Lennon and Paul McCartney

Based on the fact that most of the Beatles’ hit songs stem from the work of Paul McCartney

and John Lennon, their songwriting was an essential element of the band’s musical

development. The following chapter will investigate their working procedure as well as their

characteristics as songwriters.

What is interesting about Lennon and McCartney’s collaboration is that they decided that

whatever either one of them created would be represented as a Lennon-McCartney

composition. This way, both were able to concentrate on their lyrics and on improving their

musical skills and it was not necessary to fight over credit. Lennon and McCartney

maintained this copyright agreement during their years as a band, even when both were

mainly pursuing their solo careers (cf. Everett 2001: 31).

Sometimes the pair had the opportunity to compose together over a longer period of time, as a

result of their extensive touring. They composed songs in hotel rooms, on tour busses,

wherever there was a piano or whenever they had their guitars with them. Although they spent

considerable time together when working on songs, the final outcome was usually a

combination of individually created material. A common method of their mutual writing

approach was that one of them came up with a new song component, such as a chorus or a

verse, and shared it with his co-writer. In general, the co-writer then finished the song by

adding an opposing song element, which they called the ‘middle eight’ but which is better

known as the bridge (see Terminology). On some occasions, it did not take long for one

partner to come up with a response and the song was finished straight away. However, at

times the other songwriter took the material with him and finished the ‘job’ at home. The

song “We Can Work It Out” is one of the numerous examples of this songwriting approach,

where Paul came up with the verse as the initial part of the song and John finalized it by

adding the contrastive bridge. The combination of fully separately-created song elements was

highly exceptional, but it becomes evident, for example, in the Lennon-McCartney composed-

tune “A Day In The Life” (cf. Everett 2001: 32).

Another crucial aspect of their well-working songwriting collaboration is the fact that both

had different strengths regarding composing. The Beatles producer George Martin

commented:

3. The Beatles

9

Paul would help John musically, because I think he had a greater understanding of the theory of music, and harmony and so on, and he would be able to make a thing more well rounded; John tended to drive the car without a clutch rather, he’d just go from one gear to another. On the other hand again, John would have perhaps more of a mastery of imagery and words and would make Paul work harder at his lyrics.

(Quoted in Everett 2001: 34–35)

McCartney’s approach to writing a song was that he usually started with the music and

completed the tune with lyrics in the end. Alternatively, Paul occasionally began writing a

song using random, meaningless lyrics, which would later be substituted. For example,

“Yesterday” first came to life with the words “scrambled eggs”. Thus, John often helped Paul

with his words, also by encouraging him to improve his skills as a lyricist. The comparative

lack of a natural sense of wording is also visible in much of McCartney’s solo work (cf.

Everett 2001: 34). Everett (ibid: 34) believes that his lyrics are heavy with ordinary imagery,

poorly selected phrases, and grammatical mistakes. By contrast, John never seemed to have

problems with lyrics, which can be credited to the fact that he wanted to be a poet when he

was growing up, and indeed later became a poet (cf. The Beatles and Davies 2014: 3).

However, as already pointed out, he frequently needed Paul’s help with the melody and

harmony of songs.

Another factor responsible for their distinctive songwriting style could be their different

backgrounds. Paul was brought up in a traditional working-class family, in which affection

and music played a central role in life. This particular environment becomes strikingly

visible in his sanguine and melodic songs. In contrast, John’s songs were rather rhythmic,

contained a lot of emotions, and were of a more dismal nature, which may have stemmed

from feelings of abandonment since he grew up with his aunt. On the other hand, this

essential variation in their lyrical tone might be the reason why they complemented each

other so well (cf. Turner 1994: 11).

3.2.2. The Beatles’ Early Song Forms

The Beatles’ entire collection of musical work is highly exceptional. It is difficult to identify

a typical song style of the Beatles, since their songs are very diverse in form. However,

looking at the beginning of their musical career, a pattern can be observed. As mentioned

(see Section 3.1.), the Beatles started out as a skiffle band. A large number of skiffle tracks

3. The Beatles

10

and early rock’n’roll songs applied the strophic form. The Beatles, however, always

complemented their songs with a contrasting element, such as a bridge (cf. Everett 2001:

49). Therefore, one of their most frequently used song forms was the AABA form, at least at

the beginning of their career (cf. Stuessy and Lipscomb 2006: 141). Other common song

forms were verse-chorus forms, as seen in the songs “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “All My

Loving,” or “Drive My Car”. Nevertheless, over the course of their musical career, the

Beatles experimented with a great many different song forms and established a style which

led to “expanded and irregular forms” (ibid 2006: 141).

3.2.3. The Beatles’ Musical Formation over the Years

Around 1956, the early Beatles started out as a skiffle band called the Quarry Men, formed by

John Lennon. Skiffle featured acoustic guitars, washboards for the rhythm sections, and tea-

chest basses. This music style combined elements from different genres, such as American

folk songs and material from blues and other African American traditions. One performer of

this music style that had a great influence on the future Beatles was Lonnie Donegan (cf.

Laing 2009: 18). Paul McCartney joined the band around 1957 and strengthened the group

with his decent guitar skills and further ability to play the piano. Although the band was still

known as a skiffle band, they were increasingly influenced by rock’n’roll artists such as Elvis

Presley. By the time George Harrison joined the group in 1958, the band had also started to

add rock’n’roll songs by Carl Perkins and Buddy Holly to their repertoire. In 1960, a bass

player supplemented the band. This was necessary because, up to then the rhythm had only

been in the guitar, they explained (cf. Ingham 2009: 5-6). In mid-1960, Pete Best became the

band’s drummer and the newest addition to the rhythm section, however John, Paul and

George remained the main members of the band. Over the following years, the band did

several residencies in Hamburg, where they met a lot of other performers such as singer and

guitarist Tony Sheridan, who had a major impact on their musical style. Furthermore, they

learned how to communicate with the audience and started to function as a wholly integrated

unit (cf. Laing 2009: 22, 24).

At the recommendation of Epstein, drummer Pete Best was replaced by Ringo Starr in August

1962 and the final constellation of the Beatles was realized (cf. Stuessy and Lipscomb 2006:

105–106). By then, the four musicians were already experienced performers and well-versed

3. The Beatles

11

in various genres, such as American soul, blues, and rock’n’roll. Having already performed

numerous sessions at the Cavern Club, and having successfully pleased the crowds during

their Hamburg residencies, they also knew how to energize, calm and seduce an audience,

which was definitely an advantage at this stage of their careers (cf. Turner 1994: 17).

During their early years, even after having scored a record contract, the Beatles were mainly

considered a cover band. Elvis Presley remained one of their greatest musical inspirations, as

they covered eight more of his songs from 1960 to 1963. Further inspiring musicians were

well-known soul artists the Shirelles, and Arthur Alexander. Reinterpreting songs by other

musicians provided the Beatles with a greater variety of musical techniques and linguistic

aspects they could include in their own work (cf. Everett 2001: 81). Hence, these artists not

only inspired John and Paul’s songwriting and compositional skills, they also taught them the

basics. What John and Paul did was to reassemble the familiar words and chords of songs to

create something unmistakably theirs. This technique was defining for a lot of their songs, for

example, ‘I Saw Her Standing There’, which incorporates a bass riff from a Chuck Berry

number (cf. Turner 1994: 17).

Looking at their early songs, it becomes obvious that most of them were written with a

specific purpose in mind. On the one hand, the pop-singles market imposed restrictions on

the Beatles’ songwriting, while on the other hand they had to consider their rapidly growing

female audience. Therefore, their songs at the time lacked depth and meaning, and Lennon

expressed that view as well: “they were pop songs with no more thought to them than…to

create a sound. And the words were almost irrelevant” (Lennon quoted in Turner 1994: 13).

Later in his career, John stated that he did not contribute much to their early compositions

but rather used his creativity for other literary projects, such as poems and short stories (cf.

Turner 1994: 13). Although their songs were hardly profound at that time, with them the

band obtained huge commercial success.

Due to the fact that the Beatles were greatly successful with songs that targeted a young

female audience, their second album was quite similar to the first one. Many songs, such as

“Thank You Girl” or “She Loves You”, had the effect of making young women feel

personally addressed by the Beatles. Even though the band was constantly touring, they

managed to produce one hit song after another. Even their frequent international trips, as, for

example, to the US, had a beneficial impact on their songwriting. Being exposed to a large

3. The Beatles

12

number of diverse influences definitely broadened Paul and John’s horizons regarding

songwriting. Another source of inspiration for McCartney was his relationship with actress

Jane Asher, who introduced him to the fine arts of theatre, classical music, and stage

musicals (cf. Turner 1994: 29). One of Paul’s greatest love songs, “All My Loving”, was

inspired by Asher, and it was also one of the few songs where Paul came up with the lyrics

first (cf. ibid: 36).

Since they were already well-versed in the field of songwriting, it was no surprise that their

third LP, a soundtrack album for the eponymous movie A Hard Days Night, contained

original songs. Lennon’s creative mind allowed him to contribute 10 of the 13 songs to the

album, which was slightly more personal than its predecessors. In contrast to the hitherto

usually uplifting optimistic love songs, the Beatles were now also able to show deep

emotions (cf. Turner 1994: 45). John’s “If I Fell” revealed a lot about his psychologically

troubled state at that time, and shows autobiographical traits, assuming that the song was

really about Cynthia, his wife at the time (cf. ibid: 48).

In addition to A Hard Day’s Night, the Beatles released another LP in 1964. However,

Beatles for Sale was poorly received in comparison to its predecessor. Only eight of the

fourteen songs on the album were originally composed songs by Lennon and McCartney,

while the rest of the album was comprised of cover versions of songs by the rock’n’roll

pioneers they admired (cf. Turner 1994: 60). As a result of their tight touring schedule,

television appearances and filming for A Hard Day’s Night, the quartet had noticeably less

time to produce new material for their new album in comparison to the first LP of this year.

Not only did the group rely heavily on old material, they also relied on old techniques. Apart

from a couple of notably new vocal voicings and Lennon’s new self-revelatory songwriting

ambitions with “I’m A Loser”, relatively few musical innovations appear on Beatles For

Sale (cf. Everett 2001: 253; 269). On the other hand, blues and country music must have had

an impact on their compositional style, since John pointed out that “the numbers on this L.P.

are different from anything we’ve done before and you could call our new one a ‘Beatles

Country and Western L.P.’” (McCartney quoted in Everett 2001: 271). Furthermore, this

album becomes of importance when considering the early influence of Bob Dylan on the

Beatles. As mentioned above, Lennon’s style of songwriting became more confessional and

personal in “I’m A Loser”, and this could be attributed to Dylan (cf. Turner 1994: 60); this

will be investigated in more detail in the analytical part of this thesis (see Chapter 6).

3. The Beatles

13

One of the major transitional periods regarding the Beatles’ musical style would be the year

1965. At the beginning of this year, the band had recorded their second feature film as well

as the soundtrack album Help. Although this album was not of great importance in terms of

stylistic development, it marked the onset of the Beatles’ most productive period of

songwriting. Two representative examples of this period would be John’s exploration of fear

and anxiety in the song “Help” and Paul’s “Yesterday”, which became one of the many

Beatles’ classics and also their most-covered song (cf. Turner 1994: 71). Nonetheless, the

pop group’s main musical development of 1965 was the album Rubber Soul.

Although previous albums had already pointed in new musical directions, Rubber Soul

indicated a significant moment of transition. Among other things, the exploration of new

sounds was one of the album’s major innovations. The introduction of new instruments, such

as the fuzz bass and the exotic sitar, allowed the Beatles to add more dimensions to their

existing sound. Another innovation on Rubber Soul was the use of studio techniques to

experiment with sound, for example, tampering with the speed of instrumental parts to create

a special sound effect (cf. Turner 1994: 86). Furthermore, two-track recording was replaced

by the new four-track technology, allowing instrumentals, rhythm, and vocals to be recorded

and mixed individually (cf. Stuessy and Lipscomb 2006: 114).

Looking at the lyrics of this period, a gradual maturation can be observed. They were still

writing about love, but their songs became increasingly complex and can not be compared to

the simple style of earlier songs such as “Love Me Do” or “I Want To Hold Your Hand” (cf.

Turner 1994: 86). This new complexity stemmed from the fact that the Beatles wanted to tell

stories with their songs, and therefore increasingly incorporated narrative elements into their

tunes (cf. The Beatles and Davies 2014: 109). Furthermore, several songs contain comic

elements and are meant to be taken humorously. Both “Norwegian Wood”, with its

seduction of a gullible protagonist, and “Drive My Car”, with its role reversal, could be

considered humorous songs (cf. Turner 1994: 86). In contrast to these rather cheerful songs

was John Lennon’s “Nowhere Man”. John’s lyrics had always been different and of a

bleaker nature, but this song opened up new thematic fields in pop culture. Its critique of

social detachment and lethargy was groundbreaking at the time and ignored all of the

unspoken principles for pop content (cf. Decker 2009: 80).

3. The Beatles

14

After Rubber Soul, the Beatles continued with their experimental phase in the recording

studio; however, they were continually faced with problems regarding concerts. The complex

instrumental parts of the songs and the post-production the songs underwent in the studio

made it practically impossible to perform them live. As a result, the Beatles retired from the

stage in 1966 and continued to make music exclusively in the studio (cf. Stuessy and

Lipscomb 115).

A major transition regarding their musical style and songwriting was the influence of the

hippy movement. Although the Beatles had used drugs before, they had never made explicit

references to them in their songs. On albums such as Revolver, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts

Club Band and Yellow Submarine, however, the use of drug-oriented lyrics became common

practice. Nevertheless, such allusions created controversy in the pop-music industry and

therefore had to be cleverly phrased. Typically, musicians made use of double-entendre when

they wrote about drugs. Lines and phrases could then be interpreted in two different ways:

one was a drug reference, the other one was non-drug oriented, and when approached on the

subject, artists could always refer to the ‘straight’ interpretation. Furthermore, drugs now

affected not only their lyrics but also their sound. The Beatles’ psychedelic phase can be

heard in the tune “Yellow Submarine”, for example (cf. Stuessy and Lipscomb 2006: 115–

116). Furthermore, John’s excessive drug use at that time motivated Paul to take on a leading

role in terms of songwriting. One of their greatest records, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club

Band, was basically Paul’s album, and was also considered an artistic revelation back then

(cf. Turner 1994: 118).

The Beatles’ profound influence on pop music cannot be denied when looking at their

impressive musical achievements. Their work includes examples of pop rock, psychedelic

rock, avant-garde rock, and of various other subgenres of rock. They constantly experimented

with new musical styles and kept reinventing themselves through their own creative

innovations. The Beatles’ legacy would go on to impact rock music and its protagonists for

decades to come (cf. Stuessy and Lipscomb 2006: 131).

4. Bob Dylan

15

4. Bob Dylan

4.1. Early Years and Career Robert Allen Zimmerman was born on May 24, 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota, a small mining

town close to the Canadian border. He was the first son of Abraham and Beatrice

Zimmerman. The Zimmermans were Jewish immigrants and had done well for themselves in

the United States. A few years after Dylan was born, the family moved to Hibbing where they

led a comfortable middle-class life. From an early age, Dylan showed an interest in poetry,

and it was his English teacher, B.J. Rolfzen, who became his mentor and taught him the

subtleties of language (cf. Batchelor 2014: 19–20). After his high school graduation, Dylan

enrolled at the university of Minnesota, but it was music which primarily occupied his interest

and fuelled his wish of becoming a musician. As a result, Dylan moved to New York at only

20 years old. He built up a reputation in the Greenwich Village folk scene and managed to get

a contract with the record label Columbia (cf. ibid 2014: 21–23, 27). Dylan made his

breakthrough with his second album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, which featured social

protest songs , and simultaneously made him the voice of a generation.

By 1965, Dylan had successfully established a career in the American folk music scene, but

nevertheless turned his back on his folk audience when he decided to go electric and devote

himself to rock music. Irrespective of genre, Dylan left his musical mark on the world and

considerably influenced numerous musicians over the decades (cf. Stuessy and Lipscomb

2006: 177–181). Over the course of the years, Dylan has toured the whole world extensively

and released over 35 studio albums. He is currently working on a new album, titled Fallen

Angels (Monroe 2016, online).

4.2. Bob Dylan’s Musical Style Bob Dylan’s great body of work stands out due to his constant stylistic changes. He has

experimented with various musical styles from the beginning and always kept re-inventing

himself. Over the years he has covered different genres, including folk, blues, pop and rock,

never letting himself be defined by one particular genre. However, this thesis will mainly

focus on the early years of Bob Dylan’s musical career, because only this period of time is of

interest regarding his influence on the Beatles. Therefore, the following sections will describe

4. Bob Dylan

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his early musical style. Since Dylan was mainly associated with folk music and protest song

writing at the beginning of his career, the next chapter will take a closer look at the history of

the American folk song and the events of the American folk revival of the 1960s in order to

provide necessary information for the characterization of his music.

4.2.1. The History of the American Folk Song

In general, it can be said that a large portion of “folk music” in the 1960s was not authentic

folk music, but rather orientated itself towards the historical folk tradition. A genuine folk

song is characterized by its oral transmission from generation to generation, and the fact that

its composer and precise origins are uncertain. The musicians of the folk revival mainly

composed new songs by borrowing melodies and other stylistic elements of traditional folk

songs (cf. Stuessy and Lipscomb 2006: 83). The Appalachian folk ballad, which can be

distinguished by its use of several acoustic guitars and other instruments to back one or more

singers, served as a popular model for 1960s folk songs. The lyrics of the Appalachian folk

ballad were authentic, highly personalized, and addressed the true issues of life, such as jobs,

love, money, death and so forth (cf. ibid: 83). The majority of these American folk ballads has

their roots in the British ballad tradition. The oldest extant traditional ballads are the so-called

Child ballads, named after their collector Francis J. Child. In the 1880s, Child edited a

considerable collection of ballads in several volumes called The English and Scottish Popular

Ballads. A few of these ballads date back to the Middle Ages, but the majority were

composed in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Another great body of ‘traditional’

ballads in the United States had its origin in the British Isles and is called the “Broadside

Ballads” (cf. Laws 1968: 94). The broadside ballad is a different type of ballad and will be

discussed in the following section. In addition to the British ballad tradition, the Americans

certainly put forth their own popular ballads, which were circulated through print and singing.

One of the earliest examples would be “Springfield Mountain”, a folk song written in 1761

(cf. Hitchcock 1974: 29).

Popular Ballads and Street Ballads in Great Britain

Considering the fact that the American folk song emerged from the British ballad tradition, it

is helpful to determine the main characteristics of this lyrical form. It is difficult to say

whether something like a typical ballad really exists, but there are certain characteristics that

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17

might be considered distinctive of a ballad or popular ballad. It basically “contains from ten to

twenty short rhymed stanzas or half as many longer ones” (Laws 1968: 95). The ballad has a

narrative structure and tells a story (cf. ibid: 95). Since the ballad is restricted to a limited

number of stanzas, the story has to be reduced to the essential. Thus, a significant

characteristic of the ballad is the “single episode” (Wells 1950, quoted in Schmidt 1982: 135),

which is divided into short and well-structured scenes (cf. Schmidt 1982: 135). Furthermore,

the story is “likely to contain characters, situations, and expressions familiar from other

similar pieces. The story is told with much dramatic detail, considerable dialogue, and little if

any comment from the author” (Laws 1968: 95). Hardly any of the traditional lyrics were

identical, resulting from the fact that the singers tended to forget or develop them. Prominent

themes among popular ballads were love and domestic tragedy and they often told of murder

and other misdeeds which resulted from the vital sentiments of jealousy and hatred (cf. ibid:

95). Furthermore, the ballad was an oral tradition and therefore had to be memorable, both

musically and lyrically: “the simple rhymes, the incremental repetitions, the obligatory

epithets, the magical numbers, the nuncupative testaments, the commonplace phrases, the

reliance on dialogue, the dramatic nature of the narrative: these make the ballad easier to

remember, easier to memorize” (Bold 1979: 14). Another characteristic of the popular ballad

was the use of a refrain, which can also be found in many of Dylan’s songs (cf. Schmidt

1982: 138).

As a result of the invention of the printing press, a new type of ballad developed, namely the

broadside ballad (cf. Schmidt 1982: 139). These ballads were originally written as poems, and

printed on sheets known as broadsides, and therefore were also distributed commercially (cf.

Laws 1968: 94). Because of their distribution on the street, the broadside ballads were also

called street ballads. Before the introduction of the first newspapers with a large circulation,

street ballads were an integral part of popular culture. Whereas the popular ballad originated

in rural parts of the country, the emergence of the street ballad presumably resulted from the

growth of London and other urban areas (cf. Schmidt 1982: 139–140).

One major characteristic of the street ballad was the direct address of the audience. Würzbach

notes that “the frequent requests for attention […] was meant to keep the passer-by standing

at the balladmonger’s3 pitch or, in a public house, to keep the focus of interest solely on the

3 The balladmonger was the person who sold and performed the broadside ballads.

4. Bob Dylan

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ballad-singer […]” (1990: 14). In addition, the thematic range of the street ballads was broad.

Wells listed categories such as: “politics, religion, sermons, satirical comment on society and

human nature, comic and romantic stories … , sensations and monstrosities, public events”

(1950, quoted in Schmidt 1982: 140). Certain street ballads also covered socio-critical topics,

therefore Schmidt assumes that they were the forerunner of the contemporary protest songs

(cf. 1982: 141). The topic was already mentioned in Well’s category list, when she referred to

the ‘satirical remarks on society’ and it can also be found in comments by other authors (cf.

ibid: 141). Collison, for example, says that “politics, too had their share [as a topic]” (1973:

61). Various socio-critical street ballads were concerned with the existential hardships of the

common man, which indicates that people were aware of the social and political injustices of

their time. Hodgarts suggests that the street ballad was “an expression of free speech and

democratic protest” (1965: 20). Based on these assertions, Schmidt refers to the broadside

ballad as the protest song of earlier times (cf. 1982: 143). Regarding Schmidt’s assertion, it

seems possible that the broadsides had an impact on the development of the American folk

protest song and therefore probably also had an influence on Dylan’s early musical style. An

analysis of Dylan’s song style (see Section 4.2.6.) should correlate this hypothesis.

The Development of the Folk and Protest Song in the United States

The United States is known for being a country of immigrants, which clearly leads to the

mingling of different cultures. Over the course of time, European immigrants brought their

cultural traditions to the new world and passed them on to the following generations. This

way, numerous British and Irish street ballads also found their way into the young country.

Furthermore, these immigrants also exported supplementary printed broadsides to the United

States or arranged for them to be “reprinted […] in songbooks and on broadside sheets”

(Laws 1968: 98). Carrying on the European ballad tradition, American writers later composed

their own street ballads. Notwithstanding the significance of the continued oral transmission

of traditional European ballads in the new world, the impact of the broadsides on the

development of the American folk song should not be overlooked (cf. Schmidt 1982: 149–

150).

Not only in Britain, but also America, people were dissatisfied with the social, economical

and political shortcomings of their time. Therefore, the number of socio-critical ballads in the

United States steadily increased and the American protest song was born (cf. Schmidt 1982:

153). In North America, the social protest song has a long tradition. Over the course of the

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19

years, there had always been reasons for people to protest. One of the first occasions that

provoked a great deal of disapproval in American society was during colonial times.

Colonists, living in the United States, wrote about their dissatisfaction with the authorities of

the British government. Decades later, a great number of songs protested against slavery in

the Southern States. Nevertheless, the majority of protest songs were composed by the

American labor force. This large body of songs can be divided into two main groups: protest

songs that were composed during the Industrial Revolution, and songs which originated

during the trade union movement in the first decades of the twentieth century (cf. Schmidt

1982: 153–160). The latter also brought forth Woody Guthrie, a musician who had a

significant impact on Bob Dylan’s early musical style. However, what was significant about

the development of the American folk song was that regardless of the time, one of the central

topics had always been the exploitation of the common man (cf. ibid: 177).

4.2.2. The Beginning of the Folk Music Trend in the 1960s

The growing number of college students in the late 1950s was the driving force of the folk

revival in the United States. Romanticized pop music, composed for a young teenage

audience, was not appealing to the intellectual college-aged youths of the time. Therefore,

they were searching for an alternative and found it in the more serious folk music trend. One

of the bands that started the folk revival was the Kingston Trio (cf. Szatmary 2007: 83). The

three college students scored their first number one hit with the tune “Tom Dooley” (in 1958),

an arrangement of a Blue Ridge Mountain folk song which originated in the Civil War days.

According to the definition, it was a folk song in the purest sense and the first major hit of the

folk revival. Compared to other pop music hits of the time, the lyrics were more serious. The

song tells the story of the mountaineer Tom Dula, who was sentenced to death for murder,

and deals with the topic of questionable justice. The song can be considered as a revival of the

so called ‘farewell ballads’, which were often distributed at actual executions. Furthermore,

the musical arrangement of the song was exclusively composed of acoustic instruments, such

as banjo, string bass and guitar (cf. Stuessy and Lipscomb 2006: 84).

Another hit by the Kingston Trio was the song “M.T.A”, which showed some characteristics

of a protest song in a cheerful way and would become the groundbreaker for more serious

protest songs to come. It opens with a spoken introduction, an ironic monologue about people

4. Bob Dylan

20

protesting a subway fare increase in Boston. Such humorous ‘prologues’ were very common

in earlier folk tunes and were an essential element of 1960s folk songs. With their acoustic-

oriented music and sincerely written songs, the Kingston Trio had established a new trend,

namely, the urban folk trend. The musicians following this trend were mainly sophisticated,

intellectual, college students living in or close to urban areas (cf. Stuessy and Lipscomb 2006:

84–85). Peter, Paul and Mary, another vocal trio, represented the next chapter of the evolving

folk music style. In comparison to the rather apolitical Kingston Trio, Peter, Paul and Mary’s

music was directed at thoughtful young adults and college students, who believed they could

make a difference in the world. As opposed to more serious protest singers like Joan Baez and

Bob Dylan, PP&M’s musical tone was softer and more commercially orientated, and

therefore more suitable for a broader audience. Nevertheless, their music with a message was

appealing to a socio-politically aware generation and was an essential part of this college-

orientated subculture (cf. Stuessy and Lipscomb 2006: 85–86).

Main Characteristics of the 1960s Folk Music Trend

With the folk music trend of the 1960s a “new sense of seriousness in the lyrics” (Stuessy &

Lipscomb 2006: 87) had been established. Socially and politically relevant issues replaced the

previously favored topics of rock and pop, such as love. Another characteristic of the folk

music trend was the notable demographic change regarding the audience. While the target

audience of the 1950s rock’n’roll music was the ‘teenybopper’, folk music attracted an older

youth generation of eighteen to twenty-four year olds, mostly consisting of college students

(cf. ibid: 87). The combination of the increased financial capability of this age group and the

“seriousness of the lyrics” (ibid: 87) made the LP the predominant medium in the folk

industry. Albums noticeably replaced singles, which had the largest share in the market. The

most striking characteristic of folk music, however, was its rejection of electronic instruments

in its music (cf. ibid: 87–88).

The Protest Movement of the Folk Music Trend

Many people associate the 1960s folk music revival with protest songs. A major influence on

this songwriting style was the coinciding civil rights movement, initiated by African

Americans. Their objective was to fight for equal rights of all Americans, regardless of their

race, and they started to challenge the segregation of public facilities. Through passive

resistance protests, such as sit-ins, the movement attracted nation-wide attention and began to

spread all over the country. A central figure of the civil rights movement was Martin Luther

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King, who is well-known for his ‘I have a dream speech’ in which he condemns the

oppression of African Americans and demands equal rights for everyone. Furthermore,

president John F. Kennedy, elected in 1960, also supported the demand for equality in the

United States (cf. Stuessy and Lipscomb 2006: 86, 88). Among other things, he proposed far

reaching civil rights legislation in order to challenge employment discrimination based on

race and to ensure equal access to all public institutions. Numerous college students dedicated

themselves to Kennedy’s cause and participated in marches for desegregation and other

activities demanding equality. Further issues that were addressed by student protests were the

impending War in Vietnam and gender politics. As a result of the political activism of many

students, a convergence of the movement and the folk music trend on campuses was

inevitable, and constituted one of the influences on Bob Dylan’s early musical style of protest

folk music (cf. ibid: 90–91, 176). However, before Dylan’s protest folk music is analyzed, the

following chapter will take a closer look at his musical background.

4.2.3. Dylan’s Musical Background

From an early age, Dylan showed an interest in poetry and it was his English teacher B.J.

Rolfzen, who became his mentor and taught him the subtleties of language (cf. Batchelor

2014: 20). He showed an interest not only in poetry, but also in music. The family owned a

Gulbranson spinet piano, and young Bob largely taught himself to play. Although Dylan

claimed that he had played the guitar since he was twelve, the piano was actually his first

instrument (cf. Heylin 2003: 15). In his early teenage years, Bobby Zimmermann preferred

rock music and listened to rock legends such as Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry (cf.

Williamson 2006: 9). He started forming little bands, which mostly consisted of boys he knew

from school or summer camp. Even though Dylan is mostly known for his musical talent on

the guitar, he favored the piano back then, not least because he wanted to follow in the

footsteps of one of his childhood heroes, Little Richard (cf. Batchelor 2014: 21). What first

made him aware of folk music was a record by Odetta, a traditional folk singer of the 1950s:

The first thing that turned me on to folk singing was Odetta. I heard a record of hers in a record store, back when you could listen to records there in the store. That was in ’58 or something like that. Right then and there I went out and traded my electric guitar and amplifier for an acoustical guitar, a flat-top Gibson. [Her first album was]4 just something vital and

4 Remark by Heylin.

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personal. I learned all the songs… Anyway, from Odetta, I went to Harry Belafonte, the Kingston Trio, little by little uncovering more as I went along. Finally, I was doing nothing but Carter Family and Jesse Fuller songs. (Dylan quoted in Heylin 2003: 33)

When Dylan graduated from High School in 1959, his uncle gave him a few records by

Leadbelly,5 which got him further interested in folk music. However, he did not give up

rock’n’roll instantly. After his graduation, Dylan spent the summer working as a busboy in a

café in Fargo, North Dakota, where he made the acquaintance of a famous local band called

Bobby Vee and The Shadows. His first taste of fame came when he had the chance to support

the rock group on the piano at some local shows and on a summer trip to Denver (cf.

Williamson 2006: 13–14).

4.2.4. Early Influences and Debut Album

In the autumn of 1959, Bob Dylan left his hometown to continue his education at the

University of Minneapolis, mostly to please his parents, even though he was not really

interested in pursuing an academic career (cf. Heylin 2003: 29). As soon as he arrived in

Minneapolis, Dylan was drawn to Dinkytown, a rather bohemian neighborhood close to the

university, where folk music was found in every coffeehouse and on every street corner. By

this time, Dylan had already turned his back on rock’n’roll and devoted himself to learning

his trade as a folk musician. It was the perfect environment for him and he took every chance

to absorb whatever was around him (cf. Smith 2005: 11). He started listening to acoustic

blues players Dave Ray and Spider John Koerner in coffeehouses on a regular basis. The

latter also taught him about the blues and introduced him to songs by Blind Lemmon

Jefferson and others. Furthermore, he played regular gigs at a pizza joint in St. Paul, where he

also began to perform a few of his own early songs such as ‘Greyhound Blues’ and ‘One

Eyed Jack’. Another significant influencer in Dinkytown was Jon Pankake, a student who led

a folk-music fan-magazine and was the owner of a rare copy of the Anthology of American

Folk Music, edited by Harry Smith. Because Dylan was so hungry for this new kind of music,

he visited Pankake’s apartment regularly. He even borrowed, without permission, several

records and items from Pankake’s collection, including the Harry Smith anthology, which he

kept and never returned (cf. Williamson 2006: 15). The anthology consisted of 84 recordings

5 Leadbelly or Lead Belly was an influential black American folk and blues singer.

4. Bob Dylan

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from the 1920s and 1930s, including various genres and styles from all different parts of

America (cf. Moist 2007: 111). It would serve as an inspirational source for the rest of

Dylan’s career and would inspire numerous of his early folk songs (cf. Williamson 2006: 15).

He started to listen to folk musicians on a regular basis and studied folk records of past

musicians. His growing knowledge of historical American folk music had a far-reaching

impact on his own music and song writing (cf. Batchelor 2014: 22).

One of the most significant influences on Dylan’s early musical style was his introduction to

records by folksinger Woody Guthrie. Dylan recalled that is was some kind of epiphany to

him when he heard Guthrie sing for the first time (cf. Williamson 2006: 15). Not only his

music, but also Guthrie’s autobiography Bound of Glory, had a significant impact on the

young folk singer. Dylan found a role model in Guthrie and soon learned how to play the

harmonica and acquired his way of speaking and other traits. According to one of his former

girlfriends, he even demanded to be called Woody for a while (cf. Williamson 2006: 19). The

protest singer was also the reason why Dylan moved to New York. One of Dylan’s greatest

wishes was to meet his big folk idol, but as a result of his disease, Guthrie had already been

hospitalized. He went to see Guthrie several times and eventually became friends with him

and his family members (cf. Batchelor 2014: 25). Shortly after his visits, Dylan exclusively

performed Guthrie songs and even wrote “Song for Woody” to honor his folk hero. In

addition, Dylan not only adopted Guthrie’s musical style and language, but also started to

dress like his idol. The well-known caps and the pull-on work boots Woody used to wear

became Dylan’s trademarks as well. This close resemblance to Guthrie, musically, and with

regard to style, would help Dylan establish himself in the folk scene of Greenwich Village (cf.

Batchelor 2014: 26).

Another major influence on Dylan’s early musical style was his relocation to New York City.

He came to Greenwich Village with the serious intention to “make his mark on the folk

world” (Batchelor 2014: 25). His primary goal was to learn his craft as a folk musician, and

therefore, Dylan canvassed folk clubs, such as Folk City, Kettle of Fish, Gaslight, and the

Folklore Center. By listening to other musicians and passing time with them in general, he

hoped to learn one thing or another. It definitely served as the perfect introduction to the East

Coast folk music scene. Furthermore, it seemed to be an excellent opportunity for him to do

some professional networking in the Village (cf. Batchelor 2014: 24). He became friends with

folk singers like Dave Van Ronk, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and Pete Seeger (cf. Margotin and

4. Bob Dylan

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Guesdon 2015: 9). Associating with these “old-guard musicians” (Batchelor 2014: 24) gained

Dylan immediate significance on the folk music scene (cf. ibid: 24). Van Ronk’s music

obviously had an impact on him. Dylan copied his arrangement of “House of the Risin’ Sun”

on his first album: “I’d never done that song before, but I heard it every night because Van

Ronk would do it … I thought he was really onto something with the song, so I just recorded

it” (quoted in Margotin and Guesdon 2015: 32). Thus, after some time learning his trade in

the village, Dylan was ready to record his first album with Columbia (cf. Williamson 2006:

27).

Analyzing Dylan’s first record, various folk and blues influences can be detected. His debut

album, titled Bob Dylan, mainly comprised cover versions because he did not have enough

originally composed material to fill a long-playing record (cf. Batchelor 2014: 28). Most of

his cover versions were either interpretations of songs by blues singers or arrangements of old

historical folk songs (cf. Margotin and Guesdon 2015: 18). One of his blues numbers on the

album is the cover version of Jesse Fuller’s “You’re No good”. Fuller was an extraordinary

musician, playing multiple instruments at the same time. Dylan saw him perform at a

coffeehouse in Denver before he came to New York and seems to have been influenced by

him (cf. ibid: 22). An example of a traditional folk song is “Pretty Peggy-O”, based on a

Scottish ballad also referred to as “The Bonnie Lass O’ Fyvie”. This old ballad was

discovered by Cecil Sharp during his journey across the Appalachian Mountains. Dylan’s

arrangement is in a country-style, and thanks to the acoustic guitar and the harmonica,

Guthrie’s influence on the song is noticeable (cf. Margotin and Guesdon 2015: 27).

In general, a significant part of the album seems to be influenced by Woody Guthrie’s spirit

and style, and his manner of singing and guitar playing can be recognized in “Man Of

Constant Sorrow” and Dylan’s two original songs. Dylan does a great job of adopting

Guthrie’s raspy voice and the guitar style of his classic recordings of the 1940s and early

1950s (cf. Bogdanov 2002: 341). Similar to other traditional American folk songs, the precise

origin of “Man Of Constant Sorrow” is unknown, but it was first printed in Farewell Song, a

song collection. While respectful of the old folk tradition, Dylan’s interpretation of the song is

more personal. He altered the phrase “Maybe your friends think I’m just a stranger“ to “Your

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mother says I’m a stranger”, which may hint at the troubled relations Dylan had with

girlfriend Suze Rotolo’s6 mother.

Apart from its covers, Dylan also contributed two original songs to his debut album, both

significantly influenced by Woody Guthrie. “Talkin’ New York” features blues elements and

a talking style, which is closer to a narrative than to a song in a narrowest sense. Although the

invention of this talking style has to be credited to musician Christopher Allen Bouchillon,

Woody Guthrie made it popular in the early 1940s. Three of Guthrie’s songs, namely “New

York Town”, “Pretty Boy Floyd” and “Talking Subway” served as inspirational sources for

Dylan’s “Talkin’ New York” (cf. Margotin and Guesdon 2015: 23). The ‘talking blues’ Dylan

learned from Guthrie’s songs had an influence on a number of his songs, such as “Talkin’

World War III Blues”, “Talkin’ Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues”, “Talkin’ Hava

Negeilah Blues” and “Talkin’ John Birch Paranoid Blues” (cf. Margotin and Guesdon 2015).

The second original song on the album, “Song For Woody” is not only influenced by Guthrie,

but also an homage to him. After visiting Woody in the hospital several times, Dylan was so

inspired that he wrote a song for him. It perfectly illustrates the historical and musical link

between the two musicians (cf. Batchelor 2014: 26). For the most part, “Song For Woody” is

the tribute of a student to his mentor and his fellow folk musicians. The Song bears harmonic

resemblance to Guthrie’s “1913 Massacre” and Dylan admitted borrowing the song from his

hero (cf. Margotin and Guesdon 2015: 35).

4.2.5. Protest Music of the 1960s Folk Revival

At the beginning of his career, Dylan was well known for his social protest songs. As a result

of the tumultuous political circumstances, more and more musicians wanted to draw attention

to grievances in their country. As stated in the preceding chapter, Dylan and his

contemporaries were not the first to write socio-critical songs in the United States. The

groundwork for the protest songs of the 1960s was probably laid during the Great Depression

by the union of the International Workers of the World (IWW). Members of this trade union

were among the first to write and sing topical songs to call attention to the unacceptable

6 Suze Rotolo was Dylan’s girlfriend at the time and the significance of their relationship will be discussed later (see section 4.2.5.1.).

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working conditions of American workers. A collection of these songs can be found in the

Little Red Songbook, first released in 1909 (cf. Szatmary: 82).

Woody Guthrie, who would become Dylan’s main influence, carried on the legacy of social

protest music after the offices of the IWW had been shut down by government agencies in the

course of World War I (cf. Szatmary: 82). Guthrie himself witnessed the tragic events of the

Great Depression, such as the dust storms that greatly damaged the agriculture of the US or

the eviction of innocent people by the banks. Therefore, he became an advocate for the trade

unions and used his musical talent to fight for the rights of the common people.

Guthrie generally used the melodies of traditional folk songs and combined them with his

own socio-critical lyrics (cf. Friedlander and Miller 2006: 133). He drew much of his

inspiration from traditional song compositions that are reminiscent of the brilliant song stories

and ballads he had been played by his mother as a young child. Significant for his singing

style was the southern drawl he adapted as an Oklahoman citizen, and the fact that he was not

an outstandingly-gifted singer. The range of his voice seemed limited and he was devoid of

the natural deep soul found in inherently talented singers. Nevertheless, Guthrie’s phrasing of

lyrics was fine and he knew how to put emphasis on verse sections or how to add some

dynamic slurs or slants to his words (cf. Santelli and Guthrie 2012: 35). Many of Guthrie’s

protest songs featured the Southern drawl, which helped him establish his image as a comrade

in misfortune among his rural listeners. Furthermore, his accent enabled his rural audience to

closely relate to his songs, or better identify with them (cf. Butler 2007: 55). Guthrie wrote

over 1,400 songs, including the Dust Bowl Ballads, a considerable number of union songs, as

well as his famous song “This Land Is Your Land”.

Together with Pete Seeger, Guthrie formed the Almanac Singers, a group of folk musicians

who sought to continue the topical song tradition. Seeger was a student at Harvard University

but ended his academic education to collect folk songs in the Southern States. He was also a

member of another folk group called the Weavers, who supported the continued existence of

the social protest song tradition. Furthermore, the Weavers were connected with left-wing

oriented organizations, but when the McCarthy era reached its peak, their significant musical

career was gradually destroyed as a result of allegations of insurgency. After the folk group

broke up, Pete Seeger proceeded with his political ambitions as a solo artist. Several songs,

such as “Turn, Turn, Turn” and “If I Had A Hammer” became hit songs representative of the

4. Bob Dylan

27

folk music revival of the 60s (cf. Stuessy and Lipscomb 2006: 83). Unfortunately, Guthrie

was not able to pursue his career as a folksinger for long. In the early 50s, Woody was

diagnosed with Huntington’s chorea, a medical condition that affects the nervous system,

resulting in his eventual hospitalization and his death in 1967 (cf. Fornatale 1987: 82).

4.2.5.1. Dylan’s Protest Folk Music

At the beginning of his career, Dylan was not really associated with political activism, but all

of that changed when he struck up an acquaintance with Suze Rotolo. Even though she was

only 17 years old, she was to have a considerable impact on his political education and

activities. The young woman who became his girlfriend was a dedicated leftist and had a job

at the Congress of Racial Equality. Through her political activism, she encouraged Dylan to

become an active and very politicized songwriter (cf. Williamson 2006: 25, 28). His first

attempt at a protest song was “The Death Of Emmett Till”, a song about the horrible murder

of a young African-American boy in 1955, who wanted to visit members of his family in

Mississippi. Through Rotolo, Dylan also got to know other civil rights activists, such as

Cordell Reagon and Bernice Johnson, who were involved with the Student Non-Violent

Coordinating Committee. Furthermore, he started to engage with Broadside, a magazine run

by Pete Seeger and other folksters. The magazine wanted to encourage young folk musicians

to write topical songs which it would then publish and circulate (cf. Szatmary 2007: 93).

Shortly after Dylan wrote “The Death Of Emmett Till”, he came up with a few more topical

songs such as “The Ballad Of Donald White”, the ironic “Talking John Birch Society Blues”

and “Let Me Die In My Footsteps”, a song opposing nuclear warfare, all of which were of

course released in Broadside (cf. Williamson 2006: 28).

With his second album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, Dylan chose to depart from making

traditional or commercialized folk music (cf. Szatmary 2007: 93). Just like his idol Woody

Guthrie, Dylan chose to write songs to revolt against social injustice. In Guthrie’s manner,

Dylan mainly took melodies from traditional folk songs and added current socio-political

lyrics. What was new compared to his debut album was the notable Celtic influence of The

Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. On a trip to London, Dylan had met Martin Carthy and Bob

Davenport, who introduced him to the authentic Celtic ballad. Their influence is visible on

4. Bob Dylan

28

“Girl From The North Country”, “Masters Of War”, “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” and “Bob

Dylan’s Dream” (cf. Margotin and Guesdon 2015: 46).

By writing songs about current socio-political topics such as civil rights, Dylan and other

contemporary protest singers gradually brought politics to the 1960s folk music scene (cf.

Szatmary 2007: 93). His second album includes the song “Blowin’ In The Wind”, which

incorporates elements of philosophical spirituality and used the melody of a spiritual by

Delores Dixon as a musical basis (cf. Margotin and Guesdon 2015: 51). It soon turned into an

anthem of the civil rights movement and made Dylan the spokesman of an entire generation

of protesters. The song was also covered numerous times, including a version by Peter, Paul

and Mary’s which they famously performed at the Lincoln Memorial after the march on

Washington on August 28, 1963 (cf. ibid: 44). With regard to the meaning of the song, Dylan

said: The idea came to me that you were betrayed by silence […] That all of us in America who didn’t speak out were betrayed by our silence. Betrayed by the silence of the people in power. They refuse to look at what’s happening. And the others, they ride the subway and read the Times, but they don’t understand. They don’t know. They don’t care, that’s the worst of it.

(Quoted in Szatmary 2007: 93)

The song discusses prototypical images of protest music such as racism, equality,

indifference, selfishness, and violence. Furthermore, it asks a set of rhetorical questions for

which the answer can be found in the refrain and is always the same. None of the questions

are really answered in the song. As an artist, Dylan wanted to raise awareness and did not

want to serve his audience prefabricated truths (cf. Margotin and Guesdon 2015: 51). Other

socio-critical songs on the album were “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”, which allegedly

addressed the Cuban missile crisis, “Masters Of War”, which was a radical attack on

government leaders, and “Talkin’ World War III Blues”, which draws a humorous but dreary

picture of life after a nuclear mass extermination (cf. Szatmary 2007: 93). Back then, Dylan

knew that he had to address these issues and felt that “there’s other things in this world

besides love and sex that’re important, too. People shouldn’t turn their back on them just

because they ain’t pretty to look at. How is the world ever going to get better if we’re afraid to

look at these things?” (Dylan quoted in Szatmary 2007: 93).

4. Bob Dylan

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Going through an intense period of artistic creativity and political involvement, Dylan was

continuously writing songs for his next album (cf. Friedlander and Miller 2006: 137). In

contrast to his first two albums, The Times They Are A-Changing’, released in 1964, did not

feature any songs with comic relief that could brighten up the dismal atmosphere of the

record. The literary style of the album is very poetic and comes through in almost every song.

“The title song was in itself a complete symbol” (Margotin and Guesdon 2015: 82) and was

meant to serve as a plea for collective awareness (cf. ibid: 82). It was a hymn which addressed

not only the younger generation, as may seem the case at first sight, but listeners of every age.

He wanted them to ‘gather ‘round’ and to make them aware that it was up to them to

transform society and make a change for the better. Regarding its musical style, the folk song

was inspired by old Irish and British street ballads (cf. ibid: 87). Numerous other songs on the

album, such as “Ballad Of Hollis Brown” and “Only A Pawn In Their Game”, focus on

incidents of injustice in American society and can be classified as protest songs. Dylan found

further inspiration for his album in biblical stories, the counterculture of the writers of the

Beat generation, and in the philosophy of the French symbolists (cf. ibid: 84).

Although Dylan was considered the ultimate protest singer, he did write several

biographically inspired songs as well. On his second record, Dylan processed his separation

from Suze Rotolo with the song “Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright”. It was a love song, even if

the lyrics may seem slightly bitter and disenchanted (cf. Margotin and Guesdon 2015: 64).

Like many of Dylan’s love songs, its tone is rather sarcastic, as reflected in the line “You just

kinda wasted my precious time, but don’t think twice it’s all right” (cf. Stuessy and Lipscomb

2006: 178). Another example of a more personal song is “One Too Many Mornings”, which

was released on The Times They Are A-Changing’. Dylan wrote the song while reflecting on

his break-up with Suze Rotolo, and thinking of a possible relationship with Joan Baez, a

fellow folksinger. The song deals with this complicated situation in a very poetic way, using a

strong image in the chorus ‘I am one too many mornings / And a thousand miles behind’ (cf.

ibid: 94). These are only two examples of personally-inspired songs, at a time when Dylan

was considered the paragon of protest song writing. Nonetheless, Dylan’s musical style was

beginning to head in new directions.

On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and his death had a

noticeable impact on the folk-protest movement. Since Kennedy was so dedicated to forging

change in the country, Dylan and other folk musicians felt particularly disenchanted by his

4. Bob Dylan

30

death (cf. Szatmary 2007: 95–96). In 1964, Dylan started to distance himself from socio-

political activism, as he told Nat Hentoff in an interview:

I agree with everything that’s happening, but I’m not part of no movement. If I was, I wouldn’t be able to do anything else but be in ‘the Movement’. I just can’t sit around and have people make rules for me… Those [protest] records I already made, I’ll stand behind them, but some of that was jumping on the scene to be heard and a lot of it was because I didn’t see anybody else doing that kind of thing. Now a lot of people are doing finger-pointing songs. You know – pointing at the things that are wrong. Me I don’t write for people anymore. You know – be a spokesman.

(Quoted in Szatmary 2007: 97)

In a later interview, Dylan told Hentoff why he quit composing protest songs: “I've stopped

composing and singing anything that has either a reason to be written or a motive to be sung.

Don't get me wrong, now. ‘Protest’ is not my word. I've never thought of myself as such”

(Hentoff 1966, online). This change of heart becomes apparent with the release of Dylan’s

fourth record, Another Side of Bob Dylan. The album departed from protest songs and was

considered “more mellow and contemplative” than his previous records (Stuessy and

Lipscomb 2006: 179). For the first time, the majority of Dylan’s songs focused on the internal

aspects of his life and expressed his deepest, most inner feelings. This stylistic turnaround is

visible in almost all of the compositions of Another Side of Bob Dylan. Two poetic

masterpieces were “Chimes Of Freedom” and “My Back Pages”, influenced by William

Blake and Arthur Rimbaud (cf. Margotin and Guesdon 2015: 112).

Dylan’s further poetic progression as a songwriter becomes visible in the song “Spanish

Harlem Incident”, in which he “reflects the stream-of-consciousness writing of Kerouac or

Ginsberg” (Margotin and Guesdon 2015: 114). Some songs, on the other hand, addressed

familiar topics, such as his break-up with Suze Rotolo and its resulting psychological impact

on him. In “I Don’t Believe You”, “Ballad In Plain D” and “It Ain’t Me Babe” Dylan

artistically processed his pain regarding the break-up (cf. Batchelor 2014: 44). The adaptation

of a more personal lyrical style indicated a watershed moment for the young musician, and

from this point on, “many recordings would plumb his emotions and relationships” (Batchelor

2014: 44). Although Dylan never completely abandoned writing topical songs, he was

confident that his own feelings would also offer a creative outlet (cf. ibid: 44–45).

4. Bob Dylan

31

4.2.6. Bob Dylan’s Song Style: Characteristics

The following chapter will describe Bob Dylan’s early musical style, starting with an

investigation of Dylan’s most frequently used song forms. In addition, it will present typical

features of Dylan’s early songs, which were identified by Schmidt as part of his published

dissertation comparing Dylan’s protest songs to the Anglo-American song tradition.

Furthermore, other characteristics of Dylan’s writing style, such as his inclusion of personal

experiences and surreal imagery in his lyrics will be discussed.

4.2.6.1. Song Form

As mentioned above, there are various organizational patterns for songs (see Terminology). A

rather unusual song form, the through-composed form, typically creates new music for every

new passage of the text. Therefore, it is possible for the artist’s music to respond to variations

of the lyrics’ situations, images and atmosphere. This approach is very different from one that

has the same music for every single verse, without regard to the content of changing verse

lyrics. That song form is called strophic or AAA form and has already been briefly discussed;

it is typical of the folk song tradition and therefore is characteristic of Bob Dylan’s early song

style (cf. Stuessy and Lipscomb 2006: 191). Usually, “old folk ballads consist of four lines of

text, each one of which is set to a four-measure phrase, thus creating a sixteen-measure

strophe7. This sixteen-measure strophe is simply repeated for each new stanza of text.” (ibid:

191) At times Dylan held on rather tightly to the traditional folk structure. Apart from that, he

also applied the strophic form as a general organizing pattern, but took significant liberty

within the stanzas. A perfectly representative example of the strophic form is “Blowin’ In The

Wind”. The song consists of three stanzas, each with four lines. The first stanza/verse of this

song will be taken as an illustrative example (cf. ibid: 191).

How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man? Yes, ‘n’ how many seas must a white dove sail before she sleeps in the sand? Yes, ‘n’ how many times must the cannon balls fly before they’re forever banned? The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind, the answer is blowin’ in the wind.

(Dylan 2006: 53)

7 In this section the term ‘strophe’ is used to refer to stanzas comprised of lines with unequal length.

4. Bob Dylan

32

Each line of this verse is “given a four-measure melody, resulting in a sixteen-measure

strophe” (Stuessy and Lipscomb 2006: 192). The first three lines are melodically quite

similar, but the fourth line contrasts those preceding it. As a result, the musical form within

each strophe is AAAB, and used for all stanzas of the song (cf. ibid: 192). This musical

deviation is also reflected in the lyrics. Without a chorus, the closing line of the verse is used

as a “dramatic payoff line” (Braheny 2006: 87) and functions as a refrain. Usually, the song

title appears in the opening or closing line of the verse, as is exemplified above, and also

serves as a hook (cf. ibid: 87). Several of Dylan’s early songs follow this strophic pattern, but

occasionally vary regarding the melody within a strophe or the number of lines within a

stanza, departing from the traditional 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 form (cf. Stuessy and Lipscomb 2006:

192). Although Dylan used other song forms, such as the twelve-bar blues form and the verse-

and-chorus form, later in his career, the strophic concept was predominant in his early musical

style (cf. ibid: 192–194).

4.2.6.2. Characteristics derived from the British Street Ballads and American Folk and

Protest Songs

Examining Dylan’s early protest songs, Schmidt has observed certain similarities between the

British street ballads, American folk and protest songs, and Dylan’s early compositions.

Schmidt investigated Dylan’s protest songs of the 1960s and contrasted them with the

aforementioned musical categories. He noted that Dylan’s protest songs and these musical

categories have several things in common, mainly on the levels of content and form (cf. 1982:

177). Based on these similarities, typical features of Dylan’s song style can be identified, and

these will be presented in the following section.

Similarities in Content

In terms of content, Schmidt noticed a particular resemblance between Dylan’s protest songs

and British street ballads, as well as American folk and protest songs, with regard to topics

dealing with social injustice. The economic exploitation of the common man had been a

central concern in both street ballads and American folk songs. Dylan addressed several

aspects of this issue in his early songs as well (cf. Schmidt 1982: 177). The following lyrics

are taken from broadsides and protest songs of the 1930’s and will present how the topic of

the ‘exploitation of the common man’ is addressed:

4. Bob Dylan

33

Me thought I saw how wealthy men

did grind the poormen’s faces,

And greedily did prey on them,

Not pitying their cases. Broadside “The Poore Man Payes For All”

(Urban 1979: 20)

Then we’ll sing one song of the greedy master class,

[…]

They live by robbing the ever-toiling mass.

I.W.W. 8 “We Will Sing One Song”

(Hill, online 2)

Workers of the world, awaken!

[…]

All the wealth you make is taken

By exploiting parasites. I.W.W. “Workers Of The World, Awaken”

(Hill, online 2)

What becomes apparent in these lyrics is the negative attitude expressed towards the

oppressive systems of those times. An example of such an oppressing system was the wealthy

upper class, as reflected in “The Poore Man Payes For All” and “We Will Sing One Song”. In

the song “Workers Of The World Awaken”, exploitative employers of industrial workers of

the 1930’s are the targets of their protest (cf. Schmidt 1982: 178).

Schmidt (1982: 177) suggests that Dylan had already addressed this topic at the very

beginning of his song writing career when he wrote the song “Talking New York”, although

not in such an extreme manner as seen in the previous examples. Schmidt believes the line

“some people rob you with a fountain pen” (Dylan 2006: 4) is Dylan addressing the same

topic. In this song, Dylan adopts a motif of the traditional folk song “Pretty Boy Floyd”,

which had also been interpreted by Woody Guthrie. The original says “Some people will rob

you with a six gun, and some with a fountain pen” (Guthrie, online 2). Further examples of

songs with a similar motif are Dylan’s “Ballad Of Hollis Brown” and North Country Blues”.

8 I.W.W. stands for the International Workers of the World (see Section 4.2.5.).

4. Bob Dylan

34

In “North Country Blues” Dylan tells the story of a family faced with hardship when the

mines in their area are shut down as a result of cheaper labor conditions in the Southern

States. The farmer Hollis Brown likewise suffers from harsh social conditions and as a

member of the lower class has to manage life with difficulty. In these songs, Dylan not only

directly addressed an oppressive system, but also wanted to make people aware of the gap

between the rich and the poor.

However, Dylan wrote songs expressing more radical views as well. Schmidt (1982: 179)

suggests that Dylan’s social criticism is not primarily directed at the exploitative upper classes

and the ruthless employers, but at the authorities that tolerate the exploitation of the majority

of the population. In “Masters Of War”, Dylan criticizes the actions of politicians and the

arms industry regarding the approaching war in Vietnam. In Dylan’s case, the topic of the

song is not the exploitation of workers per se but the ‘exploitation’ of human lives. This is

perfectly illustrated in the following verse lines: “You fasten all the triggers/ For the others to

fire/ Then you set back and watch/ When the death count gets higher/ You hide in your

mansion'/ As young people's blood/ Flows out of their bodies/ And is buried in the mud”

(Dylan 2006: 55). Recurring topics, such as the rejection of violence and war, can also be

identified in songs such as “Talking World War III Blues” and “With God On Our Side” and

were not only part of Dylan’s early topical songs, but also of the American protest song

tradition (cf. Schmidt 1982: 179). The first anti-war songs were written as early as the civil

war in the nineteenth century (cf. ibid: 172).

Another target of Dylan’s criticism was racial injustice. Many of his songs tell stories about

racial violence and the unjust treatment of African Americans in the United States. These

were often inspired by real events. Examples of this are songs such as “Oxford Town”, “The

Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll” or “Only A Pawn In Their Game”.

Similarities in Form

In terms of form, Schmidt observed several similarities between Dylan’s early topical songs

and the American folk song tradition. The British broadsides and the American folk song both

have their roots in the British popular ballad. As already mentioned, one of their main

characteristics is the “single episode”, a restriction to the essentials of the plot (see Section

4.2.1.). This structural principle is applied in the traditional socio-critical songs as well as in

Dylan’s early protest songs. The structure of the ballads and songs is based on coherent

4. Bob Dylan

35

narration, and the omission of analytical interpretation and distracting subplots. According to

Schmidt (1982:183), songs in the manner of “Ludlow Massacre” or “1913 Massacre”, which

portray violent episodes of the American trade-union history, and Dylan’s songs, such as

“Ballad Of Hollis Brown” or “North Country Blues” are perfect examples of this traditional

structural principle.

Linguistic Similarities

Regarding language, Schmidt (1982: 185) observed further similarities. He suggests that

American ballads, folk songs, as well as protest songs frequently make use of colloquial

language, and he assumes that there are several reasons for this. He believes that one of the

reasons might stem from the fact that many of the composers wrote in a language closely

related to the language of their everyday lives. Furthermore, the use of colloquial language

could also be a deliberate act by the authors, in order to identify with their primary audience.

The following verse lines will exemplify the use of colloquial and vernacular language in

traditional American folk songs.

Racoon’s out a-choppin’ a wood,

Possum, he’s a-haulin’,

My old dog a-sittin’ on a log,

Splittin’ his throat a-squalin’. “Twistification”

(Lomax 1947, quoted in Schmidt 1982: 186)

Woody Guthrie also had a great talent for writing folk songs in colloquial language. Schmidt

suggests that the following text passages are examples of Guthrie’s effort to write in a style

that would specifically target his primary audience (cf. 1982: 186).

I been a-grubbin' on a little farm on the flat and windy plains

I been a-listenin’ to the hungry cattle bawl.

I'm gonna pack my wife and kids,

I'm gonna hit that western road.

I'm gonna hit that Oregon Trail this comin' fall. “Oregon Trail” (Guthrie, online 3)

I been a-workin' in a hard rock tunnel, I thought you knowed,

I been a-leanin' on a pressure drill, way down the road,

4. Bob Dylan

36

Hammer flyin', air hose suckin', six feet of mud, I sure been a-muckin'

I been havin' some hard travellin', Lord. “Hard Travelin’” (Guthrie, online 1)

The shortened verb forms such as “a-grubbin’” or “a-workin’” are typical of colloquial

language and a characteristic feature of Guthrie’s songs. Dylan consciously revealed

Guthrie’s influence on him by using these shortened verb forms and turned them into a

characterizing element of his own song style. (cf. Schmidt 1982: 188). The following verse

lines of Dylan songs serve as illustrative examples.

The sun don’t shine above the ground

Ain’t a-goin’ down to Oxford Town “Oxford Town” (Dylan 2006: 63)

I’m a-goin’ back out ‘fore the rain starts a-fallin’

[…]

It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” (Dylan 2006: 59)

Down the street the dogs are barkin’

And the day is a-getting’ dark

As the night comes in a-fallin’

The dogs’ll lose their bark “One Too Many Mornings” (Dylan 2006: 87)

There’s an iron train a-travelin’ that’s been a-rollin’ through the years

“Train A-Travelin’” (Dylan 2006: 32)

Another stylistic feature of Dylan’s early song writing style is the use of idiomatic phrases

and youth jargon of the 1960s. The following words and phrases are taken from his songs and

serve as examples: commie, to be nuts, gal, a lotta, to bum a cigarette, to blow it/your mind

(cf. Schmidt 1982: 188).

Traditional song openings

By analyzing examples of British street ballads as well as examples of American folk and

protest songs, Schmidt observed additional linguistic similarities between theses musical

categories. A large number of songs begin with a call for attention, such as ‘come gather

4. Bob Dylan

37

round’ me’. This form of address of the audience has already been mentioned (see Section

4.2.1.) and is one example of a traditional song opening observed in broadsides. These kind of

song openings can also be detected in a number of folk songs and in Dylan’s early protest

songs, and hence, can be characterized as a stylistic feature of his song style (cf. Schmidt

1982: 189–191). The following examples are text passages from broadsides, folk songs and

songs by Dylan and will illustrate the use of this stylistic device:

Come all you good people, and listen with woe,

‘Til I sing a few verses, concerning Munroe: “General Munroe”

(Zimmermann 1967: 156)

Come list, ye landsmen, all to me,

To tell the truth I’m bound – “The Wonderful Crocodile”

(Lomax and Lomax 1994: 498)

Come, all you young sailormen, listen to me,

I’ll sing you a song of the fish of the sea. “The Boston Come-All-Ye”

(Lomax and Lomax 1994: 497)

Come gather ‘round me, children

A story I will tell “Pretty Boy Floyd” (Guthrie, online 2)

Come you ladies and you gentlemen, a-listen to my song

Sing it to you right, but you might think it’s wrong “Hard Times In New York Town”

(Dylan 2006: 6)

Come around you rovin’ gamblers and a story I will tell “Ramblin’, Gamblin’ Willie”

(Dylan 2006: 10)

Come you masters of war “Masters Of War” (Dylan 2006: 55)

Come gather ‘round people

Wherever you roam “The Times They Are A-Changin’” (Dylan 2006: 81)

4. Bob Dylan

38

Come gather ‘round friends

And I’ll tell you a tale “North Country Blues” (Dylan 2006: 88)

In addition to the examples mentioned above, Schmidt observed another typical song opening,

namely the proclaiming word or letter ‘O(h)…’. Examples of this opening can be found in

British and American folk songs as well as in Dylan’s songs. “A Hard Rains’ A-Gonna Fall”,

“When The Ship Comes In” or “Restless Farewell”, among several other songs, commence

with this phrase.

4.2.6.3. Surreal Imagery

One of Dylan’s greatest features as a songwriter is his literary talent and use of figurative

language in his songs. When composing, Dylan frequently made use of poetic devices such

metaphor, imagery, and symbolism (cf. Stuessy and Lipscomb 2006: 144). One significant

characteristic of his song writing was his use of surreal imagery, although this was also

considered a typical stylistic device of his later work. However, it can also be observed in

some of his earlier songs. On his second album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, Dylan applied a

“free-form writing style” (Smith 2005: 24), which was rather unusual compared to other

songs following the folk song tradition. As already established, folk songs traditionally have a

narrative structure (see Section 4.2.6.). However, Dylan’s two songs “A Hard Rain’s A-

Gonna Fall” and “I Shall Be Free” cannot be considered narratives because of Dylan’s use of

surreal imagery in the songs (cf. Smith 2005: 24).

Smith claims that “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” is definitely the most remarkable song on

Dylan’s second album and gives the listener an impression of Dylan’s surrealistic song

writing style observed in his later work (cf. Schmidt 1982: 68). The song consists of five

verses and is a dialogue between two characters. Various images are applied by Dylan, which

Smith denotes as “fantastic, frightening, fascinating, and fearful” all at the same time (2005:

29). The following verse lines of “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” will exemplify Dylan’s

utilization of surreal imagery:

Oh, where have you been, my blue-eyed son? And where have you been my darling young one?

4. Bob Dylan

39

I've stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains I've walked and I've crawled on six crooked highways I've stepped in the middle of seven sad forests I've been out in front of a dozen dead oceans I've been ten thousand miles in the mouth of a graveyard And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, and it's a hard It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall. (Dylan 2006: 59)

His development towards an increasingly impressionistic writing style becomes apparent on

Dylan’s fourth album Another Side of Bob Dylan, and marked a transition point in Dylan’s

career (cf. Smith 2005: 54). Smith (ibid: 55) suggests that, similar to the song “A Hard Rain’s

A-Gonna Fall”, Dylan used “brief lyrical refrains and repetitive musical structures” to

construct the surreal images that can be detected in “My Back Pages” and “Chimes Of

Freedom”. As already mentioned, these surreal images prohibit a narrative structure of the

songs and only give the impression of a narrated story. Furthermore, Smith states that even

though the songs “present characters doing things […], nothing ever happens” (2005: 29). As

a result, the focus of the lyrics is on imaginative depiction (cf. Smith 2005: 55). The following

lines are taken from “My Back Pages” and will serve as an additional example of Dylan’s use

of surreal imagery:

Half-cracked prejudice leaped forth "Rip down all hate," I screamed Lies that life is black and white Spoke from my skull, I dreamed Romantic facts of musketeers Foundationed deep, somehow Ah, but I was so much older then I'm younger than that now. (Dylan 2006: 125)

4.2.6.4. Introspective Lyrics

Although it was not common practice to include subjective views in the lyrics of traditional

folksongs, Dylan frequently “interjected his persona into the narrative and elevated the

author’s role in the story” (Smith 2005: 20). The two original songs on his debut album Bob

Dylan already show personal involvement in his song writing process (cf. Smith 2005: 20).

Even when he started writing protest songs, Dylan often tried to integrate his subjective

5. Similarities and Differences between Bob Dylan and The Beatles

40

viewpoint in his lyrics. Smith claims that by doing so, Dylan’s compositions developed from

mere songs to real statements (cf. Smith 2005: 24). On Dylan’s second record The

Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, additional personalization of the song content can be observed. For

example, two of the thirteen songs even contain Dylan’s name in their titles (“Bob Dylan’s

Blues” and “Bob Dylan’s Dream”). Belz suggests that the songs on the album also “contain

extensive personal statements” (1982: 158). Furthermore, Dylan continued to write

autobiographical songs about his troubled relationship with Suze Rotolo (cf. Smith 2005: 24).

More evidence of the such lyrics can be observed on Another Side Of Bob Dylan, which

marked a transition point in Dylan’s musical career and focused on the internal aspects of his

life (see Section 4.2.5.1.).

5. Similarities and Differences between Bob Dylan and The

Beatles Since the aim of this thesis is to investigate Bob Dylan’s influence on the Beatles, it will be

helpful to identify the artists’ similarities and differences in terms of musical style. However,

the following comparison will only be focused on their early years because those are of

particular importance for this thesis.

5.1. Music What is definitely the most significant difference between Bob Dylan and the Beatles is their

respective musical genres. Even though both have their musical roots in rock music (see

Sections 3.1. and 4.2.3.) and shared common influences, such as Little Richard, they were

heading in different musical directions. While the Beatles started out as a country blues

influenced skiffle band, Bob Dylan formed several small rock bands with fellow students

before he decided to pursue a career as a folk musician. Over the course of the years, Dylan

established himself in the American folk scene and became a leading musician in the protest

folk movement, until he gradually moved from acoustic-based folk to electrically-dominant

folk rock. The Beatles, on the other hand, were a rock’n’roll band to the core, even though

they were highly experimental regarding genres and instruments later in their career.

5. Similarities and Differences between Bob Dylan and The Beatles

41

Dylan being a solo artist is certainly another major difference between the musician and the

band. As a result, Dylan’s early compositions were rather limited in terms of instrumental

range. Nevertheless, the mere combination of acoustic guitar, harmonica and his raw, scratchy

signature voice made Dylan an unmistakable musician. As a band however, the Beatles were

not restricted to a limited number of instruments, which enabled them to go beyond basic

musical compositions. The Beatles as a band were probably the very reason Dylan abandoned

his folk devotees in 1965 and returned to rock’n’roll music, accompanied by his own band.

This view is encouraged by Williamson, who suggests that their influence “led him to grow

increasingly dissatisfied with his own sound” (2006: 44). The fact that Dylan was a solo artist

and the Beatles were a band also led to a difference in their song writing processes. While

Dylan had to compose on his own, McCartney and Lennon usually worked together, mutually

supporting one another (see Section 3.2.1.).

Both Dylan and the Beatles basically started their musical careers as cover artists. The

Beatles’ first four albums regularly featured arrangements and cover versions of songs by

other rock artists, and Dylan established himself as an artist in a similar way. Moreover, it

was a common practice in folk music to borrow melodies and lyrics from historical folk songs

and ballads, and, as a result, many of Dylan’s early songs are not based on original melodies,

but on traditional material. In contrast, the Beatles used their musical talents to compose their

own melodies almost from the very beginning. However, a number of songs on their first

album are based on borrowed chords as well (cf. Turner 1994: 17). Although rock melodies

usually were not very diverse and rather uncreative before the Beatles came on the scene, the

melodies in their early songs were already extraordinary and indicated the artists’ great

melodic intuition (cf. Stuessy and Lipscomb 2006: 136).

Coming from different musical genres also determined distinctions in terms of song form.

The folk traditions’ general approach to song form is strophic, which can also be observed in

Dylan’s early compositions, whereas the Beatles’ early songs were based on the AABA form,

or verse-chorus forms. However, both varied within their preferred song forms (see Sections

3.2.2. and 4.3.6.1). Over the course of the years, Dylan and the Beatles developed as

songwriters and were both fairly experimental with song forms.

Another difference between the artists can be distinguished in terms of their preferred

medium regarding their records. While the Beatles targeted the singles as well as the album

5. Similarities and Differences between Bob Dylan and The Beatles

42

market, the folk music industry and Dylan, as a part of it, preferred the LP as the primary

medium.

5.2. Lyrics Apart from the musical differences of the artists, further distinctions in terms of song lyrics

can be made. Investigating the Beatles and Dylan’s early songs, it becomes apparent that their

writing styles were quite different on several levels.

Bob Dylan has been considered an artistic and creative songwriter since the very beginning of

his career. Although the Beatles’ first album featured more original songs than Dylan’s first

record, the range of topics on Bob Dylan was larger than on Please, Please Me. While most of

the early Beatles’ songs were “boy-girl love songs” (Stuessy and Lipscomb 2006: 144) and

lacked depth, Dylan’s debut album was more diverse, covering topics such as “love, the

traveling musician’s life, and death” (Smith 2005: 20). By the time The Freewheelin’ Bob

Dylan was released, Dylan had come to be known for his highly qualitative and poetic

songwriting. The majority of his songs dealt with social, political and racial injustice and

reflected his awareness of current issues in the country (cf. Belz 1982: 157). The Beatles’

early topics, on the other hand, were rather trivial and simple. Firstly, because, unlike folk,

rock’n’roll music was not consciously interested in socio-political issues (cf. Belz 1982: 81).

Secondly, because the Beatles were also influenced by external factors, such as their rapidly

growing female audience, which largely determined their commercial success (see Section

3.2.2.). Furthermore, the Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein dictated terms regarding the

avoidance of political statements in their songs (cf. Inglis 2009: 117).

The large number of female fans not only had an influence regarding the topics of their songs,

but also on the way they were written. Lennon and McCartney reacted to this by writing

numerous songs, such as “Thank You Girl”, “She Loves You”, “Love Me Do”, “I’ll Get

You”, which had the effect of making young women feel personally addressed by the Beatles.

Furthermore, their writing style was fairly objective and impersonal compared to Dylan’s

style. This view is encouraged by Belz, who says: “where the Beatles’ music has always been

cool and aloof and has resisted direct links between the artists and their creations, Bob

Dylan’s records have always been decidedly close to his personal life and thought” (1982:

6. The Impact of Bob Dylan on the Beatles

43

158). He further differentiates their styles by stating that: “Where the Beatles’ art is classical

and cerebral, Dylan’s is expressive and emotive” (ibid: 158). Belz further develops his

argument, referring to Dylan’s second album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, in which the

feelings expressed about war, social and racial injustice can definitely be identified as Dylan’s

personal feelings (cf. ibid: 158, 160). This clearly stands in contrast with the Beatles’ early

lyrics, “where the feelings of the individual members of the group [are never] openly

expressed in their music” (ibid: 160). Dylan supposedly had an influence regarding the

Beatles’ development towards a more introspective song writing style. Therefore, this

statement seems very generalized and will be reconsidered in the coming analysis.

Another distinctive aspect of Dylan’s early lyrics was their narrative character. Resulting from

Dylan’s roots in the folk song tradition, most of his songs told stories and were rather long.

This is also reflected in Dylan’s preferred song form, the strophic format, which consists of a

number of verses. The Beatles’ early songs, on the other hand, were quite short and rather

depicted scenes as compared to Dylan’s narratives. Another difference between the Beatles

and Dylan’s early lyrics was Dylan’s use of figurative language. Compared to the Beatles’ use

of commonplace images in their lyrics, Dylan’s writing style was more developed and very

poetic (see Section 4.2.6.3.).

6. The Impact of Bob Dylan on the Beatles

Writing and composing your own songs was rather unusual in the popular music industry of

the early 1960s. Therefore, the Beatles and Bob Dylan were rather exceptional artists insofar

as they both started to compose their own songs early in their careers. On these grounds it

seems unavoidable that these artists would have an influence on each other in some kind of

way. The aim of this chapter is to determine when the influence of Dylan on the Beatles could

have possibly started, and to evaluate to what extent and in which manner that influence is

reflected in their songs.

6. The Impact of Bob Dylan on the Beatles

44

6.1. First Contact According to Williamson, the first time the Beatles and Bob Dylan were publicly associated

with each other was early in 1964, when The Melody Maker, a music magazine, issued an

article with the headline “The Beatles Dig Dylan” (quoted in Williamson 2006: 45).

McCartney had taken notice of Dylan even earlier, when his student friends from Liverpool

played some songs to him, but it was in January 1964 that the Beatles stayed in Paris for

several weeks and Paul introduced the rest of the band to Dylan’s second record The

Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. (cf. Turner 1994: 60). John remembered:

I think that was the first time I ever heard Dylan at all. I think Paul got the record from a French DJ. We were doing a radio thing there and the guy had the record in the studio. Paul said, ‘Oh, I keep hearing about this guy,’ or he’d heard it, I’m not sure – and we took it back the hotel. And for the rest of our three weeks in Paris we didn’t stop playing it. We all went potty on Dylan.

(Lennon quoted in Craske et al. 2000: 114)

According to Ingham, Dylan’s music had “dazzled them with its wit, poetry and literary

attitude” (2009: 27), urging them to become acquainted with their new musical hero. Their

first meeting was arranged on August 28, 1964, during the Beatles’ second visit to the United

States in the Hotel Delmonico in New York (cf. Williamson 2006: 39, 42). On that first

meeting, Dylan supposedly introduced the Beatles to marijuana as a result of mishearing the

lyrics in “I Want To Hold Your Hand”, and was surprised when he found out that they had

never smoked weed before (cf. The Beatles and Davies 2014: 79). When asked about that

night, Lennon said, “Bob Dylan had heard one of our records where we said, ‘I can’t hide,’

and he had understood, ‘I get high.’ He came running and said to us, ‘Right, guys, I’ve got

some really good grass.’ How could you not dig a bloke like that? He thought that we were

used to drugs” (Lennon quoted in Craske et al. 2000: 158). It was an amusing experience for

all of them, and Paul in particular felt creatively inspired by the drugs (cf. The Beatles and

Davies 2014: 79). Shortly after this meeting, John and Paul felt encouraged to put a drug

reference in one of their new songs. Although ‘Turn me on when I get lonely’ was quite

subtle, the Beatles were convinced that Dylan would get the reference, which this time was

intentional (cf. The Beatles and Davies 2014: 81).

6. The Impact of Bob Dylan on the Beatles

45

6.2. Dylan’s Impact on Individual Members of the Beatles Since Paul and John were the leading creative minds of the Beatles, it seems natural that

Dylan had the largest influence on the song writing duo. They were both great admirers of

Dylan in their early years and were especially impressed by his lyrical talent. When asked

about Dylan’s influence, Paul said:

Bob came around one evening, whilst we were in New York. He was our idol. I had seen early programmes on Granada TV, when we were in Liverpool, about the New York Beat Poet’s scene, where he had been singing along with Alan Ginsberg. So we were into him as a poet, and we all had his first album with his floppy cap. I’m sure that’s where the Lennon cap came from. […] Vocally and poetically Dylan was a huge influence. Lyrically he is still one of the best. Some of the long rambling poems he set to music are still one of my favourite pieces of work. (McCartney quoted in Craske et al. 2000: 158)

Paul was not the only one to recognize Dylan’s influence on their work; Lennon also seemed

greatly inspired by the musician. He claims that Dylan’s influence changed his attitude

towards the importance of lyrics in songs. He once said: “I wasn’t to keen on lyrics in those

days. I didn’t think they counted. Dylan used to say ‘Listen to the words man.’ And I’d say ‘I

don’t listen to the words’” (Lennon quoted in Friedlander and Miller 2006: 86). Dylan’s

music constantly reminded Lennon that the words were as important as the music. Another

important development in Lennon’s song writing career was the gradual approach to more

serious and personal topics which he, among other things, credited to Dylan’s influence (cf.

Craske et al. 2000: 158). Turner (1994: 60) supports the view that Dylan’s “narrative style”

especially motivated John, who had written poetry before. Although Dylan’s influence was

definitely present, Lennon had written about personal issues before. In his books, A Spaniard

in the Works and In His Own Write, Lennon reflected on his inner feelings and personal

experiences (cf. Craske et al. 2000: 158). The poems and short stories in these books were

written in a stream-of-consciousness style and are evidence of his fairly creative mind and

literary talent (cf. The Beatles and Davies 2014: 79). Through Dylan, John realized that he did

not have to separate his emotions from his music:

I’d started thinking about my own emotions. I don’t know when exactly it started, like ‘I’m A Loser’ or ’Hide Your Love Away’, those kind of things. Instead of projecting myself into a situation, I would try to express what I felt about myself, which I’d done in my books. I think it was Dylan, who helped me realise that – not by any discussion or anything, but by hearing

6. The Impact of Bob Dylan on the Beatles

46

his work. […] I started being me about the songs, not writing them objectively, but subjectively. (Lennon quoted in Craske et al. 2000: 158)

Over the years, George Harrison also developed as a songwriter, and some of his songs may

reveal Dylan’s influence. Turner (1994: 168) believes that his song “Long, Long, Long”, for

example, was probably inspired by the harmony of Dylan’s “Sad Eyed Lady Of The

Lowlands”. Furthermore, Harrison formed a close friendship with Dylan towards the end of

his time with the Beatles, which seemed to influence him even more. In 1970, Dylan and

Harrison co-wrote the tracks “I’d Have You Anytime” and “When Everybody Comes To

Town” and Harrison even covered Dylan’s “If Not For You” on his debut album. On top of

that, they decided to collaborate even more closely when they started their side project, the

Travelling Wilburys in 1988 (cf. Everett 2001: 255–256).

Since Ringo Starr only contributed a limited number of self-composed songs to the Beatles’

records, it is hard to determine whether Dylan had any particular influence on him.

Nevertheless, he was a great admirer of his music: “Bob was our hero. I heard of him through

John, who played his records to me. He was just great; he was this young dude with great

songs. Songs of the time, poetry, and great attitude.” (Starr quoted in Craske et al. 2000: 158)

6.3. Dylan’s Influence on the Beatles’ Work The following subchapter will present songs by the Beatles in the potential influence of Dylan

has been observed. The songs were chosen based on information gathered in secondary

literature and on statements by the Beatles themselves regarding Dylan’s influence on their

work. Although it is difficult to consider the lyrics and music of a song separately, the

following examples are divided into categories with regard to either the musical or lyrical

influence of Dylan, depending on which of the two categories is more prevalent. However,

some of the songs show both a musical and a lyrical influence, which will also be taken into

consideration. This will be followed by a more detailed discussion of two of their songs,

which are often cited as prime examples of Dylan’s influence. All Beatles’ lyrics cited in the

analytical part are included in the appendix.

6. The Impact of Bob Dylan on the Beatles

47

6.3.1. Dylan’s Influence on the Beatles’ Music

Although the Beatles met Dylan for the first time in August 1964, Lennon had acknowledged

being influenced by Dylan as early as when he started working on the album A Hard Day’s

Night (cf. Williamson 2006: 45). The Beatles had already been in possession of Dylan’s first

two records, which probably led to a subtle influence regarding the use of instruments in their

songs. Looking at the instrumental arrangement of songs on A Hard Day’s Night, it becomes

clear that the Beatles were increasingly using acoustic guitars, which was typical of Dylan’s

early folk-inspired songs. On the Beatles first two records, Please, Please Me and With The

Beatles, only three out of fourteen songs featured acoustic guitars, whereas on a Hard Day’s

Night, already eight of the thirteen songs were arranged with acoustic instruments (cf.

MacDonald 2007). Although this can also be accredited to the general folk music trend of the

1960’s, it is possible that Dylan influenced the Beatles’ choice of instruments.

A more specific characteristic of Dylan’s musical style can be detected in “I Should Have

Known Better” on the aforementioned album. Lennon is playing the harmonica in a way

distinctive of Dylan’s style (cf. The Beatles and Davies 2014: 65). This view is also

encouraged by MacDonald, who claims that the song is “based on the imitation of Dylan’s

huffing harmonica style” (2007: 109). The ‘huffing’ harmonica playing occurs several times

throughout the song and truly conveys the impression of a Dylan inspired song9. Of course,

early songs by the Beatles, such as “Love Me Do” and “Please, Please Me” also feature

harmonica playing; however, the source of inspiration for these songs was Delbert McClinton,

who Lennon tried to imitate (cf. ibid: 58). In addition, the acoustic rhythm guitar played by

Lennon enhances the credibility of Dylan’s musical influence. Little impact can be observed

in the lyrics of this song, insofar as they are similar to the typical love song lyrics of the

Beatles’ early period.

Further possible evidence of an influence of Dylan in terms of music can be noticed in the

Beatles’ song “Ticket to Ride” which was released as an A-side single in August, 1965, a few

days after the Beatles released their fifth album, Help. Although the song’s instrumental

arrangement does not feature any acoustic instruments, Dylan’s possible influence can still be

heard. MacDonald (2007: 148) suggests that the recurring elongated ‘Aaahs’10 in the song are

9 “I Should Have Known Better”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8hFLhx-qb4. 10 “Ticket To Ride”: https://vimeo.com/69813066 (min. 1:15, 2:41).

6. The Impact of Bob Dylan on the Beatles

48

a “direct steal from Dylan”. The third and fourth chorus is slightly modified, being

supplemented with the ‘Aaahs’ at the beginning of the first line: “Ah, she got a ticket to ride”.

This elongated ‘Aaah’ can also be heard in a number of Dylan songs, such as “My Back

Pages”, in which the word initiates the refrain: “Ah, but I was so much older then/ I'm

younger than that now”. A further example is Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues”, in

which the recurring ‘Aaahs’ can be noticed at the beginning of the third and fourth verse.11

Both songs by Dylan were released before the Beatles recorded “Ticket To Ride”; hence,

there is a distinct possibility that he influenced these songs.

Another song, showing a slight musical influence by Dylan, is the Beatles’ “Yellow

Submarine”. The song does not contain any specific features typical of Dylan’s musical style,

but its melody resembles one of his songs. MacDonald (2007: 207) believes that the song is a

“musical spin-off from Bob Dylan’s march-tempo ‘Rainy Day Women Nos. 12 and 35’.”

Dylan’s track entered the UK charts two weeks before the Beatles started working on “Yellow

Submarine”. Furthermore, they also met him in London the night before they began working

on the tune (cf. ibid: 27). These events may have only been coincidences, but they could also

have had an impact on the Beatles’ composition. Kemper (2007a: 72) sympathizes with

MacDonald’s view, saying that Dylan’s tune might have been an unconscious source of

inspiration for the Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine”. Furthermore, the argument is supported by

Pollack (1994, online) who claims that he observed a resemblance in the song’s instrumental

arrangement of the third verse, in which the Beatles use “a sloppy marching band in the style

of ‘Rainy Day Women, #12 & #35’.” By listening to both tracks,12 while paying specific

attention to the sound of the marching bands, a certain similarity between the two songs can

be perceived.

Since Dylan’s early musical style was mainly characterized by the folk revival of the 1960s,

one could make a hasty judgment and attribute Dylan’s influence to a number of Beatle songs

that were folk inspired. Tunes such as “I’ll Follow the Sun,” “I’ve Just Seen A Face,” “Here

Comes The Sun,” or “Your Majesty” all feature acoustic guitars, and reveal a certain

influence by the folk music movement of that time. However, it was more likely that the

composition of these songs was generally affected by the 1960s British folk revival, which 11 “Subterranean Homesick Blues”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGxjIBEZvx0 (min. 1:09, 1:39). 12 “Rainy Day Women Nos.12 and 35”: https://vimeo.com/37683622. “Yellow Submarine”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krIus0i9xn8.

6. The Impact of Bob Dylan on the Beatles

49

brought forth artists such as Donovan. As a last point, Everett (1999: 3007) claims that the

Beatles used some of Dylan’s songs, such as “Blowin’ In The Wind,” “Momma You’re Just

On My Mind,” “All Along The Watchtower,” and “I Shall Be Released” as warm-ups prior to

recording sessions in January 1969. This reveals that Dylan’s music was present in their lives

even towards the end of their career as a band. One the one hand, the songs for their warm-

ups were probably just chosen randomly, but on the other hand, it could be further evidence of

Dylan’s impact on the Beatles’ as musicians.

6.3.2. Dylan’s Influence on the Beatles’ Lyrics Although a number of songs which show Dylan’s musical influence on the Beatles have been

identified, his influence on Beatles lyrics was more extensive. As already mentioned, Lennon

acknowledged Dylan’s influence on the development of his lyrics (see subchapter 6.2.).

Among other authors, Turner (1994) believes that “Dylan was the first recording artist to

affect them primarily as lyricists”. Furthermore, he claims that Dylan’s lyrics, with their

narrative elements, especially excited John who had been writing short stories and poems

before (In His Own Write). Dylan’s influence on the Beatles’ songs can be observed based on

general similarities regarding Dylan’s language use, similar topics, introspective lyrics and

use of figurative language.

6.3.2.1. Similarities in Language Use The following section will investigate to what extent the Beatles used language that was

typical of Dylan’s song writing style.

Apart from Dylan’s musical influence on A Hard Day’s Night, his lyrical impact can also be

observed on the record. A phrase in the song “Can’t Buy Me Love”, which was mainly

written by Paul, suggests a possible influence. It appears as if the short phrase “my friend” in

the lines “I’ll buy you a diamond ring my friend” and “I’ll get you anything my friend” are

taken from Dylan’s famous song “Blowin’ In The Wind” on The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan

album. In Dylan’s song, the phrase can be found in the refrain “The answer, my friend, is

blowin’ in the wind/The answer is blowin’ in the wind,” and can additionally be heard in two

more songs on the album, namely, “Oxford Town” and “I Shall Be Free”.

6. The Impact of Bob Dylan on the Beatles

50

Everett (2001: 321) stresses the resemblance between the use of the phrase in “Can’t Buy Me

Love” and Dylan’s song as well and supports this assumption. Furthermore, he points out that

the phrase also occurs in Lennon’s “We Can Work It Out” (cf. ibid: 321). Through

investigating other Beatles’ lyrics, additional examples of the phrase “my friend” can be been

detected. “I’m A Loser,” “You’re Gonna Lose That Girl,” and “If I Needed Someone”, all

contain the same phrase. The songs can be found on Beatles For Sale, Help and Rubber Soul,

records which apparently were written under the strong influence of Dylan (cf. Kemper 2007:

210). The assumption of a potential influence in “Can’t Buy Me Love” can also be supported

by the fact that the song was written during the Beatles’ four week stay in Paris in January

1964, when they listened to The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan record extensively (see Subchapter

6.1.).

On the album Beatles for Sale, further indications of Dylan’s influence can be detected. The

song “Baby’s In Black” starts with the proclaiming word ‘Oh…’, which is a typical song

opening of British and American folk songs, and can also be found at the beginning of

Dylan’s songs “A Hard Rains’ A-Gonna Fall”, “When the Ship Comes In” and “Restless

Farewell“. Although Lennon might have been influenced by other folk singers, it is very

likely that Dylan was the source of inspiration in this song, since Lennon claimed he was in

his ‘Dylan period’ when he wrote, “I’m A Loser”, a song that is also included on Beatles for

Sale.

Another example of Dylan’s influence appears in the song “Norwegian Wood (This Bird has

Flown)”, featured on the Rubber Soul album. This is the Beatles’ first song in which the lyrics

seem to be more important than the music (cf. Kemper 2007: 211). Lennon wrote the song in

January 1965, during his vacation with his wife Cynthia and Brian Epstein in the Swiss Alps.

Everett (2001: 313) claims that the song’s “lyrics are a Dylanesque collection of oblique yet

evocative references to elements of an affair, reminiscent of Dylan’s ‘Spanish Harlem

Incident.’” Lennon said. “I was trying to write about an affair without letting me wife know”

(quoted in Everett 2001: 313). However, Dylan’s song seems more like a honest declaration

of love for a gypsy girl, so it is difficult to confirm Everett’s assumption regarding the

similarity of the lyrics. Nevertheless, Kemper (2007: 211) believes that there is a certain

resemblance between “Norwegian Wood” and Dylan’s lyrics in general, considering the

uncertainty and vicariousness of the song’s lyrics are in the vein of Dylan.

6. The Impact of Bob Dylan on the Beatles

51

Further evidence of Dylan’s influence appears to be on the level of structure. Like many of

Dylan’s songs, “Norwegian Wood” includes “only a verse-refrain section, without

independent chorus or bridge” (Everett 2001: 313). In addition, the song tells a story from the

beginning to the end and can be considered a narrative, which is another characteristic of

many Dylan songs. Decker (2009: 75) believes that some of the songs on Rubber Soul took

their “narrative cues” from folk singers such as Dylan. Songs such as “Drive My Car”, with

its naïve seduction scene reveals narrative elements. Not only songs from Rubber Soul, but

also songs from other albums, can be considered narratives. “A Day In A Life,” “Rocky

Racoon,” “She’s Leaving Home,” and “The Ballad Of John And Yoko” are all songs which

tell a story and might be influenced by Dylan’s narrative songs. Returning to “Norwegian

Wood”, the other members of The Beatles also believed that Dylan had affected Lennon when

he was composing the song. Lennon told the ex-Animals’ organist, Alan Price, that his fellow

band members had teased him for copying Dylan in the song. Dylan later composed a parody

of “Norwegian Wood” and named it “4th Time Around”. This caused Lennon to become

paranoid since he believed that Dylan’s song title might allude to other compositions by the

Beatles that revealed Dylan’s influence (cf. MacDonald 2007: 163-164).

The following song is not representative of Dylan’s typical language use, but nonetheless

presents a different form of impact on the Beatles’ lyrics. In the 1968 song, “Yer Blues”,

mainly written by Lennon, an intertextual reference to one of Dylan’s song can be observed.

The verse lines “I feel so suicidal/Just like Dylan's Mr. Jones” refer to Dylan’s protagonist in

the song “Ballad Of A Thin Man”. Furthermore, the lyrics in “Yer Blues” are fairly

introspective, which is characteristic of many Dylan songs. By mentioning Dylan in his song,

Lennon consciously reveals his influence, and it may even be a tribute to the musician.

6.3.2.2. Topics Dylan’s early years as a musician were characterized by the considerable number of protest

songs he composed. The Beatles’ early compositions, on the other hand, steered clear of

socio-critical and political topics. Over the course of the years, the Beatles developed as

songwriters and had the courage to address more serious topics as well. Although some of the

songs were written after Help and Rubber Soul, two albums the Beatles admitted had been

heavily influenced by Dylan, the topics they covered are reminiscent of Dylan’s early protest

songs. The song “Taxman”, written by George Harrison (with the help of John) for Revolver,

6. The Impact of Bob Dylan on the Beatles

52

the follow-up to Rubber Soul, dealt with a socio-critical topic. The song complains about the

horrendously high taxes13 people had to pay to the British government. George’s lyrics reflect

the actions of an exploitative governmental system when he sarcastically writes “If you drive

a car, I’ll tax the street/ If you try to sit, I’ll tax the seat,/ If you get too cold, I’ll tax the heat,/

If you take a walk, I’ll tax your feet” (cf. The Beatles and Davies 2014: 142–143) These

images are evocative of Dylan’s line in “Talking New York” which says “some people will

rob you with a fountain pen”. Both songs deal with a similar topic, and Dylan’s socio-critical

attitude in general might have inspired Harrison to write that song. This assumption is

encouraged by Spitz, who compared “Taxman” to Dylan’s topical songs in general when he

said “‘Taxman’ is as sly and critical as anything Dylan was writing” (Spitz 2000: 611).

Another song, which may have been influenced by Dylan in terms of topic, was “Blackbird”,

by Paul McCartney. Fontenot (online 1) claims that the song “has been often interpreted as a

metaphor for relations and the civil rights struggle then underway by African-Americans in

the US.” In addition, he says that McCartney kept silent regarding the song’s meaning, but

eventually suggested that the ‘civil rights struggle’ interpretation was right (cf. ibid, online).

During his relationship with Suze Rotolo, and after, Dylan was a dedicated member of the

civil rights movement (see Section 4.2.5.1.). Many of his songs, such as “The Death Of

Emmett Till”, “The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll” and “Oxford Town” dealt with topics

of racial injustice and could have served as an inspirational source for McCartney.

Furthermore, Dylan’s possible musical influence can be observed as well. Whitley (2000:

112) suggests that the song imitates “the folk sound that Bob Dylan and Joan Baez had

initially popularized in the 1960s”. However, the finger picking style of guitar playing on the

song was inspired by folk singer Donovan, who taught it to Lennon (Fontenot, online 1).

A further example regarding the politicization of the Beatles song content can be found in the

song “Revolution”, written by Lennon, which was the Beatles “first explicitly political song”

(Inglis 2009: 117). Inglis (ibid: 117) claims that the song reflects Lennon’s frustration

regarding the Beatles’ commercial obligation to have to go without overt political statements

in their songs. Furthermore, Inglis believes that Lennon was motivated to write the song as a

result of being envious of “Dylan’s ability to engage in meaningful and contemporary debates

in song” in addition to other factors, such as the emerging student protests in Europe. 13 Harrison had been angered when he found out how much money they were giving to the government (cf. The Beatles and Davies 2014: 142).

6. The Impact of Bob Dylan on the Beatles

53

Regarding the politicization of the song, Lennon said: “I wanted it out as a single: as a

statement of the Beatles position on Vietnam and the Beatles position to revolution. For years,

on the Beatles’ tours, Brian Epstein had stopped us from saying about anything about

Vietnam or the war” (Quoted in Inglis 2009: 117). Dylan’s objection to the Vietnam War can

be observed in his song “Masters of War” and might have influenced the song regarding the

topic of war in general. An explicit lyrical similarity between the two songs has not been

observed.

Although the following song by Lennon is not from his time with the Beatles, it serves as a

perfect example regarding Dylan’s influence on his lyrics. Lennon wrote “Working Class

Hero” in 1970, after the Beatles had split. The song tells the story of someone growing up in

the working class, and serves as a criticism regarding the distinction between the social

classes. A similar topic can be found in Dylan’s songs “North Country Blues” and “Ballad Of

Hollis Brown,” both of which address the difficult social conditions of members of the lower

classes. Dylan wanted to make people aware of the gap between the rich and the poor. (see

Section 4.2.6.2.). Furthermore, it appears as if the song also reveals a musical influence by

Dylan. It becomes visible in Lennon’s adoption of Dylan’s typical vocal style consisting of

his raw and gravelly voice combined with the sole acoustic guitar accompaniment. Ruhlmann

(online) believes that Lennon “set the song to the same folk-blues acoustic guitar pattern Bob

Dylan had used for his 1964 song ‘Ballad Of Hollis Brown,’ a song about rural poverty and

violence”. Regarding the content, he claims that although Lennon’s song “was concerned with

‘peasants’, not ‘farmers’ […] ‘Working Class Hero’ had an equally dire message”

(Ruhlmann, online). In terms of structure, the song is based on the strophic song form,

consisting of 5 verses, which was prevalent in Dylan’s early songs. Although a number of

instances revealing Dylan’s influence can be observed in “Working Class Hero”, Lennon

rejected the idea that the song alluded to Dylan’s style. In an interview with Rolling Stone, he

said: “Anybody that sings with a guitar and sings about something heavy would tend to sound

like this” (Loss 2016, online). Nonetheless, the similarity of “Working Class Hero” to

Dylan’s musical style is undeniable.

6.3.2.3. Introspective Lyrics Although it is hard to prove whether Dylan had an influence on the Beatles’ development of a

more personal song writing style, a number of authors believe that he was responsible for it.

6. The Impact of Bob Dylan on the Beatles

54

Davies (2014: 79) assumes that Dylan’s lyrics, “expressing his own emotions and thoughts”

inspired Lennon and McCartney to “put more of themselves into their lyrics”. Turner (1994:

65) also believes that Dylan particularly influenced John and was a source of inspiration

regarding “John’s journey towards candid self-revelation in his songwriting”. However,

Turner claims that Lennon’s development towards an introspective songwriting style, can also

be attributed to Kenneth Allsop, a writer for the Daily Mail. Allsop encouraged Lennon to

include autobiographical elements, based on personal experience, in his songs (cf. 1994: 65).

Nevertheless, the following section will present some songs in which the lyrics have

supposedly been influenced by the Beatles personal experiences.

Over the course of the years, Lennon’s lyrics became increasingly introspective, but this trend

can already be observed on the album A Hard Day’s Night. While the majority of songs on

the Beatles’ first two records were mainly written from an objective point of view (see

Subchapter 5.2.), several songs on A Hard Day’s Night display expressions of personal

feelings. Although, the song “If I Fell” might at first glance seem like all the other boy-girl

love songs the Beatles had written, the ballad is one of Lennon’s most genuine and insightful

songs. Lennon declared that the song is semi-autobiographical, which supports the

assumption that it is a personal song (cf. Turner 1994: 48). By analyzing the lyrics, it becomes

clear that the story is about an evolving affair between a man and a woman. The man declares

his feelings for the woman but is afraid she will reject him. He continues to think about the

consequences their affair would have on his current relationship, and comes to the conclusion

that he will not take part in the extramarital relationship. When Lennon wrote the song, it was

commonly known that he acted unfaithfully in his marriage to Cynthia (cf. ibid: 48). As

mentioned, Lennon acknowledged Dylan’s influence on their current work when the Beatles

were working on A Hard Day’s Night. The previous chapter observed the musical influence

of Dylan in one of the songs on the album; hence, it can be assumed that Dylan might have

had an influence on the Beatles’ lyrics back then as well.

Another song which allegedly deals with personal experience is “Help”. Turner (1994: 71)

explores the idea that John was “using the word ‘help’ to explore his own anxiety”. The song

was written by Lennon and McCartney. However, John was the one to claim it came from

personal experience: “I needed the help. […] The song was about me” (Lennon quoted in

Turner 1994: 74). According to Turner, John was dissatisfied with himself, as a result of his

excessive alcohol and drug consumption at that time (cf. ibid: 74). Looking at the lyrics, more

6. The Impact of Bob Dylan on the Beatles

55

specific evidence of Dylan’s possible influence can be observed. Stuessy and Lipscomb

(2006: 144) suggest that Dylan’s song “My Back Pages” served as the direct inspiration for

the song. They believe that Dylan’s lyrics, which speak “of the ’black-and-white’ false self-

assuredness of youth compared to the greater willingness to consider the ‘grey’ aspects of

issues that comes with maturity” are reflected in the first verse of “Help”:

When I was younger, so much younger than today, I never needed anybody’s help in any way. But now those day’s are gone, I’m not so self-assured, And now I find I’ve changed my mind, I’ve opened up the doors.

Stuessy and Lipscomb refer to the line in which Lennon claims that he is not so self-assured

anymore now that he has grown up. When he says that he has opened up the doors, he might

allude to the fact that not everything in life is either black as a grown-up, and that he is

considering a greater variety of aspects now.

6.3.2.4. Surreal Imagery As already mentioned (see Subchapter 5.2.), early Beatles lyrics were quite typical of most

pop and rock’n’roll songs, dealing with love, relationships and throwing in lots of ‘yeah,

yeah, yeahs’. However, during the year of 1965, the Beatles’ lyrics became noticeably more

reflective and thought-provoking. They started to use metaphors, imagery, and symbolism in

their songs. Much of the Beatles’ symbolism in their songs was fairly clear, while some was

rather obscure, and led to songs reminiscent of Dylan’s surrealistic songwriting style, as can

be seen in “Chimes Of Freedom” or “My Back Pages” (cf. Stuessy and Lipscomb 2006: 144).

It is assumed that the song “Nowhere Man” from Rubber Soul presents their first attempt at

surreal song lyrics. The following lines of the first verse serve as an example: “He's a real

nowhere man/ Sitting in his nowhere land/ Making all his nowhere plans for nobody.” One of

the most representative examples of the Beatles’ approach to surrealistic song writing can be

noticed in the song “I Am The Walrus”, which was written by John and released on the

feature film album Magical Mystery Tour in 1967. The song’s inspiration was taken from one

of John’s favorite authors, Lewis Carroll14 (cf. MacDonald 2007: 268). Carroll’s poem ‘The

Carpenter and the Walrus’, created for the novel Alice in Wonderland is reflected in the

14 Lewis Carroll (aka Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) is known for his two successful novels Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass, which are characterized by their obscure and surreal stories and characters.

6. The Impact of Bob Dylan on the Beatles

56

song’s title and obscure lyrics. Although, Carroll’s poem may have been John’s main source

of inspiration, the influence of Dylan’s surreal and obscure songwriting style appears to be

present as well. Regarding the lyrics of “I Am The Walrus”, Everett believes that “Lennon

strung his poetic images together as Bob Dylan did in 1965-66” (1999: 133). Lennon even

acknowledged that Dylan’s lyrics had an impact on the composition of the song:

In those days I was writing obscurely, à la Dylan, never saying what you meant, but giving the impression of something, where more or less can be read into it. […] There has been more said about Dylan’s wonderful lyrics than was ever in the lyrics at all. Mine Too. But it was the intellectuals who read all this into Dylan or The Beatles. Dylan got away with murder. I thought, ‘I can write that crap too.’ (Quoted in Craske et al. 2000: 273)

Furthermore, Everett (1999: 134) suggests that the Beatles’ song “resonates with the

characters and situations described in Dylan’s ‘Like A Rolling Stone,’ ‘Ballad Of A Thin

Man,’ and ‘Tombstone Blues,’ but perhaps most with ‘Desolation Row’”. He believes that

Lennon was stimulated by Dylan’s “incoherent manner” of narration in “Desolation Row”

when he wrote “I Am The Walrus”. The following verse lines will illustrate Dylan’s

incoherent style regarding the narrative:

Einstein disguised as Robin Hood, with his memories in a trunk Passed this was an hour ago with his friend, a jealous monk. Now he looked so immaculately frightful as he bummed a cigarette, And he went of sniffing drainpipes and reciting the alphabet. (Dylan 2006: 181)

A similar lack of coherence is also visible in Lennon’s song:

Sitting on a cornflake waiting for the van to come Corporation tee shirt, stupid bloody Tuesday Man you been a naughty boy. You let your face grow long I am the eggman, they are the eggmen I am the walrus, goo goo g' job

Although there is a certain resemblance between the two songs’ style of narration, it cannot be

said with certainty that Dylan served as a source of inspiration for this song. MacDonald

(2007: 265) suggests that the surrealist imagery of “I Am The Walrus” was largely influenced

by Lennon’s consumption of LSD at that time. The surreal imagery of the lyrics is also

reflected in the psychedelic sound of the song, such as the monotonous police siren. Further

6. The Impact of Bob Dylan on the Beatles

57

instances of surreal imagery can be detected in the songs “Strawberry Fields,” (“No one I

think is in my tree/I mean it must be high or low“), “Glass Onion,” (“Looking through the

bent backed tulips/To see how the other half live“) and “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”

(“Picture yourself in a boat on a river/With tangerine trees and marmalade skies”).

6.3.3. “I’m A Loser” The following song by the Beatles is one of two representative examples of Dylan’s

influence. They were selected based on comments by the Beatles themselves as well as

statements found in secondary literature, which explicitly mentioned the obvious influence of

the musician.

“I’m A Loser” is from the album Beatles for Sale. Like A Hard Day’s Night, the album is

particularly characterized by the use of acoustic guitars (ten out of fourteen songs), which

may already hint at Dylan’s influence, or at least the influence of folk music in general.

Furthermore, Lennon affirms that “I’m A Loser” is the “first fruit of his ‘Dylan period’”

(MacDonald 2007: 124). MacDonald (ibid: 124) asserts that the song was written over the

summer of 1964, when Lennon was listening to Dylan’s first two records. He claims that

Lennon incorporated the records’ tone, sound, and atmosphere, without paying specific

attention to the lyrics, into his song. At that time, Lennon was spending a considerable

amount of time with Eric Burdon from The Animals15 and Mick Jagger from the Rolling

Stones, who both were admirers of Dylan and helped shape his opinion of the musician (cf.

ibid : 124).

One discernable characteristic of the song that reminds the listener of Dylan’s style is

Lennon’s raw harmonica playing in the song. As in “I Should Have Known Better”, the

huffing harmonica, which can be heard in the two instrumental solos after the second and

third chorus,16 is reminiscent of Dylan’s way of playing that instrument. Kemper (cf. 2007:

210) claims that the melodic contour of the harmonica can definitely be traced back to Dylan.

MacDonald too (2007: 125) argues that Lennon’s “touch of rough harmonica” playing has to

be attributed to Dylan’s influence. Further instruments used in the song are an acoustic

rhythm guitar, lead guitar, bass, drums and tambourine. Considering the rich instrumentation

15 The Animals also covered two songs from Dylan’s debut album (cf. MacDonald 2007: 124). 16 „I’m A Loser“: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGHQFjlsvCk (min. 1:16, 2:10).

6. The Impact of Bob Dylan on the Beatles

58

of the song and comparing it to Dylan’s songs, which were only accompanied by his acoustic

guitar and harmonica, it is difficult to determine further similarities. However, MacDonald

(ibid: 125) believes that the “strummed acoustic guitar” is another indicator of the impact of

Dylan’s The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan album. Nevertheless, he argues that the song sounds

more country-and-western based, than coming from Dylan’s field of the folk tradition.

Regarding the vocals in “I’m A Loser”, subtle similarities can be distinguished between

Lennon’s pronunciation in the song and Dylan’s manner of articulation in general.

Particularly in the first two lines of the introductory verse, where it says “I’m a loser/I’m a

loser”, the listener gets the impression that Lennon wanted to imitate Dylan’s gravelly

voice.17 Listening to a number of Dylan songs, it becomes apparent that his expressive

pronunciation of the sound [aɪ] is very characteristic of his vocal style. The long-drawn-out

syllables can be detected in a number of Dylan’s songs, and this manner of pronunciation can

also be detected in the Beatles’ “I’m A Loser. The frequency with which “I” is repeated in the

lines emphasizes Lennon’s attempt to adapt Dylan’s vocal style.

With respect to song form, Lennon decided to use a verse-chorus pattern. Although the song

is inspired by Dylan’s musical style, Lennon chose to apply a rather pop-based form instead

of the AB form, which is more usual in traditional folk music (cf. Stevens et al. 2002: 73).

However, MacDonald (2007: 126) argues that the absence of a bridge is the Beatles “nod to

the plainer conventions of folk balladry”.

Based on the lyrics, a few other characteristics of Dylan’s influence can be detected. A

‘Dylanesque’ element of the song “I Should Have Known Better” can also be found in “I’m A

Loser”. The phrase “my friend”, which occurs in several early Dylan songs, was probably

deliberately used in this song as well. The phrase appears in line three of the first verse. The

argument for Dylan’s influence can be reinforced by another use of a specific word. The word

“clown” in the first line of the second verse can also be found in Dylan’s “A-Hard Rain’s A-

Gonna Fall”. In an interview John Lennon said: “’I’m A Loser’ is me in my Dylan period,

because the word ‘clown’ is in it. I objected to the word ‘clown’ because that was always

artsy-fartsy, but Dylan had used it so I thought is was all right, and it rhymed with whatever I

was doing” (Lennon quoted in Craske et al. 2000: 160).

17„I’m A Loser“: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGHQFjlsvCk (min 0:02).

6. The Impact of Bob Dylan on the Beatles

59

On the surface, the lyrics of “I’m A Loser” seem to be characteristic of the typical love song

genre of the Beatles. However, by investigating the song in more detail, it becomes apparent

that the lyrics are a little bit more profound and may indicate the influence of Dylan’s

personal songwriting style. In general, it cannot be assumed that speaker and author share the

same point of view. However, Lennon’s future work on subsequent albums gives reason to

believe that he wrote this song from a personal angle. Turner (1994: 60) as well, considers the

song as a preview of Lennon’s “confessional style of songwriting”. This notion is already

reflected at the beginning of the song in the introductory verse, in which the speaker admits to

being a loser and an imposter. These bleak lyrics are also part of the chorus and appear four

times in total. In the first verse, the speaker describes his unsuccessful attempt to get the girl,

declaring that he lost and she won the game of love. The last line “I should have known she

would win in the end” starts the first chorus, by contrasting the two lyrical notions of a winner

and a loser (cf. Stevens et al. 2002: 74).

More personal details about the speaker can be observed in the second verse. He continues by

declaring that he is pretending to be someone he is not. The lines “Although I laugh and I act

like a clown/Beneath this mask I am wearing a frown” may hint at the Beatles’ difficult lives

as pop stars constantly exposed to the public. In contrast to these rather somber lyrics, the

Beatles decided to play a rather upbeat melody, which enhances the lyrical notion of hiding

his face behind a mask. Furthermore, Beatlemania was at its peak at this time and seems to

have left its mark on the Beatles, which Lennon was probably processing in this rather

introspective tune (cf. Turner 1994: 60).

The song’s third verse provides a moral, “a great fall is always preceded by prideful action”

before it leads to the last chorus (Stevens et al. 2002: 74). Although, Lennon would write even

more profound and personal songs in the future, “I’m A Loser” is definitely a successful first

attempt at incorporating a Dylan-inspired writing style. On the whole, the song seems to have

been faintly influenced by Dylan, but still remains a distinctive Beatles song.

6.3.4. “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away” The second song, which bears Dylan’s obvious mark, is “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love

Away” from the soundtrack album Help. Similar to its predecessor Beatles For Sale and A

Hard Day’s Night, the album is shaped by its use of acoustic guitars in the instrumental

6. The Impact of Bob Dylan on the Beatles

60

arrangement (ten out of fourteen songs) (cf. MacDonald 2007:). As a matter of fact, “You’ve

Got To Hide Your Love Away” was the Beatles first all-acoustic number, featuring two

acoustic rhythm guitars, an acoustic lead guitar and several other non-electronic instruments,

such as the tambourine (cf. MacDonald 2007: 148). Therefore, it seems natural to assume that

the song was inspired by Dylan, or at least by the folk song tradition. Kemper (cf. 2007: 210)

even claims that “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away” can be understood as a

straightforward homage to Dylan. Davies (2014: 96) agrees with this view by suggesting that

the song is having “more than a touch of Dylan […] [with its] acoustic guitar and folksy

beat”. The track was recorded in February 1965, after the Beatles had met Dylan for the first

time (cf. MacDonald 2007: 148). Lennon remembered having composed the song in his home

in Kenwood when he was in his ‘Dylan phase’ (cf. Everett 2001: 288).

As mentioned above, the song’s use of acoustic instruments is its main Dylan characteristic.

Especially the first verse,18 which features only guitar playing, instrumentally reflects Dylan’s

style. In the second verse, a tambourine is added to the arrangement, which is probably more

typical of the folk music of the sixties in general than of Dylan, but gives the tune the ‘folksy

beat’, which Davies mentioned. Further acoustic instruments used in “You’ve Got To Hide

Your Love Away” are two flutes, which appear in the flute solo at the end of the song and

were played by flautist Johnnie Scott (cf. Everett 2001: 288). In a Dylan number, the

instrumental solo would probably be played by a harmonica instead of flutes; however,

Schaffner (cf. 1977: 47) claims that the flutes can be seen as a less scratchy replacement for

Dylan’s harmonica. The softer sound of the flutes probably suited the Beatles pop music

better than a harmonica. Nevertheless, Lennon managed to create a ‘Dylanesque’ song, by

including other elements that were typical of Dylan’s style. Like in “I’m A Loser”, Lennon

adopts a vocal style reminiscent of Dylan in “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away”.

Lennon admitted that he wanted to imitate Dylan’s way of singing when they recorded the

song, and it shows in his greatly expressive manner of articulation (cf. Everett 2001: 288).

Particularly the phrase “Hey, you’ve got to…”19 which is the hook line of the song, reflects

Dylan’s vocal style, since Lennon obviously attempted to adopt Dylan’s gravelly voice here.

Lennon’s touch of rough voice can also be observed at the end of the first verse when he sings

“two-foot small” and in the way he pronounces the word “clowns” in the fourth verse.

Furthermore, Rybaczewski (online) claims that the Beatles’ used single-tracked vocals as 18 “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away”: https://vimeo.com/136358537 (min. 0:31). 19 “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away”: https://vimeo.com/136358537 (min. 0:49).

6. The Impact of Bob Dylan on the Beatles

61

opposed to the commonly used double-tracked vocals. Single-tracked vocals were usually

preferred for recording singer-songwriters, like Dylan.

In terms of the song structure, there are various opinions regarding the song form of “You’ve

Got To Hide Your Love Away”. According to Aldrige (2005: 382–383) the song is based on a

verse-chorus format. Stevens et al. on the other hand, argue that the song is based on a verse-

refrain form, which is typical of folk song writing (cf. 2002: 113, 117). Usually, a refrain

appears in each verse of a song (see Terminology). In this case it can only be found at the end

of the second and fourth verse, hence it can be considered a variation of the typical verse-

refrain structure. If Stevens’ assumption in terms of the song form is correct, a further

argument regarding Dylan’s influence on “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away” can be

brought forward.

Further evidence of Dylan’s influence on the Beatles can be observed in the lyrics of “You’ve

Got To Hide Your Love Away”. Like in “I’m A Loser” Lennon uses the word “clowns”,

which can be found in the fourth verse. As already mentioned, Lennon had always refused to

use this word in his songs, but when Dylan included it in his song “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna

Fall” he probably decided to incorporate it in his songs as well. This time, the whole line

“Gather around, all you clowns” seems to be influenced by Dylan. The phrase ‘gather round’

was commonly used at the beginning of street ballads and songs as a form of address and is a

stylistic device of traditional folk songs and broadsides. Dylan also used it in some of his

songs such as “Times They Are A-Changin’” and “North Country Blues” (see Section

4.2.6.2.). Another traditional song opening with respect to the folk song tradition can be

detected in the Beatles’ song “Baby’s In Black”, which commences with the exclaiming word

‘Oh, ..’, a typical introduction to folk songs (see Section 4.2.6.2.).

Furthermore, the phrase “head in hand” in the initial line of “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love

Away” is presumably further evidence of Dylan’s influence. The line “Well, I'm a-walkin'

down the road/With my head in my hand“ (Dylan 2006: 67) appears in “Honey Just Allow

Me One More Chance” on the The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan album and probably inspired

Lennon to use it too. This argument can be supported by Everett (cf. 2001: 288) who believes

that the phrase in “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away” bears an obvious resemblance to

the one in Dylan’s song. In addition, Fontenot (online 2) claims that another song by Dylan

can be quoted as a “direct lyrical inspiration” as well. Dylan’s song “I Don’t Believe You

6. The Impact of Bob Dylan on the Beatles

62

(She Acts Like We Never Have Met)” commences with the lines “I can't understand/She let

go of my hand/An' left me here facing the wall” and is quite similar to the first half of

Lennon’s introductory verse “Here I stand head in hand/Turn my face to the wall“. Moreover,

it seems as if the first to lines of “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away” are a hybrid of the

two songs by Dylan.

In addition, Dylan’s influence can also be noted in Lennon’s application of Dylan’s personal

songwriting style. Although it is hard to determine if Dylan is responsible for the increase of

personal song content in Lennon’s lyrics, he claimed that it was Dylan’s music that helped

him realize that he should write more personal songs. Lennon claims that he started writing

more introspective songs around the time he wrote “I’m A Loser” and “You’ve Got To Hide

Your Love Away” (see quote on page 46). Friedlander and Miller (2006: 86) assert that the

album Help is characterized by “nuances of introspection and vulnerability”, which can also

be distinguished in “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away”. The lyrics in general seem to be

more meaningful than the Beatles’ previous work and it can be assumed that Lennon wrote

the song from a personal angle. The lines of the first verse reveal the vulnerability of the

speaker, who seems to be sad about the love he has lost. The introspective aspect can be

observed in the lines “Here I stand head in hand/Turn my face to the wall.” The reader can

visualize the speaker, actually holding his head in his hands, thinking about his actions.

Maybe he even feels ashamed because he is facing the wall and does not want to be seen. This

notion continues in the second verse, in which Lennon writes “Everywhere people stare/Each

and every day/I can see them laugh at me/And I hear them say”. The chorus/refrain20, which

also carries the title of the song, conveys the message of hiding your true feelings from the

world. This line left room for various interpretations of the song: some have claimed that the

song is not about a lost love, but rather about Brian Epstein, who was homosexual. At that

time, homosexual relationships were prohibited by law in Britain and people assumed that

John wanted to give Brian a warning by directing this song at him (cf. The Beatles and Davies

2014: 96). In general, the song’s rather sad lyrics are reflected in the slow tempo and

melancholic melody of the song, an exception being the chorus/refrain which sounds more

optimistic. To sum up, the song reflects literary as well as musical elements exemplary of

Dylan’s style and serves as a prime example of his influence on the Beatles’ work.

20 There are varying opinions regarding the song form of “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away”.

7. Conclusion

63

7. Conclusion In the early years of their career, the Beatles were fairly open to new influences and

inspirations and used these for their own music. They listened to other bands and artists, and

often incorporated their vocal techniques and musical styles into their own work. This was

also the case with Bob Dylan. Based on the results of the analytical part of this thesis, as well

as on information gathered from secondary literature and interviews with the Beatles, it is

possible to conclude that Dylan served as an inspirational source on a number of levels,

although it is fairly difficult to determine the degree of his influence with certainty.

It was also of interest to this study to determine at what time the potential influence of Dylan

could have started. According to interviews with the Beatles, the band came into contact with

his music around January, 1963, when the Beatles were staying in Paris for a few weeks. Paul,

who had previously encountered Dylan’s music, allegedly introduced the other Beatles to his

The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan album, and from that moment on the Beatles were exposed to

Dylan’s influence. The Beatles’ albums Beatles For Sale, Help and Rubber Soul, which were

released subsequent to their first encounter with Dylan, reveal noticeable development with

regard to their musical style. Although most of the Beatles’ songs are credited joint

Lennon/McCartney compositions, this analysis has revealed that Lennon’s song writing was

influenced considerably more in comparison to the other Beatles. One of the reasons for this

could be Lennon and Dylan’s mutually shared passion for poetry. According to Everett

“Lennon credits Dylan directly with raising the value of his lyrics” (1999: 307).

In terms of music, Dylan’s potential influence reveals itself in the Beatles’ increased use of

acoustic guitars, although the British folk revival of the 1960s might have been an

inspirational source as well. However, the inclusion of a harmonica in the songs “I Should

Have Known Better” and “I’m A Loser” are quite easily ascribed to Dylan’s influence. The

huffing and puffing manner in which Lennon played the harmonica was a typical feature of

Dylan’s early musical style. Not only Dylan’s harmonica style, but also his distinctive rough

vocalization can be observed in two Beatle songs. In “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away”

and “I’m A Loser” Lennon’s singing is highly expressive and reminiscent of Dylan’s gravelly

voice.

7. Conclusion

64

Dylan’s literary influence on the Beatles’ work has been observed on a number of levels. First

and foremost, the Beatles development towards more meaningful and introspective lyrics can,

among other factors, be ascribed to Dylan. Although Lennon’s literary talent had already been

proven in his books A Spaniard In The Works and In His Own Write, Lennon claimed that

Dylan’s music inspired him to place special emphasis on song lyrics, directing him towards a

fairly self-revelatory song writing style. Furthermore, Dylan’s potential influence is revealed

through the use of language characteristic of Dylan. Although the similarities are limited to

the utilization of a few specific words, such as “clowns”, or verse lines in “You’ve Got To

Hide Your Love Away” that show a resemblance to lyrics in Dylan songs, it appears to be as

a result of his influence. The increased number of songs with a narrative, particularly on

Rubber Soul and subsequent albums, can probably also be attributed to the impact of Dylan’s

music. However, the use of shortened verb forms, an exemplary feature of Dylan’s song style,

has not been detected in any of the Beatles’ compositions.

Another aspect of Dylan’s potential influence becomes apparent in the Beatles’ use of surreal

imagery in songs. Dylan’s way of using incoherent narration in songs such as in “Desolation

Row,” can, for instance be traced in “I Am The Walrus”. However, Lennon’s admiration for

Lewis Carroll and his increasing consumption of LSD at that time also appear to have

influenced him with regard to his composition of songs featuring surreal imagery. Another

aspect of Dylan’s literary influence has been observed on the level of topic selection. One of

Dylan’s most characteristic features regarding his early musical career was his songwriting

approach to socio-critical topics. From 1961 to 1964, Dylan wrote a considerable amount of

protest songs, addressing subjects such as racial discrimination, social injustice, and war. The

Beatles’ songs always avoided overt political statements in their songs, but, over the course of

the years, these topics found their way into the Beatles’ lyrics as well. Songs, such as

“Blackbird,” “Taxman,” or Lennon’s 1970 “Working Class Hero” address issues typical of

protest songs and might be inspired by Dylan, who was one of the leading protest singers of

that time.

With respect to song from, no notable similarities between Dylan and the Beatles have been

observed. The strophic song form, which is usually comprised of several verse stanzas and

was the prevalent song form of Dylan’s early compositions, has not been found in any of the

Beatles songs. However, “Norwegian Wood,” and “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away,”

are variations on the strophic form and reveal Dylan’s influence on other levels as well.

7. Conclusion

65

In terms of academic research, this investigation of the Beatles’ work with regard to Dylan’s

influence revealed further possible aspects that might be worth examining. Considering the

fact that there was probably no other band which had as big an impact on the development of

popular music as the Beatles, the question arises of to what extent the Beatles influenced

Dylan over the course of the years. This thesis revealed that the Beatles’ rock’n’roll inspired

music caused Dylan to become increasingly unsatisfied with his own sound, and that they

were probably the very reason he decided to go electric. Thus, an investigation of Dylan’s

work with respect to the influence of the Beatles would be highly interesting. The more

detailed examination of the Beatles’ solo work with regard to Dylan’s influence also presents

a worthwhile task. Although the analytical part of this thesis has revealed a number of signs

supporting the impact of Dylan on the Beatles’ work, it can never be proven with certainty to

what extent he really affected their work.

8. Bibliography

66

8. Bibliography Primary Literature

Printed Literature

Dylan, Bob. (2006). Lyrics, 1962-2001. New York: Simon & Schuster.

The Beatles Complete: Piano Edition. London: Wise.

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Hentoff, Nat (1966). “Playboy Interview: Bob Dylan.“ [Online].

http://www.interferenza.com/bcs/interw/66-jan.htm [2016, Feb. 16]. Guthrie, Woody (n.d.). “Hard Travelin.” [Online 3]. http://www.guitaretab.com/w/woody-

guthrie/99566.html [2016, April 5]. Guthrie, Woody (n.d.). “Pretty Boy Floyd.” [Online 1].

http://woodyguthrie.org/Lyrics/Pretty_Boy_Floyd.htm [2016, April 4]. Guthrie, Woody (n.d.). “Oregon Trail.” [Online 2]. http://woodyguthrie.org/Lyrics/Oregon_Trail.htm [2016, April 4]. Hill, Joe (n.d.). “We Will Sing One Song.” [Online]. Musicanet.

http://www.musicanet.org/robokopp/usa/wewillsi.htm [2016, April 4]. Hill, Joe (n.d.). “Workers Of The World Awaken.” [Online]. Musicanet.

http://www.musicanet.org/robokopp/usa/workerso.htm [2016, April 4]. Secondary Literature

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Aldridge, Alan (2005). The Beatles Songbook; Das Farbige Textbuch der Beatles. 22. Aufl.

München: Dt. Taschenbuch Verlag. Batchelor, Bob (2014). Bob Dylan: A Biography. Santa Barbara, Calif. et.al: Greenwood. Belz, Carl (1982). The Story of Rock. 2nd ed. New York: Harper Colophon Books.

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Bogdanov, Vladimir ed. (2006). All Music Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop and Soul. 3rd ed. San Francisco, Calif.: Blackbeat Books.

Blume, Jason (2004). 6 Steps to Songwriting Success: The Comprehensive Guide to Writing

and Marketing Hit Songs. New York: Billboard Books. Bold, Alan (1979). The Ballad. London: Methuen. Braheny, John (2006). The Craft and Business of Songwriting: A Practical Guide to Creating

and Marketing Artistically and Commercially Successful Songs. Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer’s Digest Books.

Butler, Martin (2007). Voices of the Down and Out: The Dust Bowl Migration and the Great

Depression in the Songs of Woody Guthrie. Heidelberg: Winter. Collison, Robert Lewis (1973). The Story of Street Literature: Forerunner of the Popular

Press. London: Dent. Craske, Oliver, Roman Milisic, Julian Quance and Brian Rolance eds. (2000). The Beatles

Anthology. London: Cassell & Co. Decker, James M. (2009). "'Try Thinking More': Rubber Soul and The Beatles'

Transformation of Pop." In: Kenneth Womack ed. The Cambridge Companion to the Beatles. Cambridge: CUP. 75-89.

Ettl, Daniela (2010). "All You Need is Words: An Analysis of the Beatles Hits Against the

j4Background of Commercial Songwriting." Dipl. U of Graz. Everett, Walter (1999). The Beatles as Musicians: Revolver Through the Anthology. New

York: OUP. Everett, Walter (2001). The Beatles as Musicians: The Quarry Men Through Rubber Soul.

New York: OUP. Fornatale, Pete (1987). The Story of Rock “n” Roll. New York: Morrow. Friedlander, Paul, and Peter Miller (2006). Rock & Roll: A Social History. 2nd ed. Boulder,

Colo.: Westview Press. Heylin, Clinton (2003). Bob Dylan: Behind the Shades Revisited: The Biography. New York:

Harper Entertainment. Hitchcock, Hugh Wiley (1974). Music in the United States: A Historical Introduction. 2nd ed.

Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

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Hodgart, Matthew ed. (1965). The Faber Book of Ballads. London: Faber & Faber. Inglis, Ian (2009). "Revolution." In: Kenneth Womack ed. The Cambridge Companion to the

Beatles. Cambridge: CUP. 112-124. Ingham, Chris (2009). The Rough Guide to the Beatles. 3rd ed. London: Rough Guides. Josefs, Jai (1996). Writing Music for Hit Songs. New York: Schirmer. Kemper, Peter (2007). "'I Don't Believe in Zimmermann' - John Lennon und Bob Dylan: Ein

Lehrstück der Ambivalenz." In: Axel Honneth et al. eds. Bob Dylan: ein Kongreß. Ergebnisse des Internationalen Bob-Dylan-Kongresses 2006 in Frankfurt am Main. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.

Kemper, Peter (2007a). The Beatles. Stuttgart: Reclam. Laing, David (2009). "Six Boys, Six Beatles: The Formative Years, 1950-1962." In: Kenneth

Womack ed. The Cambridge Companion to the Beatles. Cambridge: CUP. 9-32. Laws, G. Malcom Jr. (1968). "Stories Told in Song: The Ballads of America." In: American

Folklore: Américán Fôlklöré. Tristram Coffin ed. Washington, DC.: Voice of America. 93-118.

Lomax, John and Alan Lomax (1994). American Ballads and Folk Songs. New York: Dover

Publications. MacDonald, Ian (2007). Revolution in the Head the Beatles’ Records and the Sixties.

Chicago, Ill: Chicago Review Press. Margotin, Philippe, and Jean-Michel Guesdon (2015). Bob Dylan: All the Songs: The Story

Behind Every Track. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. Moist, Kevin. (2007). "Collecting, Collage, and Alchemy: The Harry Smith Anthology of

American Folk Music as Art and Culture Intervention." In: David R. Katzman et al. eds. American Studies. Vol 48. No 4: Winter 2007. Lawrence: University of Kansas. 111-127.

Perricone, Jack (2000). Melody in Songwriting: Tools and Techniques for Writing Hit Songs.

Boston, MA: Berklee Press. Santelli, Robert, and Woody Guthrie (2012). This Land is Your Land: Woody Guthrie and the

Journey of an American Folk Song. Philadelphia: Running Press. Schaffner, Nicholas (1977). The Beatles Forever. Harrisburg, Pa.: Stackpole Co.

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Schmidt, Mathias R. (1982). Bob Dylans “Message Songs” der Sechziger Jahre und die Anglo-amerikanische Tradition des Sozialkritischen Liedes. Frankfurt am Main: P. Lang.

Smith, Larry David (2005). Writing Dylan: The Songs of a Lonesome Traveler. Westport, CT:

Praeger. Stevens, John Luke, John Lennon, and Lindsay Susan Gedutis (2002). The Songs of John

Lennon: The Beatles Years. Boston, MA: Berklee Press. Stuessy, Joe and Scott David Lipscomb (2006). Rock and Roll: Its History and Stylistic

Development. 5th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson Prentice Hall. Szatmary, David P. (2007). Rockin’ in Time: A Social History of Rock-and Roll. Upper Saddle

River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall. The Beatles, and Hunter Davies ed. (2014). The Beatles Lyrics. London: Orion. Turner, Steve (1994). A Hard Day’s Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles’ Song. 2nd ed.

Zürich: Olms. Urban, Peter (1979). Rollende Worte, die Poesie des Rock: Von der Straßenballade zum Pop-

Song; Eine wissenschaftliche Analyse der Pop-Song-Texte. Frankfurt am Main: Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verl.

Whitley, Ed (2000). "The Postmodern White Album." In: Ian Inglis ed. The Beatles, Popular

Music and Society: A Thousand Voices. Basingstoke: Macmillan. 105-125. Williamson, Nigel (2006). The Rough Guide to Bob Dylan. London: Rough Guides. Würzbach, Natascha (1990). The Rise of the English Street Ballad, 1550 - 1650: Translated

from the German. Cambridge et al.: CUP. Zimmermann, Georges Denis (1967). Songs of Irish Rebellion: Political Street Ballads and

Rebel Songs 1780 - 1900. Dublin: Figgis. Online Fontenot, Robert (n.d.). “The Beatles Songs: ‚Blackbird’ The History of this Classic Beatles

Song.” [Online 1]. About.com: Oldies Music. http://oldies.about.com/od/thebeatles/a/The-Beatles-Songs-Blackbird.htm. [2016, Apr. 25]

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Fontenot, Robert (n.d.). “The Beatles Songs: ‚You've Got To Hide Your Love Away’: The History of this Classic Beatles Song." [Online 2]. About.com: Oldies Music. http://oldies.about.com/od/thebeatlessongs/a/hideyourloveaway.htm. [2016, Apr. 25].

Loss, Robert (2016). “John Lennon's 'Working Class Hero': Boundaries, Mobility and

Honesty." [Online]. http://www.popmatters.com/column/john-lennons-working-class-hero-boundaries-mobility-and-honesty/. [2016, Apr. 24].

Monroe, Jazz (2016). “Bob Dylan Announces New Album Tour.” [Online].

http://pitchfork.com/news/63980-bob-dylan-announces-new-album-and-tour/. [2016, Apr. 10].

Pollack, Alan W. (1994). “Notes on ‘Yellow Submarine’." [Online].

http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DATABASES/AWP/ys.shtml. [2016, Apr. 23]. Ruhlmann, William (n.d.). “Working Class Hero Song Review." [Online].

http://www.allmusic.com/song/working-class-hero-mt0011328532. [2016, Apr. 29] Rybaczewski, Dave (n.d.). “’You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away’ History." [Online].

http://www.beatlesebooks.com/hide-your-love-away. [2016, Apr. 26]. Youtube and Vimeo Videos „I’m A Loser“: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGHQFjlsvCk [2016, Apr. 22]. “I Should Have Known Better”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8hFLhx-qb4 [2016,

Apr. 23]. “Rainy Day Women Nos.12 and 35”: https://vimeo.com/37683622 [2016, Apr. 27]. “Subterranean Homesick Blues”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGxjIBEZvx0 [2016, Apr. 26]. “Ticket To Ride”: https://vimeo.com/69813066 [2016, Apr. 26]. “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away” https://vimeo.com/136358537 [2016, Apr. 22]. “Yellow Submarine”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krIus0i9xn8 [2016, Apr. 27].

9. Appendix: Lyrics

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9. Appendix: Lyrics Source: The Beatles Complete: Piano Edition. London: Wise.

The sequence of songs is according to their release dates.

Can’t Buy Me Love

Can't buy me love, love Can't buy me love I'll buy you a diamond ring my friend if it makes you feel alright I'll get you anything my friend if it makes you feel alright Cos I don't care too much for money, and money can't buy me love I'll give you all I got to give if you say you'll love me too I may not have a lot to give but what I got I'll give to you I don't care too much for money, money can't buy me love Can't buy me love, everybody tells me so Can't buy me love, no no no, no Say you don't need no diamond ring and I'll be satisfied Tell me that you want the kind of thing that money just can't buy I don't care too much for money, money can't buy me love Ohhh Can't buy me love, everybody tells me so Can't buy me love, no no no, no Say you don't need no diamond ring and I'll be satisfied Tell me that you want the kind of thing that money just can't buy I don't care too much for money, money can't buy me love Can't buy me love, love Can't buy me love

If I Fell

If I fell in love with you Would you promise to be true And help me understand Cos I've been in love before And I found that love was more Than just holding hands

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If I give my heart to you I must be sure From the very start That you would love me more than her If I trust in you oh please Don't run and hide If I love you too oh please Don't hurt my pride like her Cos I couldn't stand the pain And I would be sad if our new love was in vain So I hope you see that I Would love to love you And that she will cry When she learns we are two Cos I couldn't stand the pain And I would be sad if our new love was in vain So I hope you see that I Would love to love you And that she will cry When she learns we are two If I fell in love with you

Baby’s In Black

Oh dear, what can I do? Baby's in black and I'm feeling blue Tell me, oh what can I do? She thinks of him and so she dresses in black And though he'll never come back, she's dressed in black Oh dear, what can I do? Baby's in black and I'm feeling blue Tell me, oh what can I do? I think of her, but she thinks only of him And though it's only a whim, she thinks of him Oh how long will it take Till she sees the mistake she has made? Dear what can I do? Baby's in black and I'm feeling blue Tell me, oh what can I do? Oh how long it will take Till she sees the mistake she has made? Dear what can I do?

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Baby's in black and I'm feeling blue Tell me, oh what can I do? She thinks of him and so she dresses in black And though he'll never come back, she's dressed in black Oh dear, what can I do? Baby's in black and I'm feeling blue Tell me, oh what can I do?

I’m A Loser

I'm a loser I'm a loser And I'm not what I appear to be Of all the love I have won or have lost There is one love I should never have crossed She was a girl in a million, my friend I should have known she would win in the end I'm a loser And I lost someone who's near to me I'm a loser And I'm not what I appear to be Although I laugh and I act like a clown Beneath this mask I am wearing a frown My tears are falling like rain from the sky Is it for her or myself that I cry I'm a loser And I lost someone who's near to me I'm a loser And I'm not what I appear to be What have I done to deserve such a fate I realize I have left it too late And so it's true, pride comes before a fall I'm telling you so that you won't lose all I'm a loser And I lost someone who's near to me I'm a loser And I'm not what I appear to be

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Help

Help, I need somebody Help, not just anybody Help, you know I need someone, help When I was younger, so much younger than today I never needed anybody's help in any way But now these days are gone, I'm not so self assured Now I find I've changed my mind and opened up the doors Help me if you can, I'm feeling down And I do appreciate you being round Help me, get my feet back on the ground Won't you please, please help me And now my life has changed in oh so many ways My independence seems to vanish in the haze But every now and then I feel so insecure I know that I just need you like I've never done before Help me if you can, I'm feeling down And I do appreciate you being round Help me, get my feet back on the ground Won't you please, please help me When I was younger, so much younger than today I never needed anybody's help in any way But now these days are gone, I'm not so self assured Now I find I've changed my mind and opened up the doors Help me if you can, I'm feeling down And I do appreciate you being round Help me, get my feet back on the ground Won't you please, please help me, help me, help me, oh

You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away

Here I stand head in hand Turn my face to the wall If she's gone I can't go on Feeling two-foot small Everywhere people stare Each and every day I can see them laugh at me And I hear them say

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Hey you've got to hide your love away Hey you've got to hide your love away How can I even try I can never win Hearing them, seeing them In the state I'm in How could she say to me Love will find a way Gather round all you clowns Let me hear you say Hey you've got to hide your love away Hey you've got to hide your love away

You’re Going To Loose That Girl

You're going to lose that girl You're going to lose that girl If you don't take her out tonight She's going to change her mind And I will take her out tonight And I will treat her kind You're going to lose that girl You're going to lose that girl If you don't treat her right, my friend You're going to find her gone Cos I will treat her right, and then You'll be the lonely one You're going to lose that girl You're going to lose that girl I'll make a point Of taking her away from you, yeah The way you treat her what else can I do? You're going to lose that girl You're going to lose that girl I'll make a point Of taking her away from you, yeah The way you treat her what else can I do? If you don't take her out tonight She's going to change her mind And I will take her out tonight And I will treat her kind

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You're going to lose that girl You're going to lose that girl You're going to lose that girl

Ticket To Ride

I think I'm gonna be sad I think it's today, yeah The girl that's driving me mad Is going away She's got a ticket to ride She's got a ticket to ride She's got a ticket to ride But she don't care She said that living with me Is bringing her down, yeah For she would never be free When I was around She's got a ticket to ride She's got a ticket to ride She's got a ticket to ride But she don't care I don't know why she's riding so high She ought to think twice She ought to do right by me Before she gets to saying goodbye She ought to think twice She ought to do right by me I think I'm gonna be sad I think it's today, yeah The girl that's driving me mad Is going away, yeah Oh, she's got a ticket to ride She's got a ticket to ride She's got a ticket to ride But she don't care I don't know why she's riding so high She ought to think twice She ought to do right by me Before she gets to saying goodbye She ought to think twice

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She ought to do right by me She said that living with me Is bringing her down, yeah For she would never be free When I was around Ah, she's got a ticket to ride She's got a ticket to ride She's got a ticket to ride But she don't care My baby don't care, my baby don't care My baby don't care, my baby don't care My baby don't care, my baby don't care

Norwegian Wood (The Bird Has Flown)

I once had a girl, or should I say, she once had me She showed me her room, isn't it good, norwegian wood? She asked me to stay and she told me to sit anywhere So I looked around and I noticed there wasn't a chair I sat on the rug, biding my time, drinking her wine We talked until two and then she said, "It's time for bed" She told me she worked in the morning and started to laugh I told her I didn't and crawled off to sleep in the bath And when I awoke I was alone, this bird had flown So I lit a fire, isn't it good, norwegian wood?

If I Needed Someone

If I needed someone to love You're the one that I'd be thinking of If I needed someone If I had some more time to spend Then I guess I'd be with you my friend If I needed someone Had you come some other day Then it might not have been like this But you see now I'm too much in love

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Carve your number on my wall And maybe you will get a call from me If I needed someone Ah, ah, ah, ah If I had some more time to spend Then I guess I'd be with you my friend If I needed someone Had you come some other day Then it might not have been like this But you see now I'm too much in love Carve your number on my wall And maybe you will get a call from me If I needed someone Ah, ah

Taxman

One, two, three, four (for you, nineteen for me) One, two (one, two, three, four) Let me tell you how it will be There's one for you, nineteen for me 'Cos I'm the taxman Yeah, I'm the taxman Should five per cent appear too small Be thankful I don't take it all 'Cos I'm the taxman Yeah, I'm the taxman (If you drive a car—car) I'll tax the street (If you try to sit—sit) I'll tax your seat (If you get too cold—cold) I'll tax the heat (If you take a walk—walk) I'll tax your feet Taxman 'Cos I'm the taxman Yeah, I'm the taxman Don't ask me what I want it for

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(Ha, ha, Mr. Wilson) If you don't want to pay some more (Ha, ha, Mr. Heath) 'Cos I'm the taxman Yeah, I'm the taxman Now my advice for those who die (Taxman) Declare the pennies on your eyes (Taxman) 'Cos I'm the taxman Yeah, I'm the taxman And you're working for no one but me (Taxman)

Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

Picture yourself in a boat on a river With tangerine trees and marmalade skies Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly A girl with kaleidoscope eyes Cellophane flowers of yellow and green Towering over your head Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes And she's gone Lucy in the sky with diamonds Lucy in the sky with diamonds Lucy in the sky with diamonds Aaaaahhhhh... Follow her down to a bridge by a fountain Where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers That grow so incredibly high Newspaper taxis appear on the shore Waiting to take you away Climb in the back with your head in the clouds And you're gone Lucy in the sky with diamonds Lucy in the sky with diamonds Lucy in the sky with diamonds Aaaaahhhhh... Picture yourself on a train in a station With Plasticine porters with looking-glass ties

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Suddenly someone is there at the turnstile The girl with kaleidoscope eyes Lucy in the sky with diamonds Lucy in the sky with diamonds Lucy in the sky with diamonds Aaaaahhhhh... Lucy in the sky with diamonds Lucy in the sky with diamonds Lucy in the sky with diamonds Aaaaahhhhh... Lucy in the sky with diamonds Lucy in the sky with diamonds Lucy in the sky with diamonds

I Am The Walrus

I am he as you are he as you are me And we are all together See how they run like pigs from a gun see how they fly I'm crying Sitting on a cornflake waiting for the van to come Corporation tee shirt, stupid bloody Tuesday Man you been a naughty boy. You let your face grow long I am the eggman, they are the eggmen I am the walrus, goo goo g' joob Mister City Policeman sitting, pretty little policemen in a row See how they fly like Lucy in the sky, see how they run I'm crying, I'm crying I'm crying, I'm crying Yellow matter custard dripping from a dead dog's eye Crabalocker fishwife pornographic priestess Boy you been a naughty girl, you let your knickers down I am the eggman, they are the eggmen I am the walrus, goo goo g' joob Sitting in an English garden waiting for the sun If the sun don't come You get a tan from standing in the English rain I am the eggman, they are the eggmen I am the walrus, goo goo g' joob goo goo goo g' joob Expert texpert choking smokers Don't you think the joker laughs at you? (Ho ho ho! He he he! Ha ha ha!) See how they smile like pigs in a sty, see how they snied

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I'm crying Semolina pilchard climbing up the Eiffel Tower Elementary penguin singing Hare Krishna Man you should have seen them kicking Edgar Allan Poe I am the eggman, they are the eggmen I am the walrus, goo goo g' joob goo goo g' joob Goo goo g' joob goo goo g' joob Goo gooooooooooo jooba jooba jooba jooba jooba jooba Jooba jooba Jooba jooba Jooba jooba

Strawberry Fields Forever

Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about Strawberry Fields forever Living is easy with eyes closed Misunderstanding all you see It's getting hard to be someone but it all works out It doesn't matter much to me Let me take you down, cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about Strawberry Fields forever No one I think is in my tree I mean it must be high or low That is you can't you know tune in but it's all right That is I think it's not too bad Let me take you down, cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about Strawberry Fields forever Always, no sometimes, think it's me But you know I know when it's a dream I think I know I mean a "Yes" but it's all wrong That is I think I disagree Let me take you down, cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about Strawberry Fields forever Strawberry Fields forever Strawberry Fields forever

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Glass Onion

I told you about strawberry fields You know the place where nothing is real Well here's another place you can go Where everything flows Looking through the bent backed tulips To see how the other half live Looking through a glass onion I told you about the walrus and me, man You know that we're as close as can be, man Well here's another clue for you all The walrus was Paul Standing on the cast iron shore, yeah Lady Madonna trying to make ends meet, yeah Looking through a glass onion Oh yeah Oh yeah Oh yeah Looking through a glass onion I told you about the fool on the hill I tell you man he living there still Well here's another place you can be Listen to me Fixing a hole in the ocean Trying to make a dove-tail joint, yeah Looking through a glass onion

Blackbird

Blackbird singing in the dead of night Take these broken wings and learn to fly All your life You were only waiting for this moment to arise. Blackbird singing in the dead of night Take these sunken eyes and learn to see All your life You were only waiting for this moment to be free. Blackbird fly Blackbird fly Into the light of the dark black night. Blackbird fly Blackbird fly

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Into the light of the dark black night. Blackbird singing in the dead of night Take these broken wings and learn to fly All your life You were only waiting for this moment to arise You were only waiting for this moment to arise You were only waiting for this moment to arise.

Rocky Racoon

Now somewhere in the black mountain hills of Dakota There lived a young boy named Rocky Raccoon And one day his woman ran off with another guy Hit young Rocky in the eye Rocky didn't like that He said I'm gonna get that boy So one day he walked into town Booked himself a room in the local saloon Rocky Raccoon checked into his room Only to find Gideon's bible Rocky had come equipped with a gun To shoot off the legs of his rival His rival it seems had broken his dreams By stealing the girl of his fancy Her name was Magil and she called herself Lil But everyone knew her as Nancy Now she and her man who called himself Dan Were in the next room at the hoe down Rocky burst in and grinning a grin He said Danny boy this is a showdown But Daniel was hot, he drew first and shot And Rocky collapsed in the corner, ah D'da d'da d'da da da da D'da d'da d'da da da da D'da d'da d'da da d'da d'da d'da d'da Do do do do do do D'do d'do d'do do do do D'do d'do d'do do do do D'do d'do d'do do do d'do d'do d'do d'do Do do do do do do Now the doctor came in stinking of gin And proceeded to lie on the table He said Rocky you met your match And Rocky said, doc it's only a scratch

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And I'll be better I'll be better doc as soon as I am able And now Rocky Raccoon he fell back in his room Only to find Gideon's bible Gideon checked out and he left it no doubt To help with good Rocky's revival, ah Oh yeah, yeah D'do d'do d'do do do do D'do d'do d'do do do do D'do d'do d'do do do d'do d'do d'do d'do Do do do do do do D'do d'do d'do do do do, come on, Rocky boy D'do d'do d'do do do do, come on, Rocky boy D'do d'do d'do do do d'do d'do d'do d'do The story of Rocky there

Yer Blues

Two, Three Yes I'm lonely wanna die Yes I'm lonely wanna die If I ain't dead already Ooh girl you know the reason why In the morning wanna die In the evening wanna die If I ain't dead already Ooh girl you know the reason why My mother was of the sky My father was of the earth But I am of the universe And you know what it's worth I'm lonely wanna die If I ain't dead already Ooh girl you know the reason why The eagle picks my eye The worm he licks my bone I feel so suicidal Just like Dylan's Mr. Jones Lonely wanna die If I ain't dead already Ooh girl you know the reason why

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Black cloud crossed my mind Blue mist round my soul Feel so suicidal Even hate my rock 'n' roll Wanna die yeah wanna die If I ain't dead already Ooh girl you know the reason why

Revolution 1

You say you want a revolution Well you know We all want to change the world You tell me that it's evolution Well you know We all want to change the world But when you talk about destruction Don't you know you can count me out in Don't you know it's gonna be alright Don't you know it's gonna be alright Don't you know it's gonna be alright You say you got a real solution Well you know We don't all love to see the plan You ask me for a contribution Well you know We're doing what we can But if you want money for people with minds that hate All I can tell you is brother you have to wait Don't you know it's gonna be alright Don't you know it's gonna be alright Don't you know it's gonna be alright You say you'll change the constitution Well you know We all love to change your head You tell me it's the institution Well you know You better free your mind instead But if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao You ain't going to make it with anyone anyhow Don't you know it's gonna be alright Don't you know it's gonna be alright Don't you know it's gonna be alright Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh Alright, alright, alright, alright, alright Alright, alright, alright, alright, alright

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Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh Alright, alright, alright Alright Alright

Working Class Hero

As soon as you're born they make you feel small By giving you no time instead of it all Till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all A working class hero is something to be A working class hero is something to be They hurt you at home and they hit you at school They hate you if you're clever and they despise a fool Till you're so fucking crazy you can't follow their rules A working class hero is something to be A working class hero is something to be When they've tortured and scared you for twenty odd years Then they expect you to pick a career When you can't really function you're so full of fear A working class hero is something to be A working class hero is something to be Keep you doped with religion and sex and TV And you think you're so clever and classless and free But you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see A working class hero is something to be A working class hero is something to be There's room at the top they are telling you still But first you must learn how to smile as you kill If you want to be like the folks on the hill A working class hero is something to be A working class hero is something to be If you want to be a hero well just follow me If you want to be a hero well just follow me