Friday's Top Five - Bob Dylan Songs

In an effort to build up my posting efforts, I think it's a good idea to add a couple of regular features to the blog. That having been said, on Fridays, I hope to post a list of my Top Five... somethings. Could be anything really. TV shows, comedies, movies, actors, songs... or, in today's case, Bob Dylan songs.


Throughout the past school year, I've been getting more and more into the music of Bob Dylan. While many find his vocals jarring, his gift for songwriting and lyricism (is it a word? I don't know) are unparalleled by anyone before or since. In becoming a fan of Dylan, it's difficult for songs NOT to resonate with you as you listen to them. The following are among my favorites:

5. "Ballad of a Thin Man"
Dylan's wordplay here is dizzying and his melody haunting as he mockingly taunts the titular "thin man," Mr. Jones. "Something is happening," he muses, "but you don't know what it is... do you, Mr. Jones?" All this is to say nothing of his startling imagery - from a circus geek handing over a chicken bone to a one-eyed midget calling Jones a cow - which really solidifies this ballad as a Dylan classic.

4. "All Along the Watchtower"
In my humble opinion, this song needs to be named the official anthem of the apocalypse. Among the shorter of Dylan's compositions, with a running time of only 2:32, "Watchtower" tells the story of a joker and a thief, trapped in an unknown prison at what appears to be the end of the world. The brevity and the awesome rhythm make this song masterful, but it is Dylan's refusal to give the song a concrete ending - other than "Outside in the distance a wildcat did growl/Two riders were approaching, the wind began to howl" - that make this song truly haunting. (Also, this song was used to masterful effect on the Season Three finale of "Battlestar Galactica" as covered by BT4.)

3. "Just Like a Woman"
There are a lot of questions as to who this song was actually written about and Dylan, to his credit, has yet to reveal anything (and, quite frankly, I'd be upset if he ever did). This is a beautiful song about a woman - her simultaneous frailty and callous. The constant refrain of "she takes just like a woman/she makes love just like a woman/she aches just like a woman/but she breaks like a little girl" reminds the audience of this porcelain interior hidden beneath a tougher exterior. At the end, Dylan calls it quits... and when he sings it, his vocals convey all of that raw emotion.

2. "Visions of Johanna"
Another perfect blending of Dylan's poetic lyrics and beautiful melodies. "Visions" paints another picture of heartbreak - a couple who have fallen out of whatever love they once shared... and his inability to forget it. The final line, "and these visions of Johanna are now all that remain," haunt the listener as only something sung by Dylan truly can. While originally released on Dylan's 1966 album "Blonde on Blonde," in my mind, a more perfect version can be found on his live album "The Bootleg Series, Vol. 4: The 'Royal Albert Hall' Concert 1966". Just Dylan, his harmonica, and his guitar. Far better than the studio version, IMHO.

1. "Like a Rolling Stone"
Some things just need to be the way they are. Perhaps the best known of all of Dylan's songs, this one - about a girl abandoned and alone - has been named the best rock song of all time by Rolling Stone magazine. The name taken from a Muddy Waters tune, Dylan turned the line into something memorable. Again, a perfect version of this song exists as the closing track of Dylan's "Royal Albert Hall" Concert in '66. Done in an electrical style that seemed to enrage his audience, Dylan's almost wheezing tone mocked them as he sang out, "How does it feeeel?!" In my mind, you almost can't discuss Dylan without this song. In many ways, it epitomizes his impact on both music and the music industry in a profound way.

Honorable mentions: "Desolation Row," "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere," "Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again," "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright," "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," "It Ain't Me Babe," "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35," and "The Hurricane"

What are some of your favorite Dylan songs?