Thursday 6 December 2012

Bob Dylan



In 1983, HH Priya Nathji records a song he used to sing in America when he was at Harvard, the words of which had been immortalized by the famous songwriter, Bob Dylan:
“How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man?
The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind!
How many deaths will I take till he knows that too many people have died?
How many ears must one man have, before he can hear people cry?
How many seas must the wild dove sail before she sleeps in the sand?
How many times must the cannon balls fly before they are forever banned?
The answer my friend is blowing in the wind,
The answer is blowing in the wind
The song is almost spiritual. Shri Nathji enjoys the song and the lyrics immensely, and sends his blessings to Bob Dylan.
Shri Nathji always had a large place in his heart for artists, poets, actors, writers, and often said that these persons had pure hearts, in which God was present and which came out in their art.
Bob Dylan (May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, poet and artist. He has been an influential figure in popular music and culture for more than five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly reluctant figurehead of social unrest. A number of Dylan's early songs, such as "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are a-Changin'", became anthems for the US civil rights and anti-war movements. Leaving his initial base in the culture of folk music behind, Dylan's six-minute single "Like a Rolling Stone" has been described as radically altering the parameters of popular music in 1965. His recordings employing electric instruments attracted denunciation and criticism from others in the folk movement.
Dylan's lyrics incorporated a variety of political, social, philosophical, and literary influences. They defied existing pop music conventions and appealed hugely to the then burgeoning counterculture. Initially inspired by the songs of Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson, and Hank Williams, and the music and performance styles of Buddy Holly, Little Richard and Elvis Presley, Dylan has both amplified and personalized musical genres. His recording career, spanning fifty years, has explored many of the traditions in American song—from folk, blues and country to gospel, rock and roll, and rockabilly to English, Scottish, and Irish folk music, embracing even jazz and swing. Dylan performs with guitar, keyboards, and harmonica. Backed by a changing line-up of musicians, he has toured steadily since the late 1980s on what has been dubbed the Never Ending Tour. His accomplishments as a recording artist and performer have been central to his career, but his greatest contribution is generally considered to be his songwriting.
Since 1994, Dylan has published three books of drawings and paintings, and his work has been exhibited in major art galleries.  As a songwriter and musician, Dylan has received numerous awards over the years including Grammy, Golden Globe, and Academy Awards; he has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and Songwriters Hall of Fame. The Pulitzer Prize jury in 2008 awarded him a special citation for "his profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power." In May 2012, Dylan received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama.
Here is a photograph of Bob Dylan, with Joan Baez, another favorite singer of HH Priya Nathji. They both were together in a relationship in the early years of their career.  This photo was taken in Washington  on, August 28, 1963
The song “How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man?” can be heard with lyrics at the following link -

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