De Nobelprijs voor de Literatuur voor de Amerikaanse muzieklegende Bob Dylan (75) kwam voor velen als een verrassing, maar wie zijn teksten een beetje kent weet dat Dylans albums soms meer weg hebben van een dichtbundel dan een verzameling popsongs.

Hier een selectie uit zijn uitgebreide muziekbibliotheek – vaak gecoverd door andere artiesten -, waarin goed naar voren komt waarom de Amerikaan de prijs kreeg toegekend.

Blowin’ In The Wind (1962)

How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, and 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.

 

The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll (1963)

But you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears
Take the rag away from your face
Now ain’t the time for your tears

 

Visions Of Johanna (1966)

Inside the museums, infinity goes up on trial
Voices echo this is what salvation must be like after a while
But Mona Lisa musta had the highway blues
You can tell by the way she smiles

 

The Man In The Long Black Coat (1989)

Preacher was talking there's a sermon he gave
He said every man's conscience is vile and depraved
You cannot depend on it to be your guide
When it's you who must keep it satisfied

Man in the Long Black Coat Illustrated from Andrew Colunga on Vimeo.

Make you feel my love (1997)

The storms are raging on the rollin' sea
And on the highway of regrets
The winds of change are blowing wild and free
You ain't seen nothin' like me yet.

 

If You See Her, Say Hello (1975)

If you see her, say hello, she might be in Tangier
She left here last early Spring, is livin' there, I hear
Say for me that I’m all right though things get kind of slow
She might think that I’ve forgotten her, don’t tell her it isn’t so

 

Hurricane (1976)

How can the life of such a man
Be in the palm of some fool's hand?
To see him obviously framed
Couldn't help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land
Where justice is a game.

I want you (1966)

The drunken politician leaps
Upon the street where mothers weep
And the saviors who are fast asleep, they wait for you