this year's Bob Dylan award

[gh]

awarded by me to the writer who best channels the work of the bard in an unrelated work.

Ian O'Rioran (a stunning wordsmith) of the Irish Times on Lance's lies. His opening graf:

<<I dreamt I saw Lance Armstrong again last night, as real as you or me, talking to Oprah Winfrey, and in the utmost misery. “So I lied, I lied,” he told her, in a voice without restraint, then went searching for the very soul that many years ago he sold.>>

And the first verse of "I Dreamt I Saw St. Augustine" (from John Wesley Harding, 1968):

"I dreamed I saw St. Augustine
Alive as you or me
Tearing through these quarters
In the utmost misery
With a blanket underneath his arm
And a coat of solid gold
Searching for the very souls
Whom already have been sold"

and the start of verse the second:

"“Arise, arise,” he cried so loud
In a voice without restraint"

[Marlow]

You mean this year's Alfred Hayes award.

His 1930 song Joe Hill began

I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night,
alive as you and me.

[gh]

ole Bob was always well know for his ability to borrow from other sources.

[Marlow]

ole Bob was always well know for his ability to borrow from other sources.

He sure was borrowed FROM plenty.

[aaronk]

Is this a contest??
(I wasn't on the Message Board last January!)
If it is, as a HUGE Dylan fan, AND a writer of song lyrics (sans music!!)....probably well over 1000 of them!!.....I have LOTS of candidates for IMITATIONS of Dylan....both in style, form, and vocabulary.
Here's two of them (the second will be in the next comment box---too long for both in one).
The first is one of those "Dylanish" woman-as-witch songs......though you can change one letter of "witch", if you like!!

Not Soon Enough for You
Written by Aaron Krohn
October 14, 1997

The cast of your shadow's still burning through me
I'd like to think you know what it's doing to me
But I've heard you've moved on to another room
Your guiding light is by another planet's moon
If I keep remembering all this, I'll die too soon
Soon, but not soon enough for you

There's a history every relationship must write
Whose version you believe is like comparing day and night
Now you're sitting there sipping tea someone else has brewed
You're looking for her, but from someone else's point of view
But she left you far behind, but not too soon
No, no, not soon enough for you

The voices of angels, they tell you she's still near
They say you're safe, they say you got nothing to fear
But you're still down in that hole, and feeling doomed
The walls are solid rock in that haunted room
You know you need to leave, and pretty soon
But soon is not soon enough for you

Your memory's got you tied to some monster's tail
You got to slay that beast, to escape that jail
Now there you are, two years from all she ruined
You saw she was a witch, you got her broom
You gathered all the evidence you need to prove
Prove that witches die, but not too soon
No, no, no, no, no, not soon enough for you

(You might call this form "Dylan confessional" or "relationship confessional"!
Also, I DID use the word "witch", NOT the other word!!)

[aaronk]

The second one has "Desolation Row" and "Highway 61 Revisited" as their models. Not exactly, but in the use of real people as characters in a Dali-esque universe. This one is a PARODY of things religious (and in one case, historic), so please don't take offense!!

The Snake
Written by Aaron Krohn
October 30, 1997

Adam looked at Eve
He saw that she was naked
She was standing under a tree
eating apples that were baked
Adam, he asked, can I have a bite?
But Eve, she knew, that wouldn't be right
Adam insisted
And knowing Eve was a piece of cake
He got his apple
while Eve had her way with the snake

Now God, he had his eye on them
He saw everything they did
Made sure that their first sin
produced a kid

Abel, their son, had cable
Watched brother Cain on the TV
Cain starred in one of those police shows
And sometimes did pornography
Cain killed his brother, Abel
Seems Cain got all the breaks
When God started pointing his finger
Cain pointed to the snake

When, after ten thousand years had passed
and Noah had his Ark
He gathered all the animals
from zoos and wildlife parks
Then after months of rain
had created quite a lake
He started loading up the boat
Two of every kind, except the snake

Well, Cleopatra and Caesar
They were lovers on the run
Like the future Bonnie and Clyde
They were just having fun
Cleo, she laid in bed
on her fancy furnished barge
Waiting for her Caesar
but he was still at large
Then one day he showed
and she died without a laugh
That Caesar, he was cross-dressed
as the snake, and not the asp

Somehow, we've come to Egypt
where the Pharoah has his slaves
Where the Jews seek their deliverer
But Moses, he's just a babe
His mom, though, fed him good
Then sent him down the river
One thing led to another
Bam! Moses, the deliverer
The man marched in on Pharoah
Said, let my people go
Had Jahweh send some plagues
He put on quite a show
And finally the day came
when the Red Sea split in two
Ate up Pharoah's soldiers
Almost ate up Moses too
Thus, Moses had his doubts
So with Paradise still at stake
He turned to the Burning Bush
You guessed it! It was the snake

Moving on, there's this committee
set on changing the calendar
They say, it's only progress
We can't leave things as they were
So B.C. becomes A.D.
to start again at year number one
To celebrate the birth and death
of J.C., Mary's son
But Mary was a whore
The tabloids said as much
Said some miracle knocked her up
without her ever being touched
When Christ became born again
His mama baked a cake
And used as her main ingredient
Christ's dad, that dirty snake

(continued in next box....too long for one!)

[aaronk]

"The Snake" continued.

Well, history just goes on
from war to peace to war
Sometimes it's hard to tell
just what we're living for
Maybe to learn lessons
To love our fellow man
Or to shatter all the rules
See Persia become Iran
Some people fail at math
and some, their history
They don't see the patterns
of life's great mysteries

One thing life has taught me
where everyone's on the make
is that one in a million
will ever get a fair shake
unless you happen to be
the one who made the snake

BTW, "The Snake" is probably my personal favorite of all my song lyrics.....with "Not Soon Enough for You"......not far behind!!

[Marlow]

"The Snake" continued.

Well, history just goes on
from war to peace to war
Sometimes it's hard to tell
just what we're living for
Maybe to learn lessons
To love our fellow man
Or to shatter all the rules
See Persia become Iran
Some people fail at math
and some, their history
They don't see the patterns
of life's great mysteries

One thing life has taught me
where everyone's on the make
is that one in a million
will ever get a fair shake
unless you happen to be
the one who made the snake

BTW, "The Snake" is probably my personal favorite of all my song lyrics.....with "Not Soon Enough for You"......not far behind!!

That ain't entirely half bad, Mr. K!!

[Brian]

awarded by me to the writer who best channels the work of the bard in an unrelated work.

Movie on Lance coming out; J.J. Abrams bought the rights and is currently trying to woo Matt Damon to star.

Based on the general tone of the Oprah interview, Big Bob could certainly supply the working title:

Don't Think Twice, It's Alright


BTW, gh, if there's a sub-category to your award titled Blowin' In The Wind, I nominate Sasha Grey.
:]