Handwritten pages from the Bob Dylan song “Like a Rolling Stone” are apparently set to go on auction in June - and they’re expected to fetch around $2,000,000. Wow. A bit steep for me, but it’s interesting to look at the stages of Dylan’s songwriting process. I was especially surprised by how debated the “How does it feel” chorus was - multiple other lines were considered, including “Shut up and deal.”
ETA: Oh, and for those of you who are preserving their NYT monthly quota (like me!), here’s an alternative link.
Interesting that he originally wrote
“You used to laugh about,
Everybody that was down and out”
which became “hangin’ out”. The former makes more sense to me, but the latter is more classically obscure in Dylan’s usual way. There lies his genius, I guess.
At the bottom of the NYT article: mention of a working manuscript for Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi,” expected to sell for $8,000 to $12,000. BYT isn’t one of my favourites but if it was I’d almost consider going for that…
Fascinating. A relic from Saint Bob. The Jester’s best.
I have a strong connection to collectibles - parents were antique dealers on the side while I grew up; I have collected first edition books and certainly invested time to understand the world of guitars. I find stuff like this really interesting, but can’t imagine wanting it for myself. I see it in a museum or the RRHoF - but in the case of Dylan, find it particularly ripe that Mr. Rebel is canonized so.
The song and dance man part of him is loving it, however. 