The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #61052   Message #979745
Posted By: Rick Fielding
09-Jul-03 - 10:02 AM
Thread Name: Bob Dylan - Lifted Lyrics?
Subject: RE: Bob Dylan - Lifted Lyrics?
I generally stay out of the hundreds of Dylan threads here 'cuz they just seem to go over and over VERY old information, but.....

This thing about Dylan NOT crediting his sources is just plain wrong.

There are a number of bootleg tapes (and articles) of himself, where he casually and openly admits to appropriating right left and centre. On a radio show from Chicago, he claims to have lifted a huge part of Len Chandler's style for "The Death Of Emmett Till". He's not embarrased in the least. Was Paul Simon embarrased about lifting Martin Carthy's work? No. These people operate on a different planet than mere mortals...They do NOT slow down to avoid colliding with amateurs (or anyone else for that matter) who get in their way. You simply don't get to be one of the most famous people in the world by worrying what others think. Was Dylan's latest gaffe deliberate? I doubt it. Did the book's author get screwed? Absolutely. Do you think Dylan cares? Probably not...that sort of stuff will be left up to the lawyers. I hope the guy gets a few bucks.

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Think for a moment about what the ego of a prolific song-writer is like. I doubt any of them CONSCIOUSLY steal from folks they probably think are literary inferiors.

Cheers

Rick