Welcome to Songs of Experience: A Bob Dylan Podcast, where we explore the man and the music one song at a time.

Henry welcomes Twin Cities musician, Peter Hayward to talk and sing about "Early Roman Kings," from Dylan's 2012 album Tempest.

Check out Peter's amazing music and follow him here: https://linktr.ee/peterhayward 

Written by: Bob Dylan

All the early Roman Kings in their sharkskin suits
Bowties and buttons, high top boots
Driving the spikes in, blazing the rails
Nailed in their coffins in top hats and tails
Fly away little bird, fly away, flap your wings
Fly by night like the early Roman Kings

All the early Roman Kings in the early, early morn’
Coming down the mountain, distributing the corn
Speeding through the forest, racing down the track
You try to get away, they drag you back
Tomorrow is Friday, we’ll see what it brings
Everybody’s talking ‘bout the early Roman Kings

They’re peddlers and they’re meddlers, they buy and they sell
They destroyed your city, they’ll destroy you as well
They’re lecherous and treacherous, hell bent for leather
Each of them bigger than all men put together
Sluggers and muggers wearing fancy gold rings
All the women going crazy for the early Roman Kings

I'll dress up your wounds with a blood clotted rag
I ain’t afraid to make love to a bitch or a hag
If you see me coming and you’re standing there
Wave your handkerchief in the air
I ain’t dead yet, my bell still rings
I keep my fingers crossed like the early Roman Kings

I'll strip you of life, strip you of breath
Ship you down to the house of death
One day you will ask for me
There’ll be no one else that you’ll want to see
Bring down my fiddle, tune up my strings
Gonna break it wide open like the early Roman Kings

I was up on black mountain the day Detroit fell
They killed them all off and they sent them to hell
Ding Dong Daddy, you’re coming up short
Gonna put you on trial in a Sicilian court
I’ve had my fun, I’ve had my flings
Gonna shake ‘em all down like the early Roman Kings
 

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If you would like to support hosting my  podcasts, please check out my Patreon where for $5 I will give you a shout out on the podcast of your choice.  For $10, in addition to the shout-out I'll send you a surprise piece of vintage Bob Dylan merch! Thank you to my Patrons, Rob Kelly, Roberta Rakove, Matt Simonson and Christopher Vanni.

Email us at [email protected]

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On Tuesday, December 3. Michael Smith and I flew down to Orlando, FL from Chicago, IL for a press and guild screening of the new James Mangold film about Bob Dylan. It was an amazing experience. Immediately after the film, Michael and I went to the AMC theatre bar and talked for almost 2 hours about the film. Unfortunately I only hit record about halfway through our conversation, so you will be joining us mid-convo. First you’ll hear the 45 second spoiler free reaction and then we’ll transition to the full conversation. Please be aware this is a FULL SPOILER REVIEW. If you haven’t seen the film yet, I highly recommend you turn this off now, and wait until after you see it. You have been warned! Enjoy!

Follow us @songsofbob

If you would like to support hosting my  podcasts, please check out my Patreon where for $5 I will give you a shout out on the podcast of your choice.  For $10, in addition to the shout-out I'll send you a surprise piece of vintage Bob Dylan merch! Thank you to my Patrons, Rob Kelly, Roberta Rakove, Matt Simonson and Christopher Vanni.

Email us at [email protected]

Subscribe: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify

Acclaimed filmmaker Michael Glover Smith invited me to fly to Orlando, FL from Chicago to attend a Press and Guild Screening of James Mangold's film A Complete Unknown which is being released on December 25. Although it was a long way to travel and expensive, it was worth it. This is a 45 second SPOILER-FREE (so that means NO SPOILERS) reaction. Enjoy and go see this film!

Follow us @songsofbob

If you would like to support hosting my  podcasts, please check out my Patreon where for $5 I will give you a shout out on the podcast of your choice.  For $10, in addition to the shout-out I'll send you a surprise piece of vintage Bob Dylan merch! Thank you to my Patrons, Rob Kelly, Roberta Rakove, Matt Simonson and Christopher Vanni.

Email us at [email protected]

Subscribe: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify

Welcome to Songs of Experience: A Bob Dylan Podcast, where we explore the man and the music one song at a time.

Henry welcomes fellow Bob Dylan Podcaster, Erin Callahan to talk about "False Prophet," the second track off of Dylan's 2020 album Rough & Rowdy Ways.

Follow along with the lyrics below.

Check out Erin's amazing substack and podcast on https://thefm.club/dylan/ and follow Erin on Instagram and Twitter

Written by: Bob Dylan

Another day without end - another ship going out
Another day of anger - bitterness and doubt
I know how it happened - I saw it begin
I opened my heart to the world and the world came in

Hello Mary Lou - Hello Miss Pearl
My fleet footed guides from the underworld
No stars in the sky shine brighter than you
You girls mean business and I do too

I’m the enemy of treason - the enemy of strife
I’m the enemy of the unlived meaningless life
I ain’t no false prophet - I just know what I know
I go where only the lonely can go

I’m first among equals - second to none
I’m last of the best - you can bury the rest
Bury ‘em naked with their silver and gold
Put ‘em six feet under and then pray for their souls

What are you lookin’ at - there’s nothing to see
Just a cool breeze encircling me
Let’s walk in the garden - so far and so wide
We can sit in the shade by the fountain side

I’ve searched the world over for the Holy Grail
I sing songs of love - I sing songs of betrayal
Don’t care what I drink - don’t care what I eat
I climbed a mountain of swords on my bare feet

You don’t know me darlin’ - you never would guess
I’m nothing like my ghostly appearance would suggest
I ain’t no false prophet - I just said what I said
I’m here to bring vengeance on somebody’s head

Put out your hand - there’s nothin’ to hold
Open your mouth - I’ll stuff it with gold
Oh you poor Devil - look up if you will
The City of God is there on the hill

Hello stranger - Hello and goodbye
You rule the land but so do I
You lusty old mule - you got a poisoned brain
I’m gonna marry you to a ball and chain

You know darlin’ the kind of life that I live
When your smile meets my smile - something’s got to give
I ain’t no false prophet - I’m nobody’s bride
Can’t remember when I was born and I forgot when I died
 

Follow us @songsofbob

If you would like to support hosting my  podcasts, please check out my Patreon where for $5 I will give you a shout out on the podcast of your choice.  For $10, in addition to the shout-out I'll send you a surprise piece of vintage Bob Dylan merch! Thank you to my Patrons, Rob Kelly, Roberta Rakove, Matt Simonson and Christopher Vanni.

Email us at [email protected]

Subscribe: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify

Welcome to Songs of Experience: A Bob Dylan Podcast, where we explore the man and the music one song at a time. Henry welcomes legendary rock star, Ezra Furman to talk about 1989's stand-out track from Oh Mercy, "Ring Them Bells."

Follow along with the lyrics below. Please stick around, after the credits for a  special full performance of Ring Them Bells by Ezra Furman, recorded originally for the https://dylanfansforharris.com/ livestream. 

Check out https://www.ezrafurman.com/ for tour and music info. Follow Ezra on Instagram and on Twitter @ezrafurman

Written by: Bob Dylan

Ring them bells, ye heathen
From the city that dreams
Ring them bells from the sanctuaries
’Cross the valleys and streams
For they’re deep and they’re wide
And the world’s on its side
And time is running backwards
And so is the bride

Ring them bells St. Peter
Where the four winds blow
Ring them bells with an iron hand
So the people will know
Oh it’s rush hour now
On the wheel and the plow
And the sun is going down
Upon the sacred cow

Ring them bells Sweet Martha
For the poor man’s son
Ring them bells so the world will know
That God is one
Oh the shepherd is asleep
Where the willows weep
And the mountains are filled
With lost sheep

Ring them bells for the blind and the deaf
Ring them bells for all of us who are left
Ring them bells for the chosen few
Who will judge the many when the game is through
Ring them bells, for the time that flies
For the child that cries
When innocence dies

Ring them bells St. Catherine
From the top of the room
Ring them from the fortress
For the lilies that bloom
Oh the lines are long
And the fighting is strong
And they’re breaking down the distance
Between right and wrong
 

Follow us @songsofbob

If you would like to support hosting my  podcasts, please check out my Patreon where for $5 I will give you a shout out on the podcast of your choice.  For $10, in addition to the shout-out I'll send you a surprise piece of vintage Bob Dylan merch! Thank you to my Patrons, Rob Kelly, Roberta Rakove, Matt Simonson and Christopher Vanni.

Email us at [email protected]

Subscribe: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify

Welcome to Songs of Experience: A Bob Dylan Podcast, where we explore the man and the music one song at a time.

Henry welcomes David Lizerbram, co-host of Rock Docs Podcast, to talk about Bob Dylan's song, "Under The Red Sky," from the 1990 album, Under The Red Sky. 

Listen to Under The Red Sky

Follow along with the lyrics:

Written by: Bob Dylan

There was a little boy and there was a little girl
And they lived in an alley under the red sky
There was a little boy and there was a little girl
And they lived in an alley under the red sky

There was an old man and he lived in the moon
One summer’s day he came passing by
There was an old man and he lived in the moon
And one day he came passing by

Someday little girl, everything for you is gonna be new
Someday little girl, you’ll have a diamond as big as your shoe

Let the wind blow low, let the wind blow high
One day the little boy and the little girl were both baked in a pie
Let the wind blow low, let the wind blow high
One day the little boy and the little girl were both baked in a pie

This is the key to the kingdom and this is the town
This is the blind horse that leads you around

Let the bird sing, let the bird fly
One day the man in the moon went home and the river went dry
Let the bird sing, let the bird fly
The man in the moon went home and the river went dry

Thank you to my guest David Lizerbram, co-host of the podcast Rock Docs!

Follow us @songsofbob

If you would like to support hosting my  podcasts, please check out my Patreon where for $5 I will give you a shout out on the podcast of your choice.  For $10, in addition to the shout-out I'll send you a surprise piece of vintage Bob Dylan merch! Thank you to my Patrons, Rob Kelly, Roberta Rakove, Matt Simonson and Christopher Vanni.

Email us at [email protected]

Subscribe: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify

Bob Dylan - Outlaw Music Festival field report - September 6, 2024. Somerset, Wisconsin. Somerset amphitheater

Follow us @songsofbob

If you would like to support hosting my  podcasts, please check out my Patreon where for $5 I will give you a shout out on the podcast of your choice.  For $10, in addition to the shout-out I'll send you a surprise piece of vintage Bob Dylan merch! Thank you to my Patrons, Rob Kelly, Roberta Rakove, Matt Simonson and Christopher Vanni.

Email us at [email protected]

Subscribe: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify

Welcome to Songs of Experience: A Bob Dylan Podcast, where we explore the man and the music one song at a time.

Henry welcomes Adam Selzer to the show to talk about Bob Dylan's song, "Lenny Bruce," from the 1981 album, Shot Of Love. 

Listen to Lenny Bruce

Follow along with the lyrics here: 

Written by: Bob Dylan

Lenny Bruce is dead but his ghost lives on and on
Never did get any Golden Globe award, never made it to Synanon
He was an outlaw, that’s for sure
More of an outlaw than you ever were
Lenny Bruce is gone but his spirit’s livin’ on and on

Maybe he had some problems, maybe some things that he couldn’t work out
But he sure was funny and he sure told the truth and he knew what he was talkin’ about
Never robbed any churches nor cut off any babies’ heads
He just took the folks in high places and he shined a light in their beds
He’s on some other shore, he didn’t wanna live anymore

Lenny Bruce is dead but he didn’t commit any crime
He just had the insight to rip off the lid before its time
I rode with him in a taxi once
Only for a mile and a half, seemed like it took a couple of months
Lenny Bruce moved on and like the ones that killed him, gone

They said that he was sick ’cause he didn’t play by the rules
He just showed the wise men of his day to be nothing more than fools
They stamped him and they labeled him like they do with pants and shirts
He fought a war on a battlefield where every victory hurts
Lenny Bruce was bad, he was the brother that you never had

Follow us @songsofbob

If you would like to support hosting my  podcasts, please check out my Patreon where for $5 I will give you a shout out on the podcast of your choice.  For $10, in addition to the shout-out I'll send you a surprise piece of vintage Bob Dylan merch! Thank you to my Patrons, Rob Kelly, Roberta Rakove, Matt Simonson and Christopher Vanni.

Email us at [email protected]

Subscribe: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify

Here is a short field report from the Outlaw Music Festival at the Hollywood Bowl on July 31, 2024.

Spoiler Alert - HENRY MET TONY GARNIER!

Follow us @songsofbob

If you would like to support hosting my  podcasts, please check out my Patreon where for $5 I will give you a shout out on the podcast of your choice.  For $10, in addition to the shout-out I'll send you a surprise piece of vintage Bob Dylan merch! Thank you to my Patrons, Rob Kelly, Roberta Rakove, Matt Simonson and Christopher Vanni.

Email us at [email protected]

Subscribe: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify