Why Bob Dylan’s “basic” songs made John Lennon feel better
Beatlemania may have ruled Britannia in the 1960s, but just across the Atlantic Ocean, the decade was defined by a different genre: North America had found itself deep in a revival of folk music. While the Liverpool four-piece earned their rightful place as the most important rock and roll band of all time, the likes of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and Peter, Paul and Mary were thriving in the United States with their soft, folky soundscapes and contemplative lyricism.
As they became two of the biggest artists on the planet, The Beatles grew to admire and emulate Dylan, and the folk songwriter even inspired John Lennon to combat his emotions through music rather than only penning tracks with commercial appeal. Unfortunately for the Fab Four, this admiration was somewhat one-sided – though they became friends, Dylan often refused to admit that he liked The Beatles’ music until much later in life.
Lennon and his bandmates, on the other hand, openly spoke about their thoughts on Dylan’s contributions to music as well as their opinions on the broader folk sound. The Beatles songwriter once even suggested that he found comfort in the “basic” songs of folk and of Dylan’s in particular. It seems like a backhanded compliment at first, but Lennon was actually commenting on the exchange of genre and culture between continents.
Early into their careers, according to Lennon in a 1971 interview quoted in Lennon on Lennon: Conversations With John Lennon, they were very conscious of being “imitation Americans”. Still, he recalls, they “delved into the music and found out that it was half white country Western and half Black rock ‘n’ roll, African. And most of the country songs basically came from England – all those train songs”.
Lennon continued to suggest that folk was born out of England, Scotland and Ireland, concluding: “The basic folk song comes from Europe. So it was just a cultural exchange.”
The Beatles founder also suggested that these origins of folk were taken to America and Americanised: “They sang about working on the railroads,” Lennon said. “But all the basic songs… like lots of Dylan’s basic songs are Scottish, Irish, or English folk songs. So that made us feel better. We delved into that side of it.”
Taking this as permission to engage in his own side of the cultural exchange, Lennon found inspiration in the folk circuit across the ocean, as well as in genres from across the globe. Yoko Ono even stated: “Let’s face it: Beatles music was a 20th-century folk song within the frame of capitalism… They couldn’t do it otherwise. And to make their names big, they had to play the game, smiling and all that. And if the whole society will change, their song will change, too.”
Understanding that the basics of Dylan’s vulnerable folk music came from his homeland, Lennon was able to dive into culture and genre and let go of his concerns about coming across as an imitation of Americans. Dylan also influenced The Beatles’ songwriting, shifting their focus from commercial appeal to artistic growth.
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