Bob Dylan’s favourite Joan Baez song
Bob Dylan has a superhuman understanding of the way a song works. He can approach writing a classic like it is a scientific formula. The ability to string rhythm, lyricism, and poetry together is something that comes naturally to Dylan, and it is that ability that has cemented him as one of the most influential songwriters ever.
What has kept him relevant and one of the driving factors behind his love for creativity is his obsession with songs. They were his first love, and Dylan has consistently been able to use them to comment on what is happening around him. The way that he can talk about his upbringing, his life, the good times, and the bad is inspired, and he has gone on to influence other giants in the musical world, such as Bruce Springsteen.
Dylan’s love for songs can be seen throughout his career, not only because he has a discography that amasses hundreds of them but because he is quick to reel off his favourites whenever asked. Dylan has categories for different songs depending on what they talk about, with an extraordinary place in his heart reserved for the love song.
The folk scene established in New York was a pivotal moment in music, and as such, it is often looked back on through rose-tinted lenses. It was a movement entrenched in poverty that highlighted the struggles behind trying to make a living as a musician.
In that scene, though, Bob Dylan met Joan Baez, and the two formed a relationship sealed by a love of folk music. This naturally inspired many songs, as both musicians were always keen on taking from the real world and putting it into their art. The song of Baez’s that Dylan likes over all others indeed shows his commitment to the art of the song, as even though it focuses on a negative time throughout their relationship, it’s so beautiful that he can’t help but admire it.
Baez’s 1974 reflection on the relationship and subsequent breakup, ‘Diamonds and Rust’, deals with the end of one of the most iconic couples from the New York folk scene head-on. It’s so well put together and beautifully written that Dylan has praised it as one of his favourites of Baez’s, even if he finds himself at the centre of it.
“I love that song ‘Diamonds and Rust,’” he said, “to be included in something that Joaney had written, I mean to this day, it still impresses me.”
Dylan’s love for this song, regardless of how hard it might be for him to hear it, shows how dedicated he is to songwriting. He can appreciate genius even when it results from a negative situation. Given how much Dylan has used music to discuss his troubles throughout his life, he knows this form of songwriting is one of the most effective ways some people can process situations.
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