“Midwestern mind trips”: The songwriter Bob Dylan thought no one could emulate
Music history is full of great lyricists. From Joni Mitchell’s vulnerable ruminations on love and travel to Lou Reed’s transgressive tales of sex and drugs to Kendrick Lamar’s clever wordplay, every genre and every generation of musicians has its own truly great writers. But there is one name that always seems to come out on top in lists of the greatest lyricists of all time, and that name is Bob Dylan.
Dylan spent the 1960s leading the folk movement into more political realms, using his witty and poetic writing style to push into themes of war and protest. He tackled racial profiling on ‘Hurricane’, penned ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ about the pain and senselessness of war, and pushed for change on ‘The Times They Are a-Changin’’. And somewhere along the way, he became the most celebrated lyricist in music history.
Between his literary talent and the content of his lyrics, Dylan earned fans all over the world and began to inspire the writings of other musicians. He had a huge impact on The Beatles’ lyrics, pushing them to explore topics beyond love and romance, and he continues to influence artists even today, from Green Day to Lana Del Rey.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that Dylan has an unmatched legacy in the realm of lyric writing, but there was one songwriter that not even he could write like. During an interview with Huff Post, the legendary folk musician shared some of his own favourite songwriters, showering particular praise on Americana artist John Prine.
Dylan compared Prine’s songwriting style to the work of French writer Marcel Proust, describing it as “pure Proustian existentialism” and “Midwestern mind trips to the nth degree.” Then, forgoing more flowery descriptions, he summed it up by stating that Prine simply wrote “beautiful songs.”
There certainly was an intrinsic beauty to Prine’s songwriting. His work paired country-infused twangs with playfully imperfect delivery, but it was his lyric-writing style that set him apart most. Like Dylan, he focused on raw storytelling, unafraid to put names and details into his songs to increase their vivid nature. “John and Linda live in Omaha,” he sings on ‘Hello In There, “And Joe is somewhere on the road, we lost Davy in the Korean War, and I still don’t know what for.”
It makes sense that Dylan admired Prine’s style of writing, as it wasn’t too dissimilar to some of his own approaches, though he never believed that he could match up to the country singer. “I remember when Kris Kristofferson first brought him on the scene,” Dylan remembered, “All that stuff about ‘Sam Stone’ the soldier junky daddy and ‘Donald and Lydia,’ where people make love from ten miles away. Nobody but Prine could write like that.”
‘Sam Stone’, one of the tracks Dylan referenced, was released on Prine’s self-titled debut album in 1971 and detailed the life of his title character. His intense imagery described the character returning home from war, with a “little shrapnel in his knee,” relying on drugs to ease the pain. Meanwhile, ‘Donald and Linda’ described a love story between the title characters, despite the distance between them, inserting some truly intriguing imagery in the midst.
Dylan certainly knows good lyrics when he hears them, and Prine was more than willing of his praise. With a similar talent for vivid storytelling and striking lyricism, he deserves a place alongside Dylan as one of the greats.
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