‘Highlands’: the Bob Dylan song that name-checks Neil Young
Neil Young has never been shy about sharing how much he loves the work of Bob Dylan, as he has said repeatedly how much of a fan of the folk singer he is. Young has also said that Dylan greatly influenced him as a songwriter and that he often thinks of his work when he’s writing original material.
Just recently, he gave his opinion on the new biopic, A Complete Unknown, saying that he believes it’s a great movie for any fans of Dylan. “I love Bob Dylan and his music,” he said, “Always have. He’s a great artist. Once he was on my bus and I didn’t recognise him and threw him off, but that’s another story. This movie is a great tribute to his life and music. I think if you love Bob’s music you should see this great movie. I loved it.”
Neil Young’s love of Bob Dylan wasn’t lost on him. Dylan was always well aware of the influence that he had on him and admitted that he could hear similarities. He even drew attention to the connection between the singers in one of his songs.
‘Highlands’ was released on Dylan’s 1997 album Time Out Of Mind. A lot of the song seems to be about chasing nostalgia, as Dylan sings for over 15 minutes about his age and how he wishes he could be younger once again.
He sings, “All the young men with the young women lookin’ so good – I’d places with anyone of them, in a minute if I could…” he said, “Party’s over and there’s less’n less to say – I got new eyes, everything looks far away.”
Dylan takes time out during the song to reference his contemporary, though, as he sings, “I’m listening to Neil Young, I gotta turn up the sound.” This is used both to reflect his respect for the artist and to draw attention to the fact that Young reminds him a lot of himself when writing music. He even admitted that when he heard Neil Young’s ‘Heart Of Gold’ it sounded like a song he could have written, “…That’s me,” he said, “If it sounds like, it should as well be me.”
Neil Young wasn’t the only artist in whom Dylan saw remnants of himself. His music was such a big influence on so many that many artists took inspiration from it. Jimi Hendrix was always really drawn to the work of Bob Dylan and often said that he listens to Dylan and can hear himself in the songs.
“I am as Dylan, none of us can sing normally,” said Jimi Hendrix, “Sometimes, I play Dylan’s songs and they are so much like me that it seems to me that I wrote them. I have the feeling that ‘Watchtower’ is a song I could have come up with, but I’m sure I would never have finished it.”
This is a good representation of how much of an impact Bob Dylan’s work had. People weren’t just influenced by him; they were almost linked in their creativity.
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