Two classic songs Bob Dylan thought copied his style: “That’s me”
Bob Dylan‘s name is so delicately gilded in every single golden note of his music that it is difficult to imagine a sonic landscape without his shadow looming over it. The fertile ground of the 1960s may have provided him with all the nutrients and sunlight he needed to grow, but ever since, his unique songwriting style, witty lyrics and potent protest anthems have been pollinating almost every song ever made. Lyrically unassailable, the troubador is so beloved that he has even gained himself a Nobel Prize for Literature in the process of becoming a record-selling cultural touchstone.
It’s not surprising that more than a few tracks heavily borrow from the songwriter. In fact, there is a good case to be made that a large chunk of the entire singer-songwriter category can trace some of their musical lineage back to Dylan and his changing adaptation of folk.
As the 1960s blossomed into one of the richest moments in pop culture history, Dylan became the frontrunner and would offer inspiration to a whole world of artists, who saw the singer as the way forward. In turn, it meant that, for a while at least, it was difficult not to hear the style and swagger of Dylan in a heap of different tunes from different artists. It was something the icon would eventually get used to, but for a time, there were two songs that sounded so keenly aligned with his own that he thought they could be copies.
John Lennon, along with the rest of The Beatles, spent a long time being devoted to Dylan. Arriving at similar times but at different ends of the pop spectrum, it is no secret that after a meeting with Dylan in 1964, Lennon and the rest of the band would begin to open up their songwriting style. Having previously spent their salad days writing “work songs” to fill dancefloors and empty record shop shelves, Dylan’s confessional style illuminated Lennon’s own pathway to greatness.
The Beatles man would find inspiration in Dylan’s ability to make pop personal and implement these teachings henceforth. There are a number of songs, therefore, that can be considered inspired by Dylan, ‘In My Life’ and ‘You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away’ are notable, with Lennon himself saying about the latter, “that’s me in my Dylan period”, when speaking to Playboy. But another track may have taken things a little too far.
‘Norwegian Wood’ is a beloved Lennon composition, but when Dylan heard it, he was sure it wasn’t written in Liverpool but in Greenwich, New York. Upon hearing the Rubber Soul song, Dylan apparently exclaimed: “What is this? It’s me, Bob. [John’s] doing me!” It feels strange for such a prolific songwriter as Lennon to lean so heavily on Dylan’s style, but it wouldn’t be the last time.
Neil Young was another young singer-songwriter making his way in the 1960s. He found fame with Buffalo Springfield before trudging out on his own solo career. It was during this lone escapade that Dylan would pull up one of his most famous songs as another seemingly direct ripoff of his style.
“I always liked Neil Young, but it bothered me every time I listened to ‘Heart of Gold,’” Dylan once said.
The reason was simple, not only did the track seemingly sound like Dylan but it also charted highly, something the ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ singer wasn’t as acquainted with as he would like: “I think it was up at number one for a long time, and I’d say, ‘Shit, that’s me. If it sounds like me, it should as well be me’”.
They say that imitation is the finest form of flattery, and if it is true, then Bob Dylan has been steamrolled more times than the M25. But, if there is an even higher compliment, it is that, without Dylan, there is a very strong chance that artists like John Lennon and Neil Young simply wouldn’t have reached the heights they did. Whether Dylan likes it that way or not remains to be known.
