Bob Dylan

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

• autograph
• star struck
• voice of a generation
• counterculture

• protest song
• folk music
• gruff
• over the hill

• grizzled
• legend

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

Who is the greatest American songwriter alive today? A lot of people would probably say it’s Bob Dylan. He’s been writing and recording songs since the 1960s, when his powerful protest songs inspired an entire generation of young people who were fighting for peace and equality.

Bob Dylan’s music incorporates a lot of different influences, including folk, blues, country, and rock. Over the years, he has continued to grow and change as an artist. He still gives over 100 concerts per year, and he just released a new album of poetic and soulful songs, sung in his increasingly gruff voice, Tell Tale Signs.

But critics of Bob Dylan complain that he’s basically over the hill. They don’t like the rough sound of his voice and feel that his newer songs don’t live up to his earlier material. Listen to Marni tell Jason what it was like to see this legend in person.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Jason

Marni

Jason:  I know you cater for a lot of famous people…

Marni:  Yeah, yeah.

Jason:  Do you have, like, an autograph book or something you get them all to sign?

Marni:  No, actually, I…It’s kind of…I’m not very star struck easily, so I don’t…I mean, that’s actually part of, like, the job. You know, like, you need to be professional and not bother the artists. But there was one person that we catered for that I just couldn’t resist.

Jason:  Jordan Knight?

Marni:  Close! No, it was actually Bob Dylan.

Jason:  Oh, wow!

Marni:  Yeah. Yeah, well, you know, he’s like, he’s the voice of a generation. He was such a huge, you know, counterculture icon. I…He was right there, you know, sitting right in front of us. And I just couldn’t resist.

Jason:  What was he like? Was he as grizzled as his new music sounds?

Marni:  He…He actually looked pretty cool, I gotta say. He was like just sitting backstage with a cowboy hat on and cowboy boots. And he was just kind of chatting with, uh, fellow musicians. He, um…I mean, you know, he’s…I guess, you know, he’s older, he’s over the hill, whatever you want to say. But he…He looked great. And, I don’t know, I was really moved by him at that time.

Jason:  Oh, really.

Marni:  Yeah.

Jason:  Were you moved more by his legacy of you know, protest songs, and all that stuff, or are you moved still by his new music, his new sort of bluesier…

Marni:  Yeah, I guess I’m moved more by just sort of the legend of Bob Dylan. Just sort of his…who he is, you know, as a whole. I have to admit, like some of his newer songs…I think he’s like very hit or miss right now. Like his voice…Sometimes he sounds great, sometimes kind of garbled. That particular moment, he sounded great. Like that show, he actually sounded really good. And I was like, what a great note to go out on, to…to see Bob Dylan one last time.

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