Performed Literature: Words and Music by Bob DylanBob Dylan is not a poet. He is a singer-songwriter, a performing artist. The unit of his art, as collected and documented by his intended audience, is the live performance. Right now, no existing technological tool can give researchers ready access to his entire corpus of work. Revised from the author's Ph.D. dissertation (UC Berkeley, 1978) and again from its first edition (Indiana UP, 1982), Performed Literature develops a methodology for close analysis of verbal art that is heard, not seen, using as comparative examples 24 performances of 11 songs by Bob Dylan. The second edition adds a preface, two major appendices and one minor one, and a detailed index. |
From inside the book
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Page 33
The harmonica plays for four measures at the song ' s opening , after the four -
measure instrumental introduction and before the words ; then it does not
reappear until after all five sung stanzas . There , while the rest of the band plays
through ...
The harmonica plays for four measures at the song ' s opening , after the four -
measure instrumental introduction and before the words ; then it does not
reappear until after all five sung stanzas . There , while the rest of the band plays
through ...
Page 45
Besides the usual bass , other guitars , drums , and piano , musicians play violin ,
mandolin , bells , congas , and a bellzouki ( presumably invented by Vincent Bell
, who plays it ) . Dylan shares vocals on Desire with two men and two women ...
Besides the usual bass , other guitars , drums , and piano , musicians play violin ,
mandolin , bells , congas , and a bellzouki ( presumably invented by Vincent Bell
, who plays it ) . Dylan shares vocals on Desire with two men and two women ...
Page 115
Alone and dignified , it plays a chord twice , then takes a brief step upward to play
a higher chord twice . It descends three solemn steps , then , but is interrupted by
two sharp drumbeats and then Ferry ' s slow , deliberate , carefully articulating ...
Alone and dignified , it plays a chord twice , then takes a brief step upward to play
a higher chord twice . It descends three solemn steps , then , but is interrupted by
two sharp drumbeats and then Ferry ' s slow , deliberate , carefully articulating ...
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Common terms and phrases
aesthetic ain't album alliteration appear artistic audience Babe Baby Band beat becomes begins Blues Bob Dylan breaks chords closing comes concert continues contrast couplet create culture drums Dylan's voice effect emotional example express eyes fall feel female final follow four fourth give guitar hard harmonica Idiot Wind imagery instrumental Isis it's Italy John lady lead leave less listener live Lonely looking mark meaning measures Miss move narrator narrator's never notes opening oppositions organ outtake patterns performance phrase pitch plays poetic rain recorded refer refrain released repeated response rhyme rock Rolling Stone sad-eyed scene seems sense shift Side sings song song's sound stands stanza structure studio suggests sung tell third throughout tradition understand verse vocal voice Warner Bros woman words York
Bibliographic information
| Title | Performed Literature: Words and Music by Bob Dylan |
| Authors | Betsy Bowden, Bob Dylan |
| Edition | 2, illustrated |
| Publisher | University Press of America, 2001 |
| Original from | the University of Michigan |
| Digitized | 11 May 2010 |
| ISBN | 0761819479, 9780761819479 |
| Length | 263 pages |
| Subjects | › › Literary Criticism / General Music / Instruction & Study / Songwriting |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |