Selecting a favourite Bob Dylan song is almost an insurmountable challenge. Throughout his life, the man has experienced numerous incarnations of himself. Choosing just one piece of work that stands out above the rest feels almost as difficult as writing the songs themselves because he has put so many exquisite words to paper and to sound. Nevertheless, a lot of songwriters find that a particular Dylan song resonates with them because it complements their own songwriting skills. Undoubtedly, Robert Plant has a favourite.
It doesn’t take much searching to find praise for Bob Dylan. For example, when asked about Bob Dylan’s acceptance of the Nobel Prize in literature, Leonard Cohen compared it to “pinning a medal on Mount Everest for being the highest mountain.”
Bruce Springsteen also referred to the composer as “the father of my country” at one point. He mentioned the first time he heard Dylan’s music in a speech about the artist. Springsteen said, “I was very influenced by Dylan.” He is, in my opinion, the father of my nation. He started by giving me a picture of a nation I was familiar with. One that has a genuine sense of reality and veracity.
Of course, while this is all very well. It’s easy to see where Springsteen and Cohen and Dylan begin to resemble each other. Especially considering how much of their music is grounded in reality. Robert Plant sees things a little differently. True, he wrote a good number of songs about the actual world. However, he was also no stranger to losing himself in mythology. Because of this, it’s difficult to discern the degree of kinship, but the relationships are unquestionably present.
The fact that Dylan was essentially the first to bring profundity to emerging pop—and Plant is nothing if not profound—means that Dylan’s esteem is actually typical.
Robert Plant instantly responded to Mojo’s question about his favourite Bob Dylan song by citing “Talkin’ World War III Blues.” While reciting the lyrics, Plant concentrated especially on the line, “And I drove 42nd Street in my Cadillac / Good car to drive after a war.” I love where he goes, “Some time ago a crazy dream came to me / Dreamt I was walkin into World War Three.”
He went on, “He’s really moved some minds and mountains, hasn’t he? For a guy who wanted to be in The Teddy Bears with Phil Spector? His autobiography, Chronicles Vol. 1, is in my possession, but I don’t want to read it. I’ve read that he was a piece of work who kind of danced and lied with Mimi Farina. I thought I don’t need to know this; I just need to know a hard rain’s a-gonna fall.”
It’s amazing how many artists Dylan has had the opportunity to influence in his career. There is no doubting the influence of one of the greatest songwriters to have ever performed, regardless of how clear-cut the connections are or how difficult they are to understand.
