For more than fifty years, Bob Dylan has been a cultural icon. His free thinking and meaningful ways of expressing himself through song and speech have inspired millions throughout the past several generations. Allow these awesome Bob Dylan quotes to speak to your soul and open your mind.
Born on May 24, 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota, Dylan was already showing signs of his natural talent from an early age. According to his mother, he had a natural ability to write poetry. Dylan formed several bands while in high school and went on to become one of the most influential popular musicians of the twentieth century.
In the 1960s, Dylan was involved in the Civil Rights Movement and Anti-War Movement. He wrote protest songs such as “Blowin’ in the Wind”and “The Times They Are a-Changin,” which helped change the course of history. Through his music and songs, he provided the “emotional drive” behind the movements.
In recognition of his work, Dylan has received numerous awards, including the Nobel Prize in Literature, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, ten Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and an Academy Award. Besides, he is one of the best-selling music artists of all time and his work has been exhibited in major art galleries.
As someone whose name has become enshrined in musical history, Bob Dylan has certainly managed to tap into his Everyday Power. In that respect, below is our collection of inspirational, wise, and thoughtful Bob Dylan quotes and sayings, collected from a variety of sources over the years.
Bob Dylan Quotes That Will Speak To Your Mind And Soul
1. “You learn from a conglomeration of the incredible past – whatever experience gotten in any way whatsoever.” – Bob Dylan
2. “Behind every beautiful thing, there’s some kind of pain.”― Bob Dylan
3. “I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his freedom.”― Bob Dylan
4. “I define nothing. Not beauty, not patriotism. I take each thing as it is, without prior rules about what it should be.” – Bob Dylan
5. “May your heart always be joyful. May your song always be sung.”― Bob Dylan
6. “A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to do.” ― Bob Dylan
7. “When you cease to exist, then who will you blame?” ― Bob Dylan
8. “When you feel in your gut what you are and then dynamically pursue it – don’t back down and don’t give up – then you’re going to mystify a lot of folks.”― Bob Dylan
9. “You’re gonna have to serve somebody; well, it may be the devil, or it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody…”― Bob Dylan
10. “I’m mortified to be on the stage, but then again, it’s the only place where I’m happy.” – Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan quotes that will inspire you to create your own way of thinking
11. “The future for me is already a thing of the past – You were my first love and you will be my last”― Bob Dylan
12. “You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.” ― Bob Dylan
13. “If you try to be anyone but yourself, you will fail; if you are not true to your own heart, you will fail. Then again, there’s no success like failure”― Bob Dylan
14. “People seldom do what they believe in. They do what is convenient, then repent.” – Bob Dylan
15. “Even if you don’t have all the things you want, be grateful for the things you don’t have that you don’t want (Bob Dylan’s dad)”― Bob Dylan
16. “You been down to the bottom with a bad man, babe But you’re back were you belong”― Bob Dylan
17. “Anybody can be specific and obvious. That’s always been the easy way. It’s not that it’s so difficult to be unspecific and less obvious; it’s just that there’s nothing, absolutely nothing, to be specific and obvious about.” – Bob Dylan
18. “Don’t criticize what you can’t understand.”― Bob Dylan
19. “Don’t matter how much money you got, there’s only two kinds of people: there’s saved people and there’s lost people.” – Bob Dylan
20. “I think the truly natural things are dreams, which nature can’t touch with decay.”― Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan quotes that will speak to your soul and open your mind
21. “I think women rule the world and that no man has ever done anything that a woman either hasn’t allowed him to do or encouraged him to do.”― Bob Dylan
22. “You call yourself what you want to call yourself. This is the land of the free.” – Bob Dylan
23. “Gonna change my way of thinking, make my self a different set of rules. Gonna put my good foot forward and stop being influenced by fools.” ― Bob Dylan
24. “If you want to keep your memories, you first have to live them.”― Bob Dylan
25. “A lot of people can’t stand touring but to me it’s like breathing. I do it because I’m driven to do it.” – Bob Dylan
26. “Yesterday’s just a memory, tomorrow is never what it’s supposed to be.” – Bob Dylan
27. “I don’t think the human mind can comprehend the past and the future. They are both just illusions that can manipulate you into thinking there’s some kind of change.” – Bob Dylan
28. “A lot of people don’t like the road, but it’s as natural to me as breathing.” – Bob Dylan
29. “You need something to open up a new door, to show you something you seen before but overlooked a hundred times or more” ― Bob Dylan
30. “Some people seem to fade away but then when they are truly gone, it’s like they didn’t fade away at all.”― Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan quotes for your daily inspiration
31. “Every pleasure’s got an edge of pain, pay your ticket and don’t complain”― Bob Dylan
32. “I wish that for just one time you could stand inside my shoes… Then you’d know what a drag it is to see you.”― Bob Dylan
33. “I’m not the kind of cat that’s going to cut off an ear if I can’t do something.” – Bob Dylan
34. “I don’t think I’ve ever been an agnostic. I’ve always thought there’s a superior power, that this is not the real world and that there’s a world to come.” – Bob Dylan
35. “People have different emotional levels. Especially when you’re young.” – Bob Dylan
36. “Here’s the thing with me and the religious thing. This is the flat-out truth: I find the religiosity and philosophy in the music. I don’t find it anywhere else.” – Bob Dylan
37. “It’s a wicked life, but what the hell, the stars ain’t falling down.”― Bob Dylan
38. “Some times I think this whole world Is one big prison yeard Some of us are prisoners The rest of us are guards.”― Bob Dylan
39. “It’s hard to speculate what tomorrow may bring.” – Bob Dylan
40. “Mona Lisa must have had the highway blues; you can tell by the way she smiles.” ― Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan quotes that will change your mind
41. “The only thing I knew how to do was to keep on keeping on.”― Bob Dylan
42. “My father probably thought the capital of the world was wherever he was at the time. It couldn’t possibly be any place else. Where he and his wife were in their own home, that, for them, was the capital of the world.” – Bob Dylan
43. “People disagreeing everywhere you look makes you wanna stop and read a book. ” ― Bob Dylan
44. “I kinda live where I find myself.” – Bob Dylan
45. “I stopped smoking. When I stopped smoking, my voice changed… so drastically, I couldn’t believe it myself.” – Bob Dylan
46. “Just because you like my stuff doesn’t mean I owe you anything.” – Bob Dylan
47. “It’s like my whole life never happened, When I see you, it’s as if I never had a thought. I know this dream, it might be crazy, But it’s the only one I’ve got.”― Bob Dylan
48. “To live outside the law you must be honest.” ― Bob Dylan
49. “Life is more or less a lie, but then again, that’s exactly the way we want it to be.” ― Bob Dylan
50. “There’s only one day at a time here, then it’s tonight and then tomorrow will be today again.” ― Bob Dylan
Which of these Bob Dylan quotes is your favorite?
Bob Dylan continues to inspire millions of people through his art of songwriting. Throughout the years, he has been an active voice for social and political change.
Dylan is a great example of how we can use our creative talents to effect positive change in society. Hopefully, his words have inspired you to create your own way of thinking
Which of these Bob Dylan quotes resonated with you best? Do you have any other favorite quotes to add? Let us know in the comment section below. We would love to hear all about it.
