Bob Dylan Quotes That Will Speak To Your Mind And Soul

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.

Check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily inspiration.

Our inspirational quotes category page has all of our motivational quotes for all the different areas of life.

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
If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to read our collection of one day at a time quotes to live by.

Thought-provoking Bob Dylan quotes

51. “They say every man needs protection, they say every man must fall. yet I swear I see my reflection, some place high above this wall…..and someday I shall be released.” – Bob Dylan

52. “Sometimes it’s not enough to know what things mean, sometimes you have to know what things don’t mean.” – Bob Dylan

53. “Act the way you’d like to be and soon you’ll be the way you’d like to act.” – Bob Dylan

54. “You don’t have to be afraid of looking into my face. We’ve done nothing to each other that time will not erase.” – Bob Dylan

55. “May you grow up to be righteous, may you grow up to be true. May you always know the truth and see the lights surrounding you. May you always be courageous, stand upright and be strong. May you stay forever young.” – Bob Dylan

56. “All the truth in the world adds up to one big lie.” – Bob Dylan

57. “You better start swimming, or you’ll sink like a stone. Because the Time’s they are a-changing.” – Bob Dylan

58. “The worth of things can’t be measured by what they cost but by what the cost you to get it, that if anything costs you your faith or your family, then the price is too high, and that there are some things that will never wear out.” – Bob Dylan

59. “Whatever colors you have in your mind, I’ll show them to you and you’ll see them shine.” – Bob Dylan

60. “Being noticed can be a burden. Jesus got himself crucified because he got himself noticed. So I disappear a lot.” – Bob Dylan

More Bob Dylan quotes

61. “You can never be wise and be in love at the same time.” – Bob Dylan

62. “What was the future? The future was a solid wall, not promising, not threatening – all bunk. No guarantees of anything, not even the guarantee that life isn’t one big joke.” – Bob Dylan

63. “Why be bothered with other people’s set-ups? it only leads to torture.” – Bob Dylan

64. “When you’ve got nothing, you’ve got nothing to loose.” – Bob Dylan

65. “There is nothing so stable as change.” – Bob Dylan

66. “Keep a good head and always carry a light bulb.” – Bob Dylan

67. “It’s very tiring having other people tell you how much they dig you if you yourself don’t dig you.” – Bob Dylan

68. “You can always come back, but you can’t come back all the way.” – Bob Dylan

69. “Privacy is something you can sell, but you can’t buy it back.” – Bob Dylan

70. “People have a hard time accepting anything that overwhelms them.” – 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.

By

Norbert Juma, Lead Editor

Master quote curator and editor on a mission to inspire.

March 11, 2021 6:00 AM EST