Bob Dylan: Doing

“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.”

“Ron Rosenbaum: Why are you doing what you're doing?
Bob Dylan: [Pause] Because I don't know anything else to do. I'm good at it.
Ron Rosenbaum: How would you describe "it"?
Bob Dylan: I'm an artist. I try to create art.”

“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.”

“You always said people don't do what they believe in; they just do what's most convenient, then they repent.”

“Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul”

“When you asked me how I was doing, was that some kind of joke”

“the only thing i knew how to do was to keep on keeping on”

“I just don't hear anyone else making the music I'm making in my head, so I'll have to do it myself.”

“Can you cook and sew, make flowers grow, do you understand my pain? Are you willing to risk it all or is your love in vain?”

“Everything passes,
Everything changes,
Just do what you think you should do.”

“I wanted to read all these books, but I would have to have been in a rest home or something to do that (p. 37,).”

“Oh God said to Abraham, Kill me a son.
Abe says, Man, you must be puttin' me on.
God say, No. Abe say, What?
God say, You can do what you want Abe, but
the next time you see me comin' you better run.
Well Abe says, Where do you want this killin' done?
God says, Out on Highway 61.”

“Everything passes
Everything changes
Just do what you think you should do
And someday maybe
Who knows, baby
I'll come and be cryin' to you”

“I began to think about William Shakespeare, the great literary figure. I would reckon he thought of himself as a dramatist. The thought that he was writing literature couldn't have entered his head. His words were written for the stage. Meant to be spoken not read. When he was writing Hamlet, I'm sure he was thinking about a lot of different things: "Who're the right actors for these roles?" "How should this be staged?" "Do I really want to set this in Denmark?" His creative vision and ambitions were no doubt at the forefront of his mind, but there were also more mundane matters to consider and deal with. "Is the financing in place?" "Are there enough good seats for my patrons?" "Where am I going to get a human skull?"”

“When I saw you break down in front of the judge and cry real tears, it was the best damn thing I saw anybody do.”

“It sure do bother me to see my loved ones turning into puppets.”

“Bob Dylan: I do know what my songs are about.
Playboy: And what's that?
Bob Dylan: Oh, some are about four minutes; some are about five, and some, believe it or not, are about eleven or twelve.”

“Don't know how it all got started, I don't know what they do with their lives…”

“Forgive me, baby, for what I didn't do.”