“Regardless of its purpose, the humpback-whale song is the most complex piece of nonhuman composition on earth. Whether it's art, prayer, or booty call, the humpback song is an amazing thing to experience firsthand, and I suspect that even once the science of it is put to bed, it will remain, as long as they sing, magic.”

As quoted in Woody Guthrie: A Life (1981) by Joe Klein, p. 160
Context: Woody is just Woody. Thousands of people do not know he has any other name. He is just a voice and a guitar. He sings the songs of a people and I suspect that he is, in a way, that people. Harsh voiced and nasal, his guitar hanging like a tire iron on a rusty rim, there is nothing sweet about Woody, and there is nothing sweet about the songs he sings. But there is something more important for those who will listen. There is the will of the people to endure and fight against oppression. I think we call this the American spirit.

Source: Uprooted

Liner notes https://bobdylan.com/albums/freewheelin-bob-dylan/, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963)

Quoted in Ode to a Nightingale in "The Complete Guide to Functional Writing in English}, pages= 11-12
About M.S.

Source: Tropic of Cancer

Song lyrics, Aerial (2005), A Sky of Honey (Disc 2)

"Sunday Bloody Sunday"
Lyrics, War (1983)

"The Crazy Woman"

iTunes interview (released June 2, 2007)
2007, 2008