Bob Dylan - Boots of Spanish Leather
Bob Dylan is the stage moniker
of folk and rock legend Robert Allen Zimmerman. He became a sort of icon of popular culture in the early '60s, emerging as one of the preeminent folk artists of the time. However, in 1965, he released an album with an entire side dedicated to songs with an electrified rock band, and the single Like a Rolling Stone, which endeared him to fans of the genre, but earned him quite a bit of hostility from his folk fans, who considered this be 'selling out', as rock hadn't fully come into its own as a 'respectable' art form yet, though the Beatles and the Beach Boys were helping to change that perception in this same year. Dylan would, of course, be redeemed by time, as we now know that he was able to write some incredible songs as a part of the rock world.
Listen to Boots of Spanish Leather by Bob Dylan here.
This song is from Dylan's 1964 classic
The Times They Are a-Changin', which has some of my favorite tunes, like Only a Pawn in Their Game and With God On Our Side. This tune is probably my favorite long song from Dylan, telling the story of a couple who are separated when one of them leaves for a trip to Spain. The narrator alternates between each Verse, from the man to the woman, in letters they're sending back and forth. I really like the way Dylan tells stories; some of his songs are the same chord progression, just repeated over and over, but they manage to remain interesting because of what his lyrics add to the narrative.
