3 Bob Dylan Hit Songs You Probably Forgot but Are Well Worth Remembering

When you’re going to jump into the catalog of Bob Dylan, it’s hard to know where to start. He has so many famous songs, great songs, necessary songs, and songs that impart wisdom and magic. Sometimes you even forget which songs of his are great. Sometimes you need a reminder.

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Here below, we wanted to do just that—to explore the lesser known or perhaps forgotten Dylan tracks that are well worth remembering. Especially as the Oscar season continues to heat up and the new Dylan biopic is on the tip of many tongues. Indeed, these are three Bob Dylan hit songs you probably forgot about but need to remember.

[RELATED: 3 Songwriters Who Were Called “the Next Bob Dylan”]

“Love Sick” from Time Out of Mind (1998)

This is Bob Dylan at his most vulnerable. Gone is the lush language and in its place a hurting, painful feeling. Dylan might as well be in Jesus Chris pose, blood coming from the nails in his hands. It’s not that this song is religious in any specific way, it’s just that he’s so bare. Even with sharp organ tones and ambient guitars and drums, Dylan seems to mourn life itself. He’s been in love so much in his creative life and now he’s just lovesick. This was a bit of a comeback song for Dylan, released in 1998 at a time when some thought his best days were behind him. Not the case. Here, he sings,

I’m walkin’
Through streets that are dead
Walkin’
Walkin’ with you in my head
My feet are so tired
My brain is so wired
And the clouds are weepin’

Did I
Hear someone tell a lie?
Did I
Hear someone’s distant cry?
I spoke like a child
You destroyed me with a smile
While I was sleepin’

“Isis” from Desire (1976)

This is an incredible song, an epic story about two men who go off in search of something. The singer has just broken up with his wife and it’s shaken him to the core. Then he chances upon someone who suggests a search for something. So, the two go off for it. But when the singer gets to the destination, he finds nothing. The purpose, it turns out, was just to get the singer’s mind off his divorce for a bit. Sometimes moving on can lead to a reconciliation. And that’s what this song explains. Sings Dylan,

I married Isis on the fifth day of May
But I could not hold on to her very long
So I cut off my hair and I rode straight away
For the wild unknown country where I could not go wrong

“Gotta Serve Somebody” from Slow Train Coming (1979)

It’s interesting to hear a master of an art form sing about serving somebody. But that’s exactly what Dylan sings about here. And he’s right. In whatever task you endeavor—even if that task is an attempt at achieving nothing—you’re going to have to be in service of somebody. The chorus of the song has religious connotations and it makes sense because Dylan went through a godly phase in his creative and personal life. And perhaps this track is the best to come from that period. He sings,

You may be an ambassador to England or France
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world
You might be a socialite with a long string of pearls

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
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

Photo by Gai Terrell/Redferns