3 Genius Songs Bob Dylan Wrote by 21 Years Old

Bob Dylan is widely considered one of the greatest songwriters ever. He could easily be the greatest. His poetry, imagery, and knack for grabbing a listener’s ear, even with the simplest of musical accompaniment, are unparalleled.

Videos by American Songwriter

To prove that, we wanted to explore three songs from early on in Dylan’s career. This trio of tracks, had they been released by another artist, might have been enough for a Hall of Fame career in and of themselves. Indeed, these are three genius Bob Dylan songs that the Bard wrote by the time he was 21 years old.

“Talkin’ New York” from ‘Bob Dylan’ (1962)

Born on May 24, 1941, Bob Dylan released his debut self-titled album in 1962 when he was just 20 years old. The record was recorded quickly and largely features just Dylan singing traditional songs over his acoustic guitar. But the record does include a few originals, including “Talkin’ New York”. That track includes harmonica playing by the young artist. In between hitting the mouth harp, he sing-talks about the city which he’s made his new home and the new career he’s embarking on. He offers:

“Rambling out of the Wild West
Leaving the towns I love the best
Thought I’d seen some ups and downs
‘Till I come into New York town.
People going down to the ground
Buildings going up to the sky.”

“Girl From The North Country” from ‘The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan’ (1963)

While this album was released just days after Bob Dylan celebrated his 22nd birthday, the songs were still written when the Bard was 21. And in “Girl From The North Country”, Dylan sings as he plucks his guitar. The result is a tune that sounds like it’s a thousand years old, but Dylan wrote it right around then in the early 60s. It’s a sad, forlorn song about the beauty of a woman and the distance the singer has from her now. Dylan sings:

“If you’re travelin’ in the north country fair
Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline
Remember me to one who lives there
She once was a true love of mine.

If you go when the snowflakes storm
When the rivers freeze and summer ends
Please see if she’s wearing a coat so warm
To keep her from the howlin’ winds.”

“Bob Dylan’s Blues” from ‘The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan’ (1963)

Another talking-blues song by Dylan, this track has humor baked into its lyrics. Dylan talks about television show characters and the folks songs that come out of Tin Pan Alley. Earlier in his career, Dylan released several songs like this, where he tells surreal stories about wild characters. He often explored things that popped up in his dreams or waking imagination. Indeed, on this cartoonish track, Dylan offers:

“Unlike most of the songs nowadays that have been written up in Tin Pan Alley
That’s where most of the folk songs come from nowadays.
This, this is a song, this wasn’t written up there
This was written somewhere down in the United States.

Well, the Lone Ranger and Tonto
They are ridin’ down the line
Fixin’ everybody’s troubles.
Everybody’s except mine
Someone musta told them that I was doin’ fine.”

Photo by Val Wilmer/Redferns