Bob Dylan Wishes Paul McCartney Would Just Retire, and His Reasoning Is Actually Pretty Awesome

Bob Dylan might be the best songwriter of all time, however, he seemingly doesn’t let this title lift his ego to a detrimental altitude. Dylan knows where and when to pay credit, and on the contrary, he also knows when to give someone the business. Regarding the prior comment, there is seemingly no other artist Dylan has praised more than Paul McCartney.

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Paul McCartney and Bob Dylan both exist as some of the world’s greatest songwriters but for two entirely different types of music. McCartney is a masterful melody maker, whereas Dylan can write poetry nearly on par with Robert Frost. Regardless of these differences, both musicians saw the novelty in each other’s work, and their potentially competitive nature didn’t get in the way of vocalizing such feelings.

Why Bob Dylan is In “Awe” of Paul McCartney

Before we divulge Dylan’s kind comments about McCartney, in 2023, McCartney stated, “Bob Dylan keeps coming up in my mind, but I don’t know if we’ll ever get round to it.” McCartney’s comment came as a result of a question asked about potential collaborations. Though, per his comments, that will seemingly never happen.

McCartney’s comments were kind, though, Dylan’s comments go beyond kind and fall under the category of praise. In a 2007 interview with Rolling Stone, Dylan told the publication, “I’m in awe of Paul McCartney” and “He’s about the only one that I am in awe of. But I’m in awe of him.”

Dylan continued, “He can do it all and he’s never let up, you know” and “He’s got the gift for melody, he’s got the rhythm. He can play any instrument. He can scream and shout as good as anybody and he can sing the ballad as good as anybody.” “And his melodies are, you know, effortless. That’s what you have to be in awe. I’m in awe of him maybe just because he’s just so damn effortless,” added Dylan.

Humorously, Dylan concluded, “I mean I just wish he’d quit, you know? Just everything and anything that comes out of his mouth is just framed in a melody.” Dylan said it himself, he rarely if ever praises musicians to this degree. Frankly, the only other notable instance in which Dylan has shared such an opinion is when he praised John Prine’s music by calling it, “pure Proustian existentialism.” However, it is entirely evident that Paul McCartney prohibits even Bob Dylan from biting his tongue.

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