Dylan Lines in 4/4 Time: A Trivia Contest for the Super Fans

Spring is in the air, and with it comes the final planning for Duluth Dylan Fest, which unfolds each year during the week of Bob Dylan's birthday the last week in May. Sadly, the pandemic overruled our plans for 2020 and there only a handful of streaming events that occurred. 

As the planning for 2021 began in earnest last September, it was slowly becoming apparent that even this year's celebration was probably going to be somewhat crimped. Even so, there are some special events in the works and a full schedule will be unveiled soon.  

Wednesday I wrote about the Call for Poetry for our Poetry Contest, thanks to the hard work of the author, poet and Harvard grad on our team, Phil Fitzpatrick. There will also be a Singer Songwriter contest, and lots of music--some of it even live. We've also been finalizing negotiations with a special speaker for out John Bushey Lecture Series.

Someone recently expressed disappointment that there will not be Dylan Trivia Night, so I decided to put together this one for the Super Fans. Super Fan, in this case, is someone who already knows all of the albums by name. But do you know the songs on all these albums?

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Before sharing the contest, I wanted to share a new podcast for Dylan fans called The Bobcats. I like the name for two reasons, actually. The first, obviously, is how nice it works as a play on words. Dylan was the ultimate cool cat in his day. His name it Bob. Thus, Bobcat is a moniker drawn from this play on words, a podcast for Bob fans. 

The second reason I like it is that the mascot for my alma mater--Ohio University in Athens, Ohio--is the Bobcat. How cool is that? Interestingly enough, the very first week I was in college I met a guy who put strings on a guitar that he found in a dumpster and was playing "Highway 61 Revisited." Another kid I met in my dorm that week also played guitar said I ought to learn harmonica, which I proceeded to do, and have been playing ever since.

The creator/host of this podcast is Matt Steichen. You can find his podcast here at The Bobcats.

Here's a link to the event where I first met Matt, inside the studio of Paul Metsa's Wall of Power.

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DYLAN LINES in 4/4 TIME

OK, here's the game. I have taken the fourth line of the fourth song from every Dylan album up through Under the Red Sky. I considered shuffling them, but decided that this would be a good enough challenge as is. 

Your objective is to Name the Album and the Song. This will test how deep your experience is with the Dylan catalog. Many will be easy for many of you. This is a Grade Yourself quiz. The answer key is here on the Albums page at BobDylan.com: bobdylan.com/albums/

If you aren't up for the Trivia challenge, just enjoy reading the lines. Consider it a poem titled... 

Dylan Lines in 4/4 Time

Where I was born and partly raised

With my suitcase in my hand

The dogs’ll lose their bark

Seeming to be the chimes of freedom flashing

Yet she’s true, like ice, like fire

Well, if I go down dyin’, you know she bound to put a blanket on my bed.

You just happened to be there, that’s all

I’m not the one you need

“None of them along the line know what any of it is worth”

I treated her like a fool

And all the people say, "There goes Tom Moore, in the days of '49"

And he said, “Well, well, well”

But I know that he don’t talk

Instrumental Theme

The old soft shoe

Ooh, a little touch of your love

I feel like I’m knockin’ on heaven’s door

She inherited a million bucks and when she died it came to me

Rain to the town.

On the pillow where you lie

And you must realize the danger

Honey, I can’t tell right from wrong

And you say, “Who is that man?”

Have they counted the cost it’ll take to bring down

What can I do for You?

More of an outlaw than you ever were

First step was touching the moon

First step was touching the moon

But they made a killer out of him

Shut the light, shut the shade

Precious memories flood my soul

Won’t you come see me, Queen Jane?

And all that you’ve held sacred

’Cross the valleys and streams

When we were made of dreams 

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To catch updates for Duluth Dylan Fest visit Duluth Dylan Fest on Facebook or BobDylanWay.com