Comments in Response to Dylan Singing Hard Rain at Town Hall, 1963

Painting by the author. Acrylic on panel, 36"x 24" $300

For sheer entertainment value, one of the best features of many online publications is the "Comments" section that follows many articles we read. Reason magazine, The Unherd and others have some pretty invigorating tussles. 

YouTube likewise enables comments as well. Reading them can tell you a lot about an an artist and his work. Last night I was listening to a few of Dylan classics from the early 60s and reading the comments. Here are some comments I gleaned from the 1148 comments on the video A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall {Live at Town Hall 1963}, one of Dylan's most significant concerts from his early career.

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I'm a 17 year old from England and I think Dylan is simply the greatest and no one will ever come close to him in terms of song writing. I saw him live back in November and it was one of the best experiences of my life (see a video on my channel). Long live Bob

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73 years old and I still get chills listening to his lyrics and the comfort knowing that there are people who actually see what is in front of them.

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"I met one man who was wounded in love, I met another man who was wounded in hatred." My favorite lyric of all time.

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I was there in Newport sitting on the wall at Freebody Park in '63 when he sang "Blowin' in the wind" for the first time on stage. Peter, Paul and Mary, Pete Seger and all accompanied him. It turned out to be so monumental. He dedicated it to Megar Evans. I was 12.

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the most visionary song ever and fifty years later it's still one of the greatest poems ever sung

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He was only 22 years old... How can you write such a masterpiece this young ? Definitely one of his top work in terms of poetry.

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My Gosh. I love some of Bob Dylan's later stuff but his early stuff is so raw and soulful. His voice is amazing. I don't know why people say he can't sing. Gives me shivers.

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The first time I heard the last verse from "And I'll tell it and think it and speak it and breathe it.." to the end it gave me chills down my spine to the tips of my toes. The clarity and vividness of his vision takes my breath away every time. The song up to that point is like waves slowly building, one greater than the one before, until it all comes crashing down as Dylan brings us from the past into the present, him standing in front of us "reflecting from the mountain."

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No matter when this song was written, its significance is residual and always relevant. Bob is such a genius.

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When i hear the applause at the end of this song, those folks had witnessed an event. Not an event like a concert or other gathering of people, but an historical event. A summary point in time usually reserved for great leaders to give a needed oratory of inspiration. Instead a young poet/troubadour steps up and delivers a performance so important they just don't clap, they are cheering. I can hear incredulity in their voices as not believing what they have just seen and heard they go bananas.

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It never fails to amaze & send shivers down my spine when i hear this recording, amazed that Bob wrote this at such a tender young age, it's no wonder that the force of nature that was/is Jimi Hendrix held him in such awe, Peace.

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Related Link 51 Years of Hard Rain

There's an immense quantity of Dylan material on YouTube. If you've never scanned the comments, this aim here is to prod you to do so. I especially enjoy seeing both teens and seniors sharing the same enthusiasm for Dylan's work.

EdNote: I do not know the protocol with regards to sharing other peoples' comments, whether I am supposed to identify them or leave them anonymous. I hotlinked the name of the video when I identified it above. Fwiw, it was posted by Jack Frost's alter ego Elston Gunn.