Where the Songs Began: Reflecting on Dylan from a Seat at Hibbing High

For years Dylan fans in Hibbing were trying to figure out how to honor the Nobel Laureate who came of age there in the heart of the Iron Range. It's well-known here in Dylan circles that Bob didn't want a statue. With that in mind many alternative ideas were floated, and a monument concept was conceived. In 2021 that monument was unveiled on the front apron of the Hibbing High School he attended.

On the street side of the "wall" is a replica of the Nobel Prize. On the front side are lines from his catalog of 600+ songs In front of that sits a chair where one is obliged to sit and to imagine. What was going through Robert Zimmerman's mind as he sat in school there during his teen years? If you sit here, you can try to  imagine how this swirl of words drifted through his mind and flowed out from his pen.

I don't really know how the lyrics were selected, nor do I know how many people were tapped to share their thoughts or make those decisions, but it was a privilege for me to be privately invited to contribute, and later to help whittle down the lengthy list of suggestions.

That experience came to mind this week when I ran across the Word document I believe I'd submitted initially. I prefaced my seven-page submission with an acknowledgment that I knew some were unsuitable due to length, "but in sifting through the Dylan catalog I was once more reminded of how astonishing he is as a writer. The first page here is my 'top of the mountain' list. Feel free to select from the rest which are all exceptionally good."

I won't share all. We'll just call this an appetizer.

“There must be some way out of here,” said the Joker to the Thief.
--All Along the Watchtower

 

Anything I can sing, I call a song. Anything I can't sing, I call a poem.
--liner notes, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan

 

Art is the perpetual motion of illusion. The highest purpose of art is to inspire.

--Rolling Stone interview, 1978

 

You want to write songs that are bigger than life.

--Chronicles, Vol. 1

If someone had ever told me that I had the slightest chance of winning the Nobel Prize, I would have to think that I'd have about the same odds as standing on the moon.
--Nobel Lecture

 

How many roads must a man walk down before they call him a man?

--Blowing in the Wind

 

I’ll know my song well before I start singing.
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall.

--Hard Rain

 

Through the mad mystic hammering of the wild ripping hail,
The sky cracked its poems in naked wonder.

--Chimes of Freedom

 

But for the sky there are no fences facin’

--Mr. Tambourine Man

 

He not busy being born is busy dying

--It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)

 

Inside the museums, Infinity goes up on trial
--Visions of Johanna

 

In the fury of the moment I can see the Master’s hand
In every leaf that trembles, in every grain of sand

--Every Grain of Sand

 

You don’t need a weatherman
To know which way the wind blows

--Subterranean Homesick Blues

 

My love she laughs like the flowers
Valentines can’t buy her

--Love Minus Zero/No Limit

 

I’m ready to go anywhere, I’m ready for to fade
Into my own parade, cast your dancing spell my way
I promise to go under it

--Mr. Tambourine Man

 

The ghost of ’lectricity howls in the bones of her face
Where these visions of Johanna have now taken my place

--Visions of Johanna

 

Oh, Mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again

--Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again

 

Dear landlord
Please don’t put a price on my soul
My burden is heavy
My dreams are beyond control

--Dear Landlord

 

I pity the poor immigrant
Who wishes he would’ve stayed home

--I Pity the Poor Immigrant

To see him obviously framed
Couldn’t help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land
Where justice is a game

--Hurricane

Señor, señor, do you know where we’re headin’?
Lincoln County Road or Armageddon?
Seems like I been down this way before
Is there any truth in that, señor?

--Señor (Tales of Yankee Power)

 

Precious angel, under the sun
How was I to know you’d be the one
To show me I was blinded, to show me I was gone
How weak was the foundation I was standing upon?

--Precious Angel

 

The enemy is subtle, how be it we are so deceived
When the truth’s in our hearts and we still don’t believe?

--Precious Angel

Now he worships at an altar of a stagnant pool
And when he sees his reflection, he’s fulfilled

--License To Kill

What good am I if I’m like all the rest
If I just turn away, when I see how you’re dressed
If I shut myself off so I can’t hear you cry
What good am I?

--What Good Am I?

 

Well, my sense of humanity has gone down the drain
Behind every beautiful thing there’s been some kind of pain

--Not Dark Yet

I got my back to the sun ’cause the light is too intense
I can see what everybody in the world is up against

--Sugar Baby

 

Lot of things can get in the way when you’re tryin’ to do what’s right

--Honest With Me

 

As I walked out tonight in the mystic garden
The wounded flowers were dangling from the vines

--Ain’t Talkin’

 

In Scarlet Town where I was born
There’s ivy leaf and silver thorn

--Scarlet Town

 

Another day that don't end
Another ship goin' out
Another day of anger, bitterness, and doubt
I know how it happened
I saw it begin
I opened my heart to the world and the world came in
--False Prophet

 

This year's Duluth Dylan Fest will kick off with a Hibbing Day, May 17. This year's Fest will run through to the following Sunday, May 24, when Bob Dylan turns 85. Details of Hibbing Day: Front Lawn (Early) Birthday Party

Bob Dylan’s 85th Birthday Celebration
Live music by Gene Lafond & Amy Grillo
outside of Bob Dylan’s boyhood home
2425 7th Avenue East, Hibbing
10:30 AM-11:30 AM | Free

FULL SCHEDULE FOR THE WEEK CAN BE FOUND
HERE

https://duluthdylanfest.com/duluth-dylan-fest-2026/

Related Links

This Day In History: Concert #1031 of the Never Ending Tour and the Unveiling of the Hibbing Dylan Project

Dedication of the Rock Opens Big Day of Dylan Celebrations in Hibbing

Dedication of the Rock Opens Big Day of Dylan Celebrations in Hibbing

"THE TOWN I GREW UP IN IS THE ONE THAT HAS LEFT ME WITH MY LEGACY VISIONS."
—Bob Dylan, 1963
"11 Outlined Epitaphs"

Photo credit: Craig Grau

On Saturday, October 16, Hibbing hosted a number of events of interest related to Bob Dylan, who in 1959 graduated from high school here. The most significant moment of the day took place at 1:00 p.m. in front of the high school where The Hibbing Project tribute to Bob Dylan was unveiled.

Earlier in the day, however, another dedication took place. On the Mesaba Bike Trail adjacent to the Greyhound Bus Museum, a group of Hibbing notables, fans and media gathered to dedicate “The Rock,” a Dylan tribute inscribed with a quote from 11 Outlined Epitaphs. (For those unaware, Greyhound buses originated here in the Northland as a means for transporting workers to the mines.) 

The late Congressman Jim Oberstar played an instrumental role in helping to establish our Minnesota bike trail network which seems to have no beginning and no end. Wherever you start you can keep going on a never ending tour via more than a dozen statewide trails. The Mesabi Bike Trail comes through Hibbing. Many of these bike trails run where abandoned  railroad tracks once lay. It is hoped that additional rocks can be found or placed along the trail with additional Dylan citations.

The short program commenced with music by Megan and Jefferson Reynolds. John Ongaro, a government relations director, served as MC, welcoming all of us who attended before Megan and Jefferson opened by performing “When I Got Troubles” which teenager Bobby Zimmerman recorded on a home recording when he was 18. (You’ll find this recording on the soundtrack for Martin Scorsese’s No Direction Home.)

Jon Ongara noted how the Duluth Dylan Fest and the Hibbing Project teams have worked together to make this the St. Louis County Year of Dylan happen, of which Saturday's events were a part. After acknowledging Molly Johnsrud’s role in helping make things happen here, Ongaro introduced Representative Julie Sandstrede.

Rep. Julie Sandstede 'neath the trail marker.

Rep. Sandstrede began with a thought-provoking admonition from the last stanza of Dylan’s Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest: “So when you see your neighbor carrying somethin' // Help him with his load.”

She went on to share that the word Mesaba means “giant” and that Bob Dylan is a giant who has garnered accolades of the highest caliber, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Nobel Prize for Literature. “May the next generation of (Iron) Rangers make their own mark in the world,” she said. With a measure of pride for the heritage of this region she said that Hibbing is a town full of stories.

Paul MacDonald, Vice Chair of the St. Louis County Board of Commissioners, spoke next. In addition to representing the Northern part of St. Louis County, Paul is the son of the late Bob MacDonald, the legendary basketball coach of the Chisholm high school basketball team. MacDonald won more than a thousand games, more than any other coach in Minnesota history.* 

Jon Ongaro (R) introduces Paul MacDonald

“The backbone of the country came from the Iron Range. It’s work ethic. It’s moral,” MacDonald said. “People come to the Iron Range to knock on Heaven’s door.” 

Jon Ongaro closed the dedication by reading a passage from Bob Dylan’s 1963 poem 11 Outlined Epitaphs, from which the line inscribed on this rock was lifted.

Afterwards I spoke with a number of those who were present. Craig Grau, a retired UMD political science professor, called the etched trail marker “a rolling stone that stopped.”

I also spoke briefly with Julie Sandstede, in her third term as State Representative for District 6. I asked how if the current political atmosphere was making her jaded. “I refuse to be cynical. We need positive politics," she replied. 

I asked if she were a Dylan fan. “Growing up here, how could I not be?”

* * * 

 

In addition to the rock dedication and Hibbing Dylan Project unveiling, other events of the day included a tour of Hibbing High School, special hours for the Hibbing Historical Society featuring a display from Bill Pagel’s private Dylan Collection, a special opening of the Hull-Rust Mine View, and a free community concert in the Little Theater inside the Hibbing Memorial Arena at 7 pm featuring Amy Grillo and Gene LaFond with David Bennett and Sam Saccoman.

Here are more photos of the Tribute that is now installed in front of Hibbing High School. (Click to enlarge)

Katie Fredeen, Hibbing Dylan Project President, shares 
the history of the project, from conception to unveiling.

Related Links

Photos inside the Hibbing High School auditorium where young Bob Zimmerman performed here as a youth.

The Dylan Tribute unveiled. 

*After winning 1012 games in his career as a coach, Bob MacDonald was inducted into the NFHS National High School Hall of Fame.

Bob Dylan Turns 80: Too Many Events, Too Little Time -- Photos from Saturday

The Zimmerman home in Hibbing where young Bob
lived before setting off on his life adventure. 

Saturday was the groundbreaking for a memorial in front of the historic Hibbing High School, organized by a team called The Hibbing Project. I was told there were about 80 people present, one for each year of his life, I guess. After the event at the high school the festivities moved down the street to the former Hibbing home of Bob Dylan, now owned by Bill Pagel.

Saturday was also the opening day of the Dylan @ 80: TU Institute for Bob Dylan Studies, the first of three days of streaming roundtables, presentations and information about the historic Bob Dylan archives which have been acquired, assorted and will be studied for years to come. 

And finally, Saturday was the kickoff of our nine-day Duluth Dylan Fest, honoring Duluth's native son with music, poetry and other events.  

Saturday in Duluth began with a tour of historic places related to the Bob Dylan story, which technically begins in Duluth. (Theoretically, you can go deeper into Dylan's roots and find elements of his family history that prove relevant to his formative development. Some of that is covered in Dave Engel's book Just Like Bob Zimmerman's Blues. Mr. Engel will be our featured speaker in the John Bushey Memorial Lecture Series this coming weekend.) 

8 VIPs with gold shovels. Bill Pagel hoped to 
steal one for his archives.

The evening events included a special show on KUMD's Highway 61 Revisited, hosted by Miriam. Afterwards the Bob Dylan Revue reunited to perform a socially distanced and streamlined live show, one of many events featuring Dylan music. The photos here begin with the Hibbing Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Dylan Project, photos courtesy Nelson French grew up nearby in the 'hood.

* * * 

The city creatively embellished
the crosswalk in front of Bob's home.

The photos beneath, courtesy Michael Anderson, 

feature the event at Sacred Heart. 

* * * 

TODAY IS BOB DYLAN'S BIRTHDAY

This week is Duluth Dylan Fest. Join us.
Many events this week will be streaming, some 
will be live, like the Birthday Party on the Porch 
here in Duluth where young Robert spent his 1st six years.
1:00 p.m. CST. We'll meet you there.

Duluth Dylan Fest Links

www.bobdylanway.com

www.duluthdylanfest.com

www.facebook.com/duluthdylanfest/