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The Beatles Meet Bob Dylan

Posted in Beatles, the, Bob Dylan, PEOPLE, tagged 1960s, Blowin in the Wind, Bob Dylan, Dylan meets the Beatles, John Lennon, Norwegian Wood, rubber soul, the delmonico hotel on March 10, 2025| Leave a Comment »

And how many ears must one man haveBefore he can hear people cry?Yes, and how many deaths will it take ’til he knowsThat too many people have died?

The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the windThe answer is blowin’ in the wind (1)

In 1964, the Beatles were in awe of songwriter Bob Dylan’s gift for lyrics, as evidenced here in the excerpt from Dylan’s 1962 classic song, “Blowin’ in the Wind.”

Bob Dylan, 1965

John Lennon wanted to meet Dylan but not as badly as he wanted to meet Elvis. Dylan, at 22, was a contemporary and a competitor, while Elvis had achieved mythic status for John. Elvis’ music had been the spark that moved him. John said,

‘Heartbreak Hotel’ was the most exciting thing we had ever heard.

John Lennon, 1964

John had to admit while Elvis’s rock and roll had captured his imagination and influenced his music, Dylan’s lyrics moved him to take more interest in his own lyric-writing.

Bob Dylan met the Beatles on August 28, 1964 at the Delmonico Hotel while the Beatles were in New York. Dylan introduced the Beatles to marijuana during that visit. And so began a long friendship between the Fabulous Four and Bob Dylan. Dylan’s lyrics turned John Lennon inward as a songwriter, expressing his feelings through his lyrics. Less and less, he wrote songs about holding hands and sharing secrets. Here is Lennon’s moody 1965 song, “Norwegian Wood” from the Beatles’ 1965 album, “Rubber Soul”:

I once had a girlOr should I say she once had meShe showed me her roomIsn’t it good Norwegian wood?

She asked me to stayAnd she told me to sit anywhereSo I looked aroundAnd I noticed there wasn’t a chair

I sat on a rug biding my timeDrinking her wineWe talked until two and then she said“It’s time for bed”

She told me she workedIn the morning and started to laughI told her I didn’tAnd crawled off to sleep in the bath

And when I awoke I was aloneThis bird had flownSo I lit a fireIsn’t it good Norwegian wood?