Have you read or heard this odd sounding line: gambler’s passion & his slave?
Well, this gambler’s passion & his slave statement is actually taken from the book “Tarantula” written by Bob Dylan.
(Tarantula By Bob Dylan, New York:Simon And Schuster, 2008, Guns, The Falcon’s Mouthbook & Gashcat Unpunished, P. 6) source
This world renowned folk poet laureate wrote this collection of poems, lyrics and prose back in 1965 and 1966.
It is what they call his stream of consciousness (aka interior monologue).
The profusion of his random thoughts and feelings which pass through his mind.
Bob Dylan’s angry, funny, and strange written works in this book reflects his sense of protest, a verbal playfulness and spontaneity and chronicling everyday life and eccentricity on the street during the turbulent Sixties.
This experimental prose poetry book was listed among the “Top Five Unintelligible Sentences from Books Written by Rock Stars” in Spin Magazine.
(The List Issue, Spin Magazine Vol. 19, No. 4, April 2003, Spin Media LLC, P. 86) source
Here is another meaningless zany line which reads:
“…now’s not the time to act silly, so wear your big boots & jump on the garbage clowns…”
(Tarantula By Bob Dylan, New York: Simon And Schuster, 2008, Guns, The Falcon’s Mouthbook & Gashcat Unpunished, P. 3) source
Get this free book from the link below.
Tarantula By Bob Dylan
Click on this: Link
Note: The Link 2 is from Internet Archive library, and each time you can only borrow this book for just one hour access.
You cannot download and save it as your copy.
If you want to copy and save a copy for your personal use, read this tip, “How To Save Internet Archive Borrow Books: 1 Hour And 14 Days“.
Here is a short write-up about Bob Dylan.
He was born Robert Allen Zimmerman in 1941.
His classic songs “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “The Times They Are a-Changin’“, became anthems of both the civil rights movements and of those anti-Vietnam War.
Dylan’s early lyrics defied conventional pop music. He incorporated political, social, philosophical, and literary influences in his lyrics.
Gambler’s Passion & His Slave
Before Dylan’s protest songs became the sound-track of the 60s, he was a shy, small-town Minnesota boy who wrote poetry and pounded rock ‘n’ roll on the piano.
As reported in The Daily Collegian in 1986, his godfather, George Berman said:
He was a dreamer, like he was way out. […] He was writing poetry when he was 10 or 12 years old.
(Dylan Plays His Hometown by Jeff Baenen, The Collegian, Friday June 27, 1986, P. 13) source
In 1962, Dylan recorded his first studio self-titled album “Bob Dylan“, featured folk songs done in the style a la of his idol, the American folk legend Woody Guthrie.
This is what he said when he read the Woody Guthrie’s book “Bound For Glory“:
I went through it from cover to cover like a hurricane totally focused on every word, and the book sang out to me like the radio
(Chronicles: Volume One By Bob Dylan, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004, River Of Ice, P. 245) source
To get this free book by Bob Dylan, click any of the links below.
Chronicles: Volume One By Bob Dylan
Click on any of these: Link 1, Link 2, Link 3
Because of his obsession with Guthrie, he even wrote a tune called “Song to Woody“.
You can listen to the song “Song to Woody” here and the lyrics here.
Related: In 1943, E. P. Dutton & Co., published an autobiography by Woody Guthrie, titled “Bound For Glory“.
Bound For Glory By Woody Gurthrie
Click on this: Link
In 1976, this book was adapted into a film with the same title, which stars the late David Carradine.
To watch this free movie “Bound For Glory“, click on this: Link
Legendary Bob Dylan has been hailed as one of the most influential figures of the 20th century, musically and culturally.
In addition, Dylan or is also known as the master poet, caustic social critic and intrepid, guiding spirit of the counterculture generation, was included in the “Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century“.
On October 13th, 2016, Bob Dylan, the only musician to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Fans of Bob Dylan, you can watch the 2019 free documentary film “Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese“, by clicking on this: Link
Disclaimer: I do not own or publish the books and movies mentioned in this post. All the cited content are derived from their respective sites.