04-27-2015, 02:09 AM
Indeed there is a similarity and it is known that Dylan used the poem "Lord Randall" as the basis for "A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall". In fact there are many instances where Dylan has 'borrowed' from old poems or folk songs, the most obvious (yet somehow not so obvious) example would be Dylan's "Girl From The North Country" which borrowed lyrics and structure from the old English folk tune "Scarborough Fair".
"Girl From The North Country" - Bob Dylan
If you're traveling in the north country fair
Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline
Remember me to one who lives there
For she was once a true love of mine.
"Scarborough Fair" - Traditional
Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme
Remember me to one who lives there
She once was a true love of mine
Sometimes these revelations shock people and they subsequently accuse Dylan of being a thief, a plagiarist and many other not so friendly descriptions. In fact if you were to google "Dylan plagiarism" I presume you would find a cauldron full of scathing attacks on him (I just checked and there is). However what a lot of people fail to understand is that at heart Dylan is and always was a folk musician and very much part of what can be called the 'Folk Tradition'. Folk music was also part of the oral tradition that you mentioned so lyrics and melodies were handed on and passed down through the generations. Over time there became a certain pool of standard lyrics that could be used by anyone, this is mostly prominent in blues music where the same phrases will be used many times in many different. I think that the overall feeling was that music was a shared experience and therefore melodies and lyrics weren't any one persons property. Another possible reason is also the need to improvise, especially in the blues, so you could use certain well known lyrics as the backbone to a song and intersperse it with your own contributions throughout.
In America there seems to be a lot of Celtic influence in a lot of their early folk songs, take for example the song "Lass Of Loch Royale" which has more than just a Celtic influenced title, here are two verses from that song,
"Lass Of Loch Royale"
I'm going away to a far distant land
I'm going away for a while
But I'll return to you my love
I'll go ten thousand miles
The sun will dry up the ocean
Heavens will cease to be
The world will lose it's motion
If I prove false to thee
And compare them to a couple of verses from the Robert Burns poem/song "A Red Red Rose" written in 1794,
"A Red Red Rose" - Robert Burns
And fare thee well, my only Luve
And fare thee well, a while!
And I will come again, my Luve,
Tho’ it were ten thousand mile.
Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi’ the sun:
I will luve thee still, my dear,
While the sands o’ life shall run.
So Dylan and many others have committed to this folk tradition firstly because it is tradition and secondly it is a way of showing respect to and knowledge of older folk songs. However in this modern age with copyright laws and accustaions of plagiarism it is easy to understand why people would react in a particular way especially when they have no knowledge of the folk tradition. Dylan also hasn't helped matters for himself by not trying to explain this to people when asked. He was once quoted as saying something like "It was something that used to happen in the old days" and that is about as much as he has said on it.
When the blues musician B.B. King was asked about people stealing lyrics from older songs he replied, "I don't think anybody steals anything; all of us borrow."
It is a fascinating topic and I could go on for hours about it but I shall restrain myself from doing so at the risk of boring everyone else.
Mark
"Girl From The North Country" - Bob Dylan
If you're traveling in the north country fair
Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline
Remember me to one who lives there
For she was once a true love of mine.
"Scarborough Fair" - Traditional
Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme
Remember me to one who lives there
She once was a true love of mine
Sometimes these revelations shock people and they subsequently accuse Dylan of being a thief, a plagiarist and many other not so friendly descriptions. In fact if you were to google "Dylan plagiarism" I presume you would find a cauldron full of scathing attacks on him (I just checked and there is). However what a lot of people fail to understand is that at heart Dylan is and always was a folk musician and very much part of what can be called the 'Folk Tradition'. Folk music was also part of the oral tradition that you mentioned so lyrics and melodies were handed on and passed down through the generations. Over time there became a certain pool of standard lyrics that could be used by anyone, this is mostly prominent in blues music where the same phrases will be used many times in many different. I think that the overall feeling was that music was a shared experience and therefore melodies and lyrics weren't any one persons property. Another possible reason is also the need to improvise, especially in the blues, so you could use certain well known lyrics as the backbone to a song and intersperse it with your own contributions throughout.
In America there seems to be a lot of Celtic influence in a lot of their early folk songs, take for example the song "Lass Of Loch Royale" which has more than just a Celtic influenced title, here are two verses from that song,
"Lass Of Loch Royale"
I'm going away to a far distant land
I'm going away for a while
But I'll return to you my love
I'll go ten thousand miles
The sun will dry up the ocean
Heavens will cease to be
The world will lose it's motion
If I prove false to thee
And compare them to a couple of verses from the Robert Burns poem/song "A Red Red Rose" written in 1794,
"A Red Red Rose" - Robert Burns
And fare thee well, my only Luve
And fare thee well, a while!
And I will come again, my Luve,
Tho’ it were ten thousand mile.
Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi’ the sun:
I will luve thee still, my dear,
While the sands o’ life shall run.
So Dylan and many others have committed to this folk tradition firstly because it is tradition and secondly it is a way of showing respect to and knowledge of older folk songs. However in this modern age with copyright laws and accustaions of plagiarism it is easy to understand why people would react in a particular way especially when they have no knowledge of the folk tradition. Dylan also hasn't helped matters for himself by not trying to explain this to people when asked. He was once quoted as saying something like "It was something that used to happen in the old days" and that is about as much as he has said on it.
When the blues musician B.B. King was asked about people stealing lyrics from older songs he replied, "I don't think anybody steals anything; all of us borrow."
It is a fascinating topic and I could go on for hours about it but I shall restrain myself from doing so at the risk of boring everyone else.
Mark
wae aye man ye radgie