The Bob Dylan Song He Wrote to Parody The Beatles
The Beatles were heavily influenced by Bob Dylan, especially John Lennon. Lennon gravitated toward Dylan’s more introspective songwriting style and brought that into his music. While many of Lennon’s songs for The Beatles were inspired by Bob Dylan, the “Blowin’ in the Wind” singer thought he went too far with one song.
Bob Dylan was furious that ‘Norwegian Wood’ ripped him off
“Norwegian Wood” is from The Beatles’ 1965 album Rubber Soul. The song was written by John Lennon and was a veiled admission to an affair he was involved in. It was also the first song that featured George Harrison playing the sitar. The song is influenced by Dylan’s songwriting, with Lennon delivering more reflective and personal lyrics.
While Lennon channeled Bob Dylan for many Beatles tracks, Dylan was particularly enraged by “Norwegian Wood”. According to author David Dalton’s book Who Is That Man? In Search of the Real Bob Dylan, Dylan grew frustrated with other artists copying him. Sonny & Cher admitted their hit “I Got You Babe” was influenced by him, and “Norwegian Wood” pushed him over the edge.
“What is this? It’s me, Bob. He’s doing me!” Dylan said. “Even Sonny and Cher are doing me, but, f***ing hell, I invented it.”
He wrote ‘4th Time Around’ as a parody of Lennon’s song
“4th Time Around” debuted in 1966 on the album Blonde on Blonde. Many believe Bob Dylan wrote the track to parody The Beatles’ “Norwegian Wood.” The two songs have similar melodies but different orchestrations. However, lyrics in the song have been interpreted to be shots at The Beatles. The line, “I never asked for your crutch/Now don’t ask for mine,” can be seen as Dylan telling The Beatles to stay in their lane.
In a 1968 interview with Rolling Stone, Lennon recalled being paranoid when Dylan played the song for him.
“I was very paranoid about that,” Lennon said. “I remember he played it to me when he was in London. He said, ‘what do you think?’ I said, ‘I don’t like it.’ I didn’t like it. I was very paranoid. I just didn’t like what I felt I was feeling – I thought it was an out-and-out skit, you know, but it wasn’t. It was great. I mean, he wasn’t playing any tricks on me. I was just going through the bit.”
Bob Dylan should have been outraged by a different Beatles song
While Dylan had his sights set on “Norwegian Wood,” he influenced several other songs in The Beatles’ discography. “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away”, from the band’s 1965 Help! album, was closer to full-on copying Dylan than “Norwegian Wood.” McCartney once said that Lennon sounded like Dylan on the track, and Lennon admitted to being in his “Dylan period” for that song.
“That’s me in my Dylan period again,” Lennon told David Sheff in a 1980 interview. “I am like a chameleon… influenced by whatever is going on. If Elvis can do it, I can do it. If the Everly Brothers can do it, me and Paul can. Same with Dylan.”
