Bob Dylan Said He Often Felt Like a ‘Fool’ When He Read His Interviews
Bob Dylan has been famous for 60 years, and, in that time, he has given countless interviews. In some, he is revealing and honest; in others, Dylan appears unwilling to reveal much about his private life. He said that he usually does not like to read his interviews back, because he feels like he’s been played for a fool.
Bob Dylan said he often felt the press misrepresented him in interviews
Though Dylan has given hundreds of interviews in his lifetime, he said that he does not appreciate the way the press portrays him.
“The press has always misrepresented me,” he said, per the book The Ballad of Bob Dylan: A Portrait by Daniel Mark Epstein. “They refuse to accept what I am and what I do. They always sensationalize and blow things up … It makes me feel better to write one song than talk to a thousand journalists.”
Perhaps because of this, Dylan has made a number of statements of dubious truthfulness in interviews and his memoir.
Bob Dylan did not like to read his interviews
Dylan said that after he gave interviews, he felt uncomfortable reading them. In many ways, he said he felt used after interviews.
“People don’t understand how the press works,” he told Rolling Stone in 1969. “People don’t understand that the press, they just use you to sell papers. And, in a certain way, that’s not bad … but when they misquote you all the time, and when they just use you to fill in some story.”
He explained that when he read his interviews, he felt like the journalist played him for a fool.
“And when you read it after, it isn’t anything the way you pictured it happening,” he said. “Well, anyhow, it hurts. It hurts because you think you were just played for a fool. And the more hurts you get, the less you want to do it. Ain’t that correct?”
Despite this, Dylan said he liked his interviews, even if he didn’t read all of them.
“In a way, I like ’em all, whether I feel bad about ’em or not, in a way I like ’em all,” he said. “I seldom get a kick out of them, Jann, but . . . I mean, I just can’t be spending my time reading what people write. (laughter). I don’t know anybody who can, do you?”
He once retreated from public life
In 1966, Dylan was in a motorcycle accident near his home in Woodstock, New York. He remained out of the public eye as he recovered, and he said that it was nice to take a break. He was able to spend time with his family.
“Then, I had that motorcycle accident, which put me outta commission,” he told Rolling Stone in 1992. “Then, when I woke up and caught my senses, I realized I was just working for all these leeches. And I didn’t want to do that. Plus, I had a family, and I just wanted to see my kids.”
