Lennon Meets Dylan

admin · Post by **admin** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 1:27 am

A friend and I were discussing Lennon over the holidays and Dylan entered our conversation. Somewhere over the years I have read that Lennon and Dylan briefly discussed the Beatles music.

According to one source, Dylan made a comment to Lennon that The Beatles had the ear of a nation so "couldn't you say more."

I cannot find the reference to this meeting or statement. My question is, therefore, did Dylan ever say this to Lennon and if so when and where and what is the source?

admin · Post by **admin** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 3:36 am

Some information from the Blacklisted Journalist here.

brammy · Post by **brammy** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 9:25 am

I always got a kick (albeit a weird and disturbing one) out of the film of Lennon and Dylan in the back seat of the limo. Dylan is very drunk and on the verge of getting sick and Lennon is clearly not amused. It doesn't take much to see what Lennon is thinking... "Bloody 'ell, I wish this ride was over so I could get away from this obnoxious arsehole".

admin · Post by **admin** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 9:29 am

Yes here it is Brammy Cab Clip.

admin · Post by **admin** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 9:35 am

A suggested translation of the above cab ride.

Dylan Look. (Pointing out the window) There's the mighty Thames. That's what held Hitler back. Winston Churchill said that. (To the front seat driver) Ain't that right, Tom? (No answer) Ain't that right, Tom?

Tom The Driver (Off camera) Definitely.

(Uncomfortable silence in the car. The first of many)

Dylan (turning to Lennon) John. . . I think I'm going to turn you into Tyrone Power in a matter of time.

Lennon Say that again.

Dylan I think I'm going to turn you into Ronald Colman. . . or Peetie Wheatstraw. . . or Sleepy John Estes. . . or Robert Johnson. . . or go to medical school like J. Carroll Nash.

Lennon Or Johnny Cash and all the rest of them.

Dylan (Suddenly serious) Hey, I have Johnny Cash in my movie. . . hey. . . hey man, (Cash) doesn't know. . . he doesn't know. You know what Johnny Cash looks like, right? Have you spent much time around him?

Lennon Um.

Dylan (imitating Cash's awkward movements) He moves like that, man!

(Laughs, then suddenly catches himself and turns face front to the camera) Hey, you gotta cut that part of the film out, man. I really like him. . . Johnny's a nice guy. He just moves like that (makes motions again). . . all the good people, man, they move like that. . . (voices trails off, then he gives the camera a thumbs up). Johnny Cash. . . Hey Johnny!

Lennon (offkey) "Big River. . . Big River!"

(Uncomfortable silence. Heavy sighs all around. The drugs are kicking in)

Dylan I got. . . um. . .he's in the film.

Lennon Johnny's quite a guy, eh?

Dylan Quite a guy.

(Dylan groans a little. He's starting to look a little pale... Everyone talks at once and no one makes sense. Then Another uncomfortable silence).

Dylan You should've went out last night, John.

Lennon (waving his cigarette at the camera) Oh really, Bob!

Dylan (Rubbing his eyes) Man, I wish I could talk English, man!

Lennon Me too, Bobby!

Dylan (To Neuwirth) John can talk American, and I can talk English but I can never do it around John because (Dylan's head gets frighteningly close to the camera, speaking confidentially). John's such a great actor, man. Such a great actor that I. . .

Lennon He can't believe it's me. . .

(Another uncomfortable silence)

Dylan (looking out the window) Is this really the mighty Thames?

(Later in the ride, after Dylan psychobabbles nonsense and Lennon looks helplessly into the camera a few times with a 'help me' expression, Dylan gets serious. He shifts his body closer to Lennon, who recoils to Dylan's advance).

Dylan (In a weird whisper) Do you remember what you said to me, man? Remember what you said when I played you those tapes. . . I, uh, you.. . I'll tell you later. (Pause) Anyway, I played you a song and you said. . . (he goes blank). Bobby told me.

(Another uncomfortable silence. Suddenly Dylan bounds to life)

Dylan Your song publishing company, what it is!?

Lennon (Pause) Dick James?

Dylan No, that's not it. . . is that the name? That's not the name I heard.

Lennon Northern songs?

DylanThat's it.

Lennon Um.

Dylan I didn't know what it meant. . . and then I had to go and find out! You didn't tell me, man. . . and you said (slurred) 'this should be a Northern Song' and then Paul McCartney looked the way talking to Ringo. . .

Lennon. . . and then Mick Jagger looked up and balloons fell off his face and then Rob Roy lept into the room with a Big Kilarny and said, "Hey, Bob! You heard this one??"

(Everyone in the car rocks with laughter, except Dylan who is smiling uneasily)

Dylan John, you oughta live in Texas, man.

Bob Neuwirth (after an uncomfortable silence) I'm sure he'll give that some thought while we're here.

Dylan (in a mock lecturing voice) I read in the papers that George Harrison spent a lot of time in the states. You could learn a lot from George!

Lennon (without missing a beat and in Dylan's face) Tell me about the Mamas and Papas, Bob. I hear you're backing them very bigly!

Dylan (taken aback) Ah, you. . . you just want to know about the big one. The big chick. That's all anyone ever wants to know about. She's got ahold of you too! She's got a hold of everyone I know. . . You're terrible, man. (He won't give it up. . . and the two banter names back and forth)

Lennon Do you know. . . do you know Ral Donner?

Dylan Who? No. I only know the lesser-knowns.

Lennon Barry McQuire's a great war hero.

Dylan Ba. . .Barry McQuire tells me he's a good friend of yours.

Lennon No. . .(assuming interview mode) I'm afraid I, Bob, Bobby, don't know him at all. He met me through you. His people called me and said that you were backing him and. . . Sgt. Barry. . .

Dylan I'm sure you must be confusing. . . (Dylan loses his train of thought and yells, "cut. Take that again.")

Lennon He missed his lines again.

(Dylan rubs his chin and gets suddenly somber and serious)

Dylan Hey, well you know. I don't care.

Lennon 'Course not. (Lennon sings to relieve the tension)

(Later, the situation gets a bit more dire)

Dylan (Gurgling and coughing and moaning) Oh, I wanna go back home!

Neuwirth And see a baseball game.

Dylan (Woozily) Oh, yeah. I wanna go back home and see a baseball game. In America you've got baseball games. Baseball games. . .all-night TV. . . I come from the land of paradise.

Lennon (Deadpan) Sounds great.

(Dylan is clutching his side, taking his sunglasses off and rubbing his forehead)

Dylan Hey, Tom! How far are we from the hotel?

Lennon Permission to land, Tom.

Dylan Hey, I'm . . . (he's looking bad). . . beginning to get sick here. Am I getting sick? Lennon (mumbling to Neuwirth). . . the tremors.

Dylan I'm feeling very sick here. . . but I never get sick.

(an uncomforable silence)

Dylan I hope I don't vomit into the camera. (Smiling uneasily and looking at John.) I've done everything else into that camera, I may as well vomit into it.

(Everyone in the car laughs uncomfortably. Pennebaker frames Lennon, who nervously shuffles in his seat as the soundtrack reveals a distant Arrrggh.. . . .! Before this occurs, he attempts one more bit of comedy. . . )

Dylan So, John. How long have you had a partnership in Macy's?

(For much of the rest of the tape, all we see is Dylan holding his head, rubbing his eyes, asking occasionally how far they are from the hotel)

Lennon (Looking over at a sick Dylan) Do you suffer from sore eyes, groovy foreheads and curly hair? Try Zoonton!

brammy · Post by **brammy** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 9:46 am

yea... the getting sick part is not included in that clip.... but thanks much, Peter, for posting it here.

Got any more groovy far-out Beatle clips that you could post?

wayang · Post by **wayang** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 10:44 am

Maybe it's just me, but that cab conversation doesn't strike me as being the least bit strange.

I would like to score a couple of grams of Zoonton, though...

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 11:19 am

Jeez, Peter, you sure do type fastly!

steve_hershberger · Post by **steve_hershberger** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 11:41 am

Not to mention that Peter's got a good ear!

wayang · Post by **wayang** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 11:43 am

This is unofficial, but I've got him clocked at just over 185 wpm...

larrywassgren · Post by **larrywassgren** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 5:24 pm

I've read that Bob Dylan said something like 'your songs don't say anything' but I've never heard or read any interviews with any of The Beatles where they acknowledge this. I think this is probably folklore. The Beatles had experienced enough in their lives at this time to start writing heavier songs. I've always thought that There's A Place was a fairly heavy/cool song that was written pretty early. The Beatles were headed toward things like In My Life, Penny Lane, Day In The Life, etc.. and didn't need Bob Dylan to point the direction for them.

brammy · Post by **brammy** » Fri Dec 30, 2005 11:35 am

true enough, but certainly Dylan was a significant part of the overall folk-rock influence that resulted in "Rubber Soul".

paulv63 · Post by **paulv63** » Fri Dec 30, 2005 1:03 pm

I have the whole reel of JL and Dylan in the limo.
I find it hard to watch.

admin · Post by **admin** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 1:30 am

I agree Paul it is hard to watch. I was hoping that there would be more things said of substance, but it was not that substance that I had in mind. I have read as much as I can find over the past week or so about the Beatles and Dylan but still I have not seen critical comments made by one party of the other as of yet.

jwilli · Post by **jwilli** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 5:03 am

"Lennon. . . and then Mick Jagger looked up and balloons fell off his face and then Rob Roy lept into the room with a Big Kilarny and said, "Hey, Bob! You heard this one??""

ha ha.