And it dawned on me that I might have to change my inner thought patterns…

that I would have to start believing in possibilities
that I wouldn’t have allowed before,
that I had been closing my creativity down to a very narrow, controllable scale…

that things had become too familiar and I might have to disorientate myself.

― Bob Dylan, Chronicles, Vol. 1

50 years ago yesterday the first, eponymous Bob Dylan album was released.

I love a great many Bob Dylan songs and albums; I love the long, labyrinthine songs, the political songs, the calls to action, the streams of consciousness, the funny songs, the love songs, the f*ck you songs.

But these first songs, the songs of a young guy who decided he was good enough, better than that even, who struck out for the city and told everybody he was the best damn folk singer around and people believed him, and yet the songs smack of loneliness and vulnerability and trying to be an echo of the greats of the past— as an album, this is my favorite.

Bob has been down but never out, he has reinvented himself more times than Madonna, he has been touring continuously for the last— what? 20 years? more?— his is really an American Story. The self-made man.

A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night,
and in between he does what he wants to do.
― Bob Dylan

Hell yeah.

Anyway, this video is just a quick tribute to Bob. It’s the first song off that first album, and I remember hearing it for the first time, stopping the tape, rewinding, and listening to it again and again. It’s such a fun song to sing. And I LOVE that I can just ask Jake to quickly learn a song and he totally plays along with my reindeer games. Did I mention he just randomly picked up my old guitar about 6 months ago and proceeded to teach himself to play using only YouTube? I’m incredibly jealous of his musical ability.

Speaking of musical ability: I don’t claim to sing it well. I’m just saying it was fun

What songs do you love to sing with your kids?

What are you listening to this week? Tell me in the comments or write your own Tuesday Tunes and link up with High Impact Mom. Be sure to visit all of the other Tuesday Tuners and find out what’s being played around the interwebz.