3 Times Bob Dylan and John Lennon Insulted Each Other

John Lennon considered Bob Dylan one of his musical influences. Lennon adapted a more introspective approach to songwriting and often cited Dylan as someone he wanted to emulate. Unfortunately, that admiration soured over time, and the two did exchange a few insults. Here are three times Dylan and Lennon threw insults at each other. 

John Lennon called one of Bob Dylan’s albums ‘pathetic’

Bob Dylan was raised in a Jewish household but never expressed many religious themes in his music. In 1979, he became a born-again Christian, baffling many of his fans who were unaware of his religious views. These themes were first expressed in 1979’s Slow Train Coming. 

Around that time, John Lennon recorded a long monologue discussing the state of the industry and Bob Dylan’s latest work. He called his latest music “pathetic” and dissed Dylan’s instrumentals and lyrics. 

“He wants to be a waiter for Christ,” Lennon said. “The backing is mediocre…the singing’s really pathetic, and the words were just embarrassing.”

Dylan wrote a song to parody The Beatles

Lennon wrote many Beatles songs during what he called his “Dylan era.” A few of these songs included “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away”, “I’m a Loser”, and “Norwegian Wood”. Apparently, “Norwegian Wood” was the final straw for Dylan, who was fed up with other artists ripping him off. 

“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.”

To counter this, Dylan released a song called “4th Time Around” on his 1966 album, Blonde on Blonde. The track was meant to parody of “Norwegian Wood” and included a few subtle jabs at Lennon. In a 1968 interview with Rolling Stone, Lennon recalled Dylan playing the song for him before its release and becoming “paranoid.”

“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.”

Lennon said he ‘stopped listening’ to Dylan 

In the 1980 Playboy interview, John Lennon was asked to share his current thoughts on Bob Dylan. Lennon did address his newfound love of Christianity, but his words were less harsh than in his 1979 monologue. 

“I don’t like to comment on it. For whatever reason he’s doing it, it is personal for him, and he needs to do it. But the whole religion business suffers from the ‘Onward, Christian Soldiers’ bit. There’s too much talk about soldiers and marching and converting. I’m not pushing Buddhism because I’m no more a Buddhist than I am a Christian, but there’s one thing I admire about the religion: there’s no proselytising.”

However, Lennon’s answer was more blunt when asked if he was still a fan of Dylan. 

“No, I stopped listening to Dylan with both ears after Highway 64 [sic] and Blonde on Blonde, and even then, it was because George would sit me down and make me listen,” Lennon replied.

While Lennon was initially a massive fan of Dylan’s, his opinion changed, and Dylan never seemed to show the same admiration. Who knows if their relationship could have improved, but what’s true is that Dylan’s music had a significant impact on how Lennon approached music.