Bob Dylan Borrowed From a Confederate Poet on Several Songs

Over the years, Bob Dylan has borrowed lyrics and lines of writing from other artists, including obscure Confederate poet Henry Timrod. In the early 2000s, Dylan grew interested in Civil War history. He wrote songs about the era and, it seems, discovered Timrod. While experts on the poet believe the line between his work and Dylan’s songs is clear, they don’t seem to mind much. Dylan certainly doesn’t; when asked about the plagiarism accusations, he rolled his eyes.

Bob Dylan lifted lines from a Confederate poet for his music

Timrod did not fight in the Civil War, but he wrote poems about it and its effect on life in the South. While he became known as the poet laureate of the Confederacy, he is a relatively obscure poet in modern times. Not so in Dylan’s Modern Times, though. Careful listeners noticed distinct similarities between Dylan’s 2006 album and Timrod’s poems.

Scott Warmuth, a disc jockey in New Mexico, noticed the similarities while listening to the song “When the Deal Goes Down.” In it, Dylan sings about a place “where wisdom grows up in strife.”

“[I] t’s straight out of a poem by Henry Timrod called ‘Retirement,’ where Timrod writes there is a wisdom that grows up in strife,” Warmuth told NPR. “And that was just one of five different Timrod poems referenced in that one song alone that I discovered. I took a phrase from the lyrics in the new album, frailer than the flowers, and did a Google search and found that the hits were Dylan, Dylan, Dylan, Henry Timrod. Well, let me see what Henry Timrod’s about, and lo and behold, Henry Timrod and Bob Dylan both rhyme frailer than the flowers with these precious hours.”

Walter Brian Cisco, who wrote a biography of Timrod, also noticed obvious similarities. They didn’t bother him, though.

“No doubt about it, there has been some borrowing going on,” he told The New York Times, adding, “I’m glad Timrod is getting some recognition.”

Bob Dylan rolled his eyes at accusations he’d plagiarized the Confederate poet

Dylan didn’t have a problem with people drawing the connection between his work and Timrod’s. He wholly admitted to it. He only had a problem with the fact that people accused him of plagiarism. Dylan preferred to think of it as quoting. 

“Oh, yeah, in folk and jazz, quotation is a rich and enriching tradition,” he told Rolling Stone. “That certainly is true. It’s true for everybody, but me. I mean, everyone else can do it but not me. There are different rules for me.”

He especially didn’t see why it was an issue with Timrod. As Dylan saw it, he was bringing the forgotten poet exposure. 

“And as far as Henry Timrod is concerned, have you even heard of him?” he asked. “Who’s been reading him lately? And who’s pushed him to the forefront? Who’s been making you read him? And ask his descendants what they think of the hoopla. And if you think it’s so easy to quote him and it can help your work, do it yourself and see how far you can get.”

The ‘Tangled Up in Blue’ musician was very interested in Civil War history

Dylan’s interest in Timrod makes sense, given his overall fascination with the Civil War during this time. In the early 2000s, Dylan worked with writer Larry Charles on the film Masked & Anonymous. Charles said Dylan’s interest in the war came through in the screenplay. 

“In terms of specific politics, Bob was interested at that time in the Civil War,” Charles told Uproxx in 2023. “He was very, very obsessed with the Civil War. And a lot of the lines, which also wound up in Time Out Of Mind and in Love & Theft especially, are very Civil War influenced.” 

Dylan’s 2003 song “‘Cross the Green Mountain” and its accompanying music video were specifically influenced by the Civil War.