Question: Bob Dylan's performance dialect

Dan Goodman dsgood at IPHOUSE.COM
Sat Jan 19 02:21:28 UTC 2008


Bob Dylan doesn't sing in the native dialect of someone from "so far
north in Minnesota that Moosehead isn't beer, it's a misdemeanor."  It's
widely assumed that he's imitating Woody Guthrie's dialect; but I don't
hear much resemblance.

So:  1) Is Dylan assuming some other dialect?  2) Is he trying to sound
like Woody Guthrie and getting it wrong, or 3) Do I have no ear for
dialect and he's getting it right?

--
Dan Goodman
"I have always depended on the kindness of stranglers."
Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Expire
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