One might argue that Bob Dylan deserved the Nobel Prize for Literature, but it is indisputable that his good friend Patti Smith’s performance at the Nobel Prize ceremony demonstrated the power of Dylan’s songs.

It was previously known that Bob Dylan would not appear in person at the Nobel Prize-winning concert in Stockholm, but Patti Smith accepted the invitation to perform at the ceremony. Smith told us on Facebook about the background to his decision and why It will rain heavilyt lead from the work of Dylan.

The artist was first invited to the ceremony before the award was announced and was going to play a song of his own, but when he learned that Bob Dylan would be this year’s Nobel laureate, it became clear to him that he could only perform from him.

It will rain heavilyI chose it because it is one of the most beautiful numbers. It combines the poetic language of Rimbaud with a deep understanding of human suffering and constantly overcoming it.”

The performance was worthy of Dylan’s legacy, and in fact, Patti Smith stopped once during the song where he admitted that he was very excited.

Bob Dylan thanked the award in a letter read by the US ambassador to Sweden.

“I am sorry I cannot be present in person, but I am there in spirit,” Dylan said, adding that he was honored to receive this prestigious award and to be among the giants of literature.

The songwriter and singer was very surprised by this recognition – it appeared from Azita Raji’s speech that Dylan did not expect the award at all and previously experienced the same chance of getting to the moon as receiving the Nobel Prize.

He also touched on the controversy surrounding his award as to whether the songwriter could take the award. When Shakespeare wrote Hamlet, he was probably thinking about the choice of actors for the play and where to find a skull, he thought. “I am sure that the furthest from this thought came: Was it literature, then?” Explaining in detail, he thanked the Swedish Academy that awarded the prize for looking into the matter and “providing such a wonderful answer”.



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