The following folk song was rejected by American Songwriter Magazine’s Lyric Contest in 2025. A long time fan of Bob Dylan’s music, Michael has attended two of his New York concerts and owns many of his records, although he was disappointed that he was never permitted to photograph Dylan as a press photographer. This song was based on a sad dream and contains many hidden meanings and references throughout, easily making it something that could be discussed in English class.
By Michael Aaron Gallagher
The death of Bob Dylan has been on my mind
Like fireworks in rain on the 4th of July
And the causeways that crisscross those heavenly signs
Harbor less virtue than lasting goodbyes
The pirates have plundered on seas they don’t own
Like singers and poets who borrow a coat
From a King who can pull a sword from a stone
If you follow the harvest you’ll reap what you sow
I sold all my things like a wandering King
My empire’s burned to the ground
I’ve lost my old friend to the passage of time
But I ain’t lettin’ it get me down
The death of Bob Dylan has been on my mind
Since an angel in Venice and “Time Out of Mind”
And a newspaper story without a headline
’bout the Man in the Moon and how he was blind
The truth he once spoke, became like a mask
And the faster it moved, the quicker it passed
The critics are stumbling through shadows and lines
If you gave them a dollar they still wouldn’t have a dime
I sold all my things like a wandering King
My empire’s burned to the ground
I’ve lost my old friend to the passage of time
But I ain’t lettin’ it get me down
Doubting like Thomas, the Voyage of Life
You’re burning the coal in the curse of what’s right
Judas sold out, now he’s a pillar of salt
But if you buy an illusion it’s probably your fault
Billowing rings of Dante’s Inferno
swallowed by vines and whatever it turned into
The paint barely drying the tears of your sorrow
When better days come you’ll forget about tomorrow
I sold all my things like a wandering King
My empire’s burned to the ground
I’ve lost my old friend to the passage of time
But I ain’t lettin’ it get me down
The death of Bob Dylan has been on my mind
Unsettling the cobwebs in the corners of time
I once had a dream, I thought you were kind
They say don’t meet your heroes or you’ll be surprised what you find
So long Andy Warhol and Natalie Wood
Farewell to you Edie, the fifteen minutes were good
I’m counting the ravens on Route 66
One headlight to guide me, she’s playing the hits
On my way to a funeral with poets and politicians
Speaking the truth has gone swimming with fishes
So cover your faces and hide all your lies
The windows are soulless, they’ve shattered your eyes
Don’t speak about prophets unless you are worthy
A working man knows when your hands are not dirty
I sold all my things like a wandering King
My empire’s burned to the ground
I’ve lost my old friend to the passage of time
But I ain’t lettin’ it get me down
The death of Bob Dylan has been on my mind
Cry Mona Lisa another last time
What a sad day for music and all of mankind
But gone are the days I had tears left to cry
If life is just politics and love is a game
Then we’re flying through space on a stone-marked grave
No statues stand proud, forever in pain
No victors will ever give back their gains
To rewind their hands to an earlier day
When the folk singers still had something to say
I sold all my things like a wandering King
My empire’s burned to the ground
I’ve lost my old friend to the passage of time
But I ain’t lettin’ it get me down
The death of Bob Dylan has been on my mind…
Copyright © 2025 by Michael Aaron Gallagher
The above work is not to be used, reprinted or broadcast without written permission from the author.