Why are Bob Dylan songs soooooo long?!
Question:
Why are Bob Dylan songs soooooo long?
Answers:
The best answer I can give as to why Dylan songs are soooooo long, is because that is the art form in which he choose to write
Dylan is not just a lyricist but also a poet. Many of his works tell stories. These are called ballads. Dylans songs are Naritive works in Epic form.
Some working definitions;
The most popular form of narrative poetry is probably the ballad. A ballad is a story in a song. Originally intended to be sung while dancing, ballads have enjoyed a revival since the 1950s as part of the general revival of interest in folk music.
Narrative poetry is poetry that tells a story. In its broadest sense, it includes epic poetry; some would reserve the name narrative poetry for works on a smaller scale and generally with more direct appeal to human interest than the epic.
The epic is a broadly defined genre of narrative poetry, characterized by great length, multiple settings, large numbers of characters, or long span of time involved.