A Complete Unknown (2024)
Genre: Biography, Drama, Music
Director: James Mangold
Writers: James Mangold, Jay Cocks, Elijah Wald
Stars: Timothée Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, Monica Barbaro, Joe Tippett, Scoot McNairy, Dan Fogler
Plot: A Complete Unknown follows the early years of Bob Dylan as he arrives in New York City in 1961, a 19-year-old unknown with a guitar and a dream. As he immerses himself in the folk music scene, he forges connections with legendary figures and rapidly rises to prominence. The film culminates in his groundbreaking and controversial 1965 Newport Folk Festival performance, where he “goes electric,” transforming the music world and solidifying his place as a cultural icon.
* * *
[announcer] Ladies and gentlemen, Woody Guthrie.
[♪ folk music plays, Woody Guthrie “Dusty Old Dust”]
[radio announcer speaking indistinctly]
…will take some pressure off the kicking department…
and Packers star kicker Paul Hornung.
For the NFC Eastern Conference New York Giants… they’ll be in their away uniforms, white jerseys with red numerals, blue helmets, and silver football pants.
The Giants are eight and three at this stage of the season.
Y.A. Tittle is in at quarterback as usual for the Giants.
[man] Thank you.
[indistinct chatter]
[♪ upbeat instrumental music playing]
[indistinct chatter]
He sang a country song, that doesn’t mean
he’s not still a Catholic or a Communist.
[man 1] You’re boxin’ him in.
You don’t think there’s a difference
between folk music and country music?
[indistinct conversation]
[man 2] I didn’t ask you to box him in.
Nobody asked you to box him in.
You did that. I asked you a question,
you answered a question. There you go.
All right. That’s it. That’s enough for me.
I’m off. Good night.
Hey, mister, you know where this place is?
Called Greystone.
I think Woody Guthrie’s in there.
That’s a, uh, hospital, pal.
In Morris Plains.
Where is that? Uptown?
No.
Woody’s across the river in New Jersey.
Christ, I just came from New Jersey.
[man 2] So go back.
[federal court clerk] All rise.
Mr. Seeger, do you have anything to say
before I pronounce your sentence?
In my whole life, I’ve never said or done anything
subversive to my country, Your Honor.
That’s not why I’m here.
I’m here because
some second-rate politician from Louisiana…
decided that he don’t like a song I sang…
[audience murmuring in agreement]
…or maybe he don’t like some of the folks
I might have sung it to.
Mr. Seeger, a jury has found you guilty
of contempt of Congress.
I refused to name names and I…
Refused questions! Under a federal subpoena!
Your Honor, you may know a friend of mine,
Woody Guthrie.
Great songwriter and a great American,
and Woody’s not well…
but he’s been much on my mind
as I’ve been going through this,
’cause Woody once said that,
“a good song can only do good.”
[man 1] That’s right!
And the song I’m in hot water for here, it’s a good song.
It’s a patriotic song, in fact.
[man 2] Amen!
And I thought,
maybe you’d like to actually hear the words,
and I could play it for you.
And you’ll know.
No, no, no.
No, you’re not doing that.
[audience clapping]
[gavel banging]
Quiet!
I said, quiet!
Are you sure? It’s free.
[audience cheering]
Now, look at that, the skies are clearing, see?
[reporter 1] Pete! Pete! Pete!
[reporter 2] Pete, are you disappointed?
[reporter 3] Think you got a fair shake?
[reporter 2] Wish you’d testified, Pete?
[reporter 1] How do you feel about the judgement?
[Pete] We didn’t get the result
that we thought was right,
but we’re free to fight another day.
I offered to play a song for the judge up there
but he didn’t wanna hear it.
But I feel like singing. So, I’m gonna sing it for you.
You know the words.
[all] ♪ This land is your land ♪
♪ This land is my land ♪
♪ From California ♪
♪ To the New York Island ♪
♪ From the Redwood Forest ♪
♪ To the Gulf Stream waters ♪
♪ This land was made for you and me ♪
[♪ song ends]
That’s all you got?
Yeah.
[taxi driver sighs]
[indistinct chatter]
[bucket scraping loudly]
[Pete] ♪ …been good to know yuh ♪
♪ So long, it’s been good to know yuh ♪
♪ So long, it’s been good to know yuh ♪
♪ This dusty old dust ♪
♪ It’s takin’ me home ♪
♪ And I’ve gotta be driftin’ along ♪
Hello.
Excuse me, Mr. Guthrie.
Well, no one calls him that except the government.
I’m not the government.
Well, come on over, then.
I’m Pete, by the way.
Yes, sir. No question about it.
How about you?
I’m Bobby.
Something come after that?
[Woody grunting]
Dylan.
Uh, Woody would like to know more about that, Bobby Dylan.
Oh, um…
I sing and I… I play,
and I write songs, actually, a couple of friends of mine,
Paul and John, out in Minneapolis.
Midwestern boy?
Yeah, and they showed me some of
Woody’s records, uh, Folkway ones.
Yours and Lead Belly and, uh…
I listened to ’em while they struck me down to the ground.
I like yours, too, Pete.
Oh, that’s fine.
Anyways, uh, Paul, my friend, uh,
he said you was in the hospital, so…
I hitched myself here.
Why is that?
Well, I wanted to meet Woody.
Maybe catch a spark.
[Woody grunts]
[chuckling]
That’s for damn sure.
[Woody coughing]
We had those printed up for visitors. [chuckles]
It’s mostly family now, though.
Uh, Woody wants to hear something.
You shy?
Not usually.
[Woody coughing]
[guitar case thuds]
[strums guitar]
Well, this is one I wrote for him.
Uh…
I wrote for you.
[♪ folk music playing, Bob Dylan “Song to Woody”]
♪ I’m out here a thousand miles from my home ♪
♪ I’m walkin’ a road other men have gone down ♪
♪ I’m seein’ your world of people and things ♪
♪ Your paupers ♪
♪ And peasants and princes and kings ♪
♪ Hey, hey, Woody Guthrie, I wrote you a song ♪
♪ ‘Bout a funny ol’ world that’s a-comin’ along ♪
♪ Seems sick and it’s hungry It’s a-tired, it’s torn ♪
♪ It looks like ♪
♪ It’s dyin’ and it’s a-hardly been born ♪
♪ Hey, hey, Woody Guthrie But I know that you know ♪
♪ All the things I’m sayin’ and a-many times more ♪
♪ I’m a-singin’ you this song But I can’t sing enough ♪
♪ ‘Cause there’s not ♪
♪ Many men that done the things that you’ve done ♪
♪ Here’s to Cisco, and Sonny and Leadbelly too ♪
♪ And to all those good people That traveled with you ♪
♪ Here’s to the hearts and the hands of the men ♪
♪ That come ♪
♪ With the dust and are gone with the wind ♪
[♪ music stops]
[Woody bangs table]
Do you mind?
Oh, no.
[radio announcer] Suspected of collaborating
with the Vietcong…
[radio station changes]
[Little Richard] ♪ Slippin’ and a-slidin’ ♪
♪ Peepin’ and a-hidin’ ♪
♪ Been told a long time ago ♪
It’s Little Richard.
♪ I been told, baby You been bold… ♪
That’s the flipside on Long Tall Sally.
You like that rock and roll music, then?
Well, I like everything, Pete.
Except maybe, uh,
Patti Page and That Doggie in the Window
or, you know, Vaughn Monroe.
[laughs]
I like Johnny Cash. You ever hear of him?
Oh, sure.
Yeah, I like Hank Williams.
Ah, now you’re talking.
Yeah.
But if you’re talking about rock and roll, specifically,
you gotta be talking about Buddy Holly.
You think of yourself as a folk musician now,
though. Yeah?
Well, I don’t think to myself as a folk singer,
you know, folk music thing.
I mean, I do sing folk music,
but when I do, it’s sort of a modified version or something.
You know, not a modified version,
it’s just, you know, sorta…
A good song. A really good song.
It can get the job done without the frills.
Without drums or electrified instruments or any of that.
Yeah, but sometimes they sound good.
[engine stops]
[car door closes]
[Pete] Hey, Tosh.
This is Bobby,
fellow traveler.
He, uh, paid a visit to Woody and he had nowhere to sleep.
All right.
Hi, Bob.
Toshi.
Hello.
[Pete] Now, we finally got a drill
hard enough to get through all this rock
and now we got water like a Swiss hotel.
We’ll set you up here.
I snore and Toshi kicks me out here all the time
so, I can vouch it’s comfortable.
The toilet’s off the hall there.
It’s a new composter.
It’s amazing. It doesn’t smell just…
[Danny] Yes, it does.
Smells so bad!
Yes, it does. It smells awful!
[Pete] Go to bed, go to bed. Traitors. All of you.
Bobby, can you go outside to smoke?
Oh, sorry.
If you get cold, just throw that Indian blanket over you.
[Toshi] Is he going to bed?
He’ll settle down. He’s just…
excited because he met one of his heroes tonight.
Not me, Woody.
[♪ guitar music plays, “Girl from the North Country”]
He played us a hell of a song.
Here’s your pancake.
[Tinya] Thank you.
♪ If you’re travelin’ to the north country fair ♪
♪ Where the winds hit heavy ♪
♪ On the borderline ♪
♪ Remember me ♪
♪ To the one who lives there ♪
♪ For she once was ♪
♪ A true love of mine ♪
♪ I’m wondering ♪
♪ If she remembers me at all ♪
♪ Many times ♪
♪ I’ve often prayed ♪
♪ In the darkness of my night ♪
♪ In the brightness of my day ♪
[♪ music stops]
That’s all I got so far.
Good start.
Now, those of you who can’t sing that low,
we’re gonna make you sopranos.
You sing…
♪ A-wim-a-weh, a-wim-a-weh, a-wim-a-weh ♪
♪ A-wim-a-weh, a-wim-a-weh, a-wim-a-weh ♪
♪ A-wim-a-weh ♪
Try it.
[all] ♪ A-wim-a-weh, a-wim-a-weh, a-wim-a-weh ♪
♪ A-wim-a-weh, a-wim-a-weh ♪
Very delicate,
very nice. ♪ A-wim-a-weh ♪
♪ A-wim-a-weh ♪
Add back in the low.
♪ A-wim-a-weh, a-wim-a-weh, a-wim-a-weh ♪
♪ Hey-up-oh-a-wim-a-weh ♪
♪ A-wim-a-weh, a-wim-a-weh, a-wim-a-weh ♪
♪ A-wim-a-weh, a-wim-a-weh ♪
♪ A-wim-a-weh, a-wim-a-weh, a-wim-a-weh ♪
♪ Hey-up-oh-a-wim-a-weh ♪
♪ A-wim-a-weh, a-wim-a-weh, a-wim-a-weh ♪
♪ A-bum-buh-weh ♪
♪ A-wim-a-weh, a-wim-a-weh, a-wim-a-weh ♪
♪ Hey-up-oh-a-wim-a-weh ♪
♪ A-wim-a-weh, a-wim-a-weh, a-wim-a-weh ♪
♪ A-bum-buh-weh ♪
♪ Hey-up-oh-a-wim-a-weh ♪
♪ Hey-o, hey-o, hey-o ♪
♪ A-wim-a-weh, a-wim-a-weh, a-wim-a-weh ♪
♪ Hey-o-bum-buh-weh ♪
♪ Hey-up-oh-a-wim-a-weh ♪
♪ Hey-o, hey-o, hey-o ♪
♪ A-wim-a-weh, a-wim-a-weh ♪
♪ Hey oh-oh ♪
♪ A-wim-a-weh ♪
♪ Hey! ♪
[audience cheering]
All right.
I’m gonna get you out there.
I am.
[man 1] Joan! Have a great show!
[woman] Miss Baez!
[man 2] It’s her, it’s her!
Miss Baez. Hey, Miss Baez.
It’s Joan.
Joan.
[crowd clamoring]
Wait. Can you sign this for me?
[mumbles]
[man reading] “Baez sends one scurrying to the thesaurus
“for superlatives.”
That’s the New York Times, Joanie.
Bob Shelton is a fan.
Five minutes, Joan.
Bob Shelton’s back, he’s at the bar.
So is John Hammond.
Joanie.
Columbia Records.
I have a label and a manager.
Columbia’s not a label…
Columbia is Mount Rushmore.
Tony Bennett,
Johnny Mathis, Doris Day, Miles Davis.
They have everyone except their folk singer.
Albert.
Mm-hmm.
Please leave.
[Albert inhales sharply]
Other girls strum, Tito, they smile.
Not Joanie.
She acts depressed, looks at her shoes,
makes men crazy.
[applauding in distance]
[footsteps receding]
[♪ folk music plays, Joan Baez “House Of The Rising Sun”]
♪ If I had listened ♪
♪ To what my mother said ♪
♪ I’d have been ♪
♪ At home today ♪
♪ But I was young ♪
♪ And foolish, oh, God ♪
♪ Let a rambler ♪
♪ Lead me astray ♪
♪ Go tell ♪
♪ My baby sister ♪
♪ Don’t do ♪
♪ What I have done ♪
♪ But shun that house ♪
♪ In New Orleans ♪
♪ They call ♪
♪ The Rising Sun ♪
♪ I’m going back ♪
♪ To New Orleans ♪
♪ My race is almost run ♪
♪ I’m going back ♪
♪ To spend my life ♪
♪ Beneath ♪
♪ That Rising ♪
♪ Sun ♪
[audience cheering]
Thank you.
All right. See you, John.
Joan Baez.
Miss Joanie, Joanie. That was terrific.
Thanks, Pete.
Hey, this is my friend, Bobby.
Hey.
Oh.
Nice work.
Thanks.
[announcer] And now, a special guest
is going to introduce open mic tonight.
Don’t run. I ain’t passing the basket tonight.
[all laughing]
A voice we already know,
and love…
Mr. Pete Seeger!
[audience cheering]
All right, all right.
Month or so ago, uh,
Woody and I met a young man.
He kinda just dropped in on us
and he sang us a song.
Well, it fairly struck us to the ground.
And Woody and I felt that maybe we were
getting a glimpse of a new road.
This young man, he’s been playing around town a bit
but I thought it was high time
he took the stage at Folk City.
So, I want you to give a warm welcome to Bob Dylan.
[all applauding]
[Bob] All right. Cheers.
Oh, man. All right, thanks, folks.
Thanks, Pete. That’s, uh…
Boy, that’s a lot to live up to.
Uh. Well… [clears throat]
[playing harmonica]
I hope this goes better than it did
in East Orange, New Jersey.
[all laughing]
[playing harmonica]
[man 1] I’m from New Jersey!
How ’bout that Joan Baez, folks?
[man 2] Yeah!
[audience cheering]
[strumming guitar]
She’s pretty good.
And she’s pretty.
Sings pretty.
Maybe a little too pretty.
[Bob chuckles]
Anyway, here’s a lil’ something I wrote.
I hope you think it’s good.
It’s gotta be good for somebody.
♪ I was young when I left home ♪
♪ And I’ve been a-ramblin’ round ♪
♪ And I never wrote a letter to my home ♪
♪ To my home ♪
♪ Lord, to my home ♪
♪ No, I never wrote a letter ♪
♪ To my home ♪
♪ It was just the other day ♪
♪ I was bringin’ home my pay ♪
♪ When I met an old friend I used to know ♪
♪ Said, “Your mother’s dead and gone” ♪
♪ Sister’s all gone wrong ♪
♪ And your daddy needs you home ♪
♪ Right away ♪
♪ Not a shirt on my back ♪
♪ Not a penny on my name ♪
[Albert] He has originals, too, you know.
♪ And I can’t go home thisaway ♪
♪ Thisaway ♪
He’s very good, isn’t he?
Yeah.
He’s my client.
♪ Lord, Lord, Lord ♪
♪ And I can’t go home thisaway ♪
[playing harmonica]
[♪ music stops]
[audience cheering]
What does two o’clock mean to you?
‘Cause I’ll tell you what it means to John Hammond.
It means two fucking o’clock!
[Bob] All right. Okay.
And right now, it’s five minutes past three.
Are you packin’ heat, Albert?
Get outta here.
That looks like a snub nose.
“Cross between a choirboy and a beatnik.
“Mr. Dylan has a cherubic look…
[elevator dings]
“…and a mop of tousled hair…”
Stop, Albert. I don’t wanna hear this, man.
“Tousled hair
“that he keeps beneath a Huck Finn cap.
“His clothes need tailoring.
“But when he works his guitar
“there’s no doubt
“he’s bursting at the seams with talent.
“His voice…”
Hey!
A rave from The Times.
This is our floor.
All right.
Come on, come on, come on.
Okay, Bob. Let’s lay one down, yeah?
[Bob] Okay.
[studio engineer] C, O,
seven-six-six-seven-one…
[Bob clears throat]
Fixin’ to Die, take one.
[strumming guitar]
♪ Feelin’ funny in my mind, Lord ♪
♪ I believe I’m fixin’ to die ♪
♪ Feelin’ funny in my mind, Lord ♪
♪ I believe I’m fixin’ to die ♪
♪ Well, I don’t… ♪
[John] Hey, Bob.
Sorry.
Can we start again? You keep turning from the mic.
Oh, yeah. All right.
[John] All right.
[studio engineer] Fixin’ to Die, take two.
Great.
[strumming guitar]
♪ Feelin’ funny in my mind, Lord ♪
♪ I believe I’m fixin’ to die ♪
He has originals, too, you know,
and they’re really good.
Traditional repertoire for now, Albert.
We’re putting a younger face on folk.
♪ Well, everybody’s got somethin’ ♪
♪ That they’re lookin’ forward to ♪
♪ I’m lookin’ forward to when I can do it all again ♪
♪ ‘Cause babe, I’ll do it all over you ♪
♪ Let me tell you little lover ♪
♪ That you better run for cover ♪
♪ ‘Cause babe, I’ll do it all over you ♪
[playing harmonica]
All right.
[all cheering]
Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you.
Thanks for letting me play.
Thank you to Brownie, and Sonny, especially.
I hope by God, I’ll see you guys again, bye-bye.
Ladies and gentlemen, Bobby Dylan.
[all cheering]
That boy plays some harp.
People, if you wanna go somewhere
and you don’t have plane fare,
train fare, bus fare,
cab fare, no fare whatsoever.
There’s one way of gettin’ there.
You just walk on.
[♪ blues music playing]
[playing harmonica]
♪ Walk on ♪
♪ Walk on ♪
♪ Walk on ♪
♪ Walk on ♪
♪ Walk on ♪
♪ Walk on ♪
♪ Walk on, I say walk on ♪
♪ I’m gonna keep on walkin’ ♪
♪ Till I find my way back home ♪
How old are you?
20.
You wrote those songs?
Yeah, last two.
You’re good.
What, you mean for my age?
[chuckles softly]
[shushes]
[Brownie McGhee continues singing]
Well, thanks.
Who’s that guy?
That’s Alan Lomax.
That’s what he does.
He runs the Archive of American Folk.
They record folk music.
How do you know so much?
My sister works for him.
Oh.
♪ I’m gonna keep on walkin’ ♪
♪ Till I find my way back home ♪
♪ Walk on, Sonny boy Walk on, boy ♪
You want a peanut?
I used to live on these things when I worked at the carnival.
You worked at the carnival?
Strongmen, fire-eaters.
Oh, one lady, her skin was all burnt off.
She looked like a grown-up, wrinkly baby.
Ew! [laughs]
Yeah.
It made me think about people on stage,
about anyone who gets on a stage, you know,
anyone’s who’s gonna hold your attention on a stage.
Have to kinda be a freak.
Not everyone.
Anyone who’s good.
Are you a freak?
Yeah, I hope so.
[Sylvie] Frank Sinatra’s not a freak.
[Bob] Well, that voice ain’t human.
You can be beautiful, or you can be ugly,
but you can’t be plain.
You gotta be something people can’t stop looking at,
like a train wreck or a car crash.
Oh, you seen this?
No. I thought we were going to see Guernica at the Museum.
Ah, Picasso’s overrated.
You got a dollar?
Two for the matinee.
[♪ classical romantic music playing]
[Jerry] And will you be happy, Charlotte?
Oh, Jerry, don’t let’s ask for the moon.
We have the stars.
[♪ music builds]
[indistinct chatter]
So…
Bette Davis was a mousy girl,
who had to escape her domineering mother
to find herself.
She runs away…
“Find herself”?
…becomes beautiful…
I don’t like that.
…returns home, destroys her mom,
and adopts the child of a man she can never have.
She didn’t “find herself”
like her “self” was a missing shoe or something.
She just made herself into something different.
Something better.
Different.
Okay.
You know, what she wanted to be,
in that moment.
What do you wanna be?
A musician.
Who eats.
Well, I like your songs.
My record comes out in a couple weeks.
Some of the songs you played today on your record?
Well, it’s mostly covers.
Just traditional stuff.
You know, folk songs are supposed to
stand the test of time, like…
um, Shakespeare or something.
They say no one wants to hear what a kid wrote last month.
Who’s they?
Record company.
My manager.
I’m sorry,
but Where Have All the Flowers Gone is not Shakespeare.
I mean,
there was a time when the old songs were new, right?
Someone at some point had to give the songs a chance.
I mean… [sighs]
There’s a civil war going on down south.
Biggest military buildup in history.
Nuclear bombs hanging over us.
It’s not all about the Dust Bowl
and Johnny Appleseed anymore.
Monday to Thursday, I’m at school.
Then I volunteer at CORE, Fridays and Saturdays.
And I take a painting class Sunday mornings in Queens.
What’s CORE?
Congress of Racial Equality.
Oh, yeah.
We organized the freedom rides.
All right.
This is me.
Dwight MacDonald wrote a wonderful piece in here.
I think you’ll like him.
He’s contrarian, like you.
All right, I’ll take a look.
What are you doin’ tomorrow?
I told you my schedule.
Oh, yeah, painting. In Queens.
I’m at my mom’s in the afternoon.
Call me there?
[indistinct chatter]
[♪ folk music plays over speakers, “Silver Dagger”]
Hey there. Have you got any more Joan Baez?
No, you got the last one.
[newscaster] Amidst the resistance
from the Negro community,
Commissioner Connor has vowed to stand firm.
Birmingham is home to 700 churches
and the Black churches serve as the gathering spots…
Let us help you stimulate your conscience.
[crowd cheering]
[speaking indistinctly]
[♪ “Silver Dagger” continues playing]
[Sylvie] I’ve been publishing it,
but the press doesn’t seem to notice.
Hi.
[postman] Package for, uh, Zimmerman?
Oh, yeah. Thanks.
[Bob humming]
[pencil scribbling]
[continues humming]
You need to sleep, babe.
Yeah, I know.
[Bob] ♪ Yes, and how many times ♪
♪ Can a man turn his head ♪
♪ And pretend that he just doesn’t see? ♪
♪ The answer, my friend ♪
♪ Is blowin’ in the wind ♪
♪ The answer is blowin’ in the wind ♪
♪ Yes, and how many times ♪
♪ Must a man… ♪
That’s enough!
That’s enough now!
All right,
just let me finish the verse.
Mr. Guthrie needs quiet now.
[Woody coughing]
Whoa! You got a lotta nerve
taking a cigarette out a man’s mouth.
There is another gentleman in this room,
and he’s trying to rest.
You know, he been resting six months.
I don’t think it’s workin’.
I’m trying to look out for your health, Mr. Guthrie.
You know, last guy let us sing.
Do I look like the last guy?
No, you look like a bona fide asshole.
Whoa, easy, Bob. Hello, George.
Mr. Guthrie is here for treatment, Mr. Seeger.
That’s true, yeah.
He has a serious disease,
and he’s sharin’ his room with a guest.
Yeah, a guest in a coma!
George, reasonable people can work these things out.
This is a hospital, not a nightclub.
[Woody chuckling]
Well, I guess every deck come with two jokers, don’t it?
[Woody chuckling]
She’s a new favorite. I call her Jane.
I’m moving away from the abstract a bit
and trying to move into faces.
[man 1] What about Hank Williams, Tom?
In your estimable opinion, is he country or folk?
[Tom] He’s country.
It don’t matter.
‘Cause he got pedal steel behind him?
[man 2] Bob, man, you’re telling me
there’s no difference?
[Bob] Sylvie, you gotta hear this, man.
[man 2] No, man.
You can call it country or blues or rock and roll,
but we all keep rewriting the same songs.
[indistinct conversation]
Are these his friends from his circus days?
[Sylvie] Stop it, Gena.
Is his real name Zimmerman?
Move along.
[indistinct conversation]
[Bob chuckles softly]
[Jimmy Dean] Mr. Johnny Cash!
He started out in country music
and sorta made the transition over into pop.
Ain’t no transition, man.
Gotta label him with that corny bullshit, man.
[Sylvie] Please remember garbage on Tuesdays.
Except if Monday’s a holiday, which it will be next week.
You got it.
[Sylvie] I have to do this.
It’s a school trip, it’s required.
All right, you said that already, like, three times.
It’s only 12 weeks.
Well, God made the world in six days.
So?
So, 12 weeks’ a lot longer.
What am I supposed to do with the extra 65 days?
Are you God, Bob?
How many times do I have to say this?
Yes.
[both chuckle]
I think about how much I’m gonna miss you…
then I realize…
I don’t know you.
There’s a face on your driver’s license.
He’s different.
Has a different name.
Wow.
When I get back, I’d like to get to know that guy.
Don’t do this, Sylvie.
[Sylvie] You wrote a five-minute song about
this girl in Minneapolis.
Who was that? What happened?
You tell me you dropped out of college…
No, I didn’t drop out of college.
I didn’t say that.
You came here
with nothing but a guitar.
You never talk about your family,
your past, besides the “carnival.”
‘Cause people make up their past, Sylvie.
They remember what they want, they forget the rest!
I tell you everything.
My folks, my sister, the street I grew up on.
Yeah, I never asked you about any of it.
What, you think that stuff defines you?
What I come from?
What I want and what I don’t want, what I reject.
Yes!
Mm.
Good thing you’re going to Rome.
And then what?
I come back and live with a mysterious minstrel?
[scoffs]
No, mysterious minstrels sell more than 1,000 records.
Maybe just don’t come back at all.
[strumming guitar]
[car horn honking]
Oh, Christ, come on, Sylvie.
Stop hiding.
We both know you can’t wait to have your place to yourself.
[laughs] Jesus. Part of me.
Not all of me.
What? You want me to make sense 100% of the time?
[Sylvie] There’s a lot I want.
And you do too. You’re ambitious.
I think that scares you.
“The line has been drawn.
“The curse has been cast.
“The slow one now will later be…”
Your record was all other people’s music.
[John F. Kennedy on TV] Good evening,
my fellow citizens.
This government, as promised,
has maintained the closest surveillance
of the Soviet military buildup
on the island of Cuba.
Within the past week,
unmistakable evidence has established the fact
that a series of offensive missile sites
is now in preparation
on that imprisoned island.
The purpose of these bases
can be none other
than to provide a nuclear strike capability
against the Western Hemisphere.
Upon receiving the first preliminary hard information
last Tuesday morning at 9:00 am…
[indistinct shouting]
…I directed that our surveillance be stepped up.
It shall be the policy of this nation
to regard any nuclear missile
launched from Cuba against any nation
in the Western Hemisphere
as an attack by the Soviet Union
on the United States
requiring a full retaliatory response…
If invasion is undertaken
the Russians have said that they would retaliate, uh,
with, uh, rocket fire.
We have said if there’s rocket fire from Cuba,
we will retaliate
and there goes the whole ball game.
So, how do we relate Berlin as the…
[Tinya] What’s on TV?
[Walter] On the question of immediate relief
or optimism here
that nobody in the White House is willing to say…
Pick up.
[continues indistinctly]
[car horns honking]
Come on.
[Walter] They do not believe that the 24 hours
of waiting is over.
There’s still considerable belief
that the confrontation in the Caribbean
will come yet tonight.
[indistinct radio announcement]
[newscaster] No one can guarantee
that American families on the eastern seaboard
will be alive tomorrow.
[indistinct shouting]
Hey!
[horn honks]
[man yells]
[man] Hey, taxi! Taxi! Taxi! Hey! Come on!
[panting]
[audience clapping]
[Bob] Thank you.
This is a new one.
♪ Come you masters of war ♪
♪ You that build the big guns ♪
♪ You that build the death planes ♪
♪ You that build all the bombs ♪
♪ You hide in your mansion ♪
♪ While the young people’s blood ♪
♪ Flows out of their bodies And is buried in the mud ♪
♪ Let me ask you one question ♪
♪ Is your money that good? ♪
♪ Will it buy you forgiveness ♪
♪ Do you think that it could? ♪
♪ I think you will find ♪
♪ When your death takes its toll ♪
♪ All the money you made ♪
♪ Will never buy back your soul ♪
♪ And I’ll watch while you’re lowered ♪
♪ Down to your deathbed ♪
♪ And I’ll stand over your grave ♪
♪ ‘Til I’m sure that you’re dead ♪
[all applauding]
[woman] Thank you, Bob.
[Bob] Troubling time, go find someone to love.
[newscaster] American forces stand on edge
with naval ships positioned throughout the Caribbean.
[indistinct chatter]
[♪ gentle music playing]
[♪ music fades]
The Unites States almost went to nuclear war.
Perhaps no one will ever know how close it came
except for Nikita Khrushchev
who apparently had no illusions.
The feeling in official Washington
after one of the most frightening weeks in history,
is that it’s too early for elation
but not too early to wonder what happened,
and why it happened.
Moscow, of course, in the last 48 hours
has seemed contradictory and zigzagged
as if the Kremlin were having a great, private debate.
The I’s are not dotted, and the T’s are not crossed,
but everything seems easier.
The mood here is still cautious,
spelled with a capital C.
Khrushchev has offered to remove his missiles from Cuba.
If he does, we will call off the quarantine
and there will be no invasion.
The President today called
Khrushchev’s decision statesmanlike.
Has the United States made a deal with Moscow?
The answer is no.
What, then, is in this for Khrushchev?
There will be no armed showdown,
there will be no nuclear war.
The Cuban problem will still be there for us…
Well, that’s that.
Now to the news…
[strumming guitar]
Who taught you to play?
Well, I taught myself really.
Picked up a few licks at the carnival.
At the carnival?
Oh, yeah, there was singin’ cowboys that’d come through,
teach me all sorts of funny chords.
Yeah, they’d pass through in the shows
in, uh, Kansas or Dakotas.
Yeah, these chords I learned
from a cowboy named Wigglefoot.
You were in a carnival?
You are so completely full of shit.
I had lessons as a kid, you know, normal lessons.
I write too.
I’m not sure there’s a way to learn that.
Too hard.
Excuse me?
You try too hard.
To write.
Really?
Yeah, if you’re askin’.
I wasn’t.
Sunsets and seagulls.
Smell of buttercups.
Your songs are like an oil painting
at the dentist’s office.
You’re kind of an asshole, Bob.
Yeah, I guess.
Play this.
[♪ folk music playing, “Blowin’ In The Wind”]
♪ How many roads must a man walk down ♪
♪ Before you call him a man? ♪
♪ How many seas must a white dove sail ♪
♪ Before she sleeps in the sand? ♪
♪ Yes and how many times ♪
♪ Must the cannon balls fly ♪
♪ Before they are forever banned? ♪
♪ The answer, my friend ♪
♪ Is blowin’ in the wind ♪
♪ The answer is blowin’ in the wind ♪
♪ How many years must a mountain exist ♪
♪ Before it is washed to the sea? ♪
♪ How many years can some people exist ♪
♪ Before they’re allowed to be free? ♪
♪ Yes, and how many times ♪
♪ Can a man turn his head ♪
[both] ♪ Pretend that he just doesn’t see? ♪
♪ The answer, my friend ♪
♪ Is blowin’ in the wind ♪
♪ The answer is blowin’ in the wind ♪
♪ How many times must a man look up ♪
♪ Before he can see the sky? ♪
♪ How many ears must one man have ♪
♪ Before he can hear people cry? ♪
♪ Yes and how many deaths ♪
♪ Will it take ’til he knows ♪
♪ That too many people have died? ♪
♪ The answer, my friend ♪
♪ Is blowin’ in the wind ♪
♪ The answer is blowin’ in the wind ♪
[♪ music stops]
So, this is…
What?
I don’t know.
Have you recorded that song?
No, not yet.
[Joan] You should let me try it.
[Bob] Okay. Oh, shit. All right, I gotta go.
Yeah, I gotta go. Sorry.
Hey!
Hi!
Here, I’ll take that.
Oh, how beautiful.
How you doin’?
[both] Mwah!
Thank you, baby.
Yes!
You okay?
Here, I’ll take your stuff.
Okay. [chuckles]
Yeah.
Welcome home.
Did you teach yourself to make coffee?
Oh, yeah.
[Sylvie laughs]
[♪ folk music playing, “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right”]
♪ It ain’t no use to sit and wonder why, babe ♪
♪ If’n you don’t know by now ♪
♪ And it ain’t no use To sit and wonder why, babe ♪
♪ It’ll never do somehow ♪
♪ When your rooster crows at the break of dawn ♪
Who… Who wrote this?
♪ Look out your window ♪
He did.
♪ And I’ll be gone ♪
[camera shutter clicking]
♪ You’re the reason I’m a-travelin’ on ♪
Hey, uh, Sylvie, get in here.
[Sylvie] What?
[Sylvie squeals]
[camera shutter clicking]
We look good?
♪ And it ain’t no use in turnin’ on your light ♪
♪ Babe ♪
♪ The light ♪
♪ I never knowed ♪
♪ And it ain’t no use in turning on your light ♪
♪ I’m on the dark side of the road ♪
♪ Still, I wish there was somethin’ you could ♪
♪ Do or say ♪
♪ Make me wanna change my mind and stay ♪
♪ We never did too much talking anyway ♪
♪ Don’t think twice, it’s all right ♪
[Albert] Excuse me, yeah! That’s it.
Get the master at work here. The whole laboratory.
Albert!
Yes, sir.
I don’t want ’em to shoot my desk, man.
[Albert] Pal, what did I say to you? No desk.
You can plug that here.
[Albert] What did I say?
No, Sylvie, don’t bring ’em in here.
I didn’t bring them, Bob, you did.
They’re here for you.
That for Woody?
Yeah, I’m gonna drop it off on the way to the airport.
Here. Put your finger there.
[♪ “Don’t Think Twice It’s All Right” plays on radio]
Is that Joan?
Yeah.
So, she’s covering your song?
Yeah.
Before your version comes out?
Albert thinks it helps.
Helps her.
Helps him sign her.
She’s famous, Sylvie.
Been on the cover of Time Magazine.
They recorded her live.
She didn’t know they were gonna put it on the radio.
‘Course not.
So, you gave her the song.
I didn’t give her the song.
Bobby, we’re ready over here, pal.
You’re gonna see her in California?
Well, it’s her festival.
[kisses]
[Albert] Okay, he’s all set up here.
I’m just tryin’ to get on a plane
and do a show, Sylvie.
[Albert] Okay, right here.
You’re in the shot, sweetheart.
[♪ “Don’t Think Twice It’s All Right” continues playing]
Hey, there.
[♪ music stops]
It’s a great place, Joan. [strumming guitar]
Want me to show you the rest?
[Bob] Okay.
This what you’re playing these days?
Top string got a little buzz to it.
[strums guitar]
Not when I play it.
The new record is beautiful.
You think?
[Joan chuckles]
♪ If you’re travelin’ in the north country fair ♪
♪ Where the winds hit heavy On the borderline ♪
♪ Remember me To the one who lives there ♪
♪ For she once was A true love of mine ♪
♪ Please see if her hair hangs long ♪
[audience cheering]
♪ If it rolls and flows all ♪
♪ Down her breast ♪
♪ Please see for me if her hair hangs long ♪
♪ For that’s the way I remember her best ♪
[audience clapping]
[playing harmonica]
[Bob] Hello. Um…
John Hammond said you had somethin’ for me.
My name is…
I know who you are.
One moment.
Okay.
Oh, boy.
Fan letters. [chuckles]
All right. Thanks.
Oh. And Mr. Hammond’s office set these aside for you.
[Johnny] Dear Bob.
Well, I won’t grope for the words
to tell you how great your writing is.
I’ll just say, uh,
your Freewheelin’ album is my most prized possession.
Thank you.
Johnny Cash.
[♪ folk music playing, “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”]
♪ Oh, where have you been My blue-eyed son? ♪
♪ Oh, where have you been My darling young one? ♪
♪ I’ve stumbled on the side Of 12 misty mountains ♪
♪ I’ve walked and I’ve crawled On six crooked highways ♪
♪ I’ve stepped in the middle Of seven sad forests ♪
[woman] Oh, my God.
Bob! Bob!
[man 1] Bob Dylan?
[crowd clamoring]
[man 2] Hey, Bob, where you goin’?
[newscaster] Over 300,000 marchers
descended on Washington today
to demand the end of segregation.
From New York, Bob Dylan.
♪ When the marshals and cops fled the scene ♪
♪ I met one man he was wounded in love ♪
[man 1] Bob! You’re the best!
[man 2] Bob, please!
♪ I saw a newborn baby with wild wolves ♪
♪ All around it ♪
[indistinct shouting, clamoring]
♪ I saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it ♪
[Bob] Dear Johnny. Thanks for that letter.
I am now famous.
[indistinct chatter]
[Bob] Famous by the rules of
public famiousity.
It snuck up on me and pulverized me.
To quote Mr. Freud, I get quite paranoid.
[Johnny] Bob, got your letter.
Tonight, I sit in the wake of one more hard rain.
I was in, uh, New York last week,
saw a bunch of folk singers
that couldn’t hold a chigger on your ass.
Well, I’ll see you in Newport come spring.
Until then, track mud on somebody’s carpet.
♪ And I’ll tell it and think it and speak it ♪
♪ And breathe it ♪
♪ And reflect it from the mountain ♪
♪ So all souls can see it ♪
This was your dream.
Folk music reaching everybody.
♪ But I’ll know my song well Before I start singin’ ♪
♪ And it’s a hard It’s a hard ♪
♪ Oh, it’s a hard It’s a hard ♪
♪ It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall ♪
Thank you.
[audience cheering]
Newcomb portable, eh?
You’re gettin’ fancy on me.
[grunts softly]
[Pete] Uh…
Toshi and I, we… we…
we think it’s a good moment,
you know, after Newport, to do a tour.
But we’re thinking we should do a world tour.
Take the music out to more people.
I’m thinking we see Toshi’s family in Japan,
and we want to take the kids.
But…
You gotta hold on.
You gotta do what they tell you to do.
You gotta take your medicine and…
You wanna play?
No, right, I know.
I gotta fix that one. That needs a reed.
Bob.
Bob.
Sure. Yeah. No. I’ll…
I’ll see that he gets it.
From Dallas, Texas, the flash, apparently official,
President Kennedy died at 1:00 p.m.,
Central Standard Time.
2:00 Eastern Standard Time,
some 38 minutes ago.
[♪ folk music playing, “There But For Fortune”]
♪ Show me the drunkard ♪
♪ As he stumbles out the door ♪
♪ And I’ll show you a young man ♪
♪ With so many reasons why ♪
♪ But there but for fortune ♪
♪ Go you or I ♪
♪ Show me the country ♪
♪ Where the bombs had to fall ♪
♪ Show me the ruins ♪
♪ Of the buildings once so tall ♪
♪ And I’ll show you a young man ♪
♪ With so many reasons why ♪
♪ But there but for fortune ♪
♪ Go you and I ♪
♪ You and I ♪
[audience cheering]
[Joan] Thank you, Newport.
Thank you.
Thanks so much.
Thank you, everyone. See you soon.
You see who showed up?
You all right if I slip him on, right after Joan?
Yeah? You’ll go on right after…
Yeah, sure. No sweat, Pete.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you.
Okay. All right.
[indistinct shouting, cheering]
[woman] Bob Dylan!
That was beautiful.
Thank you.
All right, all right.
[man] Where’s Bob? He’s comin’. He’s a-comin’.
All right. Bobby’s comin’, fear not, fear not.
But now, listen, we got a…
we got a surprise appearance.
If you look on your programs,
you’ll see someone who was supposed to be here last night
who was absent without official leave, as they say.
[Bob] Hey, Johnny.
Bobby Dylan. Come here, you.
You know, I read that last letter six times.
That thing was economy-sized.
Oh, yeah.
How about we get us a drink after the show?
Yeah, all right. I think I’m up after you.
[Johnny] All right, Bobby.
[Pete] But, uh, but he’s here, and, uh,
all the sweeter for the waitin’ as they say.
And so please give a warm welcome
to Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Three.
Let’s go.
All right.
[audience cheering]
Hello.
All right, fellas.
Let’s get these beatniks out of their seats real quick.
Tie one on.
[♪ country music playing, Johnny Cash “Big River”]
[audience cheering]
♪ Now I taught the weeping willow how to cry ♪
♪ And I showed the clouds ♪
♪ How to cover up a clear, blue sky ♪
♪ And the tears I cried for that woman ♪
♪ Are gonna flood you, big river ♪
♪ And I’m gonna sit right here until I die ♪
♪ Far from Folsom Prison ♪
♪ That’s where I want to stay ♪
♪ And I’d let that lonesome whistle ♪
♪ Blow my blues away ♪
[audience cheering]
All right!
All right, thank you, Newport.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, thank you.
Well, the next fella up is my pen pal.
And sometimes, when I read his letters,
I think I can see his brain.
[all laughing]
Anyway, all I know is, uh,
you better sing about that rooster crowing
till the break of dawn
’cause I need to learn those damn words.
[all laughing]
Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Bob Dylan!
[audience cheering]
[clears throat]
Thank you, Johnny.
And thank you, Newport Folk Festival.
Uh, maybe hear about that rooster a little bit later on.
[all laughing]
Here’s a new one.
[♪ folk music playing, “The Times They Are A-Changin'”]
♪ Come gather ’round people Wherever you roam ♪
♪ And admit that the waters Around you have grown ♪
♪ And accept it that soon ♪
♪ You’ll be drenched to the bone ♪
♪ If your time to you is worth savin’ ♪
♪ Then you better start swimmin’ ♪
♪ Or you’ll sink like a stone ♪
♪ For the times they are a-changin’ ♪
[playing harmonica]
[audience cheering]
♪ Come writers and critics Who prophesize with your pen ♪
♪ And keep your eyes wide The chance won’t come again ♪
♪ And don’t speak too soon ♪
♪ For the wheel’s still in spin ♪
♪ And there’s no tellin’ who that it’s namin’ ♪
♪ For the loser now will be later to win ♪
♪ For the times they are a-changin’ ♪
[all] ♪ They are a-changin’ ♪
[playing harmonica]
[audience cheering]
♪ Come mothers and fathers Throughout the land ♪
♪ And don’t criticize What you can’t understand ♪
♪ Your sons and your daughters Are beyond your command ♪
♪ The order is rapidly agin’ ♪
♪ Please get out of the new one ♪
♪ If you can’t lend a hand ♪
♪ For the times they are a-changin’ ♪
[all] ♪ Times they are a-changin’ ♪
[audience cheering]
♪ The line it is drawn The curse it is cast ♪
♪ The slow one now Will later be fast ♪
♪ As the present now Will later be past ♪
♪ The order is rapidly fadin’ ♪
♪ And the first one now will later be last ♪
♪ For the times they are a-changin’ ♪
[all] ♪ Times they are a-changin’ ♪
[audience cheering]
[exhales]
Way to go, Bobby.
[indistinct chatter]
♪ Rollin’ down the street in the early dawn ♪
Hey, Bob.
[blows whistle]
You got kids?
Yeah.
Thousands of ’em.
[tires screech]
[indistinct chatter]
[man] He’s here.
Excuse me, one second.
Hey, Bob. Bobby. [laughs]
Come on in. Thank you so much for coming.
Here, let me take your jacket.
Oh, thank you.
Shirley, here. Take this, please.
It’s a wonderful cause. We truly appreciate you coming.
You good? You happy?
[Bob] Yeah.
[Harold] You thirsty?
[Bob] Is there a bar or somethin’?
[Harold] Yeah. This way, my friend.
Hey, Bob. I love Tambourine Man.
Oh, thanks.
So when’s the new album out?
Uh, soon.
[man] Can songs really change things, Bob?
Well, they change keys.
[man laughs]
[Alan] Bobby!
We miss you at the Archive!
How are you? Word on the street
is you’re making quite a noise down there in Studio A, huh?
This is Becka, by the way.
Nice to meet you.
Listen, Bob, you don’t have to compete with the Beatles.
Okay?
[Bob] Yeah.
You are better than that shit.
Alan, you’re obsessed with the Beatles. Please.
Can I get two glasses of red wine, please?
You didn’t bring your guitar with you, Bobby.
What, are you saving yourself
for your little tour with Joanie?
Not little, Harold. Sold out.
Whoa! Hey, listen, that’s wonderful!
And honestly, the last thing I wanna do now
is put pressure on you,
but the dirty little secret is most everybody here is here
’cause they’re hoping you’d play a little something.
Where’d they get that idea, Harold?
What’d you pull me into, man?
Is this a fucking gig or something?
The prodigal. It’s anything you want it to be.
He’s back. Hi.
Hey, Pete.
How you doin’?
Good.
Nice to see you.
Great to see you.
Toshi, how are you doin’?
Well, you made it around the world in 80 days, huh?
Magic carpet ride.
Just full of wonder. Full of wonder.
This is Becka, by the way.
Nice to meet you. This is my wife, Toshi.
Nice to meet you.
I absolutely love your music.
I’m such a big fan, Mr. Seeger.
No. No, I’m Pete.
Pete.
Harold is putting the lean on you, yeah?
Trying to get you to play?
Yeah, little bit.
All right. Well, don’t hold it against him.
It’s for a good cause.
Wanna use this beauty?
[both chuckle]
You always keep it handy, huh, Pete?
He’s like a gunfighter with his six-gun.
[both laugh]
Always keeping it close.
♪ Oh the time will come up When the winds will stop ♪
♪ And the breeze will cease to be breathin’ ♪
♪ Like the stillness in the wind ♪
♪ ‘Fore the hurricane begins ♪
♪ The hour that the ship comes in ♪
♪ And the seas will split And the ship will hit ♪
♪ And the sands on the shoreline ♪
♪ Will be shakin’ ♪
♪ And the tide will sound And the wind will pound ♪
♪ And the mornin’ will be breakin’ ♪
Thank you. That was great!
[Bob] Thanks.
I can’t wait for the new album.
Hey, thank you, Bob. Truly.
Listen, don’t forget to sing out that thing next time.
Talk to me about that, Harold. Have fun. Have a good night.
You were amazing.
[Bob] Two hundred people in that room
and each one wants me to be somebody else.
They should just fuck off and let me be.
Be what?
Excuse me?
They should fuck off and let you be what?
[scoffs] I don’t know.
Whatever it is they don’t want me to be.
Yeah, well, I’m not a horse,
so I don’t like carrying other people’s weight.
[scoffs]
Yeah. Well, I got a hundred pounds on me
that don’t show on that scale.
How do you sing, then?
I put myself in another place.
[elevator dings]
But I’m a stranger there.
Hey, what’s your name, man?
Bobby. Like you, man.
Bobby Neuwirth.
Where you goin’?
I got a gig with some guys in the East Village.
Spot called McAnn’s.
Hey.
Hey.
You have a tour with Joan Baez.
Were you gonna tell me about that?
Am I just more weight?
They wanna own me, Becka. Is that what you want?
I love you.
Is that scary to you?
Well, I just met you. So…
Yeah.
[indistinct chatter]
[♪ upbeat folk music playing]
♪ We had one million bags Of the best Sligo rags ♪
♪ We had two million barrels of stones ♪
♪ We had three million sides Of old blind horses hides’ ♪
♪ We had four million barrels of bones ♪
♪ We had five million hogs ♪
♪ And six million… ♪
[woman 1] That’s him.
That’s Bob fucking Dylan right there.
[man 1] Where?
[woman 1] No, that’s him.
[man 2] It’s him!
[woman 1] Bob! Bob!
[woman 2] Bob.
[woman 3] Bob. Bob.
[woman 4] Bob. Bob.
Take your glasses off. Let me see your eyes!
[Bob] Hey, get off!
[man 3] Fuck off!
[Bob grunts]
[crowd gasp]
[Bobby] Hey, hey, hey.
[man 4] What are you doin’, man?
[knock on door]
Bob.
It’s 4:00 a.m.
Bob.
We broke up, remember?
Can I just get a towel for this?
[water running]
Thanks.
You know, everyone asks where these songs come from, Sylvie.
But when you watch their faces,
they’re not asking where the songs come from.
They’re asking why the songs didn’t come to them.
[man] Who is it, Sylvie?
[door opens]
[door closes]
[♪ piano music playing]
♪ Discover what you set out to find ♪
♪ Come on, give it to me ♪
♪ I’ll keep it ♪
[blows whistle]
♪ Say, “Beware doll You’re bound to fall” ♪
♪ You thought they were all kidding you ♪
♪ You used to ♪
♪ People call, say ♪
♪ Once upon a time you dressed so fine ♪
♪ Threw the bums a dime in your prime ♪
♪ Didn’t you? ♪
It’s not Mike Bloomfeld, Albert. It’s Mike Bloomfield.
He’s a Chicago blues guitar player.
[Albert] Okay, I can’t get him tomorrow.
I can get another guitar…
No.
I don’t want any of your old session musicians, man.
I want young guys with hair on their heads,
a guitar player, and a bass player,
an organ player, and a drum player.
I’m gonna try my best
but I can’t guarantee that we’re gonna get him tomorrow.
I don’t want to hear it. Get it done.
[♪ upbeat folk music playing, “Subterranean Homesick Blues”]
♪ Ah, get sick, get well Hang around a ink well ♪
♪ Hang bell, hard to tell If anything is goin’ to sell ♪
♪ Try hard, get barred Get back, write braille ♪
♪ Get jailed, jump bail Join the army, if you fail ♪
♪ Look out kid You’re gonna get hit ♪
♪ By losers, cheaters, six-time users ♪
Well, this is gonna piss some people off.
George! Victor said he went by the shop
and got fitted for your daughter’s wedding.
[Alan] Hello, hello, hello.
There he is.
Welcome to the center of the universe.
[Pete] Alan, let’s talk Newport.
Hello, Harold. Peter.
All right. Give me Saturday night again, please.
Yes, we have Ian and Sylvia.
Right.
Odetta, Donovan,
Johnny Cash and Kweskin…
And Theodore Bikel.
[chuckles] Yes, I was just getting to me.
I also have this proposal on the table
for the Butterfield Blues Band.
Remind me who they are.
Chicago blues band.
Electric blues band.
A white electric blues band.
They’re hot, Alan.
The guitarist, Mike Bloomfield,
is unbelievable.
Oh, yeah. I’m sure he is.
He comes from that Albert Grossman’s stable
like you, Peter.
Knock it off.
I hear Bob is playing electric now.
Not on our stage, he isn’t.
There is no rock and roll in Newport.
We don’t need to be dogmatic.
Okay, okay.
[Peter] So, what is the verdict on the Butterfields?
We already have blues players. And we got real ones.
[Peter] You never heard them, Alan.
[Alan] Newport Folk Festival was created
to fight a riptide of inauthentic shit.
I understand that…
No,
you don’t understand, Peter.
I’m sorry, but Peter, Paul and Mary is a confection.
Paul’s name ain’t even Paul.
[Peter] Okay, Alan.
Albert Grossman changed his name…
[Pete] All right, all right.
…because he thought it sounded better.
Thank you so much.
It’s like fucking Ritz Crackers.
Now, stop it. Stop it!
Now, Peter, don’t go, don’t go.
We’re gonna work it out. We’re gonna work it out.
[Alan] We are here to celebrate folk music.
From the people, for the people, Pete.
The sound of a guitar
and a man’s voice.
[Harold] Or a woman’s.
Alan, please. Let’s calm down.
[Alan] Don’t talk to me about ticket sales, Harold.
I don’t give a shit.
[Harold] Okay.
Hey, Tom, give me a second, I want to try something.
All right.
[blows whistle]
[all laughing]
[Bob] You’re in trouble, man.
[hesitates] Highway 61, take seven.
Man, you can’t look at me like that.
‘Cause then… [laughing]
All right, guys.
Okay, wait. Don’t look at me like that,
’cause I gotta get through the take.
If you got that thing on your face, I’m gonna explode.
All right, let’s just do it before
this whole thing crashes into the ground.
[blows whistle]
One, two, three.
[♪ classic rock music playing, “Highway 61 Revisited”]
♪ Oh, God said to Abraham, “Kill me a son” ♪
♪ Abe said, “Man, you must be puttin’ me on” ♪
♪ God said, “No” ♪
♪ Abe said, “What?” ♪
♪ God said, “You can do what you want, Abe ♪
♪ “But the next time you see me comin’ ♪
♪ “You better run” ♪
♪ Of rainbow design ♪
[♪ music stops]
Thanks for tuning in this evening.
Even though I can’t see you out there
through this little magic box,
tonight, we’ll continue our Rainbow Quest together
to seek out all the songs and colors
and kinds of human beings
that live in this land of ours.
Now, if you tuned in tonight
hoping to hear our friend, Bob Dylan,
well, I don’t wanna disappoint you,
but Bob’s been hung up in the studio in New York.
He’ll come another time.
But tonight, we’ve got a very special guest.
A good friend of mine from the deep
Mississippi Delta named Jesse Moffette.
And when he heard we had a gap, he jumped in a cab,
and he came right over and he’s live with us at NJU.
Thanks for being here.
Well, thanks for having me.
[Pete] So good to be with ya.
[Jesse] Well, you want to have a drink with me?
Oh, no, no. Not while I’m working. No. Yeah.
[Jesse] What kinda station is this anyway?
This is educational, Jesse.
This is a local public educational channel, yeah.
Educational? Shit, I do educational!
I offer blues lessons in the privacy of your own home.
You wanna learn the blues?
Sure.
Call me at Rhinelander 8-4-6-0-2.
And do me a favor.
Bring me a bottle of anything…
All right, all right.
…that ain’t pasteurized.
Jesse, let’s play something.
What music have you got for us?
I’ll play for you, oh, yeah.
Let’s play. Give us something deep.
[♪ blues music playing]
♪ Pain in my heart ♪
♪ Pain in my soul ♪
♪ Tell me baby ♪
♪ Oh, Lord ♪
[imperceptible]
♪ Ten long years ♪
♪ Lord, girl, I’ve been lovin’ you ♪
I’m so sorry. We’re live now. I can’t just let you walk out.
Oh, that’s okay. I’m not looking to interrupt anything.
♪ Oh, Lord, yeah ♪
It’s okay.
It’s just wonderful, it’s magical, Jesse.
Now, now…
Well, hold on just one second, folks.
We’ve got a really, really special treat.
Uh, Bob did make it.
[Bob] Nah, I’m good.
Bob’s here. Bob, come on.
[Bob] It’s all right, man.
No, come on out.
Come on out. It’s all right.
I’m… I’m glad you came. I’m glad you came, yeah.
Jesse, say hi to a really good friend of mine.
This is Bobby Dylan.
[Jesse grunts]
Bob. What kinda music do you play?
Well, I play all sorts. I mean…
What kinda music do you say I play?
Oh, Bob plays a lot of kinds
and he plays all of them well.
You trying to steal my spot?
No, I’m not trying to steal your spot, Jesse.
I was really I was trying to figure out
what kinda tuning you were using.
I don’t think I ever heard it before.
Nobody can, only me.
Look here. How close were you watching me?
Well, I was, uh…
Well, I was watching real close, Jesse.
I got these special binoculars, right?
And they allow me to see into your soul.
[chuckling] Really?
I see exactly what you were playing.
It’s like a tiny little microscope, right?
Oh, watch out.
[Jesse] Is that right?
Yeah.
Do me a favor. Here.
Take my guitar and show me how close you really
was watching, my man.
No, I can’t.
Couldn’t do that, Jesse,
that’s like touching your woman.
It’s okay. All right. Just don’t squeeze her too tight.
It’s all right, Pete?
Oh, yeah.
It’s a family station. You can…
As long as I don’t squeeze her too tight.
[Jesse laughs]
Then it’s all right. I’m gonna… watch this.
[♪ blues music playing]
[Pete exclaims]
♪ Pain in my heart ♪
♪ Pain in my soul ♪
♪ Oh, baby, I don’t know ♪
♪ Ten long years ♪
♪ Oh, baby, I’ve been lovin’ you ♪
♪ Well, I ride on a mail train, babe ♪
♪ I can’t buy no thrill ♪
♪ And I’ve been up all night, babe ♪
♪ I’m leaning on the windowsill ♪
Here we are, man.
[elevator dings]
Aw, shit.
[knocking at doors]
[door opens]
Ah, my second guess.
Hi.
What?
You want me to catch up with you or something?
Yeah.
[Bob mumbling softly]
…mouthpiece of the hollow horn.
[strums guitar]
Plays wasted words…
Pointed threats, they bluff with scorn,
suicide remarks are torn.
From fool’s gold, from the fool’s gold mouthpiece
and the fool’s gold mouthpiece,
the hollow horn
plays wasted words, proves to warn.
That he not busy being born…
That he not busy being born…
[continues indistinctly]
Bob?
What?
Never mind.
Fool’s gold, fool’s gold mouthpiece,
the hollow horn.
Plays wasted words, wasted words proves to warn.
He not busy being born.
[Joan sighs]
He’s busy dying.
[tap water running]
[water stops]
♪ That he not busy being born is busy dying ♪
[Joan sighs]
Why did you come here?
What?
To make me watch you write?
What are you doing, Joan?
Why are you asking me that?
Why did you come here?
Hmm?
I came to see you.
You’re acting like a jerk.
Why, ’cause I got out of your bed?
Get out.
[chuckles] What?
Get out.
Are you kiddin’?
No, Bob, I’m not kidding. Get out.
Now!
Okay.
You know, Albert booked us on a tour, Joan.
People, you know, on tour,
they typically sing songs together.
Somebody’s gotta write those songs.
It’s my fucking guitar.
See ya on tour.
[audience cheering]
[♪ alternative music playing, “All I Really Want To Do”]
[Bob & Joan] ♪ I don’t wanna fake you out ♪
♪ Take or shake or forsake you out ♪
♪ I ain’t lookin’ for you to feel like me ♪
♪ See like me or be like me ♪
♪ All I really wanna do ♪
[both vocalizing]
♪ Is, baby, be friends with you ♪
[audience cheering]
♪ The motorcycle black Madonna ♪
♪ Two-wheeled gypsy queen ♪
Hey, Bob. Where the fuck are you?
I don’t know. Every time I drink…
I’m right here, Joan.
You guys can see me, right?
All right, what’s next?
[♪ folk music playing, “Blowin’ In The Wind”]
[audience cheering]
I don’t wanna play that.
I mean, they already got that song on the record.
Pick another song.
Joan, choose somethin’ else.
You guys wanna hear Blowin’ in the Wind, right?
[audience cheering] Nah, man, I don’t… Look…
It’s why they came here, Bob.
Nah, I don’t believe they came here to hear that song.
‘Cause I don’t believe the set list…
[indistinct shouting]
I don’t believe a set list was advertised.
No, no set list…
Unless that draconian figure
from, uh, Chicago, United States up there
promised songs that weren’t gonna be played.
What in the fuck?
[audience exclaiming]
No, man, it’s not a request type concert.
If you wanna do that, go see, uh, Donovan.
But here, uh, we’re gonna play new songs.
Pick somethin’ else, Joan.
[audience exclaiming]
Pick somethin’ else.
[♪ playing “Blowin’ In The Wind”]
[audience cheering] Oh, boy. Wow.
Okay, well…
Oh! I think my guitar broke.
Yeah.
Hey, listen man, don’t get mad.
Hey, the truth is
it broke on the way here.
[Albert] Oh, come on, Bob!
[Bob] No. Hey, man.
The bus I came to actually caught fire on the way here
and my guitar ain’t even on me right now.
So, I’m gonna just go see the guitar doctor backstage.
Or something, you know.
[audience booing]
[chuckles]
[Joan] Well, gee, I hope the doctor can save his guitar.
I’ll play it for ya.
[audience cheering]
♪ How many roads ♪
Hey, hey, hey! Whoa, whoa, whoa!
Come on.
[feedback over mic] Welcome back, Neuwirth.
That yours?
It’s Bob’s. He bought it in London.
[tuning electric guitar]
[humming]
♪ Railroad Bill, Railroad Bill ♪
♪ Never worked and he never will ♪
♪ And it’s ride, ride, ride ♪
[Bob playing harmonica]
♪ Railroad Bill was a mighty mean man ♪
♪ He shot the midnight lantern Out of the brakeman’s hand ♪
♪ And it’s ride, ride, ride ♪
[Bob] Pick it up a little bit.
♪ Railroad Bill ♪
♪ Y’know he took a wife ♪
♪ He took a wife ♪
♪ Said if I didn’t like it He would take my life ♪
♪ I’m gonna ride, ride, ride ♪
[♪ music stops]
Who are you?
I’m Al Kooper.
[chuckling] What? You’re Al Kooper?
He’s another guitar player.
Yeah. Tom told me to fall by.
We already have a guitar player, man.
Mike Bloomfield.
And he’s really good.
[plays note]
To be better than him,
you’d have to be Blind Willie McTell.
[chuckles nervously]
I don’t care about money. I wanna play, man.
No one’s on organ.
You don’t play keyboards, Al.
[♪ instrumental music tuning, playing]
[Bob] Still, don’t even worry about what we’re doin’.
Play like you’re in the room alone.
[Mike] All right.
[Bob] Play for yourself, it’s gonna sound better.
[Mike] All right.
[Bob] Uh…
Let’s, uh,
scratch the waltz thing.
[Gregg] Yeah.
[Bob] Let’s just go back to what we were doing before.
[Gregg] Doin’ it in four?
[Bob] Yeah.
I think it’s gonna sound better.
[Gregg] Little slower?
[Bob] Yeah,
and a little slower.
You know, not in that crazy pace.
[Gregg] Yeah. Not too fast.
[Bob] Yeah. All right.
[Tom] Uh, Like A Rolling Stone, take eight.
Ready?
[plays piano]
[Gregg] One, two…
It’s in C.
[Gregg] One, two, three.
[Bob] Right.
[♪ folk music playing, “Like a Rolling Stone”]
♪ Once upon a time you dressed so fine ♪
♪ Threw the bums a dime in your prime ♪
♪ Didn’t you? ♪
Newport never seen threads like these, man.
Hey, Bobby, give me that compass, man.
[Bobby] Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
I’ll wear it somewhere.
[Bobby] Gimme that one, right there. Thank you.
[groans]
[Bob] What are you doing downtown, Pete?
I thought you’d already be in Newport.
[Pete] Trying to get together with Grossman,
talk about your set,
but, uh, I’d rather not talk to the middleman.
You wanna get a cup of coffee?
But we’re still closing, right?
Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Well, let’s just talk up in Newport, Pete,
’cause I don’t even,
you know, I hadn’t even planned anything
for the set yet, you know.
Yeah. Okay.
You know, I’m sorta living day to day these days, you know?
Sure. Yeah, it’s all right.
[car engine starts]
Be careful on that thing.
[car driving off]
Hey, Sylvie.
Hey, Sylvie!
[♪ music playing on radio]
Hey, Sylvie!
Sylvie!
What are you doin’ here?
I’m going to Newport. You wanna come?
What?
I’m going to Newport. Come on.
[woman] Excuse me, you cannot park there.
[Bob] There she is.
[chuckles]
[♪ folk music playing, “Mr. Tambourine Man”]
Hold on tight.
♪ Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me ♪
♪ I’m not sleepy and there is no place I’m going to ♪
♪ Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me ♪
♪ In the jingle jangle morning I’ll come following you ♪
[indistinct chatter]
Wow.
[♪ instrumental folk music playing]
I want you to meet someone.
Bobby D!
You’re lookin’ unlike yourself.
Who you runnin’ with?
I’m running wild, Jesse.
Is she wild, too?
Only when the moon’s full.
[laughing]
Kinda smells weird.
Bed’s not bad.
Does this make me Bette Davis?
She ended up alone in that movie.
No, she didn’t.
They got together when they were older.
[Bobby] Knock, knock.
Choose your weapon, General.
You got this guest thing with Joan in a half hour.
That one.
Yes, sir.
I’ll meet you back here later?
Why?
I’d like to catch that.
[Albert] You’re on right now. Let’s go.
You’re running.
[Bob] All right, Albert.
Hold your horses.
[Albert] Come on. Come on.
Let’s go, let’s go. Up. Go, go, go. Come on.
[Bob] Okay, right in there?
[Bobby] Right in there.
Okay, we’re running, we’re running.
Okay, all right.
Hey, Pete.
Hey, amigo, how are you?
Hi, Sylvie!
Pete!
I haven’t seen you in a while.
Oh, okay.
How’s it going?
Oh, it’s all just jubilation through and through.
Couldn’t be better.
[Alan] Hey, Bobby!
Hello, darlin’. How are you?
[♪ folk music playing, “Farewell, Angelina”]
♪ Valentino-type tangos ♪
♪ While the makeup man’s hands ♪
♪ Shut the eyes of the dead Not to embarrass anyone ♪
[kisses]
♪ But farewell Angelina ♪
♪ The sky is changing color And I must leave fast ♪
♪ The machine guns are roaring ♪
♪ And the puppets heave rocks ♪
♪ And the fiends nail time bombs ♪
♪ To the hands of the clocks ♪
You okay?
Sure. Why not?
Party after.
Great.
♪ But farewell Angelina ♪
♪ The sky is erupting ♪
♪ I must go where it’s quiet ♪
[audience cheering]
Thank you.
How about saying hello to the man who wrote that one?
Come on out, Bobby.
[audience cheering louder]
I picked something appropriate.
Appropriate?
Just fuck off and sing.
[♪ folk music playing, “It Ain’t Me Babe”]
Appropriate.
♪ Go away from my window ♪
♪ Leave at your own chosen speed ♪
♪ I’m not the one you want, babe ♪
♪ I’m not the one you need ♪
[audience cheering]
♪ You say you’re lookin’ for someone ♪
♪ Never weak but always strong ♪
♪ To protect you and defend you ♪
♪ Whether you are right or wrong ♪
♪ Someone to open each and every door ♪
♪ But it ain’t me, babe ♪
♪ No, no, no, it ain’t me, babe ♪
♪ It ain’t me you’re lookin’ for, babe ♪
♪ Go lightly from the ledge, babe ♪
♪ Go lightly on the ground ♪
♪ I’m not the one you want, babe ♪
♪ I’ll only let you down ♪
♪ You say you’re lookin’ for someone ♪
♪ Who’ll promise never to part ♪
♪ Someone to close his eyes for you ♪
♪ Someone to close his heart ♪
♪ Someone who will die for you and more ♪
♪ But it ain’t me, babe ♪
♪ No, no, no, it ain’t me, babe ♪
♪ It ain’t me you’re lookin’ for, babe ♪
Sylvie! He’s gonna ask where you are.
Tell him I went home.
Why?
I can’t do it.
I thought I could, but…
Just stay and talk to him, all right?
He’s got a lot of people to talk to,
like 100,000.
You can’t take a cab to the Village from here.
[cab driver] You getting in, Miss?
There’s a ferry to Providence, it leaves every other hour.
You can take a train from there, just take a second.
♪ Or saying, “I can’t forget you” ♪
♪ I do not walk the floor Bowed down and bent but yet ♪
♪ Mama, you been on my mind ♪
[audience cheering]
You could play basketball with those polka dots.
Yeah, take that shirt off, man.
You look like a goddamn clown.
Anybody here see where Sylvie went?
[♪ rock music playing over radio]
Hey, Bobby.
Hey, you know where Sylvie is?
She split while you were playing with Joan.
What do you mean she split?
I didn’t wanna sink you, man.
Anybody home? Hello, Albert. [laughs]
Oh, my.
Oh, God.
[Bobby] She was headed for the ferry.
You probably still got time to catch her if you head out now.
Christ, Bobby.
Bobby, can I have a word?
[Harold] Can we just turn that down, please? Maybe?
Where’s Pete? He’s not in on this?
“In on” what, exactly?
Posse of purity.
No, we are on our own.
Sorry, I gotta go.
[Albert] Bob, my friend…
[Harold] All we want to know is what you’re planning
on doing tomorrow, Bobby.
If you’re gonna play the new songs, that’s all.
‘Cause you want me playing the old ones?
All right, let’s just cut the crap, Bob. Come on.
You’re gonna be playing noise like this?
This is The Kinks.
I’m supposed to introduce you.
And if you are, just let me know.
And we’ll get Dick Clark to introduce…
Whoo-hoo! You hear that?
You wanna get Dick Clark to Newport Folk Festival?
I don’t know if you noticed,
but there’s a lot of fucking people here…
[Alan] How could I not?
I’d rather have 10 faithful than 10,000 groupies!
It was the Newport Folk Festival, then Bob,
and it still is the Newport Folk Festival.
Not the teen dream, uh, Brill Building,
Top 40, British Invasion Festival.
A folk festival!
Do you even remember folk music, Bob?
No, Alan, what’s that?
Maybe you could sing me somethin’.
[engine revving]
♪ All day and all of the night ♪
[indistinct chatter]
[Bob] Hey!
Hey, Sylvie.
Come here.
Come on.
What are you doing?
Where are you going?
I’m going home.
Why?
It was fun to be
on the carnival train with you, Bobby,
but I think I gotta step off.
I feel like one of those plates, you know,
that the French guy spins on those sticks
on The Sullivan Show.
Oh, I kinda like that guy.
I’m sure it’s fun to be the guy, Bob,
but I was a plate.
[♪ somber instrumental music playing]
Oh, Christ.
Stay. Come on.
Don’t ask for the moon, we have the stars.
[ferry horn tooting]
Sylvie.
Sylvie.
[door closes]
[Pete humming]
Rise, sunshine.
Oh, Christ.
[Pete] Here you go. Morning.
Thought we could have a chat,
so, I brought you a cup of hot black
and, uh, one with milk for Sylvie.
[Albert] Hey.
What the fuck?
Morning, Albert.
It’s 7:00 in the morning.
Fuck.
Whatever this is, Pete,
maybe you could wait another few goddamn hours.
Well, it is the last day of our festival, Albert,
and I think people would like to know what’s coming.
So, I’m here to have a conversation
with my old friend.
Bobby, did I ever tell you my, uh,
my parable of the teaspoon brigade?
[Albert] The parable of the fucking what?
It’s the crack of fucking dawn here!
[Pete] It’s a good story.
[Albert chuckles] Okay.
Bob needs his rest, all right?
We all need our rest.
It’s all right. Let him tell his story, Al.
Come on, give it to me good, Pete.
All right. Imagine, we got a seesaw.
Seesaw?
[Pete] Yeah.
Okay. [chuckles]
One end of it, it’s anchored firm to the ground
’cause it’s got a basket full of rocks on it.
The other end, it’s floating up here,
way up in the air
and wishin’ it could come down
but all it’s got is a basket that’s half full of sand
and the sand is leaking out all the time.
Okay, now…
Could you get me a cigarette, man?
[Pete] We see this situation.
We say, well, maybe we should do something about this.
And all we got with us is some teaspoons
but we take ’em out and we start
putting sand up into that basket
and it’s running out as fast as we can put it in.
There’s all kinds of people.
They’re looking at us and they’re laughin’
and they’re sayin’, “Geez, you’re wastin’ your time.”
But every day a few new people show up
and they bring their spoons, and they start pitchin’ in.
You know why?
Why?
[Pete] Because one of these days,
enough people are gonna put sand
in that basket at the same time
that the whole damn thing just goes, zoop.
And we level things out.
Okay. Thanks, Pete. We get the story.
I don’t think you do, Albert.
Bobby, Newport, we built it
for the purpose of sharing traditional folk music.
We started it six years ago,
and every year since then,
more and more people have been showing up,
and they’re bringing their teaspoons.
Teaspoons for justice,
and teaspoons for peace and teaspoons for love,
and that’s what we do and…
Gosh, you showed up, Bobby,
and damn it, if you didn’t bring a shovel.
[both chuckle]
[Pete] Really.
I mean, we’re all here just laboring
with our little teaspoons
and you come and bring a shovel.
And thanks to you, we’re almost there.
We’re on the verge of tipping it, Bob,
and you’re our closing act.
And tonight, if you could
just get up there one more time
and use that shovel in the right way…
The right way?
[Pete] You could level things out, Bob.
You know, I sent you an advance of my new record.
Sure. Yeah, I got it.
Did you ever listen to the music
you’re telling me not to play?
I can see the direction you’re goin’ in.
I could see it on the last record.
You know, it… it’s not…
No, don’t take it that way. [hesitates]
Bobby, you write great songs that are leadin’ to change
and we’re a folk festival.
Nothing’s changin’, Pete.
Why is this controversial?
[Bobby] Nothing’s changing.
Nothing’s changing. What, not at all.
Kennedy’s dead. They just shot Malcolm X.
Well, isn’t that all the more reason.
[Albert] You know, there’s more to sing about
than justice, Pete.
There’s more than one way to play a song.
You ever just take a second and think that maybe
it’s more fun to be in a fucking band, man?
You don’t understand, Bobby, they just want me singing
Blowin’ in the Wind all alone
for the rest of my goddamn life.
All we’re talkin’ about is tonight.
He’s scared of your music, Bob.
[Pete] Nobody’s scared of anybody’s music.
You are. You’re scared that the kids
out on that lawn might like it.
And why would I be afraid of that?
Because you’re pushing candles and he’s selling light bulbs.
Albert, there’s only one of us
who’s focused on how much we’re selling
and it ain’t me.
Hey, Bobby, Bobby…
[door opens]
Oh, Christ, man. Shit.
Am I blocking you in, pal?
Hey, JR.
Johnny, it’s me. It’s Bobby.
Hey! Shit, Bobby.
Yeah!
Thought you left town already.
Well, we loaded out last night.
June left for New York with her mama.
Pete asked me to stay for the finale today, you know,
and I couldn’t sleep.
Just took a drive.
Saw the ocean.
Okay.
This yours?
Yeah.
Hey, man, you got a cigarette?
Yeah.
Thanks.
Let me get outta your way.
[bottle shatters]
A guy I knew in the Air Force had a Triumph.
[car engine starts]
Gotta prime it up!
[engine revving]
Oh, shit.
Good. Good.
Whoops.
[engine stops]
Want a Bugle?
Nah.
You playing tonight?
Yeah, that’s what the program says,
but I’m not sure they wanna hear
what I wanna play, Johnny.
Who’s they?
Uh, you know,
the men who decide what folk music is.
Well, fuck them.
I wanna hear it.
Make some noise, BD.
Track some mud on the carpet.
[strumming guitar]
It’s getting nuts out there.
Three songs, get out. Thank you, good night.
Electric or acoustic?
[audience cheering]
[man] How crazy is it gonna be tonight, Bob?
[Bob] Uh, pretty crazy. Come check it out.
[woman] It’s sold out. We can’t hear it.
I’ll sing louder.
[crowd clamoring]
♪ Old hammer ♪
♪ Let your hammer ring ♪
♪ Won’t you ring old hammer? ♪
♪ Let your hammer ring ♪
So? How are we?
I think he understands.
♪ Let your hammer ring… ♪
♪ Let your hammer ring ♪
♪ Broke the handle on my hammer ♪
♪ Let your hammer ring ♪
[man] Hey, man.
[Bobby] Hey, man.
How you doin’?
How’s it goin’?
♪ Let your hammer ring ♪
♪ Got to hammerin’ in the Bible ♪
♪ Let your hammer ring ♪
♪ Won’t you ring old hammer ♪
♪ Let your hammer ring ♪
♪ Won’t you ring old hammer ♪
Pete thinks we’re gonna be okay. All right?
♪ Won’t you ring old hammer? ♪
♪ Let your hammer ring ♪
[sighs]
[woman 1] We want Bob!
[audience shouting] Bob! Bob! Bob!
Let’s hear it for the Texas Work Song group
all the way from Abilene, Texas!
All right, hold on. Now that was music!
Bob!
[man 1] We love you!
Bob! We love you, Bob!
[audience cheering]
[Alan] We have one more act now.
We love you, Bob!
All right, okay.
[woman 2] We want Bob!
I don’t even need to say his name, do I?
[indistinct shouting]
[Alan] Fine, you want him, you can have him. Bob Dylan.
[audience cheering]
[plays harmonica]
Ready?
[♪ classic rock music playing, “Maggie’s Farm”]
♪ I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more ♪
What the hell is this?
♪ I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more ♪
[man 2] No! This is all wrong!
♪ Well, I wake up in the morning ♪
♪ Fold my hands and pray for rain ♪
♪ I got a head full of ideas ♪
♪ That are drivin’ me insane ♪
What are you doing?
[audience booing]
♪ It’s a shame the way she makes me scrub the floor ♪
♪ I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more ♪
Come on, Bob! This is Newport!
♪ I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more ♪
They don’t need us promotin’ this shit!
Drop a dime in any fucking jukebox!
When’s the last time you saw a jukebox, Al?
Tell ’em to turn the fucking sound down!
Sounds perfect to me.
[Alan] Fuck this.
Where are you going?
[Alan] To fix it.
Alan!
♪ “Sing while you slave” And I just get bored ♪
[laughs]
[Alan] It’s too loud!
♪ I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more ♪
♪ Oh, no! ♪
Turn it down!
What?
Turn the fucking music down!
Hey, calm down.
No, no.
You work for us!
Hey!
Lomax!
[Alan grunts]
Just like we set it this afternoon, all right?
Nobody touches the board.
[both grunting]
Now, hold it!
[indistinct shouting]
What the hell’s going on?
Just ignore it.
Sorry, Odetta. Sorry.
Get off the stage!
Keep playing.
[man 3] Tambourine Man!
[♪ rock music playing, “It Takes a Lot to Laugh”]
[audience shouting]
Come on! What the fuck is this? Bullshit!
Damn.
♪ Well, I ride on a mail train, baby ♪
♪ Can’t buy a thrill ♪
It’s enough, enough.
♪ Well, I’ve been up all night, babe ♪
♪ Leanin’ on the window sill ♪
♪ Well, if I don’t die on top of the hill ♪
Why haven’t they turned it down?
‘Cause it sounds fucking great, man.
Quiet, Bobby.
You tell them it is an order from the festival board.
Fuck the board!
[Alan] You’re on the board,
you fucking moron!
You’re not gonna be on the board for long!
[Harold] Would you stop…
[Alan] You’re not gonna be on the board any longer!
[Harold] This is not a playground! Stop it!
[♪ rock music continues]
[audience shouting]
This is chaos. You’ve got to turn it down.
I can’t do that.
I know you know who I am, son.
Now let me at that board.
No.
Get off, man!
[audience booing]
Jesus Christ, man.
No! Get back! Open your fucking ears, man!
[♪ rock music continues]
[audience shouting]
Pete!
All right, all right.
[♪ music stops]
Boo! Come on!
Judas! You’re Judas!
[man 4] Sit down!
I don’t believe you.
[♪ folk music playing, “Like A Rolling Stone”]
Play it loud.
[audience shouting]
♪ Once upon a time you dressed so fine ♪
♪ Threw the bums a dime in your prime ♪
♪ Didn’t you? ♪
♪ People call say “Beware doll You’re bound to fall” ♪
♪ You thought they were all kiddin’ you ♪
♪ You used to laugh about ♪
♪ Everybody that was hanging out ♪
♪ Now you don’t talk so loud ♪
[woman 3] This is a folk festival!
♪ Now you don’t seem so proud ♪
♪ About having to be scrounging around ♪
♪ For your next meal ♪
♪ How does it feel? ♪
[man 5] Yeah! Play it, man!
♪ How does it feel? ♪
♪ To be on your own ♪
[woman 4] Play it!
♪ With no direction home ♪
♪ Like a complete unknown ♪
♪ Like a rolling stone ♪
[audience booing]
Let’s get the fuck out of here.
Oh, shit.
God damn.
Bobby, you broke it down and blew my mind! Fuck!
[Albert] Are you okay? Did you get hit?
Are you okay?
[Bob] Nah.
[Peter] Bobby was… All right.
Okay. Listen.
He was only scheduled for three songs and…
Maybe you wanna go back out there,
and let out a little steam?
[Bob] The hell you talking about?
Why would I wanna do that, Albert?
[Bobby] To end the show.
We just ended the show, man. It’s done.
Let’s go. Pack up.
That crowd is not gonna let up, okay?
We need a finale, Bob.
You know what they want. Please!
[Peter] Bob has left the stage.
[audience booing]
[Peter] Okay. Please.
Go get ’em, killer.
You know what? He’s coming. Bob Dylan.
[audience cheering]
[man 3] Tambourine Man!
[audience shouting]
[♪ folk music playing, “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue”]
♪ You must leave now, take what you need ♪
♪ You think will last ♪
♪ But whatever you wish to keep ♪
♪ You better grab it fast ♪
♪ Yonder stands your orphan with his gun ♪
Well, we gotta try. We gotta try, yeah?
We gotta get everyone out there
and we’ll pull this back together.
Together is done, Pete. Your boy just tore it down.
♪ Look out, the saints are comin’ through ♪
♪ And it’s all over now, Baby Blue ♪
How fast can we get him out of here?
Like he was never here.
♪ Leave your stepping stones behind ♪
♪ Something calls for you ♪
Not that fast.
♪ Forget the dead you left They will not follow you ♪
♪ The vagabond who’s rapping at your door ♪
♪ Is standing in the clothes that you once wore ♪
♪ Strike another match, go start anew ♪
[audience cheering]
♪ And it’s all over now, Baby Blue ♪
[playing harmonica]
All right.
Here you go.
Thanks, Johnny.
Got what they wanted.
Bob.
Bob!
[Bob] Gig’s over, Toshi.
Go, go.
[♪ upbeat rock music playing]
[indistinct chatter]
[woman] Hey, Pete. Great show.
[man] All right, Pete!
Where is he?
I’m sorry, Pete.
No. Where is he?
He’s right in there.
It’s okay.
Hi, Maria.
I loved the show. I thought it was great.
Oh, good. It was a good ending.
You feel good?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Hi, Jesse.
Hey, beautiful show.
Thanks for being there.
[♪ soul music playing, “I’m Through With You”]
[♪ gentle guitar music playing]
Let go of it, Bobby. You won.
What did I win, Joan?
Freedom. From all of us and our shit.
Isn’t that what you wanted?
[bike engine starts]
See you soon, Joan.
[humming]
♪ I’ve sung this song, but I’ll sing it again ♪
♪ Of the people I’ve met And the places I’ve been ♪
♪ Some of the troubles that bothered my mind ♪
♪ And a lotta good people that I’ve left behind ♪
♪ Singing so long, it’s been good to know ya ♪
♪ So long, it’s been good to know ya ♪
♪ So long, it’s been good to know ya ♪
♪ This dusty old dust is a-gettin’ my home ♪
♪ Dusty old dust is a-gettin’ my home ♪
♪ And I’ve got to be driftin’ along ♪
♪ A dust storm hit and it hit like thunder ♪
♪ It dusted us over and it covered us under ♪
♪ Blocked out the traffic And blocked out the sun ♪
♪ Straight for home all the people did run ♪
♪ Singing so long, it’s been good to know ya ♪
♪ So long, it’s been good to know ya ♪
♪ So long, it’s been good to know ya ♪
♪ This dusty old dust is a-gettin’ my home ♪
♪ And I’ve got to be driftin’ along ♪
♪ We’d talk of the end of the world, and then ♪
♪ We’d sing a song and then sing it again ♪
♪ We’d sit for an hour and not say a word ♪
♪ And then these words would be heard ♪
♪ Singing so long, it’s been good to know ya ♪
♪ So long, it’s been good to know ya ♪
♪ So long, it’s been good to know ya ♪
♪ This dusty old dust is a-gettin’ my home ♪
♪ And I’ve got to be driftin’ along ♪
♪ So long, it’s been good to know ya ♪
♪ So long, it’s been good to know ya ♪
♪ So long, it’s been good to know ya ♪
♪ This dusty old dust is a-gettin’ my home ♪
[bike engine receding]
♪ And I’ve got to be driftin’ along ♪
[♪ folk music playing, “Like A Rolling Stone”]
[♪ music fades]
[♪ folk music playing, “Blowin’ In The Wind”]
[♪ music stops]
[♪ folk music playing, “Mr. Tambourine Man”]
[♪ music stops]
