Trying to figure out why Bob Dylan does anything is pretty much impossible.
This private artist loves to keep everyone guessing, making decisions that no one can predict. He stopped playing guitar onstage years ago, and we don’t know why. His religious beliefs remain a mystery, and whether he was serious about that Christmas album is anyone’s guess.
It might not be a coincidence that Dylan brought back "A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall" at his show just days after the trailer for A Complete Unknown was released. In the trailer, Timothée Chalamet sings the song, giving fans their first taste of his Dylan impression. The trailer has already been viewed millions of times.
James Mangold, the movie’s director, shared that Dylan has been involved in the film. Mangold recalled when he first met Dylan. "The first time I sat down with him, Bob said, ‘What’s this movie about, Jim?’ I said, ‘It’s about a guy who’s choking to death in Minnesota and leaves behind all his friends and family and reinvents himself in a brand new place, makes new friends, builds a new family, becomes phenomenally successful, starts to choke to death again — and runs away.” Bob smiled and told Mangold, “I like that.”
During his show in Wheatland, California, Dylan played "A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall" for the first time since 2017. He added it seven songs into his set at the Toyota Amphitheater. Here’s a fan-shot video of the moment, though it’s not the best quality. Click here for an audio version.
We often wonder why people do what they do.
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He also played "Scarlet Town," a song he hadn’t performed since June. To fit these songs in, he dropped "Can’t Wait" and "I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight." The previous night in Mountain View, he brought guitarist Elvis Bishop on stage for "Early Roman Kings" and "Can’t Wait."
The tour continues in Boise, Idaho, and will end on September 20 in New Hampshire. In October, Dylan heads to Europe, finishing in London by mid-November. When A Complete Unknown hits theaters in December, Dylan might not attend the premiere, but who knows? He always keeps us guessing.
