Bob Dylan’s Handwritten Lyrics Are On Sale For $425,000

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An extremely rare piece of Americana history is going up for sale, according to TMZ.

The original, handwritten lyrics to one of Bob Dylan's most famous songs, "Desolation Row," is going up on the open market for the first time in history. Dylan wrote the lyrics on a couple of sheets of paper back in 1965, and the paper even features a few of Dylan's edits sprawled across it.

According to TMZ, the seller is a man who has been friends with Dylan since they were kids. He was given the lyric sheets over 20 years ago, and held on to them until deciding to sell. Moments In Time, —who buy and sell rare autographs, letters, signed photos and manuscripts— are handling the sale. They're asking $425,000 for the piece.

"Desolation Row" is the closing track on Dylan's 1965 album Highway 61 Revisited. The track is widely considered one of Dylan's best song and is often noted for its length (over 11 minutes). "Desolation Row" features surreal and poetic lyricism in which Dylan expertly weaves characters into a series of vignettes atop his signature acoustic stylings.

Dylan won the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition." The singer-songwriter accepted the award in a private ceremony, with no media present, in Stockholm.


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