--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Bob Dylan wrote in his elliptical memoir…" description: "\"Bob Dylan wrote in his elliptical memoir, Chronicles: Volume One, he was washed up in the 1980s, no longer a commercial success, and no longer putting ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/713/bob-dylan-168_bob_bob-dylan-wrote-in-his-elliptical-memoir_2179860.jpg" --- # Bob Dylan wrote in his elliptical memoir, Chronicles… ![“Bob Dylan wrote in his elliptical memoir, Chronicles: Volume One, he was washed up in the 1980s, no longer a commercial success, and no longer putting out good work.” quote by Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/713/bob-dylan-168_bob_bob-dylan-wrote-in-his-elliptical-memoir_2179860.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/713/bob-dylan-168_bob_bob-dylan-wrote-in-his-elliptical-memoir_2179860.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/713/bob-dylan-168_bob_bob-dylan-wrote-in-his-elliptical-memoir_2179860.jpg) > “Bob Dylan wrote in his elliptical memoir, Chronicles: Volume One, he was washed up in the 1980s, no longer a commercial success, and no longer putting out good work.” [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Dylan reflects on his 1980s period of commercial decline and creative stagnation. **In simple terms:** He felt washed up and unproductive in the 80s. Key Takeaway Embrace change and reinvent. Themes career creativity decline reinvention Mood introspective honest Type memoir critical When to use this quote - music industry - personal branding - creative blocks Key Concepts artistic cycles selfassessment Questions to Reflect On - How do you handle creative lows? - What can revive a stalled career? A Different Perspective Success is cyclical, not permanent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bob/) [Bob dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bob-dylan/) [Chronicles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chronicles/) [Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dylan/) [Dylan Wrote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dylan-wrote-3229163/) [Elliptical Memoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elliptical-memoir-4703988/) [Good work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-work/) [Memoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memoir/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Volume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/volume/) [Washed 1980S](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/washed-1980s-4703987/) ## Related quotes > [Bob Dylan once wrote, The times, they are a-changin. Ron Burgundy had never heard that song. -Bill Lawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anchorman/bob-dylan-once-wrote-the-times-they-are-a-changin-ron-burgundy-had/) [Anchorman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anchorman/) > [“The things that bring couples together will always terrify me more than the things that tear us apart. They will always be harder to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/the-things-that-bring-couples-together-will-always-terrify-me-more/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“In another life, I could have been you," she'd say. "Yeah, but then I wouldn't have been the same person in that life." "Yeah,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/in-another-life-i-could-have-been-you-she-d-say-yeah-but-then-i/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [ \[Bob\] Dylan crashed his motorcycle in 1967, and almost died. A few years ago, he referred to the experience as a "transfiguration." ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/bob-dylan-crashed-his-motorcycle-in-1967-and-almost-died-a-few-years/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [“I'm just average, common too. I'm just like him and the same as you. I'm everybody's brother and son. I'm no different than anyone."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-m-just-average-common-too-i-m-just-like-him-and-the-same-as-you-i-m/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Bob Dylan was again an entirely new person - this time old, craggy, cynical, and world-weary, as in "Not Dark Yet".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/bob-dylan-was-again-an-entirely-new-person-this-time-old-craggy/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [ "Subterranean Homesick Blues" \[of Bob Dylan\] captures, in word-salad format, life in an encroaching police state. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/subterranean-homesick-blues-of-bob-dylan-captures-in-word-salad/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Back seat drivers don’t know the feel of the wheel but they sho’ know how to make a fuss" Bob Dylan/Bonnie Raitt, “Let’s Keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/back-seat-drivers-don-t-know-the-feel-of-the-wheel-but-they-sho-know/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [ In the meantime \[1965-67\], \[Bob\] Dylan was again writing some of the best love songs in the genre, like "Visions of Johanna," "Just Like… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/in-the-meantime-1965-67-bob-dylan-was-again-writing-some-of-the-best/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [ The confessional singer-songwriter movement of the 1970s was in full swing, and Bob Dylan's emotional album \[ Blood on the Tracks\] resonated with the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-confessional-singer-songwriter-movement-of-the-1970s-was-in-full/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [If I wasn't Bob Dylan, I'd probably think that Bob Dylan has a lot of answers myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/if-i-wasn-t-bob-dylan-i-d-probably-think-that-bob-dylan-has-a-lot-of/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Just in time for Bob Dylan to recoil from the attention, leave the city for Woodstock, and turn his back on fame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/just-in-time-for-bob-dylan-to-recoil-from-the-attention-leave-the/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [“I had no songs in my repertoire for commercial radio anyway. Songs about debauched bootleggers, mothers that drowned their own children, Cadillacs that only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-had-no-songs-in-my-repertoire-for-commercial-radio-anyway-songs/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [A brilliant 1989 album, Oh Mercy; some career retrospectives; and two albums of American folk songs, with just Bob Dylan and his guitar and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/a-brilliant-1989-album-oh-mercy-some-career-retrospectives-and-two/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Any real Bob Dylan fan would sleep with Jonah Lehrer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/any-real-bob-dylan-fan-would-sleep-with-jonah-lehrer/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) ## More by Bob Dylan > [The hollow horn plays wasted words, proves to warn that he not busy being born is busy dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-hollow-horn-plays-wasted-words-proves-to-warn-that-he-not-busy/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Don't forget to support your public library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/don-t-forget-to-support-your-public-library/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [You don't count the dead, when god's on your side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/you-don-t-count-the-dead-when-god-s-on-your-side/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [She makes love just like a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/she-makes-love-just-like-a-woman/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Silvio, I gotta go, find out something only dead men know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/silvio-i-gotta-go-find-out-something-only-dead-men-know/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [I don't really have a retirement plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-don-t-really-have-a-retirement-plan/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Just a reminder, if you tell anyone about what happened with Jonah last night, I'll destroy all of my writing and never play music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/just-a-reminder-if-you-tell-anyone-about-what-happened-with-jonah/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Little red wagon, little red bike, I ain’t no monkey but I know what I like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/little-red-wagon-little-red-bike-i-ain-t-no-monkey-but-i-know-what-i/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Twenty years of schooling and they put you on the day shift - look out out kid, they keep it all hid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/twenty-years-of-schooling-and-they-put-you-on-the-day-shift-look-out/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [The drunken politician leaps upon the street where mothers weep, and the saviors who are fast asleep, they wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-drunken-politician-leaps-upon-the-street-where-mothers-weep-and/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Your eyes are like two jewels in the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/your-eyes-are-like-two-jewels-in-the-sky/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [I gotta friend who spends his life, stabbing my picture with a bowie knife. Dreams of strangling me with a scarf, when my name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-gotta-friend-who-spends-his-life-stabbing-my-picture-with-a-bowie/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [She speaks with a stutter and she and she walks with a hop. I don't know why I love her, but I just can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/she-speaks-with-a-stutter-and-she-and-she-walks-with-a-hop-i-don-t/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [The man in the coon skin cap in the pig pen wants eleven dollar bills, you've only got ten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-man-in-the-coon-skin-cap-in-the-pig-pen-wants-eleven-dollar-bills/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Don't put my faith in nobody, not even a scientist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/don-t-put-my-faith-in-nobody-not-even-a-scientist/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) [Explore all 1,018 Bob Dylan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) ## More Bob quotes > [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [I think anyone that grew up in the '70s and '80s grew up with Bob Barker and Wink Martindale and I think that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-fieri/i-think-anyone-that-grew-up-in-the-70s-and-80s-grew-up-with-bob/) [Guy Fieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-fieri/) > [ Except in these latter-day songs, \[Bob\] Dylan is a grizzled old prophet who's already been to hell and back. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/except-in-these-latter-day-songs-bob-dylan-is-a-grizzled-old-prophet/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [Over the past 50 years Bob Hope employed 88 joke writers who supplied him with more than one million gags, and he still couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-murphy/over-the-past-50-years-bob-hope-employed-88-joke-writers-who-supplied/) [Eddie Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-murphy/) > [I like men who are very cool but who are also so brilliant that they are almost insane. Sean Penn, Gary Oldman, Bob Dylan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jolene-blalock/i-like-men-who-are-very-cool-but-who-are-also-so-brilliant-that-they/) [Jolene Blalock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jolene-blalock/) > [I was very engaged by the folk music movement.Bob Dylan; Joan Baez; Peter, Paul and Mary. And then I sort of discovered world music,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/i-was-very-engaged-by-the-folk-music-movement-bob-dylan-joan-baez/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [ The most recent incarnation of \[Bob\] Dylan has been the traveling journeyman/ charlatan who sings roots music, snarls dark lyrics that make "All Along… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/the-most-recent-incarnation-of-bob-dylan-has-been-the-traveling/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [Well. We’ll just have to hope that this wasn’t a loup-garou, I guess.” “If it was a louper, you’d know,” Bob said wisely. “In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/well-we-ll-just-have-to-hope-that-this-wasn-t-a-loup-garou-i-guess-if/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [Because of my tremendous respect for Bob Barker and for the show's high standards of professionalism I consider this a tremendous honor that few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-west/because-of-my-tremendous-respect-for-bob-barker-and-for-the-show-s/) [Randy West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-west/) > [That's who I wanted to be like was Bob Dylan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/that-s-who-i-wanted-to-be-like-was-bob-dylan/) [Kris Kristofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kristofferson/) > [Everybody who I ever cared about has told me that they like my music: Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Al Green, The Spinners, Smokey Robinson.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-hall/everybody-who-i-ever-cared-about-has-told-me-that-they-like-my-music/) [Daryl Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-hall/) > [Bob's work gleaned from hoofing, from vaudeville, from ballet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-reinking/bob-s-work-gleaned-from-hoofing-from-vaudeville-from-ballet/) [Ann Reinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-reinking/) > [Producing Bob Dylan was pretty much a spectator sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-kooper/producing-bob-dylan-was-pretty-much-a-spectator-sport/) [Al Kooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-kooper/) > [Listen, the story of the United States is this: One kid, without anything, walks out of his house, down the road, with nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-bone-burnett/listen-the-story-of-the-united-states-is-this-one-kid-without/) [T Bone Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-bone-burnett/) > [I figure if I keep my health, I have no intention of retiring. I love to work. I want to be like Bob Hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/i-figure-if-i-keep-my-health-i-have-no-intention-of-retiring-i-love/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) [Browse all 886 Bob quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bob/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Bob Dylan wrote in his elliptical memoir, Chronicles: Volume One, he was washed up in the 1980s, no longer a commercial success, and no longer putting out good work.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bob Dylan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/bob-dylan-wrote-in-his-elliptical-memoir-chronicles-volume-one-he-was/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bob" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/bob-dylan-wrote-in-his-elliptical-memoir-chronicles-volume-one-he-was/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/713/bob-dylan-168_bob_bob-dylan-wrote-in-his-elliptical-memoir_2179860.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/713/bob-dylan-168_bob_bob-dylan-wrote-in-his-elliptical-memoir_2179860.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/713/bob-dylan-168_bob_bob-dylan-wrote-in-his-elliptical-memoir_2179860.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Bob Dylan wrote in his elliptical memoir, Chronicles: Volume One, he was washed up in the 1980s, no longer a…” — Bob Dylan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bob Dylan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Bob Dylan wrote in his elliptical...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/bob-dylan-wrote-in-his-elliptical-memoir-chronicles-volume-one-he-was/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/bob-dylan-wrote-in-his-elliptical-memoir-chronicles-volume-one-he-was/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```