Did Dylan rip off Pynchon?

[Heikki Raudaskoski]

In the folk movement, Dylan (and others) appropriated traditional
melodies, not so much lyrics. "Hard Rain", "God on Our Side" etc.

Lennon kept borrowing verbal stuff: the Tibetan Book of the Dead
via Leary, circus poster, firearm ad... But he hardly violated
copyrights when doing so. (Apparently not only verbal borrowings,
though - cf. the case of "Happy Xmas" and "Stewball"...)


Heikki


Carvill John wrote:
  Natália wrote:
> > Paul Mccartney said once that what he feared the most about writing
> > lyrics was accidentally stealing them from somebody else (or
> > something, I can't remember the exact quote), and I have this feeling
> > while writing too. I don't think Bob Dylan would ever outrightly copy
> > whole passages like this.
>
> I love Dylan, he's been my favourite artist (of any type) for decades
> now. BUt he isn't perfect. There have been far too many instances of
> plagiarism lately. The way he took, for example, lines form old folk
> songs and mixed them in with his own words on 'Love & Theft' was daring
> and original. Same goes for teh way he reinvented meaning by using
> nursery rhymes on 'Under the Red Sky'.