Bob Dylan’s songs occupy a unique place in pop culture. A single, interwoven tapestry of dreams, they spin dazzling tales that tangle mythology into autobiography, broadcast heartfelt opinions and willful misdirections, wrap facts with the most beguiling of fiction, and dance with an unrecognized scattershot humor. And they have been dissected more keenly than any other songwriter’s work, adding layers of quasi-meaning that obfuscate a remarkable body of original thought. So what did Dylan actually say? That’s where Jewels And Mules can help. Every keyword and phrase in this book is attributed to Dylan, transcribed definitively from what you hear on more than 400 officially released songs and significant song variations covering the entire span of his career from Bob Dylan to Fragments , along with songs that exist only as cover versions by other artists. More than 9,000 unique entries are organized into their references and themes, placed in perspective, and followed by a list of the songs in which each keyword or phrase appears. Using this book as your starting point, you can source precise, relevant wording on any subject that Dylan explored, and ensure your own exegesis is rooted in truth. A concordance of Bob Dylan’s language, a thesaurus of his preoccupations, and a celebration of just how richly allusive his songs are, Jewels And Mules enables scholars, researchers, and armchair browsers alike to find out exactly what the fuss should always have been about.