Welcome to our Classic Bob Dylan Lyrics quiz.

To start the quiz immediately, select the regular or the quick version.

Bob Dylan has been enjoying a career renaissance, with well-received recent albums, a quirky film based on his life, a part-time job as a disc jockey, endorsement contracts, and prestigious prizes for a brilliant, ongoing life’s work. But never mind that recent stuff. Today we’re looking at some of his back pages. This quiz, which first appears a few days ahead of Dylan’s 68th birthday on May 24, 2009, is for those who grew up to the classic Dylan albums of the 60s and early 70s, from The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan through to Desire — grew up with the albums and paid attention to the titles and lyrics, because that’s what we’re asking for here. If you’re old enough to remember the material covered in this quiz, you’re probably too old to remember the material covered in this quiz, so six out of ten is a pass, eight earns extra distinction, and if you score nine or better, feel free to award yourself a bottle of bread.

Detail from Dylan’s first album cover, pre-classic

To explore the known universe of Bob Dylan lyrics, the best site we know is the official one, www.bobdylan.com. The lyrics provided there are generally accurate, and they cover the entire canon. There is a thorough if slowish search function, and good cross-indexing of albums and songs. It is also possible to listen to every single song online; for most songs, in fact, multiple performances are available. This is a very useful feature from a Dylanological point of view, even though these free recordings are well short of full quality.

Now, settle back and...