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Bob Dylan A-Z Trivia Quiz

This is a 25-question quiz on Bob Dylan lyrics. The answers (and questions!) are in alphabetical order. Yes, it's an abecedary (minus the letters X and Z) for Bobcats. I cite the lyric, you name the song. Enjoy!

A multiple-choice quiz by ensiform. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Author
ensiform

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
92,646

Updated
Oct 21 23

# Qns
25

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
17 / 25

Plays
3165

Awards
Top 20% Quiz

Last 3 plays: Guest 132 (21/25), Guest 189 (23/25), Guest 103 (8/25).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 25

1. 'Anybody can be just like me, obviously. But then, not too many can be like you, fortunately.'
Hint

'Angelina'

'All Along the Watchtower'

'Absolutely Sweet Marie'

'All I Really Wanna Do'

NEXT>

Question 2 of 25

2. 'Because something is happening here but you don't know what it is, do you, Mister Jones?' Hint

'Ballad In Plain D'

'Ballad Of a Thin Man'

'Broke Down Engine'

'Blowin' In the Wind'

NEXT>

Question 3 of 25

3. 'Come on out, the dark is just beginning.' Hint

'Canadee-I-O'

'Chimes Of Freedom'

'Changing Of the Guards'

'Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?'

NEXT>

Question 4 of 25

4. 'Drinkin' man listens to the voice he hears in a crowded room full of covered up mirrors, lookin' into the lost forgotten years for...' Hint

'Denise'

'Dignity'

'Delia'

'Diamond Joe'

NEXT>

Question 5 of 25

5. 'Every time you leave and go off someplace, things fall to pieces in my face.' Hint

'Eternal Circle'

'Early Morning Rain'

'Everything Is Broken'

'Every Grain Of Sand'

NEXT>

Question 6 of 25

6. 'Freight train was comin', I had to cry, hummin' all the drivers with my lullaby.'
Hint

'Freight Train Blues'

'Froggie Went A-Courtin'

'Frankie & Johnny'

'Fixin' To Die'

NEXT>

Question 7 of 25

7. 'God didn't call it treason, God didn't call it wrong. It was supposed to last a season but it's been so strong for so long.' Hint

'Gates Of Eden'

'God Knows'

'Gospel Plow'

'Gonna Change My Way of Thinking'

NEXT>

Question 8 of 25

8. 'Howard just pointed with his gun and said that way...' Hint

'Honey Just Allow Me One More Chance'

'Highway 61 Revisited'

'Heart of Mine'

'Highlands'

NEXT>

Question 9 of 25

9. 'If my thought-dreams could be seen, they'd probably put my head in a guillotine.'
Hint

'Isis'

'It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)'

'I Am a Lonesome Hobo

'I Pity the Poor Immigrant'

NEXT>

Question 10 of 25

10. '...Just like a little girl.' Hint

'John Wesley Harding'

'Joey'

'Just Like a Woman'

'Jokerman'

NEXT>

Question 11 of 25

11. Know this lyric? 'Mama, put my guns in the ground. I can't shoot them anymore.'

Answer: (Four Words - no punctuation. )

12. 'Lily was a princess, she was fair-skinned and precious as a child.
She did whatever she had to do, she had that certain flash every time she smiled. She'd come away from a broken home, had lots of strange affairs with men in every walk of life which took her everywhere.' Hint

'Lily, Rosemary & the Jack Of Hearts'

'Love Is Just a Four-Letter Word'

'Love Henry'

'Love Sick'

NEXT>

Question 13 of 25

13. 'My toes too numb to step, wait only for my boot heels to be wanderin'. I'm ready to go anywhere, I'm ready for to fade..' Hint

'Mr. Bojangles'

'Million Dollar Bash'

'Make You Feel My Love'

'Mr. Tambourine Man'

NEXT>

Question 14 of 25

14. 'No one sends flesh and blood to fight by his side.' Hint

'Need a Woman'

'Nothing Was Delivered'

'Not Dark Yet'

'Neighborhood Bully'

NEXT>

Question 15 of 25

15. 'Oh, I wish I was on some Australian mountain range.' Hint

'Outlaw Blues'

'One More Cup Of Coffee'

'On the Road Again'

'Oh, Sister'

NEXT>

Question 16 of 25

16. 'Peace is not welcome at all. It's turned away from the door to wander some more or put up against the wall.'
Hint

'Precious Memories'

'Political World'

'Positively 4th Street'

'Please, Mrs. Henry'

NEXT>

Question 17 of 25

17. Query: 'all the pigeons are gonna run to [who] the Eskimo?'

Answer: (One word, five letters)

NEXT>

Question 18 of 25

18. 'Ride, Willie, ride. Roll, Willie, roll.' Hint

'Ruben Remus'

'Rambling, Gambling Willie'

'Ring Them Bells'

'River Theme'

NEXT>

Question 19 of 25

19. 'Standing by God's river, my soul is beginnin' to shake. I'm countin' on you love, to give me a break.' Hint

'Step It Up And Go'

'Summer Days'

'Subterranean Homesick Blues'

'Slow Train'

NEXT>

Question 20 of 25

20. 'They tell me everything is gonna be all right, but I don't know what "all right" even means.' Hint

'Tryin' To Get To Heaven'

'Tangled Up In Blue'

'To Ramona'

'Tough Mama'

NEXT>

Question 21 of 25

21. 'Union Central is pullin' out and the orchids are in bloom. I've only got me one good shirt left and it smells of stale perfume.' Hint

'Under the Red Sky'

'Union Sundown'

'Under Your Spell'

'Up To Me'

NEXT>

Question 22 of 25

22. 'Voices echo, this is what salvation must be like after a while. But Mona Lisa musta had the highway blues. You can tell by the way she smiles.' Hint

'Viva Las Vegas'

'Very Ape'

'Visions Of Johanna'

'Venus In Furs'

NEXT>

Question 23 of 25

23. 'When the Second World War came to an end, we forgave the Germans
and we were friends. Though they murdered six million in the ovens they fried...'
Hint

'Wiggle Wiggle'

'Where Teardrops Fall'

'Winterlude'

'With God On Our Side'

NEXT>

Question 24 of 25

24. 'You're as fine as anything's fine. The way you walk and the way you talk, it sure plays on my mind.'
Hint

'You're a Big Girl Now'

'You Ain't Goin' Nowhere'

'You Angel You'

'You Changed My Life'

NEXT>

Question 25 of 25

25. Finally, because there is no Dylan song that begins with Z, here's a question with numbers for an answer. That eternal party song, with the call-out chorus of 'EV-reebody must get stoned!' is not called 'Everybody Must get Stoned.' It's called 'Rainy Day Women #s __ & __.' What are those two numbers? Hint

11 & 12

15 & 99

34 & 89

12 & 35

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Most Recent Scores

Nov 18 2024 : Guest 132: 21/25
Nov 10 2024 : Guest 189: 23/25
Oct 24 2024 : Guest 103: 8/25
Oct 18 2024 : Guest 72: 23/25

Score Distribution

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. 'Anybody can be just like me, obviously. But then, not too many can be like you, fortunately.'

Answer: 'Absolutely Sweet Marie'

'Oh, where are you tonight, Sweet Marie?' First released on the 1966 masterpiece, 'Blonde On Blonde.'

2. 'Because something is happening here but you don't know what it is, do you, Mister Jones?'

Answer: 'Ballad Of a Thin Man'

First released on the 1965 album 'Highway 61 Revisited.' Never one of my personal favorites, but Dylan seems to like it --- it's on four live albums and at least one live single. 'Something is happening' became a sort of watchword in the '60s for the social upheaval that was being urged. Joseph Heller, author of 'Catch-22,' was said to have titled his novel 'Something Happened' after this song.

3. 'Come on out, the dark is just beginning.'

Answer: 'Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?'

'Use your arms and your legs, it won't ruin you.' A 1965 single only, but released on the 1985 boxed set 'Biograph.'

4. 'Drinkin' man listens to the voice he hears in a crowded room full of covered up mirrors, lookin' into the lost forgotten years for...'

Answer: 'Dignity'

First released in 1994's 'Greatest Hits 3,' but exposed to the general public on the following year's 'MTV Unplugged' album.

5. 'Every time you leave and go off someplace, things fall to pieces in my face.'

Answer: 'Everything Is Broken'

Things fall to pieces... everything broken... Get it? A rockin' blues from the critically acclaimed 1989 album 'Oh Mercy.' It was covered by bluesman R.L. Burnside on a 1999 tribute album.

6. 'Freight train was comin', I had to cry, hummin' all the drivers with my lullaby.'

Answer: 'Freight Train Blues'

From his 1962 self-titled debut album, a masterpiece of solo folk blues from the then 20-year-old. This is a traditional tune arranged by Dylan; all of the other choices are as well.

7. 'God didn't call it treason, God didn't call it wrong. It was supposed to last a season but it's been so strong for so long.'

Answer: 'God Knows'

From the 1990 album 'Under the Red Sky,' an album with simplistic lyrics, almost doggerel, but infused with Christian allegory and symbolism throughout. It confused fans and critics alike.

8. 'Howard just pointed with his gun and said that way...'

Answer: 'Highway 61 Revisited'

'that way, down Highway 61.' Off the album of the same name. Gotta love a song that starts off, 'God said to Abraham, "Kill Me a son." Abe said, "Man, you must be puttin' me on!"'

9. 'If my thought-dreams could be seen, they'd probably put my head in a guillotine.'

Answer: 'It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)'

'...But it's alright, ma, it's life and life only.' From the 1965 album 'Bringing It All Back Home.'

10. '...Just like a little girl.'

Answer: 'Just Like a Woman'

'You fake just like a woman, yes you do, but you break just like a little girl.' This gem from 'Blonde On Blonde' was reviled as sexist on its first release. In retrospect, though, it's clear that this is one of Dylan's least vindictive break-up songs, and it's had its defenders as well.

11. Know this lyric? 'Mama, put my guns in the ground. I can't shoot them anymore.'

Answer: Knockin on Heavens Door

A big hit from the almost entirely instrumental 1973 soundtrack, 'Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid.' Bob Dylan was in the movie of that name, playing a knife-thowing character named Alias. Guns 'n' Roses covered this song on 'Use Your Illusion II' as well as their 'Live Era' album; but then, it was also covered by Eric Clapton, the Grateful Dead, ladysmith Black Mozambo, Television...

12. 'Lily was a princess, she was fair-skinned and precious as a child. She did whatever she had to do, she had that certain flash every time she smiled. She'd come away from a broken home, had lots of strange affairs with men in every walk of life which took her everywhere.'

Answer: 'Lily, Rosemary & the Jack Of Hearts'

A lengthy story-song about a thief in a love triangle, from the otherwise very personal 1975 classic tribute to lost love, 'Blood On the Tracks.'

13. 'My toes too numb to step, wait only for my boot heels to be wanderin'. I'm ready to go anywhere, I'm ready for to fade..'

Answer: 'Mr. Tambourine Man'

First released on 'Bringing It All Back Home,' and played live about a bazillion times since. And covered by the Byrds, Judy Collins, Flatt & Scruggs, Crowded House, and many others.

14. 'No one sends flesh and blood to fight by his side.'

Answer: 'Neighborhood Bully'

From the 1983 release 'Infidels,' a more secular record that came after a string of blatantly Christian albums. This song, however, is said to be a defense of Zionism (Israel is the 'neighborhood bully' that's surrounded by enemies on all sides and fights alone).

15. 'Oh, I wish I was on some Australian mountain range.'

Answer: 'Outlaw Blues'

'...I got no reason to be there, but I imagine it must be some kind of change!' From 'Bringing It All Back Home,' the song's title refers to the lines in which the narrator says, 'I might look like Robert Ford, but I feel just like Jesse James.'

16. 'Peace is not welcome at all. It's turned away from the door to wander some more or put up against the wall.'

Answer: 'Political World'

A cri de coeur against general social injustice, from 'Oh Mercy.'

17. Query: 'all the pigeons are gonna run to [who] the Eskimo?'

Answer: Quinn

'Quinn the Eskimo,' also known as 'The Mighty Quinn,' was first released live on 'Self Portrait,' then as a studio track on 'Greatest Hits 2.'

18. 'Ride, Willie, ride. Roll, Willie, roll.'

Answer: 'Rambling, Gambling Willie'

This has to have been a gimme, right? He rides (rambles) and rolls (dice; he gambles). It wasn't a trick question! This song dates to 1962 or so, but wasn't released officially until the 1991 box set 'The Bootleg Series.' It's listed as a Dylan composition, but it has strong roots in very similar traditional material.

19. 'Standing by God's river, my soul is beginnin' to shake. I'm countin' on you love, to give me a break.'

Answer: 'Summer Days'

This rollicking blues is from the 2001 album 'Love & Theft.' The album was nomintaed for Album of the Year, but lost to the superb 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' soundtrack. Still, ya gotta give it to Bob, still going strong!

20. 'They tell me everything is gonna be all right, but I don't know what "all right" even means.'

Answer: 'Tryin' To Get To Heaven'

This song comes from the 1997 album 'Time Out Of Mind,' which won the Album of the Year Grammy, as well as two others. (This was the Grammy awards in which Bob was joined onstage during a performance by an uninvited stage-crasher dancing with the words 'Soy Bomb' written across his chest. Weirdo.)

21. 'Union Central is pullin' out and the orchids are in bloom. I've only got me one good shirt left and it smells of stale perfume.'

Answer: 'Up To Me'

This song was recorded for 'Blood On the Tracks.' It was bumped in favor of 'Shelter From the Storm,' with which it shares a tune (but no lyrical similarities). This out-take remained unreleased until the box set 'Biograph.'

22. 'Voices echo, this is what salvation must be like after a while. But Mona Lisa musta had the highway blues. You can tell by the way she smiles.'

Answer: 'Visions Of Johanna'

This song was first released on 'Blonde On Blonde.' (The other choices are not not Dylan songs. 'Very Ape' is a Nirvana song, 'Venus' is by the Velvet Underground, and the one who popularized 'Viva Las Vegas' the most, I guess, would be Elvis Presley. Hey, Dylan only has one song that starts with V.)

23. 'When the Second World War came to an end, we forgave the Germans and we were friends. Though they murdered six million in the ovens they fried...'

Answer: 'With God On Our Side'

'...The Germans now too have God on their side.' This song comes from the 1964 album 'The Times They Are A-Changin.' This was the overtly political album of social protest that, I think, cemented Dylan's reputation as a "protest-song-writing folksinger,' a label which he probably shook only in the last decade.

24. 'You're as fine as anything's fine. The way you walk and the way you talk, it sure plays on my mind.'

Answer: 'You Angel You'

From the okay, but far from great, 1974 album 'Planet Waves.' Aside from the fan favorite 'Forever Young,' this album isn't up to that Dylan standard.

Answer: 12 & 35

This woozy, brassy party favorite is from 'Blonde On Blonde.' I hope you enjoyed playing this quiz. Dylan's got a lot of truly great material, and hopefully this has inspired you to listen to a bit of it.

Source: Author ensiform

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Bruyere before going online.
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