Bob Dylan’s Early 'Mr. Tambourine Man' Lyrics Sell for $508,000 at Auction

The auction, featuring items from Dylan and late journalist Al Aronowitz, raised $1.5 million and highlighted the songwriter’s creative process.

Drafts of Bob Dylan's 1965 song 'Mr. Tambourine Man,' featuring typewritten lyrics and handwritten annotations, sold for $508,000 at a Nashville auction.
The lyrics were part of a collection of 60 items, mostly from the archive of late music journalist Al Aronowitz, a close confidant of Dylan during the 1960s.
Other notable auction items included a 1968 Dylan oil painting, which sold for $260,000, and a custom 1983 Fender guitar that fetched $222,250.
The drafts, written in Aronowitz’s New Jersey home in 1964, offer rare insights into Dylan’s songwriting process, showing significant evolutions in the lyrics.
The auction coincides with renewed interest in Dylan’s legacy following the release of 'A Complete Unknown,' a biopic starring Timothée Chalamet as the iconic musician.