The original handwritten lyrics sheet for Bob Dylan's timeless "The Times They Are a-Changin'" is headlining a new music memorabilia sale with an asking price of $2.2 million.
Should "The Times" lyrics sell for the asking price, it would mark a world record for the sale of an original rock lyrics sheet — surpassing the $2 million the lyrics for Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" sold for in 2014.
Lyrics sheets for two other Dylan classics are also on the block. The lyrics to "Lay, Lady, Lay" are valued at $650,000. The lyrics for "Subterranean Homesick Blues" are up for $1.2 million.
Even The Beatles can't compete with Dylan's dominance in this area.
The priciest Beatles lyrics ever to sell are "All You Need Is Love," which commanded $1.25 million in 2005. Paul McCartney's lyrics for "Hey Jude" recently sold at auction for $910,000.
The Dylan lyrics sheets are being sold by memorabilia dealers Moments In Time. The pages are currently owned by a private collector who acquired them years ago from Dylan's manager. Photos provided show the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's mind at work — there are edits, notes in the margins and even doodles.
While "The Times They Are a-Changin'" peaked at No. 9 on the U.K. charts in 1964, it was never released by Dylan as a single in the U.S. Nevertheless, the song quickly became hugely influential on the burgeoning '60s folk scene and anti-war movements of the decade in America.
Dylan has released two new songs over the past several weeks, "Murder Most Foul" and "I Contain Multitudes." He also made the news after Late Show host Stephen Colbert complained that a coronavirus parody of "Subterranean Homesick Blues" was blocked by Dylan's people.
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