Bob Dylan's 'I'm Not There' Draft Lyrics Found After 50+ Years, Sold for £5,000
So, get this: a book dealer discovered a typewritten version of Bob Dylan's lyrics for "I'm Not There" tucked inside a signed first edition of Allen Ginsberg's Ankor Wat. This page, which is about eight by seven inches, sold for £5,000 (around $6,800) at Omega Auctions on April 21. The book was dedicated to Sally Grossman, who was married to Dylan's first manager, Albert Grossman, and it came from her estate after she passed away in 2021. It’s thought that Ginsberg gave her the book back in 1969. Dylan wrote the song during the summer of 1967 while healing from a motorcycle accident, and the song ended up on the 2007 soundtrack of a film with the same name.
Key facts
- Typewritten draft of Bob Dylan's 'I'm Not There' found in a signed first-edition of Allen Ginsberg's Ankor Wat.
- The page measures roughly eight by seven inches and sold at Omega Auctions on April 21 for £5,000.
- The book was inscribed to Sally Grossman, wife of Dylan's first manager Albert Grossman.
- Sally Grossman died in 2021; the book was purchased from her estate by a dealer.
- Dylan wrote the song in summer 1967 while recovering from a motorcycle accident near Woodstock, New York.
- The recording was made with his touring group (later the Band) and was not intended for release.
- The song was not officially released until 2007 on the soundtrack of an experimental film.
- The draft includes one line not clearly heard on the recording: '2 hearts mistaken / i dont far believe / its so bad / for its amusing / an she's hard to please.'
Entities
Artists
- Bob Dylan
- Allen Ginsberg
- Sally Grossman
- Albert Grossman
- Robert Johnson
- John Bauldie
- Matthew Ingate
- Robert Sullivan
Institutions
- Omega Auctions
- Telegraph (fanzine)
- Far Out (magazine)
- New York Times
- Smithsonian Magazine
Locations
- Woodstock, New York, United States
- Philadelphia, United States