Dylan and the Pope: Parallel Lives?

After Bob Dylan sang for Pope John Paul II the story provided an opportunity for the mainstream media to ruminate on parallels between the life of the popular singer-songwriter and the popular Pope.

Candice Hughes of the Associated Press noted the following in her Sept. 28 story:

√ As Karol Wojtyla (now called John Paul II) was influencing the Second Vatican Council, which transformed Catholic practice, Robert Zimmerman (called Bob Dylan) was influencing the ‘60s music which transformed American culture.

√ Both travelled the world to great popular adulation with evocative “spiritual” messages.

√ John Paul II became Pope in 1978, the year Bob Dylan converted to Christianity (which he announced in song the following year. He no longer speaks of his personal religious convictions.)

√ Both are still trying to translate messages of redemption to modern times: Bob Dylan's new album contains the song Trying to Get to Heaven.

Those reading the Reuters version of the story, filed Sept. 28 by Phillip Pullella, heard the Pope suggest a possible interpretation of Dylan's song Blowin’ in the Wind, which begins “How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man?”

The Pope's response: “One road—Christ.”