Rare Bob Dylan lyrics could fetch $19,000 in sale

A 1966 manuscript, on which a young Bob Dylan typed and wrote lyrics for a track on his "Blonde on Blonde" album and another song he later abandoned, went on sale at Sotheby's auction house from Tuesday.

Bob Dylan performs during the Firefly Music Festival in Dover, Delaware, US, Jun 17, 2017. Picture taken Jun 17, 2017. REUTERS Bob Dylan performs during the Firefly Music Festival in Dover, Delaware, US, Jun 17, 2017. Picture taken Jun 17, 2017. REUTERS

Bob Dylan's typescript and manuscript lyrics dated from 1966 are pictured in unknown location, in this undated handout photo obtained by Reuters May 5, 2020. REUTERS Bob Dylan's typescript and manuscript lyrics dated from 1966 are pictured in unknown location, in this undated handout photo obtained by Reuters May 5, 2020. REUTERS

The single sheet of paper shows the American singer's creative musings as he drafted "Most Likely You Go Your Way", one of the album's most memorable songs.

What makes the manuscript particularly interesting, however, is the presence of a second, abandoned song typed over twelve lines across the top half of the page.

It contains a repeated refrain about "running with the devil", before ending in fragments with the words: "It's just me and you .. Far from home/ there we were far from calvery (sic)".

Bob Dylan's typescript and manuscript lyrics dated from 1966 are pictured in unknown location, in this undated handout photo obtained by Reuters May 5, 2020. REUTERS

The manuscript is valued at £12,000 - £15,000 ($15,000 -$19,000) and will be open to bidding online until May 12.

The 78-year-old singer-songwriter is regarded as the voice of a generation for songs that captured the 1960s spirit of rebellion and independence. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016 for "having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition".

The combination of typescript and manuscript is typical of Dylan's mid-60s drafts.