Bob Dylan’s draft lyrics, Once thrown in the trash, sell for $500,000

Two sheets of yellowed notepaper lie crumpled but intact, with typed lyrics and scribbled edits that offer a rare glimpse into their famous author’s creative process as he wrote one of the best-known songs of the 1960s.

Early versions of Bob Dylan’s landmark 1965 film “Mr. Tambourine Man” sold this weekend for more than $500,000, according to Julien’s Auctions, the California house that facilitated the sale.

The delicate papers were sold alongside dozens of other Dylan memorabilia dating from the artist’s early career in the 1960s, including sketches and photographs.

The lyrics were part of the personal treasure of prolific rock ‘n’ roll journalist Al Aronowitz, who charted his own path through the 1960s as a chronicler and confidant of the era’s artists and musicians, including Dylan.

“He never threw anything away,” said Myles Aronowitz, Aronowitz’s son, who spent years going through some 250 boxes containing his father’s personal collection, a time capsule of music and writing from the years 1960.

For Dylan experts, the lyrics offer a rare insight into how Dylan approached his work and the mechanics of songwriting.