Bob Dylan’s preliminary lyrics for Mr Tambourine Man sell for £400,000

Bob Dylan’s early lyrics for his 1965 song Mr Tambourine Man have sold at auction for $508,000 (£417,471) in the US.

The lyrics on two sheets of yellow paper are three typed drafts of the song – but not the final version. The work in progress also features the folk-rock legend’s handwritten notes in the margin.

The song is one of Dylan’s most famous hits and the drafts were among 60 items belonging to the singer that were sold at auction in the city of Nashville.

Also up for sale was a 1968 oil painting created and signed by Dylan, as well as a 1983 Fender Telecaster electric guitar that he owned and played.

The third draft seen on paper is close to the final version of the song, although it still has significant variations from the final lyrics, according to Julien’s Auctions where the sale took place.

The sale also includes music journalist Al Aronowitz’s account of Dylan writing the song in Aronowitz’s house, probably in March 1964.

Aronowitz said Dylan spent the night writing and rewriting the song on the reporter’s typewriter.

In an article titled Bob Dylan: The Champ Has No Contenders, Aronowitz writes that he “found a bin full of crumpled false starts” and what turned out to be Mr. Tambourine Man’s drafts.

“I took the crumpled up sheets, smoothed them out, read the crazy jump lines, smiled to myself at the jumps that never landed, then put the sheets in a folder,” a he added.

A month after Dylan released Mr Tambourine Man, the Byrds’ version was released. The group’s debut single reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one in the United Kingdom, making it the first Dylan composition to reach number one in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Several of Dylan’s sketches went well over their estimated price, with one expected to sell for between $1,500 (£1,233) and $2,500 (£2,054) for $88,900 (£73,057).

A Levi’s denim jacket worn by Dylan in the 1987 musical drama film Hearts of Fire also sold for $25,400 (£20,874).

Nearly $1.5 million in sales were made from the collection, the auction house said.

A biopic about Dylan’s rise to fametitled A Complete Unknown and featuring Timothee Chalamet as singer, was released in December 2024 in the United States.