Bob Dylan's true flow of conscious lyrics, I feel, are not the lengthy poetry of Blonde On Blonde (for example, Visions of Johanna). If you truly want to hear want just comes out, un-thought, un-edited, not given a poetic touch... just words, then those songs are there to be found. The first one that comes to mind is from Another Side Of Bob Dylan and the song MotorPsycho Nightmare. The lyrics follow a story but they feel truly improvised, they're not that clever, the rhythm is not perfect and it reads very much like a flow of conscious.

Other Dylan recordings are constructed the same, Bob Dylan's 115th dream from the Bringing It All back Home album feels like a flowing thought process with nothing in mind but the rhyming word. Also his song Talkin’ John Birch Paranoid Blues from the Live 1964 album sounds very loose with little time spent on its construction and more on its impact.

Time has obviously passed since Bob produced those songs and his writing style became far more thought out. In some cases it became (much like Blonde on Blonde) a labour to get it right. In the case of Blind Willie McTell (one of my favourites, and a much loved song by many) he didn't even feel that masterpiece was finished and good enough to be released on the final album. So, what happened to this improvising lyricist Bob Dylan?

Well Time Out Of Mind showcased a lengthy song at its finale called Highlands. A song about wanting to return back to where it’s comfortable and safe and pure. However mid-song Bob seems to want something more from it. He then taps back into his flow of conscious style, unused for some years, and tells us about his meeting with a waitress and their interactions. Again, this can't be the thought out lyrics we hear so often as it reads just like someone rhyming a conversation. However this style becomes engrossing as it brings us closer to how Dylan thinks. We are hearing, simply, what comes out without it being complicating by mystery. It can be humorous, it can be strange or it can be enlightening. Whatever you get from it you can't deny it's the draw of the song Highlands.

This style didn't just stop with Time Out Of Mind however. Future albums (Love & Theft, Modern Times) seem to, at times, tap into a flow of conscious style. For me it's one of the most interesting aspects of Dylan’s writing and long may he improvise and tap into the treasure chest that is his mind.