Bob Dylan’s Draft Lyrics Of "Mr. Tambourine Man" Fetch $508,000 At Auction

Draft lyrics to Bob Dylan’s 1965 classic “Mr. Tambourine Man” sold for over half a million dollars during a weekend auction in Nashville, Tennessee, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

“Mr. Tambourine Man” was Dylan's first composition to reach No. 1 in both the United States and the United Kingdom. I Photo: Julien's Auctions Facebook

The lyrics, spanning three drafts written on two sheets of yellow paper, were sold for $508,000 as part of a broader auction of Dylan memorabilia conducted by Julien’s Auctions.

The event featured about 60 items, including Dylan’s guitar, photographs, pencil drawings, and an oil painting, collectively generating nearly $1.5 million in sales.

The drafts were from the personal collection of late music journalist Al Aronowitz, who hosted Dylan at his New Jersey home, where the lyrics were written.

“Mr. Tambourine Man” was the lead track on the acoustic side of Dylan’s 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home and became his first composition to reach No. 1 in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Other highlights from the auction included a 1968 oil painting by Dylan, which sold for $260,000, and a custom Fender guitar from 1983, which fetched $225,000.

Dylan, now 83, remains in the spotlight following the release of A Complete Unknown, a biographical film detailing his rise to fame in the early 1960s. Actor Timothée Chalamet portrays Dylan in the movie, performing his own singing and guitar playing.