Draft lyrics to Bob Dylan’s song “Mr. Tambourine Man” went for over a half-million dollars. Other items in the auction were: including photos, music sheets, his guitar, pencil drawings and an oil painting composed. The items generated nearly $1.5 million in sales overall through in-person and online bidding, the auction house said. Julien’s said 50 of the items, including the lyrics that received the highest sale price, came from the personal collection of late music journalist Al Aronowitz.
The typewritten lyrics, which covered three drafts of the 1965 song, were written on two sheets of yellow paper, with Dylan’s annotation on the third draft. Dylan wrote the original draft lyrics in the journalist’s New Jersey home, according to Julien’s, citing a 1973 newspaper article by Aronowitz.
If you’re a Dylan fan, I recommend checking out the biopic A Complete Unknown.