I’m not a numerologist. I don’t know why the number 3 is more metaphysically powerful than the number 2, but it is.
Bob Dylan, Chronicles, Volume One, p. 159
By Graley Herren
Layout: Jim Salvucci
3 Rock ’n’ Rollers (front cover)
3-Faced Satan (p. 14)
3 Hollywood Movie Stars (p. 19)
3 Office Workers (p. 38)
3 Mexican Movie Stars (p. 57)
3 Mausoleums (p. 114)
3 Violin Makers (p. 150)
3 London Callers (pp. 160, 161)
3 Bayou Boaters (p. 170)
3 Blue Suede Shoes (p. 179)
3 All-Star Jukes (p. 202)
1 Johnny + 2 Guns (p. 286)
2 Boys + 1 Gun (p. 287)
3 Esperanto Muses (p. 299)
1 Paul + 2 Slot Machines (p. 310)
3 Belmonts (p. 330)
People can keep trying to turn music into a science, but in science one and one will always be two. Music, like all art, including the art of romance, tells us time and again that one plus one, in the best circumstances, equals three.
Bob Dylan,The Philosophy of Modern Song, p. 275
Works Cited
Bob Dylan. Chronicles, Volume One. Simon & Schuster, 2004.
Bob Dylan. The Philosophy of Modern Song. Simon & Schuster, 2022.
Photo Credits
(From The Philosophy of Modern Song)
Front Cover: 1957 photo of Little Richard, Alis Lesley, and Eddie Cochran at Sydney Airport. Bruce Perry/The Sydney Moring Herald/Fairfax Media via Getty Images.
p. 14: Detail from Hell (c. 1301) by Coppo di Marcovaldo. Alamy Stock Photo.
p. 19: Garden of Evil (1954) movie poster featuring Gary Cooper, Susan Hayward, and Richard Widmark. Everett Collection, Inc./Alamy Stock Photo.
p. 38: 1968 photo of three staff members holding a fan of cash. NYC Municipal Archives.
p. 57: Tal Para Cual (1953) movie poster featuring Jorge Negrete, María Elena Marqués, and Luis Aguilar. Ernesto Garcia Cabral.
p. 114: Cemetery in New Orleans (undated). Maureen Light Photography via Getty Images.
p. 150: Antonio Stradiveri (1893) by Edgar Bundy. Private Collection.
p. 160: Julie London, probably movie publicity photo from The Third Voice (1960). Last.FM (uncredited).
p. 161: 1978 photo of Joe Strummer and Topper Headon. Michael Putland via Getty Images.
p. 170: 1950 photo of a picnic on the Louisiana bayou. Ivan Dmitri/Michael Ochs Arcives via Getty Images.
p. 179: 1950s ad for blue suede shoes from Crosby Square. Crosby Square Archives (uncredited).
p. 202: 1950s photo of Little Walter & His Jukes. Discogs (uncredited).
p. 286: Johnny Cash at Home Holding Guns (1976). Global Photos Archives.
p. 287: Gun 1, Broadway & 103rd Street, New York (1954). © William Klein.
p. 299: Early 20th century Esperanto postcard featuring emblematic figures for Britain, Europe, and Asia. Lebrecht Music & Arts/Alamy Stock Photo.
p. 310: 1964 photo of Paul McCartney playing slot machines in Las Vegas. Harry Benson/Daily Express/Hulton Archive via Getty Images.
p. 330: 1960 photo of Carlo Mastrangelo, Dion DiMucci, and Fred Milano. Michael Ochs Archives via Getty Images.
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For many years All Along the Watchtower was always the 3rd song played, until the summer of 1997 after Bob returned to touring following the heart scare.