Legendary musician Bob Dylan has been awarded the prestigious Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016. For almost 60 years, Dylan has been a defining presence on the global music scene, with his lyrics being among the most famous – and controversial – of any modern song-writer.

While the Nobel Prize will fuel the ongoing debate about whether Dylan is a literary genius or not, his high-profile win should cause millions of music fans to rush back to his prolific back catalogue. Among his 35 studio albums, Dylan made three in the late 1970s and 1980s, during what’s been called the “born-again Christian” phase of his career. Eternity has selected the Top 5 songs from Dylan’s Slow Train Coming, Saved and Shot of Love albums. A tuneful list of tracks which might surprise you, in their joy and exuberance about living life with God and Jesus.

 

1. Saved (1980, from Saved album)

I was blinded by the devil

Born already ruined

Stone-cold dead

As I stepped out of the womb

By His grace I have been touched

By His word I have been healed

By His hand I’ve been delivered

By His spirit I’ve been sealed

I’ve been saved

By the blood of the lamb

Saved

By the blood of the lamb

Saved

Saved

And I’m so glad

Yes, I’m so glad

I’m so glad

So glad

I want to thank You, Lord

I just want to thank You, Lord

Thank You, Lord

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2. Pressing On (1980, from Saved album)

Well I’m pressing on

Yes, I’m pressing on

Well I’m pressing on

To the higher calling of my Lord

Many try to stop me, shake me up in my mind

Say, “Prove to me that He is Lord, show me a sign”

What kind of sign they need when it all come from within

When what’s lost has been found, what’s to come has already been?

Well I’m pressing on

Yes, I’m pressing on

Well I’m pressing on

To the higher calling of my Lord

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3. Gotta Serve Somebody (1979, from Slow Train Coming album)

You may be an ambassador to England or France

You may like to gamble, you might like to dance

You may be the heavyweight champion of the world

You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed

You’re gonna have to serve somebody

Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody

You might be a rock ’n’ roll addict prancing on the stage

You might have drugs at your command, women in a cage

You may be a businessman or some high-degree thief

They may call you Doctor or they may call you Chief

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed

You’re gonna have to serve somebody

Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody

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4. When You Gonna Wake Up (1979, from Slow Train Coming album)

God don’t make no promises that He don’t keep

You got some big dreams, baby, but in order to dream you gotta still be asleep

When you gonna wake up, when you gonna wake up

When you gonna wake up and strengthen the things that remain?

Counterfeit philosophies have polluted all of your thoughts

Karl Marx has got ya by the throat, Henry Kissinger’s got you tied up in knots

When you gonna wake up, when you gonna wake up

When you gonna wake up and strengthen the things that remain?

You got innocent men in jail, your insane asylums are filled

You got unrighteous doctors dealing drugs that’ll never cure your ills

When you gonna wake up, when you gonna wake up

When you gonna wake up and strengthen the things that remain?

You got men who can’t hold their peace and women who can’t control their tongues

The rich seduce the poor and the old are seduced by the young

When you gonna wake up, when you gonna wake up

When you gonna wake up and strengthen the things that remain?

Adulterers in churches and pornography in the schools

You got gangsters in power and lawbreakers making rules

When you gonna wake up, when you gonna wake up

When you gonna wake up and strengthen the things that remain?

Spiritual advisors and gurus to guide your every move

Instant inner peace and every step you take has got to be approved

When you gonna wake up, when you gonna wake up

When you gonna wake up and strengthen the things that remain?

Do you ever wonder just what God requires?

You think He’s just an errand boy to satisfy your wandering desires

When you gonna wake up, when you gonna wake up

When you gonna wake up and strengthen the things that remain?

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5. Property Of Jesus (1981, from Shot of Love album)

Go ahead and talk about him because he makes you doubt

Because he has denied himself the things that you can’t live without

Laugh at him behind his back just like the others do

Remind him of what he used to be when he comes walkin’ through

He’s the property of Jesus

Resent him to the bone

You got something better

You’ve got a heart of stone

Stop your conversation when he passes on the street

Hope he falls upon himself, oh, won’t that be sweet

Because he can’t be exploited by superstition anymore

Because he can’t be bribed or bought by the things that you adore

He’s the property of Jesus

Resent him to the bone

You got something better

You’ve got a heart of stone

More…

Pray

Some prayer points to help

Pray that music fans will be struck by the lyrics of these Bob Dylan songs.