The lyrics 1961-2012

How could Bob Dylan win the Nobel Prize in Literature last year when the only conventional books he has written are a memoir ("Chronicles: Volume One") and an impenetrable novel ("Tarantula") that even the most rabid Dylanologists have trouble defending with a straight face? This common (and understandable) gripe overlooks the fact that Dylan has produced other books, including "Bob Dylan: Lyrics, 1962-1985," which I spent much of my teenage years poring over, studying the mysteries of songs like "The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest" and "Desolation Row." It was an update of another lyrics collection from the previous decade, and before the internet these books not only complemented Dylan's music for many of his fans, they also provided a forceful early argument that the singer was a literary figure. Like the previous ones, "Bob Dylan: The Lyrics 1961- 2012" is admirably streamlined, free of any introduction or explanatory back story for the songs. The words speak for themselves. It's an improvement over the tome of my youth, and not just because it brings us up to date. This handsome collection eliminates Dylan's liner notes and other minor efforts that are more poems than songs. Putting aside the thorny question of the extent to which his music informs the lyrics, Dylan remains the rare singer whose work is worth reading on the page. His words are consistently funny, alive to the sound of language and of course appealingly cryptic. Yet now that you can find his lyrics on many websites, one wonders if the internet has doomed this genre of book. The times, they changed. JASON ZINOMAN, the On Comedy columnist for The Times, is the author of "Letterman: The Last Giant of Late Night."

Lyrics: 1961 - 2012 Talking New York Rambling outa the wild West Leaving the towns I love the best Thought I'd seen some ups and downs Til I come into New York town People going down to the ground Buildings going up to the sky Wintertime in New York town The wind blowing snow around Walk around with nowhere to go Somebody could freeze right to the bone I froze right to the bone New York Times said it was the coldest winter in seventeen years I didn't feel so cold then I swung onto my old guitar Grabbed hold of a subway car And after a rocking, reeling, rolling ride I landed up on the downtown side Greenwich Village I walked down there and ended up In one of them coffee-houses on the block Got on the stage to sing and play Man there said, Come back some other day You sound like a hillbilly We want folk singers here Well, I got a harmonica job, begun to play Blowing my lungs out for a dollar a day I blowed inside out and upside down The man there said he loved my sound He was raving about how he loved my sound Dollar a day's worth And after weeks and weeks of hanging around I finally got a job in New York town In a bigger place, bigger money too Even joined the union and paid my dues Now, a very great man once said That some people rob you with a fountain pen It didn't take too long to find out Just what he was talking about A lot of people don't have much food on their table But they got a lot of forks & knives And they gotta cut something So one morning when the sun was warm I rambled out of New York town Pulled my cap down over my eyes And headed out for the western skies So long, New York Howdy, East Orange Excerpted from The Lyrics: 1961-2012 by Bob Dylan All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.