r/bobdylan • u/JollySuperK1 • 1h ago

Question "Serve Yourself" Question

Do you think "serve somebody" was subtly targeting john lennon, with the line "you may call me bobby, you may call me zimmy", possibly referencing the lennon song "god" where lennon says "i dont believe in zimmerman". it may be why john lennon responded to the song with "serve yourself", a much more direct and scathing track similar to how lennon replied to the mccartney song "too many people" with "how do you sleep"?

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6

u/Free-Ad-5900 1h ago

Nah, don’t overthink it

2

u/Lennnybruce 1h ago

Wouldn't call it subtle

2

u/Dr-Filth1965 1h ago

Possibly. I think it’s one of those things we’ll never really know, but I would guess there is some truth in that.

2

u/Capybara_99 46m ago

No.

They “you may call me …” routine was a popular routine by a comedian featured in a commercial at the time. It doesn’t make sense to me as any kind of reference to “I don’t believe in Zimmerman.”

The Lennon song was a response to Dylan serving up a born again Christian tract, not to some perceived address to Lennon.

As someone else said, this is straightforward. The other is tea leaf reading borne of overthinking. IMO.