Bob Dylan says the “worst part” about turning 80 was understanding something too late to alter “everything in the past”.
The 85-year-old folk legend was part of an op-ed tied to Donald Trump’s 80th birthday on Sunday (14.06.26), and while the Blowin’ In The Wind singer didn’t actually reference the US President, he still offered some thoughts on the milestone age.
He wrote in the New York Times newspaper: “The old fire in your heart still tells you to do this and that, but your body says we already did it. Also, nothing surprises you.
“It sounds like a luxury but it’s not, and also you’ve run out of illusions.
“The really worst part about being 80 is that you find, at last, you’ve got an understanding of something that might have altered everything in the past, had it come at a time when something could still be altered.
“When you’re young you think that time moves forward. At 80 you know that it doesn’t, it stands still. We’re the ones that move.”
However, Dylan did reveal the sense of “freedom” that came with turning 80.
He added: “The best thing about being 80 is that you outlive the clocks that have been chasing you.
“It’s freedom from that lie that anything was ever under control. You don’t chase the parade anymore.
“You’re an old king from some vanished country. You’re harder to programme.”
Last summer, it was revealed Dylan had spent two days at White Lake Studios in Albany, New York, with “members of his band”.
A press release quoted David Bourgeois, the studio’s CEO, saying: “We want every artist and guest to feel relaxed and at home.
“We’ve had the privilege of working with many remarkable talents over the years, but this visit was truly special.
“I’m incredibly proud of our team.”
No other details on the recording sessions have been revealed.
Dylan has been on his Rough And Rowdy Ways world tour since 2021, and he’s treated fans to surprise deep cuts like I Shall Be Released and You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere, while at a Dublin show in November 2025 he covered A Rainy Night In Soho as a tribute to late Pogues icon Shane MacGowan.