Steven Keene challenges fans’ knowledge of two of the greats in the rollicking “Thesaurus”
Steven Keene, a New York singer-songwriter, challenges fans of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen to identify as many of the creative giants’ lyrics as they can in his rollicking new song “Thesaurus.”
Just shy of four minutes, there’s nonetheless a lot to digest in Keene’s word-packed song, which he sells with his own Dylan-like delivery. Some references are easily identifiable to casual fans — he calls out “First We Take Manhattan” and “Highway 61” in the first 30 seconds — but others, like “He not busy being born is busy dying,” from Dylan’s “It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding),” require listeners to have more than a working knowledge of the songwriters.
The chorus, however, is all Keene’s and it provides a clever payoff: “They said how’d you write that song, we really love the chorus/I said I stole Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen’s thesaurus.”
Keene says he originally wrote 97 verses for “Thesaurus.” “Dylan and Cohen are master poets and master songwriters. True visionaries. They see the world through a different lens, observe the details others might miss, and have an unparalleled ability to write and tell stories that stir something deep within us,” he says. “Their words don’t just tell a story, they evoke emotion in a way that’s entirely their own. This song is my homage to them; a small wink, a quiet smile, and a heartfelt nod to their brilliant mastery and the profound impact they’ve had on me and so many others.”
Trending Stories
“Thesaurus” is set to appear on Keene’s upcoming album Notice Me, due Aug. 1 on Noble Steed Records. And it isn’t the first time he’s taken on the weighty task of paying homage to songwriting legends. Last April, Keene released “This World Is Your World,” a reimagining of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land.”
Dylan himself is currently on tour with Willie Nelson on the Outlaw Music Festival tour. On Wednesday, during the tour’s stop in Franklin, Tennessee, he performed “The Times They Are a-Changin’” for the first time in 15 years.
