Dylan: "Right from the start, my songs were divisive for some reason."

Forget the specific contexts of music and songwriting. Dylan's speech provides considerable insight into the creative process as it pertains to just about any endeavor. It's a long but worthwhile read.

Transcript of Bob Dylan's MusiCares Person of Year speech, by Randall Roberts (LA Times Pop & Hiss blog)

Bob Dylan was honored by MusiCares, the charity organization that aids musicians in need, at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Friday night. After performances by artists including Tom Jones, Sheryl Crow, Neil Young, Beck, Jackson Browne and others, Dylan himself took a rare opportunity in the spotlight to deliver a 30-plus-minute acceptance speech.

Expansive, funny and insightful, Dylan didn't pull any punches, calling out songwriters who had criticized his work while indicting Nashville and commercial country music.

Hurricane -- the man, the cause, the Dylan song.

Rubin "Hurricane" Carter has died.

From a personal standpoint, I mention this primarily because while it may seem trite to some, I thought Bob Dylan's song was inspiring back in 1975. If my memory is to be trusted, I bought the 45 rpm single, which had to be flipped over to continue the song. Or maybe not, and I'm thinking about the full version released on Desire the following year.

"Hurricane" by Bob Dylan and Jacques Levy ... the lyrics.

A video; ignore the visuals and just listen.