By Stig Editor Bob Dylan at 84: “Why I’m Not Afraid of Death”….
At 78, Bob Dylan remains a towering figure in the world of music and poetry—his voice gravelled by time, his words sharper than ever. In a rare and deeply introspective moment, the Nobel Prize-winning songwriter has opened up about aging, mortality, and the freedom that comes with acceptance.
“I’ve lived an extraordinary life,” Dylan reflects. “There’s been loss, yes. There’s been wild success. I’ve had moments of despair and moments of joy so intense, it’s hard to describe. But at some point, you realize it’s not about chasing legacy—it’s about being present.”
For an artist who once wrote with restless urgency about change and rebellion, Dylan’s outlook today is quieter, steadier—but no less profound. Now, his focus is less on what’s been achieved and more on what’s unfolding in the now.
“The most important thing,” he says, “is having and knowing fully well that you’ve lived in truth. Not someone else’s version of it, but your own. If you’ve done that, death doesn’t hold power over you. It becomes a transition, not a terror.”
Dylan speaks with the ease of a man who has made peace with time. He’s seen the heights of cultural influence and the depths of personal introspection. But he’s not clinging to the past or worried about how he’ll be remembered. “Legacy is something people write about you after you’re gone. Presence is what you give to the people around you now.”
Despite his age, Dylan remains creatively active—still writing, still performing, still peeling back layers of meaning with every lyric. But he carries himself with the quiet confidence of someone who has said what he needed to say, sung what he needed to sing.
“There’s nothing morbid about it,” he adds of death. “It’s just a part of the rhythm. Like the closing notes of a song. The beauty is in how it fades.”
In a world obsessed with immortality, Bob Dylan reminds us that there is grace in letting go—and perhaps even more courage in facing the end with open eyes, a clear heart, and a voice that has never stopped telling the truth.