This Bob Dylan Album Was Accused of Plagiarism, Released on 9/11, and Recorded 30 Minutes Away From the World Trade Center

On September 11, 2001, Bob Dylan released his 31st studio album, Love And Theft. The album peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and topped the charts elsewhere around the world. Dylan approved of promotional commercials that began airing before the release date. But by the time the album was officially out, the world had its eyes squarely fixed on the empty hole in the sky where the World Trade Center had once punctuated the New York City skyline.

Dylan’s album release, along with most other aspects of daily life, became secondary, third, and fourth on our list of priorities as the country processed the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil. Just a thirty-minute subway ride from Clinton Recording, the Midtown studio where Dylan recorded his album with engineer Chris Shaw, the city was covered in a layer of white dust that would continue to wreak havoc on those lucky enough to have survived that day.

Like most people, Dylan had no problem shifting his attention to the aftermath of the terror attacks. In an interview with Rolling Stone in November of that year, he took no responsibility for helping guide the country through the situation with his music. He did so as a matter of humility as an entertainer, not indifference. “My mind would go to young people at a time like this,” Dylan said.

Bob Dylan’s ‘Love And Theft’ Would Live Up to Its Name

The unfortunate coinciding of Bob Dylan’s pre-scheduled release date and the unexpected attack on the World Trade Center is where the connection between these two moments ends. No one could have anticipated the events to come, certainly not a singer-songwriter outside the realm of classified global politics. But this strange coincidence is not the only uncanny aspect to Dylan’s 31st studio album. This would come years later, in 2003.

Rumors of plagiarism began swirling around Bob Dylan’s Love And Theft after eagle-eyed listeners noticed similarities between Dylan’s lyrics and lines from a Japanese doctor and author’s book Confessions Of A Yakuza. In the song “Floater”, Dylan sings, “I’m not quite as cool or forgiving as I sound.” In Junichi Saga’s book, he writes, “I’m not as cool or as forgiving as I might have sounded.” There are other seemingly verbatim references to “feudal lords” elsewhere, too.

As a sardonically ironic allegation on an album called Love And Theft, the plagiarism accusations were short-lived. That was largely due to the fact that Saga didn’t seem to mind. Speaking to The Wall Street Journal in 2003, Saga said, “Bob Dylan is a very famous American country singer, yes? I’m not familiar with these things.” He added, “Please say hello to Bob Dylan for me because I am very flattered and very happy to hear this news.”

Photo by Bernd Muller/Redferns