There's a lot of clever people around who write songs', Dylan says. 'My songs, what makes them different is that there's a foundation to them. That's why they're still around, that's why my songs are still being performed. It's not because they're such great songs. They don't fall into the commerical category. They're not written to be performed by other people. But they're standing on a strong foundation, and subliminally that's what people are hearing.

'Those old songs are my lexicon and my prayer book', he adds. 'All my beliefs come out of those old songs, literally, anything from 'Let Me Rest on That Peaceful Mountain' to 'Keep on the Sunny Side'. You can find all my philosophy in those old songs. I believe in a God of time and space, but if people ask me about that, my impulse is to point them back toward those songs. I believe in Hank Williams singing 'I Saw the Light'. I've seen the light, too'. Dylan now says he subscribes to no organised religion.

From Dylan on Dylan