“Sorry, I’m so nervous”. Her humbleness made me choke. It takes more power to remain humble and human than to fight for fame. God bless you Patti.

She will never know how much this performance helped me in life, and what it taught me about dignity & recovery from my own anxious errors in life.

This is how to honor your art while recognizing your own imperfection. Start, humbly apologize, and start again. And that itself is perfection.

When she apologised with such genuine, child-like humility I burst into tears. Such an incredible performance made even more so by her incredible vulnerability and raw emotion. Wow...I LOVE YOU PATTI!!

Smith said of her performance: "I hadn’t forgotten the words that were now a part of me. I was simply unable to draw them out. This strange phenomenon did not diminish or pass but stayed cruelly with me. I was obliged to stop and ask pardon and then attempt again while in this state and sang with all my being, yet still stumbling. It was not lost on me that the narrative of the song begins with the words “I stumbled alongside of twelve misty mountains,” and ends with the line “And I’ll know my song well before I start singing.” As I took my seat, I felt the humiliating sting of failure, but also the strange realization that I had somehow entered and truly lived the world of the lyrics."

In that apology she became the song, she embodied every word that flows through its verses, in her humility she lay bare and naked its humble lyrics, she couldn’t have been better

suddenly everybody became human. that's the power of patti smith.

One of the greatest and most moving performances ever.

All pretense was sucked out of that room. We are vulnerable children wandering in an often brutal wilderness and Patti Smith reminded us - using Dylan's words - of that.

Jesus she’s so real. I love the way she presents herself. No artifice, just human. So beautiful.

>who is able to stay calm when the audience is the exact kind of people who make the hard rain fall

Patti Smith is clearly transcendent here, but just want to add a shout out to whomever put together this beautiful arrangement. Stunning. The steel guitar is perfect and so brilliantly played. The guitar player is passionately perfect. The whole arrangement is nigh unto sublime.

It was at the point at which she forgot the words, apologised with such beauty and humility, and began to sing again, that I really started to listen. Patti, you carry in your voice and in your heart the agonising insight into the depth and terror of those who feel. Wonderful, sexy, original and mesmerising, but above all, breathtakingly brave. Break the rules! Make mistakes! Begin again! You are the heart of light. Thank you.

One of the purest, honest and beautiful performances I have seen.

This performance is absolutely beautiful. It makes us realise that the perfection that we seek is unnatural. There is beauty in simplicity and honesty. Simply accepting that you have made a mistake really makes it okay.

Bob Dylan wrote this when he was 21 years old. Pretty extraordinary really.

You know what makes me feel good? Everybody commenting on this video. Beautiful people. May God bless all of you.

Dear, dear Patti Smith, this is the version that made me cry. How much we need this song, now.

Bob Dylan is one of the most well-deserved Nobel Prizes for Literature

I always read this comment section with tears in my eyes

Leonard Cohen said about Bob Dylan :" We were trying to be poets but Bob Dylan stole the bank. He got the Nobel prize"

One doesn't just listen to a Dylan song. You see it. Each verse is a painting. A portrait. Of ourselves.

Her stumble in the delivery gave even more life to Dylan's incredible song!

Only a true legend like Patti Smith could turn a mistake into something even more beautiful than what was intended. Now it's both an iconic performance, and also a life lesson on how to respond to our own slip-ups.

She apologized about being “nervous,” and my mind reeled: that she’s so passionate about honoring Dylan and the audience and the spirit of the song and what the moment and the Prize means to her. And that elevated the whole thing and moved me deeply.

The grandmother of the punk movement was nervous to sing, human like all of us

It isn't nervousness that is her obstacle, she is obviously feeling the poetry of the song.

A whole lifetime in a seven minute song; each pause caught us crying. Thank you Patti Smith and Bob Dylan.

She saved it by just being human.

I cried. We all cried. I couldn't speak for a few minutes.

seeing this for the first time today. As someone who suffers from anxiety in front of crowds, I am so touched by her poise and grace as she recovers from that agonizing and debilitating rush of nervous adrenaline. I'll be watching this many many more times. Thank you Patti Smith!!!

brings tears to your eyes. Just as relevant today as it was 60 years ago. Even more so. Sung with such sweetness and emotion.

Perhaps the most incredible display of class, talent, integrity and humility I've ever seen. Patti, you are awesome!

If this makes you cry that means you're still human. I love you all! May our paths meet forevermore, and our roads lead to a light-driven future. You are not alone!

I amazed by a fact that Dylan wrote this song at his early 20s . Its so inspiring to new generation people like me .

This is a fantastic version BECAUSE OF the mistakes and the beautiful apology Patti Smith is a great performer

I love this. The humanity. The humility. Wonderful.

By apologizing to start again she literally described the life long path of every winner their and everywhere. I am having one of those bad days. This practically made my day. Thank you.

How can anyone not just adore this amazing artist? Patti Smith rocks!

The apology elevated this song and the lyrics to another level. I love and have heard this song many times by several different artist but have never cried before because of this song... until now.

Many words I can not understand (I come from China).But she made me cried for one thousand times

This is moving on so many levels. Barriers have been shattered with this performance. The ultimate punk-rock bohemian singing a folk genius' words at the Nobel prize ceremony, it's as if Rimbaud had read one of his poems at the french academy in the 1870s. Patti is very well read, she knew exactly what all this meant. Maybe that's why she got nervous. Brilliant performance anyway.

Coming to this in the late autumn of 2022, and am absolutely sure that this was not a senior moment or even forgetfulness or mistiming at all, but Patti being so profoundly moved by the words and who she was singing for and too that time suspended for her and the moment slipped away. Her recovery was brilliant, and her lapse in terms of performance was intensely moving, so the audience was pulled into the power of the words themselves and their timeless meaning. I did not see this at the time, I was going though my own hard rain. It seems very relevant to these precarious fraught times in ‘22. Dylan himself is a very flawed performer but a consummate poet. It was fitting that he did not attend this ceremony with its powerful audience, but later accepted the honour. And fitting that someone of his generation was powerfully able to move such people for that moment in time. Truly one of those moments in time when all the barriers come crashing down.

the message of the song contains an open rebuke to the ruling class elites, those very elites who give the prize, those very elites who sit there listening, as the camera pans the audience you will see one young black woman wiping the tears from her face, for she gets it, she knows what the song really means.

Patti showed class when she forgot the lyrics. The humility displayed is worthy of Mr. Dylan himself.

She said in an interview she didn't forget the words she FROZE,and then Bob Dylans son said the family loved it and Dad says no one screws up as bad as him! Lol!

Patty is my living inspiration. She is the most humble celebrity in the world. Her singing, her writing, her attitude, her thinking, is just awesome. Rare beauty in this hard world. If i get rich i will definitely build your statue in my dream sculpture park. LOVE YOU PATTS.

That pedal steel guitar really lifts this version up to another dimension. Jaw dropping performance.

If anything, I think her stumble only added to the performance. Made it more human. God knows I was in tears by the end.

I've been a Dylan fan since 1964. i have listened to many of his songs over 1,000 times. I could never get all the lyrics right. I love Patti and love this performance.

Best lyrics Dylan ever wrote. Actually it's the best lyrics anyone ever wrote.

This performace puts another perspective to all the diamonds, pearls, toxedos and uniforms in the audience - love it ❤️❤️❤️

I saw Smith back up Dylan on tour. During her set she recited a poem, really just a flow of single words and short phrases. The audience was entirely thunderstruck, no cheering or applause, just a collective murmuring "oh my God". Everyone was slack-jaw paralyzed by her words. I never saw anything more powerful ever.

At 2:05 the guitarist looks a bit worried, but after that humble and deeply moving "I apologize, sorry, I'm so nervous!", only a few seconds later he sweetly smiles (2:12). This whole moment is a perfect definition of humanity.

This is the most beautiful version of A Hard Rains Gonna. Fall because this artists authentic soul NEVER fails her. Patty Smyth inspires every generation lucky enough to show up and hear the timeless message sung by this awesome woman and by others born of a unique generation. Priceless.

One of the most inspiring performances to ever take place. We are lucky to have watched it. I also cannot ignore the magic that the pedal steel guitar is capable to create. It is without doubt the best match for such a deep song.

After I heard Patti sing here I searched for her interviews over the years. I went as far back as the one with Tom Snyder (she was such a sweet and shy young girl). I discovered that she has depth beyond imagining. I am encouraged to keep believing in things that make life meaningful and that renew my resolve to find creative solutions to our problems today. When Patti speaks you can see that not every famous person has sold out to the highest bidder. All is not lost, my dear friends.

This has to be one of the most touching moments ever.

It is in our vulnerabilities that our perfection lies. She is so gracious and humble and real as well as an amazing artist, a beacon in these times of influencers and narcissism.

Beautiful. As humans we trip, we fall, but we get back up and do it again. Humility is a beautiful thing. Not a weakness but a strength. Thank you Patti.

Bob Dylan couldn't have made a more impressive performance for his award,for his greatness,than having the all-encompassing sweet, humble siren Patti Smith showcase his genius with her own.

Such a powerful song being sung to such a prestigious audience. These were and are the movers and shakers of our planet. That was the King and Queen of Sweden who hosted this with other members of Royalty sprinkled through the audience. You really had to be someone special to be invited to this. And Patty knew that. Knowing the song that she sang and WHO she was singing it too would cause any one to be nervous. This is one of the many songs that showed Bob Dylan's true genius. He wrote this in the 60's. To have written those lyrics which apply so much to the disastrous events of now required extreme insight and a fair degree of prescience back then. For those of the younger generations, do not let your parents and grandparents get away with saying that they didn't know what was happening back then. They knew. They knew because artists such as Dylan were telling them. It was unfortunate that Ms. Smith faltered when she did. But her recovery. That showed what strength she has and what a professional she is. A lesser person would have walked off of the stage in tears. The shock and terror that she must have felt upon realizing that she just did a supreme screw up must have been immense. But, the fact that she pulled herself together so quickly and with such grace speaks volumes about who she is as a performer and as a person. Wow.

One of the best performances I've ever seen 👏👏👏👏Bravo!!!!

Her nervous-hung interlude was the most penetrating moment of human tenderness that was lost on no-one...a timeless triumph of our united inner Secret unveiled.

This is one of the most beautiful and moving performances ever recorded; we are all so lucky to be able to look at it again and again at will. It seems in these difficult times that I need to hear it at least twice a year. Thank you, Patti Smith, for who and how you are; thank you for showing us things that we need to see.

This is probably the most poignant of all the musical moments I had in my life. Long live Patti and Dylan. Brava !

4:56 is such a powerful moment. The orchestra picks the song into a whole new level and people just cant stop their eyes tearing up. You can see a woman trying to wipe those tears while the man beside her is in just awe of the beauty of the soul that this song portrays . His face expression was similar to mine. There's no better appreciation than this . What a legend . Bob dylan , No one comes close to your songwriting mastery. What a melancholy. what a time to feel alive and feel such emotion.

We love you Patti. Beautiful and made even more so by your vulnerability.

Oh my heart. I cried. She’s so special. Bless her.

Hard to sing Dylan's songs if you are not Bob Dylan. Congrats to her for being willing to step forward and do it at such a prestigious event!

I love this stellar and deeply felt performance of Dylan's great song, including the heartfelt, "I'm sorry I'm so nervous" when she stumbled.

Bob Dylan, my life long hero, one who has sang my life..I am 70 and your words and songs have defined my life. You deserve this award, as you have made me and others look at life and know what good deeds we can do..A hard life...but.... a way into a great life.. thank you ..

The words, the prosody, the meter, sublime. Patti Smith, bravo ! And what a song to choose for such an occasion ! Bob Dylan will be pleased if he chooses to watch this some day.

I agree when she said how nervous she was...you can't get more human than that. Thank you Patti..maybe someday the rest of the world will catch up.

It is amaizing how it doesn't even seam long.

I'm BAWLING at her vulnerability, combined with the beautiful poetry of Dylan!

that lady in red tearing up is all of us

Deeply emotional singing. That's rare in today's performers.

Real people singing real song, I wish there wore more like this.

Nothing short of a brilliant performance. Raw, vulnerable, touching

Dear, dear Patti Smith, this is the version that made me cry. How much we need this song, now. What an incredible great artist you are ! We love and respect you ! GREAT !!!!

Song from a time when there was still hope for mankind.

I think this is the most stunning performance I've ever seen. A great and graceful lady, an overwhelming song.

Anyone reading this will surely agree that we were blessed to be alive at the same time as Bob Dylan!

Awarding Bob Dylan with this Nobel was the best thing that the Academy did. The performance of Patti Smith was very moving and exceptional! The words of Bod Dylan's poem should shake us up.

This would be an ordinary perfect performance by Patti Smith. With this cute and beautiful "mistake" , this performance is beyond perfect. One of the best life performances on you tube

Can't say how many time I've watched this; I'm covered in gooseflesh, every time.

Just heard this for the first time. Wasn't able to breathe for 8 minutes and 15 seconds. Need i say anymore?

She's so authentic and her voice is beautiful......

Patti showed what a class act she is. Great performance and comeback from forgetting some of the lyrics. She made Bob Dylan proud.

When she messed up the second time and continued singing, her voice had so much emotion in it. This performance gave me the chills ! Patti's still got it

still makes me cry.

I just wanted to say that the musical arrangement is really beautiful…

Patti my baby, you are by far the best interpreter of the song, thank you for all your real true self. Always with you.

I was an 11 yo Greek boy back in 1985 holding a book with his lirics when i first listen to the "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" ..His laconic music and poetry just blew me away.....Bob is the reason i know how to read and write in English...The best teacher i ever had in my life...Thanks Mr.Robert Allen Zimmerman...

I love how the guitarist plays this song. :)

*Who HASN'T been nervous, had stage fright, been overwhelmed? Who HASN'T made a mistake, fumbled? But how many of us never even TRIED because of our fear, or NOT gotten back on the horse?! This would be a lovely video to show kids starting when they are little! Hey, you know what?You might stumble, bumble or fumble! EVERYONE does. Even in front of the King and Queen of Sweden. (And millions on the internet.) Oh well. Try it again. What's next? When is dinner? And even you TOO will help and comfort others! We ARE all in this TOGETHER!*

The beautiful and generous audience holding Patti's heart in their hands.

I love you, Patti Smith, always have. What a fantastic thing you have done for us. The meaning of this moment rang so loudly through you.Nobody else could have done this the way you did, with such grace & love & humility.

Patti Smith rocks, and Mr. Bob Dylan is very worthy of Nobel prize (lit)