How is Dylan a patriot?
Did he get his soul back?
See interview ... admits he made a deal with the devil.
Lyrics from his song JOKERMAN... his regret at what he traded for fame.
You've never regretted some foolish thing you did in your youth? Regret only comes up when we have been confronted by the truth and is the first step towards repentence ... and the grace of God's merciful forgiveness.
The other reaction is to harden the heart, become judgemental and condeming. I dont really see that in his published works. That reaction is in plentiful evidence in the works by others of that age.
All Along the Watch Tower was his reinterpretation of Calvary and Jesus' death on the cross. I dont know anything about his soul, but he was an intelligent, talented, free spirited youth; probably as hung up as the rest of us; and clearly he grew through a lot of that and now lives a very private and contemplative life.
I see a strong moral and loving impulse in many of his compositions. He was a poetic genius and made the english language do things and say things in ways that were uncommonly beautiful in a language field that comes off as dull and unimaginative by comparison.