A Japanese writer says he was flattered to learn that passages from one of his books apparently found their way into Bob Dylan's lyrics.
In the song "Floater" from his 2001 album, "Love and Theft," Dylan croons: "My old man, he's like some feudal lord, got more lives than a cat." He also sings, "I'm not quite as cool or forgiving as I sound" and then, "Sometimes somebody wants you to give something up. And tears or not, it's too much to ask."
On page 6 of Junichi Saga's book "Confessions of a Yakuza," the protagonist recalls: "My old man would sit there like a feudal lord." Later, he says: "I'm not as cool or forgiving as I might have sounded." On page 182, he says: "Tears or not, though, that was too much to ask."