You only had one job! Patti Smith FORGETS the words to Bob Dylan song when she turns up to accept Nobel Prize on his behalf 

  • The veteran asked the orchestra to stop when she became struck by amnesia 
  • Smith, 69, was trying to sing Dylan's 1963 classic 'A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall'
  • But she began mumbling in the second verse and apologised to the audience  

Veteran singer Patti Smith forgot the words to a classic Bob Dylan song when she performed in honour of his Nobel Prize for literature. 

Smith, 69, asked the orchestra to stop when she became struck by amnesia at the Stockholm ceremony on Saturday. 

She was trying to sing Dylan's 1963 song, 'A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall', when she began mumbling in the second verse and apologised to the audience, which included the Swedish royal family. 

The veteran singer songwriter, Patti Smith (pictured) asked the orchestra to stop when she became struck by amnesia at the Stockholm ceremony on Saturday

Smith, who rose to fame in the mid 1970s with the critically-acclaimed album Horses, said: 'I apologize. I'm sorry, I'm so nervous.'

She regained composure after asking the orchestra to stop and restart. 

The 1,500 strong audience in Stockholm's Concert Hall, many dressed in formal attire, clapped to support Smith as she tried again.

Smith, dubbed the 'punk poet laureate', appeared to draw a blank again in the third verse, but only briefly, and finished the song with an emotional performance that left the crowd in tears.

Dylan, 75, declined to attend because of previous commitments. 

The US poet and singer, who is regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, took two weeks to acknowledge the award after it was announced in October.

One Nobel Academy member called Dylan's behaviour 'impolite and arrogant'. 

The audience in Stockholm's Concert Hall, many dressed in formal attire, clapped to support Smith as she tried again 

Smith was trying to sing Dylan's 1963 song, ' A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall ', when she began mumbling in the second verse (Dylan pictured in 2012)

Dylan, regarded as one of the greatest songwriters ever, took two weeks to acknowledge the Nobel Prize after it was announced in October (pictured circa 1963)

And critics claim Dylan is not a worthy winner because he is primarily a songwriter.

Lena Mellin, a senior writer for Swedish newspaper, Aftonbladet, said Dylan's non-attendance was a 'slap in the face'.

She said: 'Anyone who has ever received a prize, even if it's just for being the best neighbour in the apartment building, knows that the least one can do is go and accept it,'.

But others have said Dylan's no-show was just typical from the unpredictable and irreverent star.

Dylan, best known for the standards 'Blowin' in the Wind', 'Like a Rolling Stone' and 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door' did send a thank you speech to be read at the awards night.

The Nobel Prize ceremony also honoured top academics in the fields of medicine, physics, chemistry and economics.   

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