The Time Bob Dylan Took a Nap in Neil Young’s Hearse and Terrified an Artist

Neil Young is notable for a lot. Among that list is his 1948 Buick Roadmaster, a.k.a Mortimer Hearseburg. What was once bought as a tour necessity became a beloved item of Young’s. We have no doubt that many memorable moments happened while driving around in that hearse, but we’d like to focus on one in particular: an artist’s ghostly encounter with Bob Dylan. Learn more about the time Dylan’s nap turned into a supernatural experience, below.

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The Time Bob Dylan Took a Nap in Neil Young’s Hearse and Terrified an Artist

Young bought the hearse early on in his career. Many of its features helped the folk icon get his touring career off the ground.

“I loved the hearse,” Young once said. “Six people could be getting high in the front and back and nobody would be able to see in because of the curtains. The heater was great. And the tray … the tray was dynamite. You open the side door and the tray whips right out onto the sidewalk.”

While Young might have purchased the vehicle for touring purposes, it served another purpose on one occasion, providing a place for Dylan to nap. Unfortunately, not everyone was aware of Dylan’s momentary reprieve, which proved problematic for one artist.

Artist Sandy Mazzeo got in the car to take it for a drive when he heard a mysterious noise coming from the back end–traditionally where they would keep a coffin. Naturally, Mazzeo started assuming the worst.

“I hear bam! bam! bam! on the divider and I’m thinking, ‘Oh my God, it’s a ghost,” Mazzeo once said. “I look in the rearview mirror and it’s Bob.”

The moment was made all the more frightening by Dylan’s turban, which the folkie was keen on wearing at the time. “Dylan was in his turban stage, and he’d slept in his turban and it had come all undone. He looked like the mummy,” Mazzeo continued.

It was a scary moment quickly followed by one of relief when Mazzeo found out Dylan was the culprit behind his supernatural scare.

For more on Mortimer Hearseburg, check out Young’s “Long May You Run.” Young penned this song as an ode to his trusty vehicle, which he put up for auction in 2017. Check out some of the lyrics, below.

We’ve been through some things together

With trunks of memories still to come

We found things to do in stormy weather

Long may you run

Long may you run, long may you run

Although these changes have come

With your chrome heart shining in the sun

Long may you run

(Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)