Now, Dylan is clarifying some of the talking points of the speech, specifically the point at which he seemed to call out Merle Haggard, an artist he toured with in 2005, saying in the speech that he'd rather have Buck Owens' respect than Haggard's.

"I wasn't dissing Merle, not the Merle I know," Dylan said to Bill Flanagan. "What I was talking about happened a long time ago, maybe in the late '60s. Merle had that song out called 'Fighting Side of Me' and I'd seen an interview with him where he was going on about hippies and Dylan and the counterculture, and it kind of stuck in my mind and hurt, lumping me in with everything he didn't like.

"But of course times have changed and he's changed too," Dylan continued, echoing his own song lyrics. "If hippies were around today, he'd be on their side and he himself is part of the counterculture� so yeah, things change. I've toured with him and have the highest regard for him, his songs, his talent-I even wanted him to play fiddle on one of my records and his Jimmie Rodgers tribute album is one of my favorites that I never get tired of listening to. He's also a bit of a philosopher. He's serious and he's funny. He's a complete man and we're friends these days. We have a lot in common."