Bob Dylan has broken his customary silence via The New York Times, contributing to an op-ed tied to US President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday.

The 85-year-old rock legend offered some words of wisdom with selection of octogenarians on what it means to reach the milestone age.

“The old fire in your heart still tells you to do this and that, but your body says we already did it. Also, nothing surprises you,” Dylan wrote in the New York Times.

“It sounds like a luxury but it’s not, and also you’ve run out of illusions.

“The really worst part about being 80 is that you find, at last, you’ve got an understanding of something that might have altered everything in the past, had it come at a time when something could still be altered.

“When you’re young you think that time moves forward. At 80 you know that it doesn’t, it stands still. We’re the ones that move.”

However, Dylan did reveal the sense of “freedom” that came with turning 80.

“The best thing about being 80 is that you outlive the clocks that have been chasing you.

“It’s freedom from that lie that anything was ever under control. You don’t chase the parade anymore.

“You’re an old king from some vanished country. You’re harder to program.”

But wait, there’s more

Meanwhile, Dylan wasn’t alone in offering reflections around Trump’s milestone birthday. Actor Robert De Niro used the occasion to deliver a typically blunt message, while other public figures shared a mix of praise, criticism and humour in media tributes marking the President’s 80th year. The contrasting reactions underscored Trump’s unique place in public life, remaining as divisive as he is influential.

For Dylan, however, politics appeared secondary to the bigger questions that come with age. His thoughts centred on time, perspective and the freedom that arrives when life’s deadlines lose their grip. It was a reminder that while birthdays may belong to politicians and public figures, the realities of growing older are experiences shared by everyone.