Bob Dylan recently won the Nobel prize for literature but did not attend the annual Nobel award ceremony in Sweden.

Bob Dylan’s new album Triplicate explores American standards from the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, but the veteran singer-songwriter says that does not mean he is yearning for the past.

Dylan also is unconcerned whether his fans like the album − the third in as many years that features cover versions of classic songs like Stormy Weather, As Time Goes By and Stardust.

“These songs are some of the most heartbreaking stuff ever put on record and I wanted to do them justice. Now that I have lived them and lived through them, I understand them better,” Dylan, 75, told music writer Bill Flanagan in a rare interview.

“It’s not taking a trip down memory lane or longing or yearning for the good old days or fond memories of what’s no more,” he added in the lengthy Q&A, posted on the bobdylan.com website last week.

The three-disc album Triplicate will be released on March 31. It follows 2015’s Shadows in the Night album of Frank Sinatra covers and 2016’s similar Fallen Angels in marking a strong contrast from the early, socially-conscious folk and rock compositions for which Dylan remains most famous.

Now that I have lived them and lived through them, I understand them better

Asked what his fans might think of the cover albums, Dylan said: “These songs are meant for the man on the street, the common man, the everyday person. Maybe that is a Bob Dylan fan, maybe not, I don’t know.”

In the wide-ranging interview, Dylan also touched on his admiration for the late Amy Winehouse, calling her “the last real individualist around”.  Dylan also spoke of the loss of fellow musicians like Leonard Cohen, Leon Russell, and Merle Haggard, all of whom died last year.

He said: “We were like brothers, we lived on the same street and they all left empty spaces where they used to stand. It’s lonesome without them.”

No mention was made of Dylan’s Nobel prize for literature, and his non-attendance at the annual Nobel award ceremony in Sweden. Dylan is due to perform in Sweden this week as part of a European tour.