We're still not really okay with his decision to call it quits, but if he has to say goodbye, at least David Letterman knows how to throw one heck of a farewell party.

As previously reported, the late-night legend's cavalcade of celebrities leading up to his final hour behind the Late Show desk included a rare television appearance by none other than Bob Dylan, who served as Letterman's musical guest on May 19.

Letterman introduced Dylan on a personal note, telling the audience the story of a conversation he'd had with his 11-year-old son, Harry, when Harry was younger — but not too young to understand that the two most important things to know in life are "why do you have to be nice to other people" and "the greatest songwriter of modern times is Bob Dylan."

As you can see in the clip above, Dylan chose "The Night We Called It a Day" for his number — a song that had the dual benefits of being somewhat thematically appropriate while also serving to promote his most recent studio album, the standards collection Shadows in the Night. As noted by Diffuser, this was Dylan's first trip to The Late Show since 1993.

Dylan's appearance culminated a closing run of Late Show musical performances that included Tom Waits (who premiered a new song) as well as Eddie Vedder. Letterman's last episode, which ends a distinguished 33-year late night run, airs tonight.

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