Story highlights "Pre-existing commitments" keep Bob Dylan away from Nobel ceremony

Patti Smith performs "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" on Dylan's behalf

(CNN) Bob Dylan was notably absent Saturday to accept his Nobel Prize for literature, but his words and music still rang out with a passionate performance by Patti Smith in his stead.

Smith sang the Dylan classic "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" on behalf of the American singer-songwriter at the awards ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden.

Stumbling over lyrics at one point, she said, "I apologize. Sorry, I'm so nervous," but the august audience didn't seem to mind in video of the performance on the Nobel Prize Facebook page.

Dylan, 75, is the first songwriter to win a Nobel Prize.