Mr. Tambourine Man

Bob Dylan

About Mr. Tambourine Man

"Mr. Tambourine Man" is a song written by Bob Dylan, released as the first track of the acoustic side of his March 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home. The song's popularity led to Dylan recording it live many times, and it has been included in multiple compilation albums. It has been translated into other languages, and has been used or referenced in television shows, films, and books. The song has been performed and recorded by many artists, including the Byrds, Judy Collins, Melanie, Odetta, and Stevie Wonder among others. The Byrds version was released in April 1965 as their first single on Columbia Records, reaching number 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the UK Singles Chart, as well as being the title track of their debut album, Mr. Tambourine Man. The Byrds' recording of the song was influential in popularizing the musical subgenres of folk rock and jangle pop, leading many contemporary bands to mimic its fusion of jangly guitars and intellectual lyrics in the wake of the single's success. 


Year:
1998
8:52
186 
#1

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Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to
Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
In the jingle-jangle morning I'll come following you

Though I know that evening's empire has returned into sand
Vanished from my hand
Left me blindly here to stand but still not sleeping
My weariness amazes me, I'm branded on my feet
I have no one to meet
And the ancient empty street's too dead for dreaming

Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
I'm not sleepy and there ain't no place I'm going to
Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
In the jingle-jangle morning I'll come following you

Take me on a trip upon your magic swirling ship
My senses have been stripped
My hands can't feel to grip
My toes too numb to step
Wait only for my boot heels to be wandering
I'm ready to go anywhere, I'm ready for to fade
Into my own parade
Cast your dancing spell my way, I promise to go under it

Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
I'm not sleepy and there ain't no place I'm going to
Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
In the jingle-jangle morning I'll come following you

Though you might hear laughing, spinning, swinging madly across the sun
It's not aimed at anyone
It's just escaping on the run
And but for the sky there are no fences facing
And if you hear vague traces of skipping reels of rhyme
To your tambourine in time
It's just a ragged clown behind
I wouldn't pay it any mind
Besides, it's just a shadow you're seeing that he's chasing

Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
I'm not sleepy and there ain't no place I'm going to
Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
In the jingle-jangle morning I'll come following you

And take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind
Down the foggy ruins of time
Far past the frozen leaves
The haunted frightened trees
Out to the windy bench
Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow
Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky
With one hand waving free
Silhouetted by the sea
Circled by the circus sands
With all memory of fate
Driven deep beneath the waves
Let me forget about today until tomorrow

Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
I'm not sleepy and there ain't no place I'm going to
Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
In the jingle-jangle morning I'll come following you

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Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan ( /ˈdɪlən/; born Robert Allen Zimmerman; May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, poet and artist. He has been an influential figure in popular music and culture for more than five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly reluctant figurehead of social unrest. A number of Dylan's early songs, such as "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are a-Changin'", became anthems for the US civil rights and anti-war movements. Leaving his initial base in the culture of folk music behind, Dylan's six-minute single "Like a Rolling Stone" has been described as radically altering the parameters of popular music in … more »

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Written by: Bob Dylan

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind


4 facts about this song

Songwriting and Composition
1. "Mr. Tambourine Man" was written and composed by Bob Dylan in early 1964. 2. The song's recurring theme involves a request for respite from the hardships of life. However, Dylan has been noted by critics for his ambiguity in the lyrics. 3. Many interpretations proposed for the song suggest it's about drugs, mainly LSD, but Dylan has consistently denied these claims. 4. William Blake's poetry particularly "Songs of Innocence and Experience" reportedly influenced Dylan in writing this song.
Performance and Release
5. Originally, the song was first publicly performed by Bob Dylan on April 24, 1964, at the Royal Festival Hall in London. 6. Bob Dylan's version was not released until June 22, 1965, as part of his "Bringing It All Back Home" album. 7. The Byrds' version of "Mr. Tambourine Man" was released on April 12, 1965, before Dylan's official release. 8. Roger McGuinn of The Byrds simplified and altered some of Dylan's verses and put the song in a beat structure to make it suitable for radio airplay. 9. Melanie, the American folk singer, released her version of "Mr. Tambourine Man" in 1970 on her album "Candles in the Rain".
Popularity and Reception
10. The Byrds' version of the song reached the number one spot on both the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the UK Singles Chart. 11. The song is considered a pivotal moment in the history of rock and roll, marking a shift from Beatlemania and the British Invasion to the folk-rock movement. 12. Both Bob Dylan's and The Byrds' interpretations of this song have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. 13. In 2004, it was ranked #79 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. 14. On the website Acclaimed Music, which statistically aggregates hundreds of critics' lists, "Mr. Tambourine Man" is listed as the 31st most acclaimed song in history.
Legacy
15. The song has been covered by many artists, including Judy Collins, Odetta, Stevie Wonder, and William Shatner. 16. "Mr. Tambourine Man" played a big role in popularizing the musical genre of folk-rock, combining elements of rock and folk music. 17. The song is considered one of the first successful attempts at psychedelia. 18. The song presented Dylan's work to a wider audience who was not familiar with his previous acoustic/folk works. 19. The success of "Mr. Tambourine Man" led to a surge in Dylan’s popularity and has continued to be an important part of his concert repertoire.

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