I'm Not There

Bob Dylan, Sonic Youth

About I'm Not There

I'm Not There is a 2007 musical drama film directed by Todd Haynes and co-written with Oren Moverman. It is an unconventional biopic inspired by the life and music of American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Six actors depict different facets of Dylan's public personas: Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger (his final film to be released during his lifetime), and Ben Whishaw. A caption at the start of the film declares it to be "inspired by the music and the many lives of Bob Dylan"; this is the only mention of Dylan in the film apart from song credits, and his only appearance in it is concert footage from 1966 shown during the film's final moments. The film tells its story using non-traditional narrative techniques, intercutting the storylines of seven different Dylan-inspired characters. The title of the film is taken from the 1967 Dylan Basement Tape recording of "I'm Not There", a song that had not been officially released until it appeared on the film's soundtrack album. The film received a generally favorable response, and appeared on several top ten films lists for 2007, topping the lists for The Village Voice, Entertainment Weekly, Salon and The Boston Globe. Particular praise went to Cate Blanchett for her performance, culminating in a Volpi Cup for Best Actress from the Venice Film Festival, the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress, along with an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination. 


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Things are crashing down, she's all too tight
In my neighborhood she cry both day and night
It's a milestone but she's down on her luck
Days make her so lonely and it's so hard to buck
Now and then

I believe that she'd stop him if she'd find time to care
I believe that she may look upon deciding whose to care
And I go by the Lord, anywhere she's on my way
But I don't belong there

No, I don't belong to her, I don't belong to [Incomprehensible]
She's my Christ forsaken angel but she don't hear me cry
She's a long hearted mystic and she can't carry on
When I'm there she's alright then she's not when I'm gone

Heaven knows that the answer she don't con no one
She's the way forsaken beauty, she's mine for the one
And I lost her hesitating about temptation as it runs
She don't harm me, I'm not there I'm gone

Now I've cried tonight like I cried the night before
And I'll feast on the highway but I'll dream about the door
It's alone she's forsaken by her fate with to tell
It don't have approximation she is smiling fairly well

Her smile is contagious, I was born to love her
But she knows that the kingdom waits so high above her
And I run by the race but it's not too fast stayed
But I got the fever I'm not there, I'm gone

Well, it's all about diffusion as I cry for her veil
I don't need anybody now beside me to tell
And it's all affirmation, I'm asleep but it's not
She's a lone-hearted beauty but she don't like spot
And she calls

Yeah, she's gone like a rainbow that was shining yesterday
But she's home now beside me and I'd like her to stay
She's a lone forsaken beauty and she don't trust no one
And I wish I was beside her but I'm not there, I'm gone

It's too hard to stay here and I don't want to leave
It's so hard for so few you see but she's hard to, hard to me
It's a [Incomprehensible] it's a crime, the way she mauls me around
But she don't phone to hate me but it's down to make her crown

Yes, I believe that it's rightful, I believe it in my mind
I've been told like I said for carrying on crying
Yes, the soul gypsy told her like I said carry on
Wish I was there to help me but I'm not there, I'm gone

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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


12 facts about this song

Creation Period
"I'm Not There" was recorded in 1967 by Bob Dylan alongside the group The Band during what is known as the Basement Tapes sessions.
Release Details
The song didn't see an official release until nearly 40 years later, in 2007, when it was included on the soundtrack for the film "I'm Not There," which was loosely based on Dylan's life.
Title Trivia
Interestingly, the song itself never has the title "I'm Not There" in its lyrics. This makes picking out the title a bit tricky and unique.
Lyrics Mystery
The song remains one of Dylan's most mysterious as the lyrics seem to be a series of unrelated verses and phrases.
Singer's Favorite
Dylan reportedly listed "I'm Not There" as one of his favorite songs from the Basement Tapes period.
Bootleg Versions
Prior to its official release, the song had been bootlegged and circulated among Dylan fans for years, attesting to the enduring interest in Dylan's unreleased work.
Song Interpretation
Some critics and fans interpret the song as being about Dylan's own tenuous relationship with fame and his public persona.
Cover Versions
Various artists, including Sonic Youth and Curtiss A, have covered "I'm Not There," revealing the song's influence across different musical genres.
Film Connection
In the 2007 film "I'm Not There," six different actors played variations of Dylan, echoing the fractured and elusive nature of the song.
Original Recording
The original recording of the song is incomplete and breaks off abruptly. This adds another layer of mystery to the song.
Record Auction
In 2014, the only known acetate of "I’m Not There" was sold at auction for nearly $30,000.
Folk Influence
The song's powerful, atmospheric sound is considered to have been influenced by traditional folk music, and a reflection of Bob Dylan's evolution as an artist.

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