Mr. Tambourine Man
Bob Dylan
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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 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 Take me on a trip upon your magic swirling ship My senses have been stripped May 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 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 you might hear laughing, spinning, swinging madly across the sun It's not aimed at anyone It's just a 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 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 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 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 beach 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 and 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 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
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Written by: Bob Dylan
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
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4 facts about this song
Songwriting and Composition1. "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.
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Performance and Release5. 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".
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Popularity and Reception10. 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.
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Legacy15. 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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"Mr. Tambourine Man Lyrics." Lyrics.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 20 Sep. 2024. <https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/22081066/Bob+Dylan/Mr.+Tambourine+Man>.
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