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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.

This article is about the song. For the album, see Mr. Tambourine Man (album).

"Mr. Tambourine Man"

March 22, 1965 (1965-03-22)

January 15, 1965

Columbia, New York City

5:32

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. Dylan himself was partly influenced to record with electric instrumentation after hearing the Byrds' reworking of his song.


Dylan's song has four verses, of which the Byrds only used the second for their recording. Dylan's and the Byrds' versions have appeared on various lists ranking the greatest songs of all time, including an appearance by both on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 best songs ever. Both versions received Grammy Hall of Fame Awards.


The song has a bright, expansive melody and has become famous for its surrealistic imagery, influenced by artists as diverse as French poet Arthur Rimbaud and Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini. The lyrics call on the title character to play a song and the narrator will follow. Interpretations of the lyrics have included a paean to drugs such as LSD, a call to the singer's muse, a reflection of the audience's demands on the singer, and religious interpretations.

Composition[edit]

"Mr. Tambourine Man" was written and composed in early 1964, at the same approximate time as "Chimes of Freedom", which Dylan recorded later that spring for his album Another Side of Bob Dylan.[2][3] Dylan began writing and composing "Mr. Tambourine Man" in February 1964, after attending Mardi Gras in New Orleans during a cross-country road trip with several friends, and completed it sometime between the middle of March and late April of that year after he had returned to New York.[2] Nigel Williamson has suggested in The Rough Guide to Bob Dylan that the influence of Mardi Gras can be heard in the swirling and fanciful imagery of the song's lyrics.[4] Journalist Al Aronowitz has stated that Dylan completed the song at his home, but folk singer Judy Collins, who later recorded the song, has stated that Dylan completed the song at her home.[2] Dylan premiered the song the following month at a May 17 concert at London's Royal Festival Hall.[2]

Interpretations[edit]

William Ruhlmann, writing for the AllMusic web site, has suggested the following outline of the song's lyrics: "The time seems to be early morning following a night when the narrator has not slept. Still unable to sleep, though amazed by his weariness, he is available and open to Mr. Tambourine Man's song, and says he will follow him. In the course of four verses studded with internal rhymes, he expounds on this situation, his meaning often heavily embroidered with imagery, though the desire to be freed by the tambourine man's song remains clear."[14]


While there has been speculation that the song is about drugs, particularly with lines such as "take me on a trip upon your magic swirling ship" and "the smoke rings of my mind",[2][3][11] Dylan has denied the song is about drugs.[15] Though he was smoking marijuana at the time the song was written, Dylan was not introduced to LSD until a few months later.[2][3][16] Outside of drug speculation, the song has been interpreted as a call to the singer's spirit or muse, or as a search for transcendence.[3][16][17][18][19] In particular, biographer John Hinchey has suggested in his book Like a Complete Unknown that the singer is praying to his muse for inspiration; Hinchey notes that ironically the song itself is evidence the muse has already provided the sought-after inspiration.[17] The figure of Mr. Tambourine Man has sometimes been interpreted as a symbol for Jesus or the Pied Piper of Hamelin.[14] The song may also reference gospel music themes, with Mr. Tambourine Man being the bringer of religious salvation.[19]


Dylan has cited the influence of Federico Fellini's movie La Strada on the song,[10][20] while other commentators have found echoes of the poetry of Arthur Rimbaud.[2][21][22] Author Howard Sounes has identified the lyrics "in the jingle jangle morning I'll come following you" as having been taken from a Lord Buckley recording.[20] Bruce Langhorne, who performs guitar on the track, has been cited by Dylan as the inspiration for the tambourine man image in the song.[10] Langhorne used to play a giant, four-inch-deep "tambourine" (actually a Turkish frame drum), and had brought the instrument to a previous Dylan recording session.[2][11][23][24]

"Mr. Tambourine Man"

April 12, 1965 (1965-04-12)

January 20, 1965

Columbia, Hollywood

2:18

In creative works[edit]

"Mr. Tambourine Man" has been referenced in books and film, including Tom Wolfe's non-fiction novel The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test,[107] Stephen King's novel Carrie,[108] the film Dangerous Minds,[109][110][111] and the documentary film Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. The subject of the latter film, journalist Hunter S. Thompson, had "Mr. Tambourine Man" played at his funeral and dedicated his novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas to Dylan and the song.[112] Ann Hui's 1990 film Song of the Exile begins with Maggie Cheung riding a bicycle through the streets of London while a street performer plays the song.[113] The 2013 John Craigie song, "I Wrote Mr. Tambourine Man", is about a person that Craigie met in New Orleans who claimed to have written the original lyrics to "Mr. Tambourine Man".[114]

Legacy[edit]

The Byrds' version of "Mr. Tambourine Man" was listed as the number 79 song on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and Dylan's version was ranked number 106.[115] It is one of three songs to place twice, along with "Walk This Way" by both Aerosmith and Run-DMC with Perry and Tyler, and "Blue Suede Shoes" by both Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley.[115] The Byrds' version was honored with a Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1998, and Dylan's version was honored with the same award in 2002.[116]


In 1989 Rolling Stone ranked the Byrds' version of "Mr. Tambourine Man" as the number 86 single of the prior 25 years.[117] That same year, music critic Dave Marsh listed it as number 207 in his list of the top 1001 singles ever made.[118] In 1999, National Public Radio in the United States listed this version as one of the 300 most important American records of the 20th century.[119] In the UK, music critic Colin Larkin listed the Byrds' version as the number 1 single of all time.[120] Other UK publishers that have listed this song as one of the top songs or singles include Mojo, New Musical Express, and Sounds.[121][122][123] Australian music critic Toby Creswell included the song in his book 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time and the Artists, Stories and Secrets Behind Them.[58]


In a 2005 readers' poll reported in Mojo, Dylan's version of "Mr. Tambourine Man" was listed as the number four all-time greatest Bob Dylan song, and a similar poll of artists ranked the song number 14.[124] In 2002, Uncut listed it as the number 15 all-time Dylan song.[125]

Lyrics