"I Contain Multitudes" | ||||
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Single by Bob Dylan | ||||
from the album Rough and Rowdy Ways | ||||
Released | April 17, 2020 | |||
Recorded | January and February 2020 | |||
Studio | Sound City (Los Angeles) | |||
Genre | Folk [1] | |||
Length | 4:36 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Songwriter(s) | Bob Dylan | |||
Producer(s) | None listed | |||
Bob Dylan singles chronology | ||||
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Rough and Rowdy Ways track listing | ||||
"I Contain Multitudes" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, the opening track on his 39th studio album, Rough and Rowdy Ways (2020). It was released as the album's second single on April 17, 2020, through Columbia Records. [2] [3] The title of the song is taken from Section 51 of the poem "Song of Myself" by Walt Whitman. [4]
The song was released, unannounced, less than a month after Dylan's previous single, "Murder Most Foul". [5] [6] The two singles were the first original material released by Dylan since his 2012 album Tempest . "I Contain Multitudes" reached number 5 on Billboard 's Rock Digital Song Sales chart. [7]
Dylan has long been fascinated by the concept of the multiplicity of the self, evident in everything from his fondness for Arthur Rimbaud's phrase "Je est un autre" ("I is another"), which he said caused bells to go off when he first read it in the 1960s, [8] to the lyrics of his Rastafari-influenced 1983 song "I and I". [9] In an interview to promote Time Out of Mind in 1997, Dylan said, "I change during the course of a day. I wake and I'm one person, and when I go to sleep I know for certain I'm somebody else. I don't know who I am most of the time. It doesn't even matter to me". [10]
A paraphrase of this last quote is spoken by Richard Gere's Billy the Kid character via voice-over narration in Todd Haynes' unconventional 2007 biopic I'm Not There (which features the subtitle "Inspired by the music and many lives of Bob Dylan" and takes Dylan's constantly-changing persona explicitly as its subject). [11] Dylan's chameleon-like nature had caused critics to use Walt Whitman's line "I contain multitudes" in relation to him long before he ever wrote a song by that title. [12] Dylan himself quoted the line in an interview for the 2019 documentary Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese . [13]
When asked about writing the song by historian Douglas Brinkley for an interview in The New York Times to promote the release of Rough and Rowdy Ways , Dylan noted that he "didn't really have to grapple much. It's the kind of thing where you pile up stream-of-consciousness verses and then leave it alone and come pull things out. In that particular song, the last few verses came first. So that's where the song was going all along. Obviously, the catalyst for the song is the title line. It's one of those where you write it on instinct. Kind of in a trance state. Most of my recent songs are like that. The lyrics are the real thing, tangible, they're not metaphors". [14]
Brinkley also asked Dylan about the surprising inclusion of Anne Frank's name in the song, to which Dylan responded that Frank's story was "profound" before adding: "You could just as well ask, 'What made you decide to include Indiana Jones or the Rolling Stones'. The names themselves are not solitary. It's the combination of them that adds up to something more than their singular parts. To go too much into detail is irrelevant. The song is like a painting, you can't see it all at once if you're standing too close. The individual pieces are just part of a whole...Somewhere in the universe those three names must have paid a price for what they represent and they're locked together. And I can hardly explain that. Why or where or how, but those are the facts". [15]
"I Contain Multitudes" is performed in the key of C major. [16] Critics noted upon release of the single that there is a certain continuity when it is listened to alongside Dylan's previous single, "Murder Most Foul", which is performed in the same key (and that Rough and Rowdy Ways has a circular structure when listened to on repeat since they are the first and last tracks on the album, respectively). [17] In all, there are six verses and two bridges, the latter of which are, according to Robert Dye in American Songwriter , "sung over a descending six-minor walkdown, contrasting with the dreamy feel of the verses and creating tension". [18]
The song has a slow tempo and a sparse arrangement featuring multiple acoustic guitars, a pedal steel guitar and an upright bass played with a bow. It is notable for being the only song on Rough and Rowdy Ways to feature no percussion. [19] Also similar to "Murder Most Foul" is Dylan's vocal performance, which Tony Attwood describes as "[walking] a fine line between talking and singing". [20] When Dylan played Lotte Lenya's version of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's "Alabama Song" on the "Whiskey" episode of Theme Time Radio Hour , first broadcast in September 2020, he characterized her vocal technique as "sprechstimme", meaning half-spoken/half-sung, before humorously adding, "I use that sometimes myself". [21]
The song was released unexpectedly on Dylan's YouTube channel on April 17, 2020, three weeks to the day after the stealth release of Dylan's previous single "Murder Most Foul". [22] The YouTube video consists of the song accompanied by a still photograph of Dylan playing live in Salzburg, Austria that had been taken by Italian Dylan fan Andrea Orlandi in 1996 [23] (a photograph that was also later included in one of the inner sleeves of the Rough and Rowdy Ways vinyl release [24] ). The single's release had been teased several hours before the song's premiere by a status update on Dylan's official Twitter account that featured the song title as a hashtag: #IContainMultitudes. [25]
While reviewing Rough and Rowdy Ways in his Substack-published "Consumer Guide" column, Robert Christgau said the track "provides exactly the right thematic sendoff" within the context of the album's "elegiac retrospective". [26] Mark Beaumont of NME called it a "sanguine personal exposé" and "a kind of literary folk 'My Way', a porch chair portrait of a life fully lived", in which Dylan "peels away the details of his journey with the grace and conciliation of a master making his peace". [27]
Several critics have commented on Dylan's surprising use of humor in the song, including NPR's Lauren Onkey who noted that the lyrics contain "a list of sometimes funny (we often forget that Dylan is funny) and preposterous brags of the singer's power and prowess that evoke the blues", [28] and USA Today 's Patrick Ryan who, in an article about the "Best Songs of 2020", referred to it as both "cheeky" and "quietly heartbreaking". [29]
Simon Vozick-Levinson, writing in a Rolling Stone article where the song placed 13th on a list of "The 25 Best Bob Dylan songs of the 21st Century", noted that it functions as a "bookend of sorts" to "Murder Most Foul" in that, in both, "Dylan seems to be considering his place in the constellation of great musicians and artists through the ages". [30]
The Sydney Morning Herald named "I Contain Multitudes" one of the "Top five Bob Dylan songs" in a 2021 article, calling it a "paean to unassailable self-knowledge [that] is sung like a man at peace with every detail". [31] Spectrum Culture included the song on a list of "Bob Dylan's 20 Best Songs of the '10s and Beyond". [32]
The Pretenders' lead singer Chrissie Hynde told Rolling Stone that she found the song "fucking devastating" and that its release, along with the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, inspired her to finally realize her ambition of recording a Dylan covers album. [33] Robert Plant claimed that, upon first hearing it, he "just went, 'This is the story of all of our lives! Except he's taken the bends in a totally different way, the curves'", and claimed that being able to "voice somebody else's condition" in a similar fashion was more than he could imagine as a lyricist. [34] Actress/singer Rita Wilson included the song on a Spotify playlist of her favorite romantic Bob Dylan songs when promoting her 2020 single "I Wanna Kiss Bob Dylan". [35]
As with "Murder Most Foul", "I Contain Multitudes" contains many references to other artists and works of art over the past few centuries. The line "I rollick and I frolic with all the young dudes...I contain multitudes", [36] for example, is a reference to David Bowie's song "All the Young Dudes", [37] which became a hit for Mott the Hoople in 1972. In an article about "I Contain Multitudes" at Forward, Seth Rogovoy suggested this particular line "could be read as a similar nod toward queerness contained in the Bowie-penned original". [38]
The song also contains numerous references to Irish poetry and songs, in particular the work of W. B. Yeats, Antoine Ó Raifteiri and the song "Danny Boy". Although allusions to Irish poetry and song are nothing new in Dylan's work, some have speculated that these particular references may have been inspired by an evening Dylan spent in the company of fellow songwriter Shane MacGowan in Dublin while on tour in 2017. [39]
The line "I live on a boulevard of crime" is a reference to the setting of Marcel Carne's 1945 film Children of Paradise , one of Dylan's all-time favorite movies. [40] Children of Paradise was an influence on Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue tour in 1975 and his 1978 film Renaldo and Clara , and he previously quoted a line from it ("Love is so simple") in the Blood on the Tracks song "You're a Big Girl Now". [41]
The line "I carry four pistols and two large knives" is a reference to Ward Will Lamon, an overarmed bodyguard who accompanied Abraham Lincoln to his inauguration, as described in Shelby Foote's The Civil War: A Narrative . [42] This is the first of six references to U.S. Presidents on Rough and Rowdy Ways (the other five of which come in the album's final two songs: "Key West (Philosopher Pirate)" and "Murder Most Foul").
"I Contain Multitudes" received its live debut at the Riverside Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on November 2, 2021, the first concert of Dylan's Rough and Rowdy Ways World Wide Tour. [43] He played it at all 230 shows of the tour through its conclusion in London, England on November 14, 2024. [44]
Chart (2020) | Peak position |
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US Rock Digital Song Sales (Billboard) [45] | 5 |
Publication | Accolade | Rank |
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The Sydney Morning Herald | Top Five Bob Dylan Songs [31] | N/A |
USA Today | 10 Best Songs of 2020 [46] | 7 |
Rolling Stone | The 25 Best Bob Dylan Songs of the 21st Century [30] | 13 |
Slate | 20 Best Songs of 2020 [47] | N/A |
Spectrum Culture | Bob Dylan's 20 Best Songs of the '10s and Beyond | N/A |
The Los Angeles Times | 50 Best Songs of 2020 [48] | N/A |
Inside of Knoxville | 25 Best Dylan Songs of the Last 25 Years [49] | N/A |
Spin | 50 Best Songs of 2020 (So Far) [50] | 49 |
The song was covered by Australian singer/songwriter Emma Swift on her 2020 album Blonde on the Tracks . [51] Swift also played the song at a show in Nashville, Tennessee that was live streamed on YouTube in the summer of 2020. [52]
Norwegian pop singer Sondre Lerche released a cover as a Christmas single on December 20, 2020, via Stereogum . [53]
"Tangled Up in Blue" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, which was released as the opening track of his 15th studio album Blood on the Tracks (1975). The song was written by Dylan and produced by David Zimmerman, Dylan's brother. Released as a single, it reached No. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song concerns relationships and contains different narrative perspectives. Dylan has altered the lyrics in subsequent performances, changing the point of view and details in the song.
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter. Often considered one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his 60-year career. He rose to prominence in the 1960s, when songs such as "The Times They Are a-Changin'" (1964) became anthems for the civil rights and antiwar movements. Initially modeling his style on Woody Guthrie's folk songs, Robert Johnson's blues and what he called the "architectural forms" of Hank Williams's country songs, Dylan added increasingly sophisticated lyrical techniques to the folk music of the early 1960s, infusing it "with the intellectualism of classic literature and poetry". His lyrics incorporated political, social and philosophical influences, defying pop music conventions and appealing to the burgeoning counterculture.
"High Water " is a song written and performed by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released as the seventh track on his 31st studio album "Love and Theft" in 2001 and anthologized on the compilation album Dylan in 2007. Like much of Dylan's 21st century output, he produced the track himself under the pseudonym Jack Frost.
"If You See Her, Say Hello" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan from his 15th studio album, Blood on the Tracks (1975). The song is one of five on the album that Dylan initially recorded in New York City in September 1974 and then re-recorded in Minneapolis. The later recording, made on December 30, 1974, was produced by Dylan's brother David Zimmerman, who was not credited. The recording later became the album track and the B-side of the "Tangled Up in Blue" single, released in February 1975.
"When I Paint My Masterpiece" is a 1971 song written by Bob Dylan. It was first released by The Band, who recorded the song for their album Cahoots, released on September 15, 1971.
"Highlands" is a blues song written and performed by Bob Dylan, and released as the 11th and final track on his 30th studio album Time Out of Mind in 1997. It is Dylan's second longest officially released studio recording at sixteen minutes and thirty-one seconds, surpassed only by "Murder Most Foul", which runs twenty-five seconds longer. The song was produced by Daniel Lanois.
"Soon After Midnight" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan that appears as the second track on his 2012 studio album Tempest. Like much of Dylan's 21st-century output, he produced the song himself using the pseudonym Jack Frost.
"Jokerman" is a song by Bob Dylan that appeared as the opening track of his 1983 album Infidels. Recorded on April 14, 1983, it was released as a single on June 1, 1984, featuring a live version of "Isis" from the film Renaldo and Clara as its B-side.
"Murder Most Foul" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, the 10th and final track on his 39th studio album, Rough and Rowdy Ways (2020). It was released as the album's lead single on March 27, 2020, through Columbia Records. The song addresses the assassination of John F. Kennedy in the wider context of American political and cultural history. Lasting 16 minutes, 56 seconds, it is the longest song he has released, eclipsing 1997's "Highlands" which runs for 16 minutes, 31 seconds.
Rough and Rowdy Ways is the thirty-ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on June 19, 2020, through Columbia Records. It is Dylan's first album of original songs since his 2012 album Tempest, following three releases that covered traditional pop standards. The album was recorded at Sound City Studios from January to early March 2020. The session musicians included all of the then-current members of Dylan's Never Ending Tour band alongside other musicians, such as Blake Mills and Fiona Apple. The album's sound was described by critics as Americana, folk, blues, and rhythm and blues.
"False Prophet" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, the second track on his 39th studio album, Rough and Rowdy Ways (2020). It was released as the album's third and final single on May 8, 2020, through Columbia Records. The music is based on Billy "The Kid" Emerson's 1954 Sun Records single "If Lovin' Is Believin'".
Blonde on the Tracks is the debut studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Emma Swift and was released August 14, 2020 by Tiny Ghost Records. The album consists of Bob Dylan covers and was recorded between 2017 and 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee, the album was produced by Wilco's Pat Sansone and featured a number of well-known Nashville musicians as Swift's backing band, including British guitarist Robyn Hitchcock, Swift's partner.
"Black Rider" is a minor-key folk ballad written and performed by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan and released as the fifth track on his 2020 album Rough and Rowdy Ways. It is the shortest song on the album and features a sparse acoustic arrangement but its musical complexity and ambiguous lyrics have generated substantial critical analysis.
"I've Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You" is a song written and performed by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan and released as the fourth track on his 2020 album Rough and Rowdy Ways. The song is performed in 6/8 time and has a lilting melody that has caused some critics to compare it to a "lullaby".
"Key West " is a song written and performed by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released as the ninth track on his thirty-ninth studio album, Rough and Rowdy Ways (2020). The tracks for the album were written by Dylan at his home in Point Dume in late 2019 and early 2020. It was recorded at Sound City Studios in Los Angeles in January and February 2020 and released in June 2020. The song is an accordion-driven ballad that incorporates references to other songs and to the City of Key West.
"Goodbye Jimmy Reed" is an uptempo blues song written and performed by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan and released as the sixth track on his 2020 album Rough and Rowdy Ways. A tribute to blues giant Jimmy Reed, the song has been singled out for praise by critics for being the most raucous number on an album otherwise predominated by quieter, slow-to-mid-tempo songs, and for playful lyrics that deliberately juxtapose "the sacred and the profane".
"My Own Version of You" is a song written and performed by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan and released as the third track on his 2020 album Rough and Rowdy Ways. Inspired by Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, this darkly comical song features a narrator who describes bringing "someone to life" using the body parts of disparate corpses in what has been widely interpreted as an elaborate metaphor for the songwriting process.
"Mother of Muses" is a song written and performed by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan and released as the seventh track on his 2020 album Rough and Rowdy Ways. It is a spare and meditative acoustic folk song in which the first person-narrator offers a paean to Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory in Greek mythology who gave birth to the nine Muses.
"Crossing the Rubicon" is a song written and performed by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan and released as the eighth track on his 2020 album Rough and Rowdy Ways. It is a slow electric blues featuring lyrics that heavily reference classical antiquity and the life of Julius Caesar in particular.
Rough and Rowdy Ways World Wide Tour is a concert tour by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan in support of his 39th studio album Rough and Rowdy Ways (2020). The tour began in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on November 2, 2021 and concluded at the Royal Albert Hall, London, on November 14, 2024.