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MR. TAMBOURINE MAN  (Bob Dylan)


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 followin' you

Though I know that evenin'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

Take me on a trip upon your magic swirlin' 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 wanderin'
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

Though you might hear laughin', spinnin'
swingin' madly across the sun
It's not aimed at anyone, it's just escapin' on the run
And but for the sky there are no fences facin'
And if you hear vague traces of skippin' 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 seein' that he's chasing

Then take me disappearin' 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


The Byrds   Mr. Tambourine Man Columbia Records  1965
The Byrds   ...In The Beginning  Rhino  1988
Gene Clark  Firebyrd Hudson Canyon  1984

Roger McGuinn Live From Mars Hollywood Records 1996
The Byrds Preflyte


Byrds Session date: January 20, 1965
Number of employees: 7
Tracks: Mr. Tambourine Man, I Knew I'd Want You

Employees names (The Wrecking Crew):

Webster, Roger, E. (Leader)
Bridges, Russell (Piano)
Knechtel, Laurence, W. (Bass)
Blane, Hal (Drums)
Pitman, William (Guitar)
Kolbrak, Jerry (Guitar)
McGuinn, James, J. (Guitar)

Contract received Feb 1, 1965

The Wrecking Crew around 1962: Don Randi
Al Delory, Carole Kaye, Bill Pitman, Tommy Tedesco
Irv Rubin, Roy Canton, Jay Migliori
Hal Blaine, Steve Douglas, Ray Pohlman
Jack Nitzsche's son is next to Hal Blaine





 

Mr. Tambourine Man     (short version)


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 followin' you

Take me for a trip upon your magic swirlin' ship
All my senses have been stripped
And my hands can't feel to grip
And my toes too numb to step
Waiting only for my boot heels to be wanderin'
I'm ready to go anywhere
I'm ready for to fade
Onto 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 followin' you
 

 

 

From “Subterranean Homesick Blues” to “Like A Rolling Stone,” Bruce Langhorne was there playing along with Bob Dylan. A member of the early Greenwich Village scene along with Joan Baez, Carolyn Hester, and, of course, Dylan, Langhorne was known for his expert guitar playing abilities and his use of a large tambourine-looking drum. This drum led to Dylan nicknaming his friend “Mr. Tambourine Man,” and that classic song.
Bruce Langhorne