Bob Dylan – I Contain Multitudes

Dylan dropped another treat late Thursday night (4/16/20). Bob has never had a more autobiographical song title.

I put this on repeat and walked around the lake. I love it, but I worry. This sounds like the last words of a dying man. But I will remain calm as Bob wears a mask better than any artist I know.

I sing the songs of experience like William Blake

I have no apologies to make

Everything’s flowing all at the same time

I live on a boulevard of crime

The song’s narrator is trying to explain himself:

I’m a man of contradictions, I’m a man of many moods

I contain multitudes

Like all great Dylan songs, it sets a mood and is a fascinating puzzle.

Musically this is similar to Dylan’s other recent song “Murder Most Foul.” Sparse: an acoustic guitar and a little pedal steel. Again, he is borrowing the croon of his recent standards album. The song is of a normal length.

After nearly drowning us in the great American standards, Dylan is back with a couple of original masterpieces in “Murder Most Foul” and “I Contain Multitudes.” Hopefully, a full album is on the way.