Mr. Tambourine Man Lyrics
Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
I'm not sleepy and there ain't no place I'm goin' to
Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning, I'll come followin' you
[Verse]
Take me for a trip upon your magic swirling ship
All my senses have been stripped
And my hands can't feel to grip
And 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
Unto my own parade
Cast your dancing spell my way
I promise to go under it
[Chorus]
Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
I'm not sleepy and there ain't no place I'm goin' to
Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning, I'll come followin' you
About
This is a Bob Dylan song, originally – if just barely. By 1965, Bob Dylan was so universally regarded as a brilliant lyricist with a terrible voice that record studios were in an all-out race to cover his best songs.
This hit the height of insanity with The Byrds, a promising group of young folk singers who hadn’t yet put out an album as a group. In August 1964, the band’s manager Jim Dickson acquired a demo of Dylan testing out “Mr. Tambourine Man” in the studio. The Byrds spent months tinkering with the instrumentals, working to shape the rambling lyrics into a dance-hall hit.
Their master take of “Mr. Tambourine Man” was recorded on January 20, 1965, only five days after Dylan made his final studio recording of “Mr. Tambourine Man.” Dylan’s version came out on album on March 22, 1965, but his studio elected to go with a different song (“Subterranean Homesick Blues”) as the first single off the album. As a result, on April 12, 1965, the Byrds were able to release their version as a pre-album single before Dylan’s could come out.
With its brilliant composition and perfect timing, the Byrds' version immediately shot to #1 in the USA and UK, a first for any Bob Dylan-written song. Dylan never bothered to release his version as a single.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
- 1.Mr. Tambourine Man
- 9.It’s No Use
- 12.We’ll Meet Again
- 13.She Has A Way
- 18.You and Me