"Forever Young" is a song by

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, recorded in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

in November 1973. The song first appeared, in two different versions, a slow-pace and a fast-pace, on Dylan's fourteenth studio album ''

Planet Waves ''Planet Waves'' is the fourteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on January 17, 1974, by Asylum Records in the United States and Island Records in the United Kingdom. It is also one of only two Dylan albums not or ...

''. A demo version of the song, recorded in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in June 1973, was included on Dylan's 1985 compilation '' Biograph''. In the notes included with that album, Dylan is quoted as saying that he wrote "Forever Young" in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, "thinking about" one of his sons and "not wanting to be too sentimental". A live version of the song, recorded in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

on 28 February 1978 and included on Dylan's album ''

Bob Dylan at Budokan ''Bob Dylan at Budokan'' is a live album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released August 1978 on Columbia Records in Japan only, followed by a worldwide release in April 1979. It was recorded during his 1978 world tour and is composed mo ...

'', was released as a European single in 1979.

Analysis

Written as a

lullaby A lullaby (), or cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies they are used to pass down cultural knowledg ...

for his eldest son Jesse, born in 1966, Dylan's song relates a father's hopes that his child will remain strong and happy. It opens with the lines, 'May God bless and keep you always / May your wishes all come true', echoing the

priestly blessing The Priestly Blessing or priestly benediction, ( he, ברכת כהנים; translit. ''birkat kohanim''), also known in rabbinic literature as raising of the hands (Hebrew ''nesiat kapayim'') or rising to the platform (Hebrew ''aliyah ledukhan'') ...

from the

Book of Numbers The book of Numbers (from Greek Ἀριθμοί, ''Arithmoi''; he, בְּמִדְבַּר, ''Bəmīḏbar'', "In the desert f) is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah. The book has a long and ...

, which has lines that begin: 'May the Lord bless you and guard you / May the Lord make His face shed light upon you.' Not wishing to sound 'too sentimental', Dylan included two versions of the song on the album ''Planet Waves'', one a lullaby and the other more rock-oriented. In notes on "Forever Young" written for the 2007 album '' Dylan'',

Bill Flanagan Bill Flanagan (born January 14, 1955) is an American author, television executive and radio host. He was born in Rhode Island and graduated from Brown University in 1977. His books include ''Written in My Soul'' (1986), ''Last of the Moe Haircu ...

writes that Dylan and the Band 'got together and quickly knocked off an album, ''

'', that featured two versions of a blessing from a parent to a child. In the years he was away from stage, Dylan had become a father. He had that in common with a good chunk of the audience. The song was memorably recited on American

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

by Howard Cosell when

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, ...

won the heavyweight crown for the third time'.

Personnel

– guitar, piano,Heylin, Clinton (1997). ''Bob Dylan: The Recording Sessions, 1960-1994'', pp. 95-99. MacMillan.
.

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica in ...

, vocals *

Rick Danko Richard Clare Danko (December 29, 1943 – December 10, 1999) was a Canadian musician, bassist, songwriter, and singer, best known as a founding member of the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. During ...

– bass guitar *

Levon Helm Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm (May 26, 1940 – April 19, 2012) was an American musician who achieved fame as the drummer and one of the three lead vocalists for the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. H ...

– drums *

Garth Hudson Eric "Garth" Hudson (born August 2, 1937) is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist best known as the keyboardist and occasional saxophonist for rock group the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He was a ...

–

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

Richard Manuel Richard George Manuel (April 3, 1943 – March 4, 1986) was a Canadian singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter, best known as a pianist and one of three lead singers in The Band, for which he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and ...

– piano, drums *

Robbie Robertson Jaime Royal "Robbie" Robertson, OC (born July 5, 1943), is a Canadian musician. He is best known for his work as lead guitarist and songwriter for the Band, and for his career as a solo recording artist. With the deaths of Richard Manuel i ...

– guitars

In live performance

According to his website, Dylan performed the song live 493 times between its live debut in 1974 and its last outing in 2011. This includes a duet with

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originato ...

at the Concert for the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...

in Cleveland, OH in 1995. Dylan also performed the song live on the ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production ...

'' in 1993.

Rod Stewart version

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

recorded a song titled " Forever Young" that was released as a single and included on his 1988 album '' Out of Order''. Stewart's manager, Arnold Stiefel, said, " would be fair to say that while the melody and the music is not at all the same s Dylan's song the idea of the song is similar. The architecture of the lyrics of the song is very much from Dylan–there are definite similarities." The similarities were enough to cause Stiefel to contact Dylan, who requested a share of the royalties, and Stewart agreed. His version charted at #12 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

in the US, while it made #57 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

on its release in 1988, and #55 on re-release in 2013.

Joan Baez version

In 1974

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...

covered Forever Young as a single. It reached 13 on the US charts.

Louisa Johnson version

In December 2015, Louisa Johnson, the winner of the twelfth series of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'', released a cover version of "Forever Young" as her winner's single. It was released on December 13, 2015, immediately after Johnson won. Johnson performed the song live on ''

'' final. She also performed it on ''

Text Santa ''Text Santa'' was a charity initiative set up in 2011 by ITV to support UK-based charities during the Christmas period. The appeal to the public is to donate money mainly via text donation and profits from merchandise. The telethons have been h ...

''. Johnson's version entered the UK Singles Chart on December 18 at number nine, and was the first ''X Factor'' winner single not to reach number one. The song has sold 99,648 copies in the UK as of June 2016.

Track listing

Chart performance

Release history

''Parenthood''

Dylan lent his name, voice, and song as the theme to the television show '' Parenthood''. Lucy Schwartz sang "When We Were Young" in seasons 3–6 internationally. On August 31, 2010, Arrival Records/Scion Music Group released a soundtrack for ''Parenthood''. The soundtrack includes both theme songs for ''Parenthood'', "Forever Young" by

, and the international theme, "When We Were Young" by Lucy Schwartz. It also includes a cover of "Forever Young" performed by

John Doe John Doe (male) and Jane Doe (female) are multiple-use placeholder names that are used when the true name of a person is unknown or is being intentionally concealed. In the context of law enforcement in the United States, such names are ofte ...

and Lucy Schwartz.

Rhiannon Giddens Rhiannon Giddens (born February 21, 1977) is an American musician. She is a founding member of the country, blues and old-time music band the Carolina Chocolate Drops, where she is the lead singer, fiddle player, and banjo player. Giddens i ...

and

Iron & Wine Samuel "Sam" Ervin Beam (born July 26, 1974), better known by his stage name Iron & Wine, is an American singer-songwriter. He has released six studio albums, several EPs and singles, as well as a few download-only releases, which include a l ...

covered "Forever Young" for the show's final episode on January 29, 2015.

Children's Book

The lyrics to “Forever Young” were published as a children's book along with illustrations by illustrator Paul Rogers. Rogers's visual interpretation of “Forever Young” includes references to Bob Dylan's life and livelihood juxtaposed against the backdrop of the social and political climate.

References

External links

Lyrics
at Bob Dylan's official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Forever Young 1974 songs 1979 singles Bob Dylan songs Song recordings produced by Rob Fraboni Songs written by Bob Dylan Syco Music singles Sony Music UK singles Columbia Records singles CBS Records singles 2015 singles Louisa Johnson songs Peter, Paul and Mary songs Song recordings produced by Julian Bunetta Joan Baez songs Meat Loaf songs The Band songs Songs about children