I Want You (Bob Dylan Song)

"I Want You" is a song recorded by Bob Dylan in 1966. Recorded in the early morning hours of March 10, 1966, the song was the last one recorded for Dylan's double-album ''Blonde on Blonde''. It was issued as a single that June, shortly before the release of the album.

There were three complete takes of "I Want You", with the final take and a guitar overdub comprising the master. The recording session was released in its entirety on the 18-disc Collector's Edition of '' The Bootleg Series Vol. 12: The Cutting Edge 1965–1966'' in 2015, with the penultimate take of the song also appearing on the 6-disc and 2-disc versions of that album.

Dylan performed "I Want You" as a slow ballad during his 1978 world tour, as heard on ''Bob Dylan at Budokan'', released in 1979. Dylan also revisited the song in 1987 on a co-tour with the Grateful Dead; their version was released in 1989 on the '' Dylan and the Dead'' album.

The single's B-side was a live version of "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" recorded in Liverpool, England at the Odeon Theatre on May 14, 1966. (This was the first released recording of Dylan live with the Hawks, later the Band.)

Lyrics

Sean Wilentz sees numerous failures documented in early drafts for the lyrics; "deputies asking him his name... lines about fathers going down hugging one another and about their daughters putting him down because he isn't their brother". Finally Dylan arrives at the right formula. The song's sentimental aspect was partially explained in a 1966 interview: "It's not just pretty words to a tune or putting tunes to words... t'sthe words and the music ogether€”I can hear the sound of what I want to say."

Andy Gill observed that the song's tension is achieved through the balance of the "direct address" of the chorus, the repeated phrase "I want you," and a weird cast of characters "too numerous to inhabit the song's three minutes comfortably", including a guilty undertaker, a lonesome organ grinder, weeping fathers, mothers, sleeping saviours, the Queen of Spades, and "a dancing child with his Chinese suit". Gill reports that "the dancing child" has been interpreted as a reference to Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones, and his then girlfriend Anita Pallenberg. Clinton Heylin agrees there may be substance to this because the dancing child claims that "time was on his side", as a reference to " Time Is On My Side", the Stones' first U.S. hit.

Reception

''Cash Box'' described the song as a "medium-paced, blues-soaked plea for romance with an infectious, repeating rhythmic riff" that it considered a "sure-fire blockbuster candidate."

Chart performance

''Billboard'' magazine recorded the release of "I Want You" in its June 25 issue, and predicted it would reach the Top 20. The track entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 charts on July 2, 1966, at #90, and ''Billboard'' tapped the single as a "star performer"—a side "registering greatest proportionate upward progress this week". It peaked at #20 on July 30.

"I Want You" entered the ''Cash Box'' charts at #59 on July 2, and was tapped for strong upward movement. It rose slowly, and peaked at #25 on August 6. It was also a major hit in the UK, where it peaked at #16.

Sophie B. Hawkins version

American singer-songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins recorded "I Want You" for her 1992 debut album, ''Tongues and Tails'', at the suggestion of her producer, Rick Chertoff. As the album's third single, it reached No. 49 on the UK Singles Chart in February 1993. The music video, which was shot in Paris, was directed by Lydie Caller and produced by Odille DeVars.

Hawkins' interpretation of "I Want You" saw her change the song's key and slow down its tempo. Hawkins has said of Dylan's lyrics, "Each time I sing hesong I struggle to grasp what the words are saying." She elaborated, "I completely feel the song, but I don't understand it."

Dylan liked Hawkins' version and she was invited by his manager to perform the song at Dylan's 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration at Madison Square Garden, New York City, in October 1992. Hawkins' performance was one of a number of omissions from the 1993 double-album and VHS releases of the concert.

Larry Flick, writing for ''Billboard'', praised Hawkins' version for being "deliver dwith chatty finesse, amid a cushiony synth arrangement". Randy Clark, reviewing for ''Cash Box'', noted that despite Dylan's "obvious lyrical/poetic style", Hawkins' "sultry performance style permeates the recording". ''Music & Media'' felt Hawkins "manages to completely transform the Bob Dylan classic" and noted it "sounds like Cyndi Lauper in a Sinéad O'Connor setting".

Other versions

*The Hollies covered the song for their album ''Hollies Sing Dylan'' (1969)
*Ralph McTell did a slower, piano-based version on his album ''Water of Dreams''

Footnotes

References

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* Allmusic.* Allmusic.

External links

Lyrics
at BobDylan.com

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Songs written by Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan songs
Grateful Dead songs
1966 singles
Song recordings produced by Bob Johnston
Columbia Records singles
1966 songs