"My Own Version of You" is a song written and performed by the American singer-songwriter

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 ...

and released as the third track on his 2020 album ''

Rough and Rowdy Ways ''Rough and Rowdy Ways'' is the 39th studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on June 19, 2020, through Columbia Records. It is Dylan's first album of original songs since his 2012 album ''Tempest'', following three releas ...

''. Inspired by

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an early example of science fiction. She also ...

's novel ''

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ...

'', this darkly comical song features a narrator who describes bringing "someone to life" using the body parts of disparate corpses in what has been widely interpreted as an elaborate metaphor for the songwriting process.

Composition and recording

The song's lyrics prominently feature gothic-horror imagery, which can be found to a lesser extent on other tracks on ''

'' (including " I Contain Multitudes", which references the stories "

The Tell-Tale Heart "The Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1843. It is related by an unnamed narrator who endeavors to convince the reader of the narrator's sanity while simultaneously describing a murder the n ...

" and "

The Cask of Amontillado "The Cask of Amontillado" (sometimes spelled "The Casque of Amontillado" ) is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in the November 1846 issue of ''Godey's Lady's Book''. The story, set in an unnamed Italian city at ca ...

" by

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...

, and " Murder Most Foul", which alludes to the movies ''The Wolf Man'', ''The Invisible Man'' and ''

A Nightmare on Elm Street ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' is a 1984 American supernatural slasher film written and directed by Wes Craven and produced by Robert Shaye. It is the first installment in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' franchise and stars Heather Langenka ...

''). A number of lyrics in "My Own Version of You" explicitly reference ''

'', including the opening verse ("I've been visiting morgues and monasteries / Looking for the necessary body parts") as well as lines about studying "Sanskrit and Arabic to improve my mind" and needing "one strike of lightning" and a "blast of 'lectricity that runs at top speed" in order to bring the song's creature, the "you" of the title, to life. One of the song's most distinctive features is its unpredictability. The first half of the refrain that concludes each verse is the same ("I'll bring someone to life...") but is followed by a different lyric in the second half each time. Even more unusual is the way the number of lines in each verse varies dramatically from one verse to the next. As Chris Gregory writes in his book ''Determined to Stand: The Reinvention of Bob Dylan'', "Two four line verses are followed by three eight line verses, two more four line verses and one final marathon twenty line verse. This unpredictability helps to maintain a distinctly edgy ambience, as we are drawn into the meandering narrative". Some critics have noted that, even apart from the lyrics, the music to "My Own Version of You" is "spooky". This is due primarily to Tony Garnier's descending bass line and a pedal-steel guitar part by Donnie Herron that resembles the sound of the

theremin The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone/etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named afte ...

parts frequently heard on science-fiction and horror-movie soundtracks. The song's overall musical atmosphere has also been compared to that of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' 1956 novelty-horror single "

I Put a Spell on You "I Put a Spell on You" is a 1956 song written and composed by Jalacy "Screamin' Jay" Hawkins, whose own recording of it was selected as one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. It was also included in Robert ...

". Dylan scholar and musicologist Eyolf Ostrem has described Blake Mills' guitar part as "quite advanced playing, which requires precision and dexterity". The song is performed in the sounding key of

C-sharp minor C-sharp minor is a minor scale based on C, with the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature consists of four sharps. The C-sharp natural minor scale is: : Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale ar ...

Themes

A number of critics see the notion of a mad-scientist narrator stitching together "body parts" in order to create new life as analogous to the way Dylan, as writer, stitches together lines from diverse sources (e.g., songs, poems, movie dialogue, etc.) in order to bring a ''song'' to life. Chief among these critics is Dylan scholar Laura Tenschert who posits "My Own Version of You" as part of a diptych of songs, along with " Mother of Muses", that explore the "myth and mystery of creation" on ''

''. Tenschert also considers that the line "I want to do things for the benefit of all mankind" may be a humorous reference to Dylan's having won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016: Alfred Nobel established the prize when he stated in his will that the remainder of his estate should be used to endow "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind". Still others see the "you" of the title as referring to Dylan himself, and the song's main theme being that of artistic reinvention. Critic Justin Cober-Lake, for instance, wrote that "The question, among all the wordplay, asks who the 'you' is that Dylan addresses. One path suggests he’s recreating someone who has left. Another reading sees him speaking to himself. When he sings, 'I’m saying to hell to all things that I used to be', he suggests that he’s reinventing himself, which maybe paradoxically, has been a core element of Dylan the artist. If so, the song talks directly to Dylan’s fans and critics. If we’ve spent years creating our own imagined versions of who Dylan is, he can play with that idea, stitch some limbs together and make his own version of himself".

Critical reception

Sam Sodomsky, writing in ''Pitchfork'', called the song a "macabre narrative" in which Dylan sings "about playing god as he scavenges through morgues and cemeteries to reanimate a few notable corpses and absorb their knowledge...slapstick horror rendered as existential comedy". Writing in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'', critic

Rob Sheffield Robert James Sheffield (born February 2, 1966) is an American music journalist and author. He is a long time contributing editor at ''Rolling Stone'', writing about music, TV, and pop culture. Previously, he was a contributing editor at '' Ble ...

described Dylan's vocal performance on the track as "marvelously nimble and delicate" as he sings the song's humorous lyrics. Critic Sanjoy Narayan, who hailed ''

'' as a "masterpiece", cited "My Own Version of You" as the one song "that really stood out" to him on the album. In his review of ''Rough and Rowdy Ways'' in the ''Minneapolis Star Tribune'', critic Jon Bream sees "My Own Version of You" as bearing the influence of the many traditional pop standards Dylan had recently recorded in the studio and live in concert: "Sonically, this has the flourish of neither colorful keyboardist nowiki/>Leon_Russell_or_Liberace.html" ;"title="Leon_Russell.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Leon Russell">nowiki/>Leon Russell or Liberace">Leon_Russell.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Leon Russell">nowiki/>Leon Russell or Liberace] but rather plenty of underwater surf guitar. With Dylan’s vocals upfront over what sounds like a soundtrack to an old silent movie, this moody piece recalls the evocative jazz of Dylan’s three recent collections of standards". ''Spectrum Culture'' cited it as one of "Bob Dylan's 20 Best Songs of the '10s and Beyond". ''

The Big Issue ''The Big Issue'' is a street newspaper founded by John Bird and Gordon Roddick in September 1991 and published in four continents. ''The Big Issue'' is one of the UK's leading social businesses and exists to offer homeless people, or individ ...

'' placed it at #76 on a list of the "80 best Bob Dylan songs - that aren't the greatest hits". A 2021 ''Guardian'' article included it on a list of "80 Bob Dylan songs everyone should know".

Cultural references

Two of the song's lyrics reference famous lines in plays by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

: "Well, it must be the winter of my discontent" paraphrases the opening line of '' Richard III'' and "Tell me what it means / To be or not to be" alludes to the most well-known line in ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

''. "I'll take the ''Scarface'' Pacino and the ''Godfather'' Brando / Mix 'em up in a tank and get a robot commando" refers to two of the most famous performances by American " method actors" Al Pacino and Marlon Brando. The line about making "gunpowder from ice" is a reference to a passage in Chapter 5 of '' Gulliver's Travels'' by

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dubl ...

. The line "I'll be at the Black Horse Tavern on Armageddon Street" contains two references to the

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of ...

: In addition to the obvious reference to the biblical

end times Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that nega ...

battle, the "Black Horse" is likely a reference to the Third Horseman of the Apocalypse (AKA Famine) who rides a black horse and may also be the inspiration for the ''

'' song '' Black Rider". The song alludes to

classical antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...

with lines about

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...

and "

Trojan Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 189 ...

women and children" being sold into slavery. Similar references to

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of Classical Antiquity, classical antiquity ( AD 600), th ...

and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

can be found on other songs on ''

''. As in "

Goodbye Jimmy Reed "Goodbye Jimmy Reed" is an uptempo blues song written and performed by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan and released as the sixth track on his 2020 album '' Rough and Rowdy Ways''. A tribute to blues giant Jimmy Reed, the song has been si ...

", the line "You can bring it to

Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupat ...

, you can bring it to Jerome" humorously juxtaposes the sacred and the secular by referencing an apostle of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

alongside

Bo Diddley Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, inc ...

's maracas player. The line "Can you help me walk that moonlight mile?" is a reference to the 1971 song " Moonlight Mile" by

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

(who are also referenced as "them British bad boys" on ''Rough and Rowdy Ways opening track " I Contain Multitudes"). Dylan identifies "Mr. Freud" and "Mr.

Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

" as two of the "best-known enemies of mankind" in the song and refers to them as burning together in hell. Dylan had derisively mentioned Freud and Marx together on at least one previous occasion: At a press conference in Rome to promote ''Love and Theft'' in 2001, Dylan was asked if he feared analysis. His response was, "No...I don't know what anybody can find in any of my stuff...Analysis? A Freudian analysis, you mean? Or German idealism? Or maybe a Freudian-Marxist? I don't know".

Live performances

"My Own Version of You" received its live debut at the Riverside Theater in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

on November 2, 2021, the first concert of Dylan's

Rough and Rowdy Ways World Wide Tour Rough and Rowdy Ways World Wide Tour is the current ongoing tour by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan in support of his 39th studio album '' Rough and Rowdy Ways'' (2020). The tour began in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on November 2, 2021 and is sched ...

References

External links

*
Lyrics
at Bob Dylan's official site

at Dylanchords {{Bob Dylan 2020 songs Bob Dylan songs Songs written by Bob Dylan