"Temporary Like Achilles" is a song by 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 ...

that was released on side three of his double album, ''

Blonde on Blonde ''Blonde on Blonde'' is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released as a double album on June 20, 1966, by Columbia Records. Recording sessions began in New York in October 1965 with numerous backing musicians, ...

'' (1966). The song was written by Dylan, and produced by

Bob Johnston Donald William 'Bob' Johnston (May 14, 1932 – August 14, 2015) was an American record producer, best known for his work with Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, and Simon & Garfunkel. Early days Johnston was born into a professional mus ...

. It was recorded at Columbia Studio A,

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

on March 9, 1966. The song is a

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

number that incorporates elements of Dylan's incomplete "Medicine Sunday", which he had recorded with members of the Band in New York in October 1965. The song describes a narrator's frustration at being kept waiting by a woman that he wishes to be romantically involved with, who is guarded by "Achilles". Some critics have suggested that the song references the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...

''. The song has received acclaim from critics for its lyrics and musicianship. A different take was included on '' The Bootleg Series Vol. 12: The Cutting Edge 1965–1966'' (2015). A version of "Medicine Sunday" was issued on the ''

Highway 61 Interactive ''Highway 61 Interactive'' is an interactive CD-ROM released in 1995, based on the musician Bob Dylan and his music career. It was developed and published by Graphix Zone, with Sony Music Entertainment as co-publisher. Overview The game opens wi ...

'' interactive

CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both comput ...

in 1995. As of November 2022, Dylan has never played "Temporary Like Achilles" live in concert.

Background and recording

On October 5, 1965, Dylan recorded two versions of a song called "Medicine Sunday" in New York with

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 in ...

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 ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

of the Band, both versions consisting of one verse and a chorus, and neither lasting more than a minute. The recordings were in a

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

style, both with the chorus "Well, I know you want my loving / Mama, but you're so hard" that was later adapted in "Temporary Like Achilles". On March 9, 1966, between 9:00 pm and midnight, four versions of "Temporary Like Achilles" were recorded by Dylan and a band at Columbia Studio A, Nashville, with

as producer. Dylan reworked the lyrics during the first three takes, and wrote the lyrics for the first verse of the final version after take 3 was completed. Each verse of "Temporary Like Achilles" finishes with a vesrion of the lines "You know I want your lovin'/Honey, but you're so hard", a reworking of the chorus from "Medicine Sunday". Take 4 was released on the double album ''

'' on June 20, 1966,, as the second track on side three, and Take 3 was later released on '' The Bootleg Series Vol. 12: The Cutting Edge 1965–1966'' (2015). A version of "Medicine Sunday" (reported as being "Medicine Show") was issued on the ''

'' interactive

in 1995. "Temporary Like Achilles" is described as a "smoky, slow-drag

" number by Dylan biographer Robert Shelton, and similarly as a "slow, smoky blues" by Gill. It seems to be narrated by someone who has been rejected by a woman that is now with another person. In 1987, lyrics for "Temporary Like Achilles", handwritten by Dylan, were sold at auction for $7,577. They were bought from a collector by the

Minnesota Historical Society The Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) is a nonprofit educational and cultural institution dedicated to preserving the history of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded by the territorial legislature in 1849, almost a decade before statehoo ...

in 1988. The song has a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

in an AABAA form. Music scholar Larry Starr described the bridge as "set off harmonically as well as lyrically, with a shift to

minor chord In music theory, a minor chord is a chord that has a root, a minor third, and a perfect fifth. When a chord comprises only these three notes, it is called a minor triad. For example, the minor triad built on C, called a C minor triad, has pit ...

s and the singer's self-characterization as a 'poor fool'". Scholar of English Charles O. Hartman wrote that "Temporary Like Achilles" and "

Most Likely You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine "Most Likely You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine" is a song written and recorded by Bob Dylan for his 1966 album '' Blonde on Blonde''. The song was released as a single twice during his career, once in 1974, which reached number 66 on the US chart, ...

", also from ''Blonde on Blonde'', "are both experiments in combining

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...

form with a musical and lyrical sensibility indebted ... to blues". The album version has a duration of five minutes and three seconds. As of November 2022, Dylan has never played the song live in concert. Dylan biographer

Clinton Heylin Clinton Heylin (born 8 April 1960) is an English author who has written extensively about popular music and the work of Bob Dylan. Education Heylin attended Manchester Grammar School. He read history at Bedford College, University of London, ...

noted in 2010 that it was also the only track from ''Blonde on Blonde'' not to have been played by Dylan in tour rehearsals.

Lyrical interpretation

The narrator of the song is being kept waiting by a woman that he wishes to be romantically involved with; she is guarded by "Achilles". When the narrator enters her hallway, and "Lean against ervelvet door", he sees a scorpion crawl across her "circus floor". Music journalist Daryl Sanders described the song as "a lover's lament built around one of the album's recurring themes: the narrator being blocked in one way or another, resulting in unfulfilled sexual longing". During the bridge, the narrator asks whether the woman he is talking to has a heart "made out of stone, or is it lime, or is it solid rock". Shelton pondered why the bodyguard was named after Achilles, and why he is temporary; he also wrote: "A whole poem could grow from one throwaway line: 'I'm helpless, like a rich man's child.'"

Classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

scholar Owen Ewald has suggested that the song is inspired by the ''

''. Thomas Strunk, nother classicist, has argued that classical poetry influenced Dylan, and also noted Dylan was a member of the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

club at High School. Dylan mentioned the ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...

'', and specifically

Odysseus Odysseus ( ; grc-gre, Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, OdysseúsOdyseús, ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; lat, UlyssesUlixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. Odysse ...

' trip to see

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's ''Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Peleus, k ...

in the underworld, in his

Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...

acceptance speech. Monica Silveira Cyrino, another classics scholar, notes that the reference in the song to Achilles being "hungry, like a man in drag" recalls the episode where Achilles's mother Thetis disguises him in her clothes, so that he can hide with the daughters of Lycomedes. Scholar of American literature Geoff Ward felt that "the layered ironies of 'Temporary Like Achilles' or 'Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again' mock both the authenticity cult of folk music, and the waftings of the incoming hippie generation, in one swoop".

Critical reception

Craig McGregor in ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' praised the song as "entirely successful, uniquely and unmistakably Dylanish, a gentle and moving love song". The lyrics were described as "rich in metaphore and allegory" by a reviewer for ''

Beat Instrumental ''Beat Instrumental'' was a UK monthly pop and rock magazine. Founded by Sean O'Mahony (aka Johnny Dean) and first published in May 1963 as ''Beat Monthly'', it became ''Beat Instrumental Monthly'' with issue 18 and ''Beat Instrumental'' from ...

''. Norman Jopling in ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the ''NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in ''Re ...

'' wrote in his review of the album, "One of the worst tracks on the set is 'Temporary Like Achilles' .... There's some good

Fats Domino Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American pianist, singer and songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New O ...

styled piano for the intro, but the pleading, almost whining lyric is not very special." The piano on the track, by

Hargus "Pig" Robbins Hargus Melvin Robbins (January 18, 1938 – January 30, 2022), known by his nickname "Pig," was an American session keyboard player. Having played on records for many artists, including John Stewart, Dolly Parton, Connie Smith, Patti Page, Lore ...

, has been praised by Margotin and Guesdon, and by Gill, who calls it "beautifully evocative". Oliver Trager wrote that "Dylan's wheezing harmonica perfectly fits the song's mood of detachment and restrained disgust". Author John Nogowski found the song "puzzling" and felt that "the refrain never seems to be resolved"; he gave the album version a "B" rating, and rated take 3, released on ''The Bootleg Series Vol. 12: The Cutting Edge 1965–1966'', as a "B+".

Personnel

Credits adapted from the ''That Thin, Wild Mercury Sound: Dylan, Nashville, and the Making of Blonde on Blonde'' book. Musicians *

vocals, harmonica *

electric guitar *

Joe South Joe South (born Joseph Alfred Souter; February 28, 1940 – September 5, 2012) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Best known for his songwriting, South won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1970 for " Ga ...

electric guitar * Hargus Robbinspiano *

Al Kooper Al Kooper (born Alan Peter Kuperschmidt; February 5, 1944) is a retired American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears, although he did not stay with the group long enough to share its popularity. ...

electric piano *

Charlie McCoy Charles Ray McCoy (born March 28, 1941) is a Grammy-winning American session musician, harmonica player, and multi-instrumentalist. In 2009, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Based in Nashville, McCoy's playing is heard on r ...

electric bass *

Kenneth Buttrey Aaron Kenneth Buttrey (April 1, 1945 – September 12, 2004) was an American drummer and arranger. According to CMT, he was "one of the most influential session musicians in Nashville history". Buttrey was born in Nashville, Tennessee, became a ...

drums Technical *

production

Notes

References

Citations

Journal articles * * * * Books * * * * * * * * * *

External links

Lyrics to "Temporary Like Achilles"
at Bob Dylan's official website
Handwritten lyrics to "Temporary Like Achilles"
at the Minnesota Historical Society website {{Navboxes , title = Bob Dylan related articles , titlestyle = background: khaki , list1 = {{Bob Dylan {{Bob Dylan songs (1960s) Songs written by Bob Dylan Bob Dylan songs 1966 songs Works based on the Iliad Music based on works by Homer Songs based on poems