"When I Paint My Masterpiece" is a 1971 song written 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 ...

. It was first released by The Band, who recorded the song for their album '' Cahoots'', released on September 15, 1971.

Background

Dylan himself first recorded the song at New York's

Blue Rock Studio Blue Rock Studio was an independent 16- and 24-track recording facility located in Manhattan's SoHo district. Founded by owner Eddie Korvin, it opened in 1970 and was sold in 1986. Early years After meeting John Storyk, a recent architecture g ...

when he was backed by Leon Russell and session musicians, including

Jesse Ed Davis Jesse Edwin Davis III (September 21, 1944 – June 22, 1988) was a Native American guitarist. He was well regarded as a session artist and solo performer, was a member of Taj Mahal's backing band and played with musicians such as Eric Clapton, J ...

on lead guitar. The recording sessions lasted from March 16 to 19, 1971, and also saw the recording of the

45 RPM single In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separate ...

" Watching the River Flow", released by

CBS Records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records or CBS/Sony, former name of Sony Music, a global record company * CBS Records International, label for Columbia Records recordings released outside North America from 1962 to 1990 * CBS Records (2006), founde ...

on June 3, 1971. Both songs appeared on ''

Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II ''Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II'', also known as ''More Bob Dylan Greatest Hits'', is the second compilation album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on November 17, 1971 by Columbia Records. With Dylan not expected to releas ...

'', released November 17, 1971, with Russell credited as the producer of the two songs. During the March 1971 sessions at Blue Rock Studio, Dylan also recorded a solo version with slightly different lyrics, accompanying himself on piano. This version was released in 2013 on '' The Bootleg Series Vol. 10: Another Self Portrait (1969–1971)''. Dylan and The Band performed the song together live, in the early hours of January 1, 1972, at a New Year's Eve concert by The Band; a recording was released as a bonus track on the 2001 CD reissue of The Band's live album ''

Rock of Ages Rock of Ages may refer to: Films * ''Rock of Ages'' (1918 film), a British silent film by Bertram Phillips * ''Rock of Ages'' (2012 film), a film adaptation of the jukebox musical (see below) Music * ''Rock of Ages'' (musical), a 2006 rock ...

''.

Reception and legacy

Douglas Brinkley, while interviewing Dylan for the ''New York Times'' in 2020, noted that "When I Paint My Masterpiece" was a song that had grown on him over the years and asked Dylan why he had brought it "back to the forefront of recent concerts". Dylan replied, "It’s grown on me as well. I think this song has something to do with the

classical world 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 ...

, something that’s out of reach. Someplace you’d like to be beyond your experience. Something that is so supreme and first rate that you could never come back down from the mountain. That you’ve achieved the unthinkable. That’s what the song tries to say, and you’d have to put it in that context. In saying that though, even if you do paint your masterpiece, what will you do then? Well, obviously you have to paint another masterpiece". Los Lobos'

Steve Berlin Steven M. Berlin (born September 14, 1955, Philadelphia) is an American saxophonist, keyboardist and record producer, best known as a member of the rock group Los Lobos and, before that, Top Jimmy & the Rhythm Pigs, the Blasters, and the Fles ...

cited it as his favorite Dylan song in a 2021 '' Stereogum'' article, writing, "I love the way he creates such a vivid world in a three-minute song, and as a former constant traveler myself he captures the often delightful feeling of disconnection in a new unfamiliar place, and then the line about the land of Coca-Cola brings it all back home".

In popular culture

Dylan performs the song live (as a duet with

Bob Neuwirth Robert John Neuwirth (June 20, 1939May 18, 2022) was an American folk singer, songwriter, record producer, and visual artist. He was noted for being the road manager and associate of Bob Dylan, as well as the co-writer of Janis Joplin's hit s ...

) during the opening credits of his 1978 film ''

Renaldo and Clara ''Renaldo and Clara'' is a 1978 American film directed by Bob Dylan and starring Bob Dylan, Sara Dylan and Joan Baez. Written by Dylan and Sam Shepard, the film incorporates three distinct film genres: concert footage, documentary interviews, and ...

''. Dylan also performed a version of the song, with substantially re-written lyrics, to open his 2021 concert film '' Shadow Kingdom: The Early Songs of Bob Dylan''. For the closing credits of the 2013 documentary film ''

Tim's Vermeer ''Tim's Vermeer'' is a 2013 documentary film, directed by Teller, produced by his stage partner Penn Jillette and Farley Ziegler, about inventor Tim Jenison's efforts to duplicate the painting techniques of Johannes Vermeer, in order to test his h ...

'', Dylan sings an alternate take of the song.

Live performances

According to his official website, Dylan played the song live 182 times between 1975 and 2019. Five live performances of the song from Dylan's 1975

Rolling Thunder Revue The Rolling Thunder Revue was a 1975–1976 concert tour by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan with numerous musicians and collaborators. The purpose of the tour was to allow Dylan, who had now become a major recording artist and concert perfor ...

tour were released on the box set '' The Rolling Thunder Revue: The 1975 Live Recordings'' in 2019''.'' The live debut occurred at the War Memorial Auditorium in Plymouth, Massachusetts on October 30, 1975 and the most recent performances occurred on the

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 ...

in 2021.

Notable covers

"When I Paint My Masterpiece" was frequently performed by the Grateful Dead in concerts starting in 1987; the song was sometimes played alongside several other Dylan songs. Though Grateful Dead vocalist Bob Weir sang lead on the song when it was played by the band, lead singer Jerry Garcia had played the song as early as 1972 with

Merl Saunders Merl Saunders (February 14, 1934 – October 24, 2008) was an American multi-genre musician who played piano and keyboards, favoring the Hammond B-3 console organ. Biography Born in San Mateo, California, United States, Saunders attended Polyt ...

and

John Kahn John Kahn (June 13, 1947 – May 30, 1996) was an American electric and acoustic bassist. From 1970 to 1995, Kahn was Jerry Garcia's principal musical collaborator outside of the Grateful Dead. Biography John Kahn was born in Memphis, Tennessee ...

, both of whom would become members of the

Jerry Garcia Band The Jerry Garcia Band was a San Francisco Bay Area rock band led by Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. Garcia founded the band in 1975; it remained the most important of his various side projects until his death in 1995. The band regularly tour ...

. The Band (without Robbie Robertson) performed the song at a 1992 Bob Dylan tribute concert. The recording was released on the CD of the event.

Chris Whitley Christopher Becker Whitley (August 31, 1960 – November 20, 2005) was an American blues/rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. During his 25-year career he released more than a dozen albums, had two songs in the top 50 of the Billboard mains ...

recorded a blues version of the song for his last album, ''

Dislocation Blues ''Dislocation Blues'' is a collaborative studio album, credited to American singer-songwriter and guitarist, Chris Whitley and Australian musician, Jeff Lang. The album was recorded in studios between Adelaide and Melbourne in April 2005, seven ...

'', which was released with

Jeff Lang Jeff Lang (born 9 November 1969) is an Australian guitarist, songwriter, vocalist and music producer. Lang plays various types of guitar, both slide and standard, as well as banjo, mandolin, cümbüş and drums. He is a three-time ARIA Award w ...

in 2005.

Elliott Brood Elliott Brood (often stylized as Elliott BROOD) is a Canadian three-piece, alternative country band formed in 2002 in Toronto, consisting of Mark Sasso on lead vocals, guitar, banjo, ukulele, harmonica, and kazoo, Casey Laforet on guitar, lead v ...

performed "When I Paint My Masterpiece" on CBC Radio 2's ''Up Close'' program,Elliott Brood on CBC Radio 2's Up Close
/ref> and include it in some of their concerts. The bluegrass band Greensky Bluegrass included a live version of the song on their 2010 live album ''All Access: Volume 1'' recorded at The Riviera Theatre in Three Rivers, MI on Nov. 27, 2009. The song has a regular rotation in their live performances. Blake Mills performed a live solo version of "When I Paint My Masterpiece" on Dylan's iconic

Stratocaster The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of electric guitar designed from 1952 into 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has continuously ...

guitar to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Dylan's performance at the

1965 Newport Folk Festival Newport Folk Festival is an annual American folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the Newport Jazz Festival. It was one of the first modern music festivals in America, and remains a focal ...

Personnel for studio recording released on ''Cahoots'' by The Band

* Levon Helm - lead vocals, mandolin * Robbie Robertson - acoustic guitar *

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 ...

- accordion *

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 *

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 ...

- drums

Personnel for Bob Dylan studio recording, March 1971

- vocal, guitar & harmonica * Leon Russell - piano *

- guitar *

Don Preston Donald Ward Preston (born September 21, 1932) is an American jazz and rock keyboardist. He is known for working with Frank Zappa from the mid 1960s to the mid 1970s. Biography Preston was born into a family of musicians in Detroit and began st ...

- guitar *

Carl Radle Carl Dean Radle (June 18, 1942 – May 30, 1980) was an American bassist who toured and recorded with many of the most influential recording artists of the late 1960s and 1970s. He was posthumously inducted to the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame i ...

- bass *

Jim Keltner James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America". Howard Sounes. ''Dow ...

- drums *

Claudia Lennear Claudia Lennear (born Claudia Joy Offley; 1946) is an American soul singer and educator. Lennear began her performing with the Superbs before becoming an Ikette in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. She was also a background vocalist for various acts ...

Kathi McDonald Kathryn Marie "Kathi" McDonald (September 25, 1948 – October 3, 2012) was an American blues and rock singer and songwriter. As a teenager she sang with different bands around the Pacific Northwest before she was discovered by Ike Turner. She s ...

- backing vocals

References

External links

Lyrics
at Bob Dylan's official site {{Authority control 1971 songs The Band songs Bob Dylan songs Grateful Dead songs Songs written by Bob Dylan