"Heart of Mine" 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 ...

that appeared on his 1981 album ''

Shot of Love ''Shot of Love'' is the 21st studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on August 12, 1981, by Columbia Records. It is considered to be Dylan's last of a trilogy of Christian albums. Arrangements are rooted more in rock, ...

''. Recorded on May 15, 1981, it was released as a single, and reached No. 8 in Norway. A live version of the composition was released on '' Biograph'' in 1985. Artists who have covered the song include

Norah Jones Norah Jones (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She has won several awards for her music and as of 2012, has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. ''Billboard'' named her the ...

Mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...

, Steve Gibbons,

Blake Mills Blake Mills (born September 21, 1986) is an American songwriter, guitarist, producer, and composer based in California. Biography Blake Mills was born in Santa Monica, California, United States, and grew up in Malibu, where he attended Malibu ...

, Maria Muldaur, and

Ulf Lundell Ulf Gerhard Lundell (born 20 November 1949) is a Swedish writer, poet, songwriter, composer, musician and artist. He made his debut in 1975 with the LP '' Vargmåne'' and was immediately hailed as "Sweden's Bob Dylan". In 1976 his first novel, t ...

Recording

The music of "Heart of Mine" has been described as having a "loose, garagey" feel encompassing a "vaguely

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 ...

/ Caribbean vibe", and featuring "loosey-goosey piano" by Dylan. Dylan's piano playing has also been described as "

honky-tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, or tonk) is both a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons and the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano (tack piano) ...

Personnel

- vocals,

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

* Ringo Starr – drums *

Ronnie Wood Ronald David Wood (born 1 June 1947) is an English rock musician, best known as an official member of the Rolling Stones since 1975, as well as a member of Faces and the Jeff Beck Group. Wood began his career in 1964, playing guitar with a ...

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

* Donald "Duck" Dunn – bass *

Clydie King Clydie Mae King (August 21, 1943 – January 7, 2019) was an American singer, best known for her session work as a backing vocalist. King also recorded solo under her name. In the 1970s, she recorded as Brown Sugar, and her single "Loneliness ( ...

- vocals

Release

In Europe, "Heart of Mine" was released as a single in July 1981, at a length of 3:30 (compared with 4:32 for the album version). The B-side was " Let It Be Me", written by M. Curtis, P. Delanoe, and G. Becaud. Dylan had released a different version of the song on his 1970 album ''

Self Portrait A self-portrait is a representation of an artist that is drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by that artist. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century tha ...

'', but the non-album B-side of "Heart of Mine" was newly recorded during the ''Shot of Love'' sessions. As a single, "Heart of Mine" reached No. 8 in Norway, and spent six weeks in the Norwegian Top 10. "Heart of Mine" was released on ''Shot of Love'' in August 1981. In the United States, the single was released in September 1981, with "

The Groom's Still Waiting at the Altar "The Groom's Still Waiting at the Altar" is a song written by Bob Dylan, recorded in Los Angeles in the spring of 1981 and released in September of that year as a B-side to the single " Heart of Mine". It was included on the compilation albums '' ...

" as the B-side. "The Groom's Still Waiting at the Altar" originally did not appear on the ''Shot of Love'' album; it first appeared on ''Biograph'' in 1985, but was later added to subsequent releases of ''Shot of Love''. Also on ''Biograph'', Dylan included a live version of "Heart of Mine", recorded on November 10, 1981, in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Reception

'' Record World'' said that Dylan's "rollicking piano and nasal vocal are dazzling." Writer Jeff Perkins describes "Heart of Mine" as a highlight of ''Shot of Love''. Critic Sean Egan calls the song "sweet and vulnerable", but considers the live version on ''Biograph'' "immediately superior", due to the "suffocatingly bad production" on ''Shot of Love''. Bill Janovitz of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

considers the ''Shot of Love'' version to have a "good feel", characteristic of the "warm and natural" sound of the album as a whole, and describes the lyrics as "clever".

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, ...

, by contrast, writes that "the song... rambles from cliché to cliché", giving the examples of "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime" and "Give her an inch and she'll take a mile". Heylin describes the

take A take is a single continuous recorded performance. The term is used in film and music to denote and track the stages of production. Film In cinematography, a take refers to each filmed "version" of a particular shot or "setup". Takes of each s ...

used on ''Shot of Love'' as "half-assed" and "ill-conceived"; he believes Dylan should have instead released a version recorded in April 1981 that is "more engaging" and "pop-friendly".

Covers

and

Peter Malick Peter Malick (born November 28, 1951) is an American blues guitarist and record producer. Music career In the late 1960s, Malick was a member of the band Listening.New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

'' and which featured in the 2003 film ''

Runaway Jury ''Runaway Jury'' is a 2003 American legal thriller film directed by Gary Fleder and starring John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, and Rachel Weisz. An adaptation of John Grisham's 1996 novel ''The Runaway Jury'', the film pits lawyer We ...

'' being used in the closing credits.

included the song on their Dylan cover album, ''

Masters of War "Masters of War" is a song by Bob Dylan, written over the winter of 1962–63 and released on the album ''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' in the spring of 1963. The song's melody was adapted from the traditional "Nottamun Town." Dylan's lyrics are ...

'', and Steve Gibbons on his ''Dylan Project 2''. Maria Muldaur likewise released the song on her Dylan cover album, ''Heart of Mine: Love Songs of Bob Dylan'', as well as recording a live version for her CD and DVD ''Live in Concert''.

Danielle Haim Danielle Sari Haim (born February 16, 1989) is an American musician. She is the lead guitarist and vocalist of the pop rock band Haim, which also consists of her two sisters, Este Haim and Alana Haim. Danielle also serves as the group's drummer ...

and

covered the song on '' Chimes of Freedom: Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International''.

released a version in Swedish entitled "Hjärtat mitt" on his 1984 album ''Sweethearts'', and a concert version on ''Maria Kom Tillbaka: Live''.

Charts

Notes

References

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External links

Lyrics
at Bob Dylan's official site
Chords
at Dylanchords {{authority control Bob Dylan songs Songs written by Bob Dylan 1981 singles Columbia Records singles Song recordings produced by Bob Dylan 1981 songs Song recordings produced by Chuck Plotkin