Every Grain of Sand
Encyclopedia
Every Grain of Sand is a song written by Bob Dylan
and originally released on his 1981 album Shot of Love
. It was subsequently included on the compilation Biograph
. An alternate take of this song was released in The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961-1991
. It appeared on the soundtrack
for the 1997 film Another Day In Paradise
.
, faith, and spirituality
. But it was also appreciated by non-believers, and Rolling Stone described it as a "mature update" of Dylan's 1964 song "Chimes of Freedom
".
The song was well known for its haunting imagery, which some have compared to that of William Blake
. Although it is filled with numerous Biblical references, it may also have been partly inspired by the following lines from William Blake's Auguries of Innocence:
To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.
Marked by an ethereal quality that isn't found elsewhere on Shot of Love, "Every Grain Of Sand" is one of Dylan's most celebrated recordings. In this song, Dylan puzzles over the dilemma of whether his disappointments, temptations, failings, and triumphs were due to his actions alone or ordained by God's delivering hand ("I've gone from rags to riches in the sorrows of the night/ In the violence of a summer's dream/ In the chill of a winter light" and "I hear the ancient footsteps like the motion of the sea/ Sometimes I turn and there's someone there, other times it's only me").
It is "perhaps his most sublime work to date", writes Clinton Heylin
, "the summation of a number of attempts to express what the promise of redemption meant to him personally. One of his most intensely personal songs, it also remains one of his most universal. Detailing 'the time of my confession/the hour of my deepest need,' the song marks the conclusion of his evangelical period as a songwriter, something its position at the conclusion of Shot of Love tacitly acknowledges."
Paul Nelson
of Rolling Stone
called it "the 'Chimes of Freedom' and 'Mr. Tambourine Man' of Bob Dylan's Christian period...it has surety and strength all down the line. Also vulnerability...Dylan's beautifully idiosyncratic harmonica playing has metamorphosed into an archetype that pierces the heart and moistens the eye. And, for once, the lyrics don't let you down. The artist's Christianity is both palpable and comprehensible...For a moment or two, he touches you, and the gates of heaven dissolve into a universality that has nothing to do with most of the LP."
Paul Williams
in his book Bob Dylan, performing artist:The Middle Years said, "The love in "Every Grain of Sand," though firmly rooted in Dylan's conversion experience and his Bible studies, immediately and obviously reaches beyond its context to communicate a deeply felt devotional spirit based on universal experiences: pain of self-awareness, and sense of wonder or awe at the beauty of the natural world."
Tim Riley
described "Every Grain of Sand" as, "a prayer that inhabits the same intuitive zone as "Blowin' in the Wind" - you'd swear it was a hymn passed down through the ages."
Rock critic Milo Miles wrote, "This is the one Dylan song in ten years...in which he examines a pop-culture paradox (that legendary stars in particular have to believe in ideals greater than themselves) more eloquently than any other performer has."
When Bruce Springsteen
inducted Dylan into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame on January 20, 1988, he also cited "Every Grain Of Sand" as an example of his best work. "Every Grain of Sand" was cited by Elvis Costello
on his list of "500 albums essential to a happy life" as possibly Dylan's finest track.
recorded a cover of this song for their album Swerve, which was released in 1990.
This song was also covered by Emmylou Harris
on her album Wrecking Ball
, and by Barb Jungr
on her album Every Grain of Sand: Barb Jungr Sings Bob Dylan
. It was also performed at the funeral of Johnny Cash
, in 2003, by Emmylou Harris
and Sheryl Crow
.
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
and originally released on his 1981 album Shot of Love
Shot of Love
Shot of Love is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's 21st studio album, released by Columbia Records in August 1981.It is generally considered to be Dylan's last of a trilogy of overtly religious, Christian albums. Also, it was his first since becoming born-again to focus on secular themes, from...
. It was subsequently included on the compilation Biograph
Biograph (album)
Biograph is a 53-track compilation spanning the career of Bob Dylan, from his 1962 debut album to the 1981 LP Shot of Love. Released in 1985 by Columbia Records, on both a 5-LP and a 3-CD Box set, it was one of the earliest and most successful examples of the CD Box set...
. An alternate take of this song was released in The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961-1991
The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961-1991
The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 is a compilation box set by Bob Dylan, issued on Columbia Records, catalogue C3K 86572. It is the first installment in the Dylan bootleg series, comprising material spanning the first three decades of his career, from 1961 to 1989...
. It appeared on the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
for the 1997 film Another Day In Paradise
Another Day in Paradise (film)
Another Day in Paradise is a 1998 drama film directed by Larry Clark, and released by Trimark Pictures. It is based on the novel Another Day in Paradise written by Eddie Little.-Plot:...
.
Song structure and lyrics
Dylan had recently become a devout Christian and "Every Grain of Sand" does contain powerful allusions to JesusJesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, faith, and spirituality
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
. But it was also appreciated by non-believers, and Rolling Stone described it as a "mature update" of Dylan's 1964 song "Chimes of Freedom
Chimes of Freedom
"Chimes of Freedom" is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan and featured on his 1964 album Another Side of Bob Dylan , produced by Tom Wilson. It was written in early 1964 and was influenced by the symbolist poetry of Arthur Rimbaud. The song depicts the feelings and thoughts of the singer...
".
The song was well known for its haunting imagery, which some have compared to that of William Blake
William Blake
William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
. Although it is filled with numerous Biblical references, it may also have been partly inspired by the following lines from William Blake's Auguries of Innocence:
To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.
Marked by an ethereal quality that isn't found elsewhere on Shot of Love, "Every Grain Of Sand" is one of Dylan's most celebrated recordings. In this song, Dylan puzzles over the dilemma of whether his disappointments, temptations, failings, and triumphs were due to his actions alone or ordained by God's delivering hand ("I've gone from rags to riches in the sorrows of the night/ In the violence of a summer's dream/ In the chill of a winter light" and "I hear the ancient footsteps like the motion of the sea/ Sometimes I turn and there's someone there, other times it's only me").
Reception and aftermath
Although many critics commented on this song's different aspect at different points of time, they all agree about its greatness in lyrics, melody and haunting imagery and consider it as one of Dylan's finest works.It is "perhaps his most sublime work to date", writes Clinton Heylin
Clinton Heylin
Clinton Heylin is an English author who has written extensively about popular music and the work of Bob Dylan.- Education :...
, "the summation of a number of attempts to express what the promise of redemption meant to him personally. One of his most intensely personal songs, it also remains one of his most universal. Detailing 'the time of my confession/the hour of my deepest need,' the song marks the conclusion of his evangelical period as a songwriter, something its position at the conclusion of Shot of Love tacitly acknowledges."
Paul Nelson
Paul Nelson
Paul Nelson may refer to:*Paul Nelson , rock critic who worked for Rolling Stone*Paul R. Nelson, 2006 Republican nominee for Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district*Paul Nelson...
of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
called it "the 'Chimes of Freedom' and 'Mr. Tambourine Man' of Bob Dylan's Christian period...it has surety and strength all down the line. Also vulnerability...Dylan's beautifully idiosyncratic harmonica playing has metamorphosed into an archetype that pierces the heart and moistens the eye. And, for once, the lyrics don't let you down. The artist's Christianity is both palpable and comprehensible...For a moment or two, he touches you, and the gates of heaven dissolve into a universality that has nothing to do with most of the LP."
Paul Williams
Paul Williams (Crawdaddy! creator)
Paul Williams is an American music journalist and writer. Williams created the first national US magazine of rock music criticism :Crawdaddy! in January 1966 on the campus of Swarthmore College with the help of some of his fellow science fiction fans...
in his book Bob Dylan, performing artist:The Middle Years said, "The love in "Every Grain of Sand," though firmly rooted in Dylan's conversion experience and his Bible studies, immediately and obviously reaches beyond its context to communicate a deeply felt devotional spirit based on universal experiences: pain of self-awareness, and sense of wonder or awe at the beauty of the natural world."
Tim Riley
Tim Riley
Tim Riley is a Northwest media personality in Portland, Oregon. He is currently an Anchor/Reporter with AM 860 and KKOV, Portland Oregon. He served as News Director/Anchor for Hot Talk 1080 KOTK, Max 910 during Imus In The Morning, and KUFO during The Rick Emerson Show from 2001 until 2009...
described "Every Grain of Sand" as, "a prayer that inhabits the same intuitive zone as "Blowin' in the Wind" - you'd swear it was a hymn passed down through the ages."
Rock critic Milo Miles wrote, "This is the one Dylan song in ten years...in which he examines a pop-culture paradox (that legendary stars in particular have to believe in ideals greater than themselves) more eloquently than any other performer has."
When Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
inducted Dylan into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame on January 20, 1988, he also cited "Every Grain Of Sand" as an example of his best work. "Every Grain of Sand" was cited by Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
on his list of "500 albums essential to a happy life" as possibly Dylan's finest track.
Cover
The Tucson-based band Giant SandGiant Sand
Giant Sand is an American rock band, based in Tucson, Arizona, USA. The name is shortened from the original Giant Sandworms, a reference to the creatures in the Dune books. Overseen by singer-songwriter Howe Gelb, its membership has shifted over the years—at times with each album...
recorded a cover of this song for their album Swerve, which was released in 1990.
This song was also covered by Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
on her album Wrecking Ball
Wrecking Ball (Emmylou Harris album)
Wrecking Ball is a 1995 album by Emmylou Harris in which she moves away from the traditional acoustic sound for which she had become known, to team up with rock producer Daniel Lanois and engineer Mark Howard...
, and by Barb Jungr
Barb Jungr
Barb Jungr is an English singer-songwriter, composer and writer, of Czech and German parentage. She is perhaps best known as a chansonnière, or singer of chansons—in the sense of classic, lyric-driven French songs; in the broader sense of European songs in the cabaret style; and in the even...
on her album Every Grain of Sand: Barb Jungr Sings Bob Dylan
Every Grain of Sand: Barb Jungr Sings Bob Dylan
Every Grain of Sand is a tribute album to Bob Dylan recorded by Barb Jungr. The album is named after a Dylan song of the same name.-Track listing:#"I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" – 4:06...
. It was also performed at the funeral of Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
, in 2003, by Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
and Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, folk, hip hop, country and pop...
.