The Byrds, “Mr. Tambourine Man” Live 1965
May 11, 1965
Written by singer-songwriter legend Bob Dylan, ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ was made famous later that year by up and coming band the Byrds. Capitalizing on their newfound fame, the Byrds took the stage in 1965 for one of their first live performances of what would become their biggest claim to fame, and the only Bob Dylan song that went to #1 on the Billboard charts in America.
This performance is incredible, and it’s quite literally history in the making; unbeknownst to the band, their live renditions of ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ changed the face of rock music. It launched the Byrds to superstardom, convinced Dylan to go electric, and started the folk-rock movement.
Fun Fact: This was the first influential folk-rock song. All of the characteristics of that genre are present, including chorus harmonies, a rock rhythm section and lots of thought-provoking lyrics.
While Bob Dylan’s original rendition of ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ is undeniably amazing, there’s something about the way the Byrds perform it that gives it a dreamlike, almost ethereal kind of feel that makes you see the world through hazy, rose tinted glasses. If the whole point of music is to make you think and take you away to places you’ve never been, then the Byrds clearly succeeded tenfold!
+ Mr. Tambourine Man lyrics +
Hey, Mr. Tambourine man, play a song for me
I’m not sleepy and there is no place I’m going to
Hey, Mr. Tambourine man, play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning I’ll come following you
Though I know that evenings empire has returned into sand
Vanished from my hand
Left me blindly here to stand but still not sleeping
My weariness amazes me, I’m branded on my feet
I have no one to meet
And the ancient empty street’s too dead for dreaming
Hey, Mr. Tambourine man, play a song for me
I’m not sleepy and there is no place I’m going to
Hey, Mr. Tambourine man, play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning I’ll come following you
Take me on a trip upon your magic swirling ship
My senses have been stripped
May hands can’t feel to grip
My toes too numb to step
Wait only for my boot heels to be wandering
I’m ready to go anywhere, I’m ready for to fade
Into my own parade
Cast your dancing spell my way, I promise to go under it
Hey, Mr. Tambourine man, play a song for me
I’m not sleepy and there is no place I’m going to
Hey, Mr. Tambourine man, play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning I’ll come following you
Though you might hear laughing, spinning, swinging madly across the sun
It’s not aimed at anyone
It’s just a escaping on the run
And but for the sky there are no fences facing
And if you hear vague traces of skipping reels of rhyme
To your tambourine in time
It’s just a ragged clown behind
I wouldn’t pay it any mind
It’s just a shadow you’re seeing that he’s chasing
Hey, Mr. Tambourine man, play a song for me
I’m not sleepy and there is no place I’m going to
Hey, Mr. Tambourine man, play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning I’ll come following you
And take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind
Down the foggy ruins of time
Far past the frozen leaves
The haunted frightened trees
Out to the windy bench
Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow
Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky
With one hand waving free
Silhouetted by the sea
Circled by the circus sands
With all memory of fate
Driven deep beneath the waves
Let me forget about today until tomorrow
Hey, Mr. Tambourine man, play a song for me
I’m not sleepy and there is no place I’m going to
Hey, Mr. Tambourine man, play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning I’ll come following you
