Mr. Tambourine Man is a song written, composed, and performed by Bob Dylan, who released his original version of it on his 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home. The Byrds also recorded a version of the song that they released in the same year as their first single on Columbia Records, reaching number 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100chart and the UK Singles Chart, as well as being the title track of their first album, Mr. Tambourine Man. The Byrds’ recording of the song was influential in initiating the musical subgenre of folk rock, leading many contemporary bands to mimic its fusion of jangly guitars and intellectual lyrics in the wake of the single’s success.
Aurora Aksnes (born 15 June 1996), known mononymously as Aurora (stylised as AURORA) is a Norwegian singer-songwriter. Her debut EP Running with the Wolves was released through Decca Records in May 2015, receiving widespread approval from online music blogs and national press.
She has sung Mr. Tambourine Man on several occasions, I’ve picked some of them. She gives the song an overworldy ethereal quality. She brings something new to this masterpiece of a song and it’s a testament to the everlasting quality of the tune. Even if it’s very true to the source material.
The song starts about a minute into this last video:
– Hallgeir
Other entries in the series:
The Best Dylan covers: Stevie Wonder – Blowin’ in the wind
The Best Dylan Covers: George Harrison – If Not For You
The Best Dylan Covers: Emmylou Harris – Every Grain of Sand
The Best Dylan Covers: Them – It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue
The Best Dylan Covers: Joan Baez – Farewell Angelina
The Best Dylan Covers: Roger McGuinn – Up To Me
The Best Dylan Covers: Jeff Beck Group – Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You
The Best Dylan Covers: Susan Tedeschi – Lord Protect My Child
The Best Dylan Covers: Lucinda Williams – Tryin’ To Get To Heaven
The Best Dylan Covers: Jerry Garcia Band – Simple Twist of Faith
The Best Dylan Covers: Bruce Springsteen – All Along The WatchTower
The Best Dylan Covers: Patti Smith – Changing Of The Guards
The Best Dylan Covers: Johnny Rivers – Positively 4th Street
The Best Dylan Covers: Antony and The Johnsons – Knocking On Heaven’s Door
The Best Dylan Covers: Dave Alvin – Highway 61 Revisited
The Best Dylan Covers: 16 Horsepower – Nobody ‘Cept You
The Best Dylan Covers: Alicia Keys – Pressing On
The Best Dylan Covers: Cowboy Junkies – If You Gotta Go, Go Now
The Best Dylan Covers: Nina Simone – The Ballad of Hollis Brown
The Best Dylan Covers: Ramones – My Back Pages
The Best Dylan Covers: The Long Ryders – Masters of War
The Best Dylan Covers: Cat Power – Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
The Best Dylan Covers: The Flying Burrito Bros – To Ramona
The Best Dylan Covers: Chrissie Hynde – I Shall Be Released
The Best Dylan Covers: Norah Jones – I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight
The Best Dylan Covers: Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash – It Ain’t Me Babe
The Best Dylan Covers: Buddy Miller – With God On Our Side
The Best Dylan Covers: Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy aka Will Oldham – Brownsville Girl
The Best Dylan Covers: Lou Reed – Foot of Pride
The Best Dylan Covers: Indigo Girls – Tangled Up In Blue
The Best Dylan Covers: Tom Jones – What Good Am I
The Best Dylan Covers: Sarah Jarosz – Ring Them Bells
The Best Dylan Covers: Robert Plant – One More Cup Of Coffee
The Best Dylan Covers: Alison Krauss – I Believe In You
The Best Dylan Covers: Mick Ronson with David Bowie – Like A Rolling Stone
The Best Dylan Covers: Steve Earle – It Takes a lot to laugh, it takes a train to cry
The Best Dylan Covers: Patti Smith with Lenny Kaye – Boots of Spanish Leather
The Best Dylan Covers: Jimi Hendrix – All Along The Watchtower
The Best Dylan Covers: Rodney Crowell with Emmylou Harris – Shelter From The Storm
The Best Dylan Covers: John Lynch – One More Cup Of Coffee
The Best Dylan Covers: Peter Case – Long Time Gone
The Best Dylan Covers: Helen Baylor – What Can I Do For You
The Best Dylan Covers: The White Stripes – One more cup of coffee
The Best Dylan Covers: Rayland Baxter – Love Sick
The Best Dylan Covers: Rage Against The Machine – Maggie’s Farm
The Best Dylan Covers: Jerry Garcia Band – I Shall Be Released
The Best Dylan Covers: Rosanne Cash and Jeff Tweedy – Farewell Angelina
The young lady has a lovely voice, I listened to all three versions posted here and find that she, as did Odetta, Judy Collins, Roger McGuinn and many others sometimes change the “is” in the second line to “ain’t.” If you’ll pardon the pun, That “ain’t” the way he wrote it. The song is a masterpiece as written. I’m 82 years old now and had the privilege of living in the village during the 1960s. Here’s a quote from The New York Times foremost folk music Robert Shelton as a certificate of the authenticity of my comments. After a concert on July 31st, 1961, he wrote, “Among the newer promising talents deserving mention are a 20-year old latter-day Guthrie disciple named Bob Dylan, with a curiously arresting mumbling country-steeped manner; John Winn, a polished, poised tenor whose art-song approach to balladry was impressive; Tom Paxton, a western singer with an obvious potential as a songwriter.” Now, with over half a century’s memories to guide me is my crusty old troubadours version of “Mr Tambourine Man” that I recently recorded as a tribute to Bobby’s 75th birthday. I hope you’ll give it a listen.