| "Changing of the Guards" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byBob Dylan | ||||
| from the albumStreet-Legal | ||||
| B-side | "Señor (Tales of Yankee Power)" | |||
| Released | 24 October 1978 | |||
| Recorded | April 1978 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 6:41 (1978 original) 7:04 (1999 remix) | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriter | Bob Dylan | |||
| Producer | Don DeVito | |||
| Bob Dylan singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Changing of the Guards" is a song written byBob Dylan, released in1978 as asingle and as the first track on his albumStreet-Legal. As a single it failed to reach theBillboard Top 100. However, the song has been included on compilation albums:Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Volume 3, released in 1994, and the Deluxe Edition ofDylan, released in 2007.
A slightly longer version of "Changing of the Guards", including an extended ending, was included on remixed/remastered editions ofStreet-Legal released in 1999 and 2003.[1]
The song has prompted much criticism, both positive and negative. According to Oliver Trager, author ofKeys to the Rain: The Definitive Bob Dylan Encyclopedia, "Changing of the Guards" has been criticized as a "song in which Dylan unsuccessfully and cynically parodies his anthemic self".[2]
Cash Box said that the "kick turns, rolling beat and fine background vocals supporting Dylan's vocals make this one of the strongest tracks" onStreet Legal.[3]Record World said it has only "a touch of the customary Dylan sound" and that "the beat is decidedly rock" and it has "big background vocals."[4]
Dylan expertMichael Gray commented that "Changing of the Guards" is a thorough description of Dylan's personal journey, from the beginning of his musical career, about sixteen years prior (the opening line is "Sixteen years"), through his marriage to and divorce fromSara Dylan, up to his conversion toChristianity, which was announced soon after the song's release, although Gray also accused some passages of being "opaque".[5]
CriticPaul Williams praised both the music ("The rhythm and melody are original and powerful; and Dylan’s use of the back-up singers to echo his words at strategic moments throughout each verse is a marvelous device, effective and haunting") as well as the lyrics ("the storytelling structure of the song, mixing political and romantic intrigue, rich imagery, and fascinating setting, singer slipping neatly between first and third person narrative, seems more than adequate to deliver on the promise").[6]
Dylan acknowledged the lyrical ambiguity in a 1978 interview, commenting: "It means something different every time I sing it. 'Changing of the Guards' is a thousand years old'".[2]
U.S. Girls' Meghan Remy cited it as her favourite Dylan song precisely because of the "mistakes": "It’s like the backing singers have never heard the song before. They aren’t on time, the second voice is always late but that’s the charm and spirit of the recording. The lyrics are like a fantasy – you’d think they’re impossible to sing but he somehow cuts the syllables up so they fit in. It’s an insane skill to have, and meanwhile the hooks just keep on coming".[7]
A 2021Guardian article included it on a list of "80 Bob Dylan songs everyone should know".[8]
Hip hop groupPublic Enemy referenced the song's title in their 2007 Dylan tribute song "Long and Whining Road": "From basement tapes, beyond them dollars and cents / Changing of the guards spent, now where the hell the majors went?"[9]
Dylan performed "Changing of the Guards" 68 times in concert. All performances were in 1978.[10]
"Changing of the Guards" has been covered by:
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